Posted by Sigismund on December 26, 2008, at 13:25:12
In reply to Re: Meep meep, posted by TexasChic on December 25, 2008, at 23:52:39
>As you would know, Australia started out as a penal colony (which gave us our sense of humour), and which we were ambivalent about after (though not now), and this might explain why we have it and you don't, or so it occurred to me.
This is from an undigested book review I heard about the fight to end transportation in the 1850s, which had a liberal appearance but carried within it a conservative (ie pro-English) reaction and was an argument about the nature of Australia. The old convict Australia was more egalitarian.
But what is the 'it' to which I refer?
Presumably (this is next morning) I had the idea that there is a distinguishing quality to Australian humour, one that, for sure, you will not find in any mainstream Australian movies.I grew up in the country, west of the range, and we weren't egalitarian at all.
People who came to work there were surprised to find a different world. Is this what I was thinking about?Mainstream Australian history was as boring as batshit (free trade vs protectionism), but occasionally you could find a ray of interest: Wentworth wanting to introduce slavery, someone else wanting the English system of titles, bands of convicts developing ideas about another colony over the range where the convicts were treated well and everyone lived in harmony, and, of course, the big one....the efforts of the Aboriginal people to deal with the encroaching disaster.
poster:Sigismund
thread:870781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20081222/msgs/870876.html