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Time for a new Aussie Stereotype

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Variously called “First Landing Day”, “Foundation Day”, “Anniversary Day” and “Survival Day”, January 26 has been celebrated officially as Australia Day since 1946. Over the years, this day of commemoration has collected many layers of significance as we evolve in national identity and maturity.

This Thursday we are invited to reflect on what it means to each of us to be Australian in 2012, and how this influences the way we relate to ourselves, each other and our history.

The traditional Australian narrative has been an Anglo-Celtic one full of colourful convicts, bushrangers and diggers, resilient in the face of hardship and heroic at overcoming the odds. The Australian type has been traditionally seen as hardy, adaptable, sport-loving, egalitarian and male. He is a larrikin who values mate-ship above all else.

This portrayal of the Australian type has not however successfully included the cultural identities of Indigenous people and Australians from non-Anglo backgrounds. And it doesn’t accurately reflect who, or what we are as a nation.

The truth is Australia is a multicultural society, a land full of rich cultural traditions and has been for thousands of years before the First Fleet arrived.

Australia has been home to multiculturalism even during the pre colonial days as there were existing diverse nations of Aboriginal People. Add to this the new Australians who arrived as immigrants and the result is a country of many languages and diverse cultural identities and lifestyles.

Celebrating social inclusion, diversity, community, family and relationships is something of which we can all be proud. This Australia Day, let’s celebrate those qualities and create a new Aussie stereotype.

If you need help to create positive and respectful relationships, please contact Relationships Australia on 1300 364 277 or visit www.raq,.org.au.

For more information or comments, please contact –
Rebecca Cook
Relationships Australia
07 34236910 / rcook@relateqld.com.au
Media Release
22nd January, 2012

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