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This is my speech on Australian Identity, my thesis is that over time, the identity is changing towards more coastal then rural.
The year is 1629, a Dutch vessel by the name of Batavia crashes upon the Houtman Abrolhos islands 40 kilometres off the coast of what is now Geraldton. A mutiny occurrs, and a total of 125 men, women and children are killed, what a way to start Australian history! A beach is defined as a strip of sand longer then 20 meters and remaining dry at high tide, our beloved Australia houses 10, 685 beaches, and each nine kilometres of these beaches has a shipwreck; chances are, our geographical features do a better job of protecting our coast from outsiders then our immigration policies. The aim of my speech today is to explain that over time: globalization, demographics and socio-economic advancements have shifted our identity from the outback to the coast.
In the turn of the nineteen hundreds, one of Australia’s greatest known poets was recognised, Henry Lawson. Lawson’s works focused on the Australian bush, based on his own experiences when The Bulletin paid for an inlaid trip to the reality of the drought stricken New-South Wales. His writings on the bush are now considered as the first accurate descriptions of Australian life at the time. Nowadays, Tim Winton may be viewed as the modern version of Lawson,
with his writings describing the lifestyle on the Western Australian coast.
Tim Winton was born in Perth in 1960, he attended a creative writing course at Curtin university and since then has won a remarkable number of writing awards and has written a number of books for adults and children alike. His novels are described as “tough, spare stories about youth and promise, of early parenthood and the challenges of loyalty.” The reason he is so successful as a writer is that he is able to capture “the darkness and frailty of ordinary people.” The ordinary people he writes about are the communities along the Western Coast of Australia. Winton’s ability to depict modern culture in his writing is akin to Henry Lawson‘s, both authors capturing the society at their times, Lawson’s being one of a bush, and Winton‘s of the coast.
Chas Swanson is the writer of the best Australian Identity essay I have come across while researching for this report. Using Swanson’s listed stereotypes of culture of various time, Lawson was describing ‘The Pioneer’ stereotype. The pioneer “continued the bush tradition laid by the previous generations.” Tim Winton’s representation of Australian’s as working class family lovers upon the Western coast describe “The Larrikin,” which Swanson basically describes as ‘good hearted risk takers.’
Today, 80% of Australians live within 50 kilometres of the coast, 50% live within seven kilometres and 6% within 3 kilometres. A report by the New South Wales Government states that the most common reasons why families are moving to the coast are (ordered by percent):
The environment (better to live in, raise a family or retire)
Employment/Business
Housing affordability (small percentage)
A report by Dr John Finnigan states that while the population of Australia increased by 32% from 1971 to 1991, the non-metropolitan coastal zone population increased by 95%. The proportion of total population in non-metropolitan coast is now 25%, and if you add metropolitan areas, the proportion is 86%. We now see that Australia is moving towards the coast and thus, changing our identity.
Globalization refers to the worldwide integration of humanity, this relates to the movement towards the coast as increasing infrastructure opens new employment. Western Australia is a large exporter of raw commodities, such as wheat, sheep, mineral sands and iron ore. What globalization does to our economy, is allows it to expand as international demand for our goods and services is added to our aggregate expenditure. This new found synergy with Australia and the rest of the world is killing off the pioneer stereotype of Australians, as we become more and more involved with our neighbouring countries, we become more and more like them.
In the twenty first century, it is evident that the water levels rising due to global warming has swallowed our sunburn country, changing it to the beach of the world. The world has changed dramatically through advances in technology, societies and cultural shifts following closely. The Y-Generation is pushing the Australian identity into the twenty first century, we are no longer stereotyped as hard working pioneers in a God forgotten land, but are beach loving youth in the land of the free. We speak of identity changes as if they are the worst thing that could happen to this country, but little do we realise that since federation we have changed our nation from a penal colony to one of the greatest countries to live in, with respect to quality of life and economic opportunity.
