I live in a land downunder

Warrigal

Warrigal

SF VIP
Location
Sydney, Australia
You've all heard the song and most know that Australia began as a convict settlement in 1788 when three British naval sailing ships discharged their cargo of miserable felons on a beach in what is now Sydney Harbour.

What sort of hell hole grows from such an inauspicious beginning?

Australia should be a mean, dog-eat-dog society, replete with thieves, cut throats and murderers.
But it is not.

Today I left home to visit Hubby in the nursing home and when I returned, key in hand, I went to open the back door. Not only was it unlocked; it was actually wide open, just as the gates to the carport always are after I drive out.

Anyone can walk round to the back of the house and look in the kitchen window to see if anyone is at home.
But it has never happened in the nearly 57 years that we have lived here in the outer suburbs of Sydney.
Why is that? - we don't have a dog in the yard, nor is the house alarmed. I won't tolerate a firearm in my home.

Where are the armed intruders and home invaders I keep hearing about?
This country that I love certainly has its fair share of crime but the reality is that criminals are hardly riding roughshod over law abiding members of the community. My daily experience is that people go out of their way to help each other. In Australia we call it mateship when we have each other's backs. We place great value on mateship.

Another highly valued quality is that of the 'fair go'. I cannot claim that everyone in Australia actually receives a fair go but most of us reckon that a fair go is everyone's birthright. We have a tendency to stick up for the underdog.

During the days of the convicts, when a man or woman had served their time, they were given a ticket of leave and allowed to work and prosper in the new colony. A few became bushrangers but most found honest work; some started their own businesses and some even became architects and medical practitioners. Together with the free settlers who arrived later, they built the foundations for modern Australia.

We still have serious social problems to tackle but it is my belief that by combining our efforts, instead of fighting each other, we will succeed in creating a fairer society where crime is the exception rather than the norm.

Yes, I know. I am Pollyanna at times, but isn't it better to have a positive mindset than to go around crying, "Woe, woe and thrice woe", like the three witches in Shakespeare's MacBeth?
 

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I have a warm spot in my heart for Australia and its people. When I was in the US Navy during Vietnam, the HMAS Hobart was active in fire support along the coast. The Australian Royal Navy had a group of destroyers that rotated in support of our Navy and Hobart was one of those.

Unfortunately US fighters mistakenly launched missiles at the Hobart which killed some of the Australian crew members and damaged the ship. I was on a Destroyer Tender in the area and the Hobart came to us for emergency repairs.

We worried the Hobart's crew might be looking for revenge but although understandably upset by the incident, they didn't take their emotions out on our Tender's crew. In fact, the two crews became good friends while they were alongside us. They were good men and accomplished sailors and I've been a fan of your Country ever since.
 

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Looking at Australia from the other side of the world often conveys a rather frightening picture of a once friendly prosperous country that has turned into a "police state". Perhaps it took the Covid pandemic to expose this with what appeared to be heavy handed, almost brutal, approach by the police and state authorities. Some say that Australia always was a "police state" and maybe much of this reporting is propaganda, but as they say, "no smoke without fire".
 
Could you elaborate a bit more @Capt Lightning?

If you are talking about the lockdowns that took place where people who entered the country were quarantined in hotels, I agree that this was not ideal but it was far from brutal and a long way from being a police state.

The Victorian State Premier was expected to lose up to 8 seats in the 2022 election. Instead he was returned with the same majority that he had before Covid.

If you are talking about the chaos on the freeways caused by very unruly 'protesters' and the heavy police presence you should know that that was the second day of major disruption where a game of cat and mouse was going on between the police and the mob. The mob, or at least part of it ,coalesced at the Shrine of Remembrance where they desecrated it by using it as a latrine.

They had few admirers among the general public.
 
Warrigal, I can only go by what is reported in the news and other media. While I do not believe this to be totally truthful or unbiased, it certainly conveyed the impression of a generally heavy handed police force and at times draconian measures imposed on the population for example, only being allowed to leave their homes to buy food and 'essential' items (as reported by CNN). A recent article in 'The Guardian' newspaper suggests that in spite of a relaxation of restrictions, there is still considerable fear that it's (pandemic) not over yet.

Of course we had restrictions in the UK, but for us anyway, did not affect us too much. We could buy anything we wanted (there was some rationing), we could go for walks / exercise. Our daughter could fly from England to visit without any checks etc.. We couldn't go on holiday or visit the theatre, but we're making up for that now.
 
Capt Lightning said:
Warrigal, I can only go by what is reported in the news and other media. While I do not believe this to be totally truthful or unbiased, it certainly conveyed the impression of a generally heavy handed police force and at times draconian measures imposed on the population for example, only being allowed to leave their homes to buy food and 'essential' items (as reported by CNN). A recent article in 'The Guardian' newspaper suggests that in spite of a relaxation of restrictions, there is still considerable fear that it's (pandemic) not over yet.

