The Australian Identity---Part 3
November 27th 2006 08:45
The Taming of the frontier and the opportunity for settlement lured migrants to Australia around the turn of the 19th century, the bulk of which hailed from England, Europe, and famine-ravaged Ireland. The women who undertook these harrowing voyages across open sea, either as wives or single woman, wrote about the trials and tribulations faced and these invaluable writings are only now coming to light. The worth of these works from a historical perspective alone cannot be overstated. They are in essence snapshots of life through the eyes of the female pioneer.
An unfortunate truth about life for women in the New Colony, is that apart from the odd literary verse or reference, they were invisible agents in this era of Australian history, relegated to the quietude of wife or mother. However, things were about to change. The new century and subsequent fifty years will see the rise of feminism and the penning of some of this country's greatest works of verse and prose, over half of which was wrote by women.
First things first however, and the masculine passion for all things 'bush' was gaining momentum. Around the campfire, 'The Ballad of the Drover' and 'Clancy of the Overflow', stirred bushmen's blood, written by two of this nations finest bards: Henry Lawson and A.B.(Banjo) Paterson, respectively. Another of Paterson's ballads, 'Waltz Sing Matilda', some consider should be the Australian national anthem. These two prolific authors would soon engage in a literary tussle termed the 'City or the Bush'. Paterson, the son of a sheep station owner, verses Lawson, a city dweller who made only brief and uncomfortable forays into the bush. The literary slanging-match was published in the Sydney weekly The Bulletin, and I believe with Lawson's bush yarn realism, though especially Paterson's bush verse romanticism, was behind the formation of the 'bushmen' identity myth, the horse riding, Akubra wearing stockman/drover seen in school text and history books wordwide.
In 1901, Australia became a nation with the Federation of the Commonwealth. That same year seen the publication of Miles Franklin's My Brilliant Career, a truly great Australian novel by arguably this nation's finest female exponent of prose. The bulk of the story is set on an outback station, and follows the life of a young woman struggling to find her place in life. She does find love, only to reject it and stay true to her own ambitions. A type of anti-romance, with themes of bush and city life, family, romance, and coming of age, I believe makes it the truly quintessential Australian novel.
Final: Women, wars, and the Aboriginal identity.
An unfortunate truth about life for women in the New Colony, is that apart from the odd literary verse or reference, they were invisible agents in this era of Australian history, relegated to the quietude of wife or mother. However, things were about to change. The new century and subsequent fifty years will see the rise of feminism and the penning of some of this country's greatest works of verse and prose, over half of which was wrote by women.
Final: Women, wars, and the Aboriginal identity.
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Comment by Anonymous
and that not one australian would like to understand ,i am one of those who follow Jesus Christ much more then the person himself .