"Waltzing Matilda" written by Banjo Paterson in 1895 and first published as sheet music in 1903, is Australia's best-known bush ballad, and has been described as the country's "unofficial national anthem". The title is Australian slang for ‘travelling on with one's belongings in a "Matilda" (swag) slung over one's back.’
The narrative song ‘Waltzing Matilda’ tells the story of a swagman living in the Australian outback during 1895-1900’s, the story tells:
In verse 1- A swagman is resting under a eucalyptus tree on the banks of a watering hole (Billabong). He is singing to pass the time. He has a fire lit and is boiling something in a tin can. (Most likely tea)
In verse 2- While there, the swagman notices a sheep wandering by, he catches
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They question the swagman as to what he is carrying in him tucker bag.
In verse 4- Terrified, the swagman leaps up and jumps into the watering hole and drowns, after saying “you’ll never catch me alive!”. The swagman killed himself to get away from the authorities, they say you can still hear him singing as you pass the watering hole
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It wasn’t just the Australians hoping for gold, there were thousands upon thousands of immigrants from overseas landing in Australia in the hopes of becoming rich. With the increased and rising population, it was getting harder for people to obtain employment and have enough money to support themselves and their families.
-The Bush rangers: Were originally escaped convicts in the early years of the British settlement who had escaped from authorities and his in the Australian outback, never getting caught.
-Booms, depressions, and trade unions: Rapid economic growth due to the gold rushes, White Australian Policy, stopped non-whites from entering Australia, Federation-countries joining together in agreement
-The Great Shearers Strike: In 1891 there began the ‘Australia’s Great Sheep Shearer’s Strike’ bringing the colony closer to civil war, (After England gave Australia ‘self-governance’). In 1894, the shearers at Dagworth Station went on strike again, firing rifles and pistols in the air, the strike turned very violent. Over 100 sheep were killed and the woolshed was set on
Australia was imperialized by England for land, and for space for their conflicts. The conflicts were there to farm food for the English people. At the same time England had already had other countries under their control at this time. Australian people were not very happy with the English
Immigration, transport, trade and taxes, and growing national pride were the three main reasons Australia needed to federate. Fear of coming under foreign attack, and concern over being invaded by non-white immigrants were major factors, which encouraged support to Federate. Despite the fact that several colonies already had implemented laws, which restricted immigrants from certain countries, all of the colonies were keen to strengthen their policies. In this time, there were many prejudgments against the Chinese and Pacific Islanders. The Chinese immigrated during the gold rush period, in the 1850s and from 1863; Pacific Islanders were also brought to Australia to work in the hot conditions in the sugarcane fields. People believed that foreign workers took jobs away from them.
Some would say The Anzac Legend all began when Britain declared they were in need of help and it was Australia’s duty to go to their aid. Australia tossed aside experience and opted for youth. There were big incentives to go. To travel and visit foreign places, economic reasons, to be with their mates but the most incentive of all was that Britain needed help.
During world war two Australia came close to being invaded, the Japanese in Sydney Harbor were a huge fright to many Australians. After world war two it seemed Australia needed to populate or perish. So the government made a big push to fill Australia. Many children were born due to this new idea. They were called the 'Baby boomers'. The baby boomers were being born at huge rates and inflating Australians population. The white Australia policy was pretty much abandoned as migrants flooded into Australia. White Australians still felt that they were superior but they needed these immigrants to populate Australia.
Maestro by Peter Goldsworthy provides an insight into 1960s/70s Australia and helps reinforce common conceptions about Australian culture. One common conception Goldsworthy reinforces in this text is Australia’s increasing acceptance of multiculturalism. Maestro, set in the 1960s to 1970s, shows Australians growing more accepting and tolerant of other cultures. This shift in perspective was occurring near the end of the White Australia/Assimilation Policy, which was phased out in the late 1970s/early 1980s. An example of this shifted perspective in Maestro is Paul’s father’s opinion about living in Darwin:
Of course it is naïve to believe that Australians only developed an identity after the First World War, but it is true to say that it was changed forever. Before Australia became the Australia known today, it was a land of bush rangers, farmers and convicts; a penal colony that had ambitions of becoming a nation who self-governed and had unified defence and transport*. Before federation Australia had fought in Sudan and the Boer War to provide support to the mother country as it was thought to be a heroic endeavour that was a type of rite of passage (Australian War Memorial, n.d.) and there was a global perception of who and what Australians were. Upon federation the people were very consciously intent on building themselves into a great nation (Bean, 1993), but not to sever ties to Britain completely as mostly foreign policy relied on what the British government dictated (Rickard, 1992).
