[1] 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.

[2] 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

[3] 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 chains.Later bushrangers such as Jack Donohue, Ben Hall and Ned Kelly were seen as rebellious figures associated with bush life.Their bushmanship was legendary as well as necessary.

[4] The bush has evoked themes of struggle and survival epitomised in tales of bushrangers, drovers, outback women and lost children.The bush has also been seen as a source of nourishment and survival.These two opposing elements were often brought together by the activities of the Australian “black trackers”.

[5] The skills of Indigenous people in “the bush”, especially their tracking abilities, was seen as miraculous and became legendary in the minds of European Australians.Indigenous people’s knowledge of the land, at the core of their spiritual beliefs, is expressed in stories, arts and performance — music, songs, dance and ceremony.

Romantic idealism, 1890s — The “bushman”

[6] The 1890s saw a continued increase in nationalism and with it the creation of the Australian bush legend — an extension of the goldfield legend.The characters of the bush were imbued with the same qualities that the diggers on the goldfields possessed.

[7] Around 1900, the bush was seen as the foundation of nation’s greatness when the features of bush life — sleeping in the open air, learning to ride and shoot, fighting bushfires — were seen to prepare people for battle.This fused Australia’s bush and military traditions when it seemed to prove itself with the ANZACs in World War I.The “bushman” was seen as a resourceful, independent man who trusted only his mates.

[8] The bush was a symbol for a national life and yet, by 1910, most Australians were urban.The bush myth has endured as novelists, poets, and artists continue to use it for inspiration.Elements of bush culture have been absorbed into mainstream Australian life through music, pop songs, clothing, slang, arts and architecture.

The bush legacy today

[9] The idea of the bush as integral to Australian identity was reinforced in 1958 when Russel Ward published The Australian Legend.While some critics criticised his interpretation of what comprises a “typical Australian”, he argues that traits such as mateship53, anti-authoritarianism, swearing and hard drinking came from the frontier experiences of real bush workers.

[10] Bush ideals have been revered in recent years with television programs like Bush Tucker Man and films like Crocodile Dundee.Many well-known Australian films are built on stories from or concerning the bush.These include Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), Eliza Fraser (1976), Breaker Morant (1981), Gallipoli (1981), The Man from Snowy River(1982), Crocodile Dundee (1986) and Evil Angels (1988).Rabbit Proof Fence (2002) and Ten Canoes (2006) show how the bush is viewed as a source of nourishment for Indigenous people.

[11] The 1980s and 1990s saw the bush become synonymous with drought, debt, depopulation and unemployment.Natural disasters and the natural cycles in the bush of drought, fire and flood have helped define Australian language, a sense of humour as well as comedy, music, poetry and literature.

Notes

ANZAC: It refers to a soldier from Australia or New Zealand, especially in World War I.

For Fun

Works to Read

1. The Penguin Henry Lawson Short Stories (Penguin Classics)

One of the great observers of Australian life, Henry Lawson has become part of the Australian national psyche, and his short stories and verse have come to affect how Australians view their country.Yet at his best Lawson transcends even the very bush, the very outback, the very up-country, the very pub or selector’s hut he conveys with such brevity and acuity: he makes specific places universal.Henry Lawson is too often regarded as a legend rather than a writer to be enjoyed.In this selection Lawson is revealed as a writer whose delightful, humorous, wry and moving short stories continue to delight generations of readers.This is the essential Lawson collection — the classic of Australian classics.

2.Collected Verse by Banjo Paterson

The poet A.B.“Banjo” Paterson, best known for his rousing folk classics The Man from Snowy River and Waltzing Matilda, is widely acknowledged as Australia’s greatest and most popular balladist.His poems, written with great gusto and humour, celebrate all the romance and rough-and-tumble of old Australia.In this collection, leading Paterson scholar Clement Semmler presents more than 100 of Paterson’s poems that reflect the remarkable richness and range of his writings.Generously illustrated with period drawings, this first Penguin edition of Paterson’s verse pays tribute to one of Australia’s favourite sons —“the Banjo of the Bush.”

Movies to See

1.The Man from Snowy River (1982)

The Man from Snowy River is a 1982 Australian drama film based on the Banjo Paterson poem The Man from Snowy River. As indicated by its box office takings, The Man from Snowy River gained a very large audience, popularising the story and Banjo Paterson’s poem.Since 1995 the story has been re-enacted at The Man From Snowy River Bush Festival in Corryong, Victoria.

2.Ned Kelly (2003)

Ned Kelly is still a major part of Australian popular culture.His story has been told in books, movies, plays and television shows.His image has been used for everything from cakes to tattoos.Ned Kelly is a 2003 Australian movie directed by Gregor Jordan.The movie shows the life of Ned Kelly and is based on Robert Drewe’s book Our Sunshine.