Aussies Who are we?

trout · August 12, 2014, 05:07:03 PM

It all started with people moving over a land bridge into Australia and that is where our first people came from and are still here.
Then the Brits sent over their worst offenders because their prisons were overflowing because of Draconian laws.
These people were forced to build the first lot of infrastructure that allowed another wave of people to come and settle here.
During the Gold rush the Chinese and Islanders came here to work and many stayed and prospered.
After World war one and two there was an influx of Europeans that came and settled here.
After the Vietnam conflict a lot of people came as refugees and have settled here.
The newest arrivals are people from Africa and other parts of the World that have been affected by War .

What a fantastic Stew of different Races, backgrounds, cultures and beliefs we have in this Country.

SO what is an Australian?
Mateship, Tolerance, Honesty and a real sense of Fair Play is in my opinion is the "essence" of being Australian.
In most parts of the world this culture does NOT exist and would not be tolerated that is why "an Australian" is unique regardless of their race , Colour, or how long they have lived here.
BTW, I was born a Pom and have since "Evolved" into an Australian

ausjack · August 12, 2014, 05:14:05 PM

What a fantastic Stew of different Races

Yep I have that many in me and some good one's to, bloody jew and german, greek english irish and all over all rolled into one..I think your description is what it was to be aussie as those days are long gone and especially in the city where people can't even look you in the eye :winkextra: I think you'll still find it a little in the bush but it's changing here as well and we are little america not really australia any more so when I find a nice bloke like you it's an honour and gives me a little faith :hi:

Triggersmob · August 12, 2014, 06:44:53 PM

Quote from: 'trout' pid='56828' dateline='1407829023'BTW, I was born a Pom and have since "Evolved" into an Australian

Me too!

Ozcoins · August 12, 2014, 07:14:30 PM

Trout,
I agree completely.
It's sad that some focus on the difficulties rather than the benefits our country has had.

ausproofs · August 12, 2014, 07:38:37 PM

What a good introduction there Trout, I am a migrant who embraced Australia as my "Homeland' for the last 17+ years.. came to Australia to do my studies and became a part of it... I have seen many things in life. Let me tell you Australia is a land of opportunities and a true paradise.. hope people realize it and help to keep it that way for the future generations ! Now I am a proud Australian !

ausjack · August 12, 2014, 08:02:20 PM

My lot have been out here from the late 1800's and we weren't cons, one of the originals was a merchant seaman from greece and "apparently" couldn't get a ship home so stayed and then married a jew and so on and after talking to so many relo's and other old people we missed the boat and even as a kid in the 70's it was so safe and friendly as compared to today so where are peoples history from?

Goldseeker · August 12, 2014, 08:51:02 PM

me, born Belfast, Nth Ireland, came out from UK on SS Strathnaver 1959 aged 11.5 and stayed. Now I is a an Aussie and have a piece of paper to prove it.

This place has changed since I first arrived with the Asian community getting stronger these days than the Europeans were 50 years ago.

All sorts mixed up in this country.

Maybe we should change the word Australian to 47 Heinz Varieties or something similar.

trout · August 12, 2014, 09:06:53 PM

Quote from: 'Goldseeker' pid='56853' dateline='1407842462'me, born Belfast, Nth Ireland, came out from UK on SS Strathnaver 1959 aged 11.5 and stayed. Now I is a an Aussie and have a piece of paper to prove it.

This place has changed since I first arrived with the Asian community getting stronger these days than the Europeans were 50 years ago.

All sorts mixed up in this country.

Maybe we should change the word Australian to 47 Heinz Varieties or something similar.

I too think Australians have changed over the 4.5 Decades that I have been here and for me I think that is a GOOD thing :yahoo:
When I first arrived from London and ended up in Three Springs WA it was a Total culture shock.
Being only 14 at the time I got over that in a heartbeat

There was however at that time a culture of mistrust for "Foreigners" and this persisted until the early 90's.
Thank the gods that we think differently these days and have gone from simply being a Country that everyone was curious about , To becoming a Nation that everyone is envious of :wavemulticolor:

Coiny Chris · August 13, 2014, 06:28:51 AM

Hello,

This is the best place, but things are changing rather than evolving. People no longer come here to become an Aussie and embrace the lifestyle. They now bring their issues rather than escaping them. I am glad I wont be around in 50 years, as I think gated communities will become normal.

