As I’ve done with our previous locales, I’m taking a moment to record the impressions I formed as an outsider over the course of seven weeks in Queensland--five weeks at our house sit in The Gap (a western suburb of Brisbane) and two weeks on the Sunshine Coast north of Brisbane.
Herewith, the things we noticed as first-timers in this foreign (but not so foreign) land…
Birdlife. Literally the first thing that made me turn my head in Brisbane as I walked out of our hotel the first day was a huge black and white ibis crossing my path. What the heck is that? I wondered. I soon learned this exotic-to-us bird is known as a “bin turkey” for its propensity to snack on trash in public parks, city streets, etc. In The Gap, we had a veritable chorus of bird songs and shrieks each morning, from kookaburras to cockatoos, magpies to galahs.
Animal life. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the exciting new animals we encountered, including koalas, kangaroos, wombats (little tank-like animals that look a bit like tiny teddy bears crossed with koalas), platypus, Tasmanian devils, and echidna. We didn’t (unfortunately) see koalas or kangaroos in the wild, though we did pass many a road sign warning of their presence. As you may know, the platypus is notable for being a mammal that lays eggs, confounding scientists everywhere.
English culture. One of my first impressions of Australia was that it felt like England against a tropical backdrop. The large majority of Australians are of English and Irish descent. Australia has been an independent nation since 1901, but it is still part of the British Commonwealth. Coins still bear the image of the Queen, and the flag contains a Union Jack.
Penal colony history. About 20 percent of Australians are descended from convicts from the original colonies. What many people don’t know is that a lot of those sentenced to “transportation” (ie. removal to Australia) were convicted of crimes like stealing a loaf of bread to feed their starving children. They weren’t all murderers and the most sordid of criminals, as I’d assumed. Transportation was a handy solution for the British government to get rid of poor people on the streets of its big cities. When they got here, those criminals were not imprisoned. They built colonies and established towns and cities.
Growing awareness of Aboriginal history and reparations. At most of the public events we attended, the masters of ceremony began by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the land--the Aboriginal elders. Native title and land rights cases have helped Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander peoples to reclaim some rights to their ancestral lands.
The “sunburnt country” that Bill Bryson refers to in the title of his book on Australia is apt. I’m not sure I’ve felt a stronger sun in all my travels. The ozone layer is thinner here, and there is a high incidence of skin cancer. Australians almost universally protect themselves with hats, rash guards, sunscreen, etc. The sun protection for sale is the real deal (Australia’s regulations on sunscreens are very strict), and it’s one of the only places I’ve seen tinted zinc (so you can wear it without looking like a zombie).
Cafe culture. Cafes in Australia are just on a different plane. Not only beautiful, fabulously designed spaces, they also serve impeccable fresh breakfasts, brunches, juices, coffees, and lunch. And that’s all. Unlike American coffee shops that are open around the clock, Australian cafes do what they do in a limited fashion til about 3 pm and do it very well. Coffee here is also next level--espresso, made to order, strong as heck, delicious. Other menu items include things like coconut tapioca pudding with passionfruit and edible flowers, watermelon juice, avocado toast, and paleo waffles with bananas and honey. This is the kind of food I swoon for. Luca and I went to cafes as much as possible and spent most of our money in them. Of course there was always a basket of toys or two for him, and a delectable babycino with mini marshmallows and sprinkles. As a side note, dietary alternatives such as gluten free, vegan, etc. are much more available and advanced (ie. tastier) than what we have in the U.S. Apparently this has been the case for many years.
Barefoot culture. This was one of my favorite parts about Australia--and what made me wish I could stay and raise children here. People spend so much time outside, enjoying the natural landscape, and seemed to feel a deep sense of shared responsibility for the land and joy/pride in its beauty. We were lucky enough to experience Christmastime at the beach, when many Australians wholeheartedly embrace their coastlines. Barbequing here is no joke--clean, free, electric barbeques are available to use at nearly every park and beach, and people take full advantage of them. Nearly everyone camps out--and many parents we met thought nothing of packing their toddlers and infants up for a tent camping get-away--often in uninhabited places accessible only by four wheel drive vehicles. Luca never spent so much time barefoot as he did in Australia.
Environmental awareness. So many products and practices we witnessed make it clear that environmentalism is much more pervasive--a way of life, really. Queensland has recently banned plastic bags. Plastic straws are much more passé than they are in the US. Even though it’s a hot climate and many people have air conditioning in their homes (the more efficient mini split units, not central air), most we met said they rarely use it. Much of the residential architecture is designed to shade and capture breezes, and it does so very successfully.
Life saving is a serious business. Surf lifeguards use flags to signal safe swimming areas, as they do on our local New Jersey beaches, but they change their location day to day depending on rip currents and other factors. They also use jet skis to perform rescues and to scare off sharks that might come too close to bathing areas. Helicopter monitoring of the seas and nets are also employed to keep swimmers safe. There is a website where you can search the conditions and potential hazards of every beach in the country: https://beachsafe.org.au/
Australia has had more prime ministers than Italy over the past ten years. Scott Morrison is currently in power and is the sixth PM in the past decade. The country has lots of trouble with partisan politics and a deeply divided public, just like we do. Incidentally, an Australian friend told me they were as surprised as we were by the election of Donald Trump. But she compared it to the election of a white supremacist politician in Australia, which was shocking on a smaller scale and woke Australians up to some of the prejudices of their countrymen.
Multiculturalism runs deep. Luca has a Mem Fox book called “I’m Australian Too!” about the many peoples from all over the world that have come to live in this fair land. The majority of people feel this is a positive thing and a defining characteristic of Australia. As one friend joked when I asked about her Christmas traditions, “We don’t have our own traditions, we just borrow from other people!” However, just like in the U.S. there are those opposed to outsiders, and the country’s offshore detention centers have been strongly criticized.
Athletes behave badly here too. I was amused to learn there was a Deflategate-type scandal here too--involving the use of sandpaper on cricket balls to make them spin a certain way!
The healthcare system is universal. It’s not entirely free for consumers, but a universal health insurance plan called Medicare is funded by the government and subsidizes healthcare costs. This didn’t affect our stay as temporary visitors, but I imagine if we lived in Australia it would be a significant improvement over the American system--and a huge benefit for quality of life.
The language is so lively! Australian English is like American English on LSD. It’s full of humor and good times and some things that are not to be believed. I was partial to abbreviations like “arvo” for afternoon and “exxy” for expensive. “Esky” is a cooler (from Eskimo). “Maccas” is McDonald’s. I heard swimsuits referred to as “togs,” “bathers,” “swimmers,” and “cozzies.” Colorful phrases abound. “Chalk and cheese” means complete opposites (perhaps the closest expression we have is “like oil and vinegar”?). “Fair dinkum” as an adjective means real, or legitimate. “Fair Dinkum Indian Food” I saw proclaimed on the sign at one Indian restaurant. There is also an Australian rhyming slang that uses terms like “tin lids” for kids and “Al Capone” for telephone. A whole treatise could be written on this point, and many have!