Of course we had restrictions in the UK, but for us anyway, did not affect us too much. We could buy anything we wanted (there was some rationing), we could go for walks / exercise. Our daughter could fly from England to visit without any checks etc.. We couldn't go on holiday or visit the theatre, but we're making up for that now.
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The Murdoch press, which has a strangle hold on Australian print media that is just about absolute in some states, did a number on the Victorian premier in the lead up to the last two state elections. I'm sure you have seen similar hatchet wielding where you come from. They went gently on the NSW Premier who was not from the same political party as the Victorian Premier.

Your last paragraph pretty much describes my experience of the early days of the pandemic. Covid swept through our nursing homes and the death toll was horrendous. Hospitals admissions were very high, impacting the ability to deal with elective surgery. Schools were closed and children stayed home and had to have their lessons via distance learning. Children of essential workers were able to come to school but the teachers were stretched to the limit preparing and delivering online lessons and supervising the children at the school.

Businesses that had to close were compensated with money to keep their staff (JobKeeper) and the dole was doubled temporarily because it was pretty much impossible to find a job at that time. Does this sound like a harsh police state?

Thanks to a bungle early in 2020 when a cruise ship was allowed to disembark infected passengers in Sydney without even a temperature check when it was known that Covid had been spreading on board, we had an explosion of cases in Victoria and NSW as the passengers carried it to their home states.

We did not have any vaccines or antivirals back then and mask wearing, hand hygiene and social distancing were our only defences. People in home isolation and hotel quarantine were supported although in Melbourne there were mistakes made in one of the hotels due to transmission of the virus via the air circulation system. The windows of that high rise hotel did not open to allow fresh air to enter. It caused great distress to the people being quarantined inside.

The Sikhs were wonderful as they rallied to supply hot meals to the people in quarantine. The agitators took to the streets and harassed the police. Kudos to the Sikhs. My contempt to the agitators taking advantage of a very real crisis, the same contempt I have for looters who take advantage of bush fires or floods.
 
Thanks for the information Warrigal. It's hard to get an accurate picture just based on news stories, and true or not, I did get the impression that the Covid restrictions in some states were strictly enforced and those who broke the rules could be heavily fined. There were plenty of people in the UK who bent the rules and also plenty of police who did not understand the law and had to cancel fines and apologise. The press had a field day with this. We shopped regularly during lockdown and only saw police twice. They were buying sandwiches in ASDA.

Anyway, I doubt if I'll ever see Australia. Like many Brits, I have relations there (and in New Zealand). Many years ago, my uncle (Mother's brother) returned from Australia for a 'Gathering of the clans' and came to visit us. Mother asked if he would like a whisky, to which he replied, "Woman, have you forgotten that I'm Scottish ?". He obviously hadn't.

However, getting back to your original post, I do see a lot of similarities in what you describe and here in N.E. Scotland. People are friendly and helpful and there is little domestic crime.
 
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The Scots in Australia never forget their homeland and never lose their accent.

Hubby is a Robertson, of the Clan Donnachaidh, but it has been about 150 years since the last immigrant arrived in NSW. This ancestor was sent to New Zealand with his brother as boys but we don't know why. One stayed in NZ and the other came to Australia, and after various occupations became a dairy farmer. He and his wife produced 16 living children. That woman lived to be 86 and I am in awe of her for her strength and stamina. They were staunch Methodists.
 
Warrigal said:
The Scots in Australia never forget their homeland and never lose their accent.
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Almost 30 years ago in British Columbia I was walking my dog past a small hobby farm....spoke to the farmer, (who was about the same age then as I am now), strong Scottish accent. Asked him when he came over.....he said he'd never been out of Canada.....born and raised in a small farming community in Alberta....all Scots.
 
Sorry, Warrigal, your boast about a sole nation being founded by British convicts is not that accurate, Apparently, there were plenty of criminals running around. the UK. Well over 50,000 won an all expense paid sea cruise to the American Colonies. Criminals, or Founding Fathers ??????
We just call 'em, dad. :)
 
fuzzybuddy said:
Sorry, Warrigal, your boast about a sole nation being founded by British convicts is not that accurate, Apparently, there were plenty of criminals running around. the UK. Well over 50,000 won an all expense paid sea cruise to the American Colonies. Criminals, or Founding Fathers ??????
We just call 'em, dad. :(
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Question is, and I haven't researched, what level of crime were the transported criminals convicted of, a kid stealing bread? Weren't the real baddies simply hung? I dunno.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
Sorry, Warrigal, your boast about a sole nation being founded by British convicts is not that accurate, Apparently, there were plenty of criminals running around. the UK. Well over 50,000 won an all expense paid sea cruise to the American Colonies. Criminals, or Founding Fathers ??????
We just call 'em, dad. :)
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I didn't say that Australia was the only place where Britain off loaded their convicts. After the American War of Independence the convicts were mounting in number and overflowed the English prisons onto hulks on the Thames. Disease became a problem and the decision was made to establish colonies in Australia to relieve the problem. The other reason was to secure the continent and keep the French out.
 
Britain did not only unload convicts to Australia, but also as a result of the Highland clearances and Scottish potato famine, over 5000 Scots emigrated to Australia, mainly with assistance from various sources. After the second world war, many Brits (including my uncle) left for Australia and New Zealand as "10 pound Poms". My uncle's surname was Allan, part of the MacDonald clan. They were staunch Presbyterians.
 
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