This is my speech on Australian Identity, my thesis is that over time, the identity is changing towards more coastal then rural.
The year is 1629, a Dutch vessel by the name of Batavia crashes upon the Houtman Abrolhos islands 40 kilometres off the coast of what is now Geraldton. A mutiny occurrs, and a total of 125 men, women and children are killed, what a way to start Australian history! A beach is defined as a strip of sand longer then 20 meters and remaining dry at high tide, our beloved Australia houses 10, 685 beaches, and each nine kilometres of these beaches has a shipwreck; chances are, our geographical features do a better job of protecting our coast from outsiders then our immigration policies. The aim of my speech today is to explain that over time: globalization, demographics and socio-economic advancements have shifted our identity from the outback to the coast.
In the turn of the nineteen hundreds, one of Australia’s greatest known poets was recognised, Henry Lawson. Lawson’s works focused on the Australian bush, based on his own experiences when The Bulletin paid for an inlaid trip to the reality of the drought stricken New-South Wales. His writings on the bush are now considered as the first accurate descriptions of Australian life at the time. Nowadays, Tim Winton may be viewed as the modern version of Lawson,
with his writings describing the lifestyle on the Western Australian coast.
Tim Winton was born in Perth in 1960, he attended a creative writing course at Curtin university and since then has won a remarkable number of writing awards and has written a number of books for adults and children alike. His novels are described as “tough, spare stories about youth and promise, of early parenthood and the challenges of loyalty.” The reason he is so successful as a writer is that he is able to capture “the darkness and frailty of ordinary people.” The ordinary people he writes about are the communities along the Western Coast of Australia. Winton’s ability to depict modern culture in his writing is akin to Henry Lawson‘s, both authors capturing the society at their times, Lawson’s being one of a bush, and Winton‘s of the coast.
Chas Swanson is the writer of the best Australian Identity essay I have come across while researching for this report. Using Swanson’s listed stereotypes of culture of various time, Lawson was describing ‘The Pioneer’ stereotype. The pioneer “continued the bush tradition laid by the previous generations.” Tim Winton’s representation of Australian’s as working class family lovers upon the Western coast describe “The Larrikin,” which Swanson basically describes as ‘good hearted risk takers.’
Today, 80% of Australians live within 50 kilometres of the coast, 50% live within seven kilometres and 6% within 3 kilometres. A report by the New South Wales Government states that the most common reasons why families are moving to the coast are (ordered by percent):
The environment (better to live in, raise a family or retire)
Employment/Business
Housing affordability (small percentage)
A report by Dr John Finnigan states that while the population of Australia increased by 32% from 1971 to 1991, the non-metropolitan coastal zone population increased by 95%. The proportion of total population in non-metropolitan coast is now 25%, and if you add metropolitan areas, the proportion is 86%. We now see that Australia is moving towards the coast and thus, changing our identity.
Globalization refers to the worldwide integration of humanity, this relates to the movement towards the coast as increasing infrastructure opens new employment. Western Australia is a large exporter of raw commodities, such as wheat, sheep, mineral sands and iron ore. What globalization does to our economy, is allows it to expand as international demand for our goods and services is added to our aggregate expenditure. This new found synergy with Australia and the rest of the world is killing off the pioneer stereotype of Australians, as we become more and more involved with our neighbouring countries, we become more and more like them.
In the twenty first century, it is evident that the water levels rising due to global warming has swallowed our sunburn country, changing it to the beach of the world. The world has changed dramatically through advances in technology, societies and cultural shifts following closely. The Y-Generation is pushing the Australian identity into the twenty first century, we are no longer stereotyped as hard working pioneers in a God forgotten land, but are beach loving youth in the land of the free. We speak of identity changes as if they are the worst thing that could happen to this country, but little do we realise that since federation we have changed our nation from a penal colony to one of the greatest countries to live in, with respect to quality of life and economic opportunity.
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