In “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, was a great poem that can mean many different things to many different people of this world. To me I think it was just a boy who just wanted to spend time with his dad before he has to go to bed. The boy probably does not get to spend time with his dad that much. The father probably works all day and all week and this is the only time the boy gets to spend with him. Roethke use of words in this poem is amazing. The use of the words in this story can mean different things to the reader. The first word to look at is the word waltz. In the dictionary the word waltz is a dance for a fast triple meter song. This is just what the father is doing with his son but his is drunk and dizzy. “But I hung on like death: Such waltzing was not easy (Roethke)” The word death is not what people usually think but nobody can shake or get away from death. So the boy was holding on to his father where his father could not get away from him like the boy did not want him to go. “We romped until the pans Slid from the kitchen shelf (Roethke)” another word to understand is romped. The word romped means to play or frolic in a lively or boisterous manner. To go deeper in the definition boisterous means rough and noisy. While the father and the son are playing around dancing they are also messing up the house as well. Messing up the kitchen will make any mother mad and that is what happens next. Of out any other place in the house the kitchen is the woman’s throne room. “The hand that held my wrist was battered on one knuckle; at every step you missed my right ear scraped a buckle (Roethke).” In lines 9-12 you can tell that the father has came back from a long day of work. The father’s job has to be doing something wi...
It all started in 1859. Australia was slowly becoming populated with European pioneers who sought the newness of the great, unsettled continent. However, there were a few things from home from which they just couldn’t part.
The immigration Restriction Act 1901or more commonly known as the White Australia Policy was made 'to place certain restrictions on immigration and to provide for the removal from the Commonwealth of prohibited immigrants' (Australian Government Department of Immigration and Boarder Protection, 2013) or in other words to have an all-white British colony. This act was unfair for all those who were not British and those who were of colour. In this essay, I will discuss the experiences of the non-Anglo-Celtic groups in Australia before the White Australia policy was introduced, the political and social arguments for the White Australia Policy and the consequences of the White Australia Policy for individuals and groups, up until 1918. There were mixed experiences for the non-Anglo-Celtic groups in Australia before the White Australia Policy was introduced. For example, majority of the Chinese Gold Miners were treated differently to other countries and groups that mined for gold in Australia.
The gold rush period was a period of time when gold was discovered in Australia. The gold rush contributed significantly and played a critical role in the Australian economy during the period. In addition, it attracted many foreigners to come to Australia in order to join the gold rush during the nineteenth century. These foreigners came to seek gold in order to pursue their dreams and also to get a better life in Australia.
My Papa’s Waltz My Papa’s Waltz has been compared to a generational litmus test. Depending on what generation the reader was born, could determine how the reader would interpret this poem. Each generation has its own views that have been developed in them for the language used to describe Papa in this poem. The whiskey on his breath and Papa’s hand beating on his head, both sound like a negative connotation.
The Victorian gold rush also known as the Australian gold rush because it was the first major gold rush of Australia. Towards the end of August 1851, James Reagan and John Dunlop discovered the richest goldfield the world has ever seen in a place that is now the city of Ballarat. John Dunlop and James Regan discover the first few ounces of gold while panning near Canadian Creek. By the end of September 1851 there were about 10,000 people digging for gold near Ballarat. By 1852, the news had spread to England, Europe, China and America, and
In the late nineteen forties, Theodore Roethke emerged with a poem that has been the source of much debate. "My Papa's Waltz," is an account of a relationship between son and father. Alas, many readers who are exposed to this piece fail to note the love present in the connection of the characters. In an attempt to illuminate the author's true intention several factors must be examined. After several examinations of Roethke's poem as well as learning of his childhood it is evident that this poem does not suggest an abusive environment, but is an appreciative account of the love and playfulness between the characters. Therefore, a successful interpretation of this poem will look beyond the four stanzas and study not only the history of the writing, but the life of the poet.
'The Australian Legend', in itself is an acurate portrayal and recount of one part of society, from a specific era, ie. the Australian bushman of the 1890s. Its exaggerations, however, such as the romanticism of the bush ethos by Australian writers, the unbalanced use of evidence, and the neglect to acknowledge the contribution to our national identity from certain sections of society, ie. aboriginal people, city-dwellers, women, and non-British immigrants, render this book to be flawed. For these reasons, it cannot be regarded as a complete and balanced account of Australian history.