ausjack · August 13, 2014, 07:43:58 AM

Yes so true so couldn't agree more so second that Chris, the bush is now as violent as what the city was 10 year ago and as you say the old lot assimilated and like mine even changed their name so it sounded more english as my true name has about 10 letter s and I can't remember the correct spelling but it's something like Kocacarsis shortened down to O'Cass so it's really hard for us to chase up history and one lot went Ko'cass so see anyone with this name and it's a pretty high chance they're related to me. The only part they could chase back was on my mum's mum side from ireland back to the early 1800's. I must find the bit of paper that has the correct spelling on it.

nealeffendi · August 13, 2014, 09:24:18 AM

Not to rock the happy-fest boat but Trout painted the PC version of history.
The only mob that came over by the land bridge no longer really exists among us. (Truganini) was the last full blooded Aborigine as the aborigines on the mainland had long been exterminated by migrants from Asia (mostly northern Burma). Now all that's left are predominantly of Anglo stock (quarter-caste etc), there are about 6,000 of them (was about 3,000 full bloods when white man came), went to college with one that had blue eyes.
Most of the convicts were not the worst offenders, I've read some of the crimes that some of my ancestors did and they were petty things. The most serious of them had his death sentence commuted to Transportation, he ended up as a policeman in Parramatta.
Almost no Islanders came during (or for) the gold rush, it was mostly labourers for Queensland sugar industry. Most Islanders have only arrived since the 1970s anyway.
Over 90% of our newest arrivals are from countries not affected by war (China, India, NZ).
Living in the most ethnically diverse part of Australia I get to see lots of great people from all over the world, also get to see some of the not so great that should be re-exported. Had to deal with one on a bus at 3am this morning, a dozen pairs of ethnically diverse eyes were in unison that this guy was a twat; I guess common sense is universal ingredient that makes Australia great.

Goldseeker · August 13, 2014, 11:43:06 AM

I have to agree with the couple of previous comments.

When people come to a "new" country, why can't they leave their troubles behind them. Don't bring them here as we not interested.

A lot of "ethinics", as Al Grasby used to call them, who have been here for years are still not Australian Citizens and I get to talk to a vast array of these people and they are forever complaining that they do not get enough money from the Government, health care etc.

Excuse me, until; one becomes a Naturalized Australian, one cannot be a member of the Defence Force and defend this country. But they can vote, only need to be 18 years of age and have a permanent address.

Come on, you can vote but can't defend this country in war, something wrong here.

I am glad that I may not be around for too much longer as Australia is changing or going down a path that I am dreading.

autocoupler · August 13, 2014, 11:47:54 AM

Quote from: 'trout' pid='56828' dateline='1407829023'Mateship, Tolerance, Honesty and a real sense of Fair Play is in my opinion is the "essence" of being Australian.

I agree to a point, and that's how we perceived ourselves, and true there was an element of that welded into our make up. From my experience this was particularly evident among the older generation when I first started work back in the sixties, and thinking about it since it was probably born from people who faced hardship together as did many of our earlier generations. These values were to a point passed down from one generation to the next, unfortunately slowly watering down along the way as modern day life became more material and more all about the me syndrome. Australians still like to think of ourselves as being that way inclined which is a good thing even if not totally true as it proves the spark remains. But I don't think this was totally unique to Australia, as similar values would have been evident in other parts of the world.

In my opinion what makes us such a great nation, and is no doubt born from our past, is that we are able to have differences without seeing a need to totally destroy the other party, we are capable of doing this through a political system whilst not perfect but actually works.

keldaw · August 13, 2014, 02:40:43 PM

I am glad that I may not be around for too much longer as Australia is changing or going down a path that I am dreading.
[/quote]

bruce , that is why I am starting to pass on some of my things to my kids already as we never know when our time is up ..

look what happened to robin Williams yesterday ..

coxspau · August 13, 2014, 03:50:59 PM

After being away for 14 years and then coming back and seeing modern Australia, I feel comfortable saying that Australia is certainly changing. But examining our short history, it's hard to find a time when Australia wasn't changing.

Currently, the rise of China and globalisation have taken the place of the Cold War with both positive and negative impacts.

Human identity is now happening less at a nationality level and increasingly at an ideological level.

Wars are now being fought against concepts (terrorism) and less so where countries are fighting each other.

But Kel makes a very good point...you can't take it with you, so at some point, it's time to liquidate and enjoy the fruits of your labour in whatever form makes you happy.