I am Australian born and lived most of my life in 11 different towns and cities mostly in the North East state, Queensland. I agree with Dorothy from the Wizard of OZ when she said "
There is no place like home." Of course, she was referring to the fact that she would never leave home again. I, on the other hand, have left Australian shores to explore other parts of the world more times than I can remember and now reside in the USA. The part I agree on about her famous line is that there is something ever so neat about 'home'. At least it is for me... especially when 'home' refers to Australia.
Australia is very unique. As a continent, and not an island...by the way!, Australia is pretty uninhabitable. Most people live primarily on the coastline as the interior is, for the most part, made up of deserts with no water source to support survival.
An interesting fact about our country is our people... or lack there of. The population of California is close to 37 million yet all of Australia's has not even reached the 22 million mark! With so few people in such a large land mass it is makes sense that we have a lifestyle that is unique to our own. We love the outdoors, much like the Canadians I guess, and enjoy a slower pace than the USA, for the most part.
What I love most about Australia is our attitude toward life. We really are very laid back and easy going. "Don't worry about it mate." "She'll be right." "No worries." These are all pretty common terms you would hear from an Aussie. I also love how you can be on the beaches of the Gold Coast (i am a Queenslander!) with beautiful golden sand and blue, blue water with palm trees and then jump in your car and drive about 2 hours to Toowoomba where even on the way you will see gum trees and kangaroos. Actually, there are a mix of gum trees and palm trees and kangaroos right on there on the Gold Coast come to think of it!
I am equally fascinated by the fact that we really don't have many different accents like all other countries! There is the distinct "ocker" accent and then there is pretty much just the Australian accent. I would say our accents are more depicted from ones class as apposed to where one lives in Australia. We don't have a distinct 'southern' accent. Or an accent from the 'east'. Or a 'Brisbane' accent like you would find in the UK if you were say from Liverpool, where you would have a 'Liverpool' accent the rest of your life.
As for our food, we do not "throw a shrimp on the barbie"! Given our outdoor lifestyle we actually do barbecue a lot. We just don't call them shrimp.. they are prawns. And we really don't barbecue prawns that often. We do however, throw a couple 'snags' on the barbie. :) Our food is still relatively fresh and a lot less processed than say the united states. We don't have cheese in a can and it's not orange.
I have lived in the USA for less than 2 years and hope to have a house downunder as well as up here on the other side of the pond. However, I will always call Australia my home, even though I won't always live there. I am an aussie girl and always will be.
I love you Australia!
Melissa Williams
I love a sunburnt country - by Dorothy McKellar in 1908:
The love of field and coppice,
Of green and shaded Lanes,
Of ordered woods and gardens,
Is running in your veins;
Strong love of grey-blue distance,
Brown streams and soft, dim skies -
I know but cannot share it,
My love is otherwise.
I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of drought and flooding rains,
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel sea,
Her beauty and her terror -
The wide brown land for me.
The tragic ring-barked forests
Stark white beneath the moon,
The sapphire-misted mountains,
The hot gold hush of noon.
Green tangle of the brushes
Where lithe lianas coil,
An orchids deck the tree-tops
And ferns the crimson soil.
Core of my heart, my country!
Her pitiless blue sky,
When sick at heart around us
We see the cattle die -
But then the grey clouds gather
And we can bless again
The drumming of an army,
The steady, soaking rain.
Core of my heart, my country!
Land of the Rainbow Gold,
For flood and fire and famine,
She pays us back threefold;
Over the thirsty paddocks,
Watch, after many days,
The filmy veil of greenness
That thickens as we gaze.
An opal-hearted country,
A wilful, lavish land -
All you who have not loved her,
You will not understand -
Though Earth holds many splendours,
Wherever I may die,
I know to what brown Country
My homing thoughts will fly.
