The Australian Bushman

The Bushman narrative вЂ" Truth or tale?

Although Aussies are stereotyped, in reality Australia has struggled to find a true identity for itself. “The Australian Legend” identifies the bushman as the typical Australian вЂ" the loyal, tough, honest, laidback, laconic, resourceful, hardworking, courageous, egalitarian, rebellious, resilient and a self-reliant bloke who confronts any misfortune with a joke. But is this really accurate?

Throughout history, art, poetry, song, dance and cultural events have helped to shape this image of our stoic Aussie battler. Just mention the term Aussie and we have images of a white man droving, prospecting or shearing… he is the man from Snowy River personified. Our heroes are often runaway convicts, like Ned Kelly, who roamed the bush committing crimes and believe it or not, we seem to like it when people challenge authority.

The Man from Snowy River is a ballad which continues to reinforce this cultural myth as the bush is the source of our mythology from which heroic characters are born. The hero is brave, resourceful and risk-taking. In fact the ideology associated with him is so important that Banjo Patterson and his poem are on the Australian ten dollar note and the full text of the poem is printed several times in microprint as one of the note’s security devices which perpetuates this cultural myth.

Waltzing Matilda, a poem written by Banjo Patterson, arguably our most identifiable national song is yet another example of how this cultural narrative is reinforced. The song tells of a swagman making a cup of tea and stealing a sheep to eat. When the sheep’s owner arrives with police officers to arrest him, he drowns himself in a small lake and haunts the site. These are the stories of our heroes вЂ" the anti-authoritarian, courageous Ned Kelly characters become iconic figures forming our cultural narrative. Similarly, Frederick McCubbin and Arthur Streeton are Australian painters who have reinforced the Bushman cultural myth. McCubbin’s most well-known work, The Pioneer is described as “self-consciously nationalistic”.

Who would think that a movie about a divorced thirty-something portaloo toilet installer would be a box office hit? Kenny a 2006 mockumentary film features the protagonist having an honest and genuine nature highlighted through his colloquialisms, costuming, humour and dry Australian wit. In Australia there has been high acclaim for the film; we admire Kenny and think of him as an Australian hero because of the Bushman characteristics he posses. Yet how realistic is this character and what does he say about how Australians view themselves?

Paul Hogan too, from Crocodile Dundee has been portrayed as the typical Australian, “a headstrong bushman who “tells it like it is”. It’s ridiculous to give the impression that every Australian wrestles crocs on a daily basis and can talk to animals like Doctor Dolittle; walking around saying things like: “Maybe the dingo ate your baby”. Paul Hogan reinforced this inaccurate representation of Australians when he was asked “Is Crocodile Dundee the typical Australian?” Hogan replied: “I represent the outback bushman pioneer Aussie, the Down under Texan. This is clearly inaccurate, since most people live in the city or along the coast. It’s a myth we perpetuate, because we cling to our heritage вЂ" the self reliant bushie who tells it like it is.” Although the bush and its inhabitants are a great part of Australian history and identity, the ideology of the Bushman representing a national identity is no longer relevant. Times have changed and although we like to think our values and attitudes symbolise the characteristics of the Bushman, this is not so.

Australians falsely pride themselves on having an egalitarian spirit; always willing to help the underdog and support a mate. At the same time we are proud of our anti-authoritarian stance. However this is simple a cultural myth and is far from what we see played out in everyday cultural contemporary society.

Today, we rarely see our Aussie battler in contemporary society. We like to think of ourselves as a multicultural society living harmoniously but what happened to the laidback, tolerant bushman? In 2005, 5000 people gathered at Cronulla beach. The news spread through SMS text messaging: “Come to Cronulla this weekend to take revenge. This Sunday every Aussie in the Shire get down to North Cronulla to support Leb and Wog bashing day”. Some demonstrators even went as far as to wear clothing with racist slogans such as “We grew here, you flew here”, “Wog free zone” and “Ethnic cleansing unit”. There is even a commercial monopoly-style board game based on the Cronulla riots available for purchase. This doesn’t sound like our good ol’ Aussie bushman.

Australia’s multicultural policy promotes respect and acceptance of our diverse cultures. Where were these ideas when the Tampa loaded with asylum seekers attempted to find refuge in our great democratic nation where we “always give the bloke beneath us a lift”? Prime Minister John Howard sent the navy and forced the boat to turn around before they reached Australian waters causing 350 people to drown. Is this the government’s sense of Australian mateship? On the 10th of September 1996, Pauline Hanson gave her first speech warning Australians that we were “In danger of being swamped by Asians” accentuating how Asian immigrants “Have their own culture and religion, form ghettos and do not assimilate”. Do these prejudicial comments represent the majority?

Australians are represented as those who live predominantly in rural areas or the Australian bush. Yet most of us live in the cities and rise each morning to spend another comfortable day at the office or factory. Not everyone is given a “fair go” there is still a clear division between the rich and poor; the white and black; men and women and even religions. We are now living in western society, a place of consumerism, capitalism, materialism and industrialism. We live to work, to earn money and to work some more and earn some more. We hardly ever think of each other, it is every man for himself. Whoever has the most expensive car or the biggest house is deemed as the happiest and most successful. A study by the Australian Institute of Health and