The Bush Influence On Australian Identity
What is it about 'the bush' that is so special to Australians? The bush has an iconic status in Australian life and features strongly in any debate about national identity, especially as expressed in Australian literature, painting, popular music, films and foods.
The bush was something that was uniquely Australian and very different to the European landscapes familiar to many new immigrants. The bush was revered as a source of national ideals by the likes of Henry Lawson and Banjo Paterson. Romanticising the bush in this way was a big step forward for Australians in their steps towards self-identity. The legacy is a folklore rich in the spirit of the bush.
Folklore, 1790s - 1890s
Many Australian myths and legends have emanated from the bush. Early bushranging - ranging or living off the land - was sometimes seen as a preferred option to the harsh conditions experienced by convicts in …show more content…
Body at the camp at Mallacoota, March 1910. Image from Henry Lawson by his mates, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1931.
Bush songs devised by ordinary, everyday people are a record of the people's experiences of living, surviving and dying in the bush, as well as the colourful slang of bush life. The most famous of these bush ballads is Waltzing Matilda, Australia's unofficial national song about a swagman shearer. Many songs and lyrics, written down for private use, were later assembled and published by A B (Banjo) Paterson as Old Bush Songs in the 1890s. Bush music was handed down as part of an oral tradition, similar to folk music.
The Weekly Bulletin
Australia's first national literary magazine, The Weekly Bulletin (later The Bulletin), not only described the bush, but also published bush writers. It was an influential publication which promoted a particular set of views - egalitarianism, unionism, and 'Australianism'. Both Lawson and Paterson saw the bush as central to 'identity', but in very different
The bush was something that was uniquely Australian and very different to the European landscapes familiar to many new immigrants. The bush was revered as a source of national ideals by the likes of Henry Lawson and Banjo Paterson. Romanticising the bush in this way was a big step forward for Australians in their steps towards self-identity. The legacy is a folklore rich in the spirit of the bush.
Folklore, 1790s - 1890s
Many Australian myths and legends have emanated from the bush. Early bushranging - ranging or living off the land - was sometimes seen as a preferred option to the harsh conditions experienced by convicts in …show more content…
Body at the camp at Mallacoota, March 1910. Image from Henry Lawson by his mates, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1931.
Bush songs devised by ordinary, everyday people are a record of the people's experiences of living, surviving and dying in the bush, as well as the colourful slang of bush life. The most famous of these bush ballads is Waltzing Matilda, Australia's unofficial national song about a swagman shearer. Many songs and lyrics, written down for private use, were later assembled and published by A B (Banjo) Paterson as Old Bush Songs in the 1890s. Bush music was handed down as part of an oral tradition, similar to folk music.
The Weekly Bulletin
Australia's first national literary magazine, The Weekly Bulletin (later The Bulletin), not only described the bush, but also published bush writers. It was an influential publication which promoted a particular set of views - egalitarianism, unionism, and 'Australianism'. Both Lawson and Paterson saw the bush as central to 'identity', but in very different