Compare The Ideas And Texts That Reflect A Diverse Australian Voice

“But no matter how far or wide I roam, I still call Australia home.” Peter Allen. 24 million of us call Australia home. As we are gathered here in Sydney, our stories, voices, backgrounds and traits have bought us here today to be able to freely speak and acknowledge that each one of us share a special part in representing the diverse Australian voice. The diverse Australian voice is not typically depicted in iconic Australian text. If we were to base Australia’s modern identity off these ideas of the beautiful, romanticised outback, and Chris Hemsworth-like bush rangers, it would be a hugely inaccurate reflection of who we truly are. So what ideas and text would reflect a diverse Australian voice? Henry Lawson and Les Murray are authors whose
Much like many hardworking Australians, Henry Lawson failed to make it happen in the city, so he took a journey inland. This journey inland is a reflection of most of Henry Lawsons work, depicting the hard life of the country. Giving a different, realistic perspective to the usual laid-back image of the country lifestyle. ‘The Drover’s Wife’ written by Henry Lawson shows a hard-working mother willing to do anything for the protection of her kids, whilst her husband goes droving. Staying up at night to look out for a snake, fighting bushfires, dangerous men and trying to fight farm illnesses. Whilst it’s most likely nothing out of the ordinary normal Australian mothers wouldn’t do for their kids, it’s the representation of a minority not usually shown in Australian texts. The text reflects the Australian voice through showing that women across Australia, even the girls and ladies in this room! Are a part of the Australian voice. I included this text as it adds more diversity and depth to the Australian voice, by acknowledging that women can also be figures of strength and embodiments of the Australian spirit that includes bravery, hard work and
I definitely wouldn’t, maybe there’s something about showing your weaknesses to strangers or the fear of being judged. Les Murray is the composer of ‘An Absolutely Ordinary Rainbow’. He enjoyed hitch-hiking around Australia (something I do not recommend many people to do) and in the poem we see a new perspective on Australian voices, which may have been influenced through his travels. In the poem, there is a weeping man who freely cries. The weeping man is used to represent a rainbow, a rare occurrence. This symbolism is used to shape a contrasted perspective of Australian culture that isn’t normally depicted in iconic Australian Poems. The idea of the rare ‘rainbow’ shows that there is more to Australia than strong, free, bush rangers or the beautiful bush. The author doesn’t show the crying as a weakness or rarity, just admiration for a person who freely cries. Which is why the poem is named, ‘An Absolutely Ordinary Rainbow’ the author insists that this is a normality. Showing that the Australian voice is much more 3 dimensional, for the man to be able to weep with dignity and faith, whilst also bearing himself bare to the public. It’s within this that we see the Australian Voice is made up of many unique individuals, with each to their own personalities and traits. I wanted to present this poem to this audience today to be able tell you that the ‘Australian Voice’ has no set criteria or one idea behind it. It