Ode to the Aussie (Oi, Oi, Oi!) 1/3
By Gisele Weishan | Magazine | March 13, 2023
Cover Illustration: Gordon’s Bay – Sydney. Gisele Weishan/The Amsterdammer
In part one of her series, Magazine writer Gisele Weishan introduces a virtual trip to Australia – a country with a rich history, beautiful sceneries and interesting cultures.
I was never an especially patriotic person. To be honest, despite now being able to recognise Australia as an absolutely incredible country to live in, with such lovely perks as universal healthcare and outstanding minimum wage, I grew up mostly just counting down the days until I could save up enough to go study abroad in Europe.
Whilst I was undoubtedly grateful to grow up in such an abundant country, it was not until my gap year when COVID dashed my hopes for European studies and kept me working and travelling around Australia, that I really began to appreciate its beauty and see it through the eyes of the international travellers I was living in hostels with. Travellers from South America, Canada, Asia and even Europe, who were taking up hard rural farm work they had no experience in – just to secure visas. Some who hadn’t seen their families in three years, scared they wouldn’t be able to get back into the county if they left.
It seems like an extremely obnoxious thought now–but at the time, it genuinely struck me, perhaps for the first time, that if these people were all working so hard to stay in a place I had so vehemently been committed to leaving behind, there must surely be something pretty wondrous about this country of mine. On my travels, I lived in some beautiful places. These have forever imprinted me with a buoyant sense of Aussie pride, but by no means come close to encapsulating all of Australia’s vivid biodiversity and rich character. Perhaps, for now though, they provide the makings for a very small part of a much larger travel guide.
Disclaimer: HOWEVER, I will put this in the opening, because it is indeed a very sad fact that I feel is important to get out of the way now before we continue. It is the answer to the question I have been asked the most in the past few months since moving, right next to “Why did you leave Australia for Amsterdam?” Ladies and gentlemen, I sincerely regret to inform you that Australians, unfortunately, do not ride kangaroos to school. With that solemn fact established and mourned for, welcome to Australia!
A Brief Introduction: History & Welcome to Country
Based on the questions I have received, it seems like few know about aboriginal culture or that it speaks for a people still very much present in Australia today. Aboriginal culture is integral to the country’s founding. Thus, before exploring the places within this wondrous landscape, it is important to acknowledge those under whose sovereignty it remains.
The indigenous Australian community has a rich history, far beyond the British colonisation of the continent initially established as a penal colony. It is important to remember that whilst Australia is a relatively new country insofar as these colonial roots, its indigenous ancestry extends much farther. This history has been marked by the atrocities committed against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, with Australia being founded on their genocide and dispossession by the British. These colonial structures and policies, which resonate still to this day, make for the ongoing struggles of First Nations people in many respects. Much is left to be done in the way of justice, and slow progress has been made to acknowledge some of these injustices. Many events and gatherings in Australia now open with a Welcome to Country address, which goes something like this: “We acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which we meet and pay our respects to Indigenous Elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty has never been ceded. It always was and always will be, Aboriginal land.”
Sydney
The Gadigal people of the Eora Nation are recognised as the traditional custodians of the place now called Sydney.
Hometowns are a tricky thing–it is there that we experience so many of our most visceral firsts when we are still young enough to have the full bandwidth of our emotions not yet tied by greater experience and wisdom. Not to say that I have fully gained that now, but maybe because of this, we also imprint and imbue upon them both the best and the worst of us. Our most raw and feeling selves. In other words, it is sometimes hard to be objective about such places, for better or worse. Still, this is as best an attempt as any.
Often confused as Australia’s capital, the city of Sydney does not, in fact, house the country’s parliament building. It is arguably one of the cities with the largest tourist appeal, with notable attractions including the Harbour Bridge, the Opera House and Bondi Beach. However, by any stretch, Sydney cannot be counted as a bustling city, and I would argue (as someone who grew up there) that if visiting Australia, you do not actually need to spend much time here. Unless your travel goals are focused more on relaxing metropolitan experiences than a packed itinerary, with a couple of sandy beaches thrown in for good measure.
I have heard many people express a fear of sharks as a solid deterrent to ever getting into Australian waters. Having also watched the Jaws thriller when I was little, I can relate. I can happily inform you that these incidents are in fact extremely rare. The closest I have come to any such creature in the surf was catching sunset waves amongst a pod of dolphins, which was more mesmerising than something to queue the infamous movie soundtrack for. Besides, the country’s beauty is enough to break down even the strongest resolve, and there is really only so long you can hold out before dipping your toes into such beautiful water. Once you do, Australia has a large and welcoming water sports community waiting, from paddle boarding to open water swimming, and most notably surfing.
Other Sydney activities for your itinerary may include riding the ferry around Sydney Harbour, watching the sunset over the Harbour Bridge from Green Point Reserve, and if in search of a night out on the town, an evening on the streets of Newtown strolling through cool bars and op-shops can prove to be quite a lively atmosphere. Overall, Sydney is the place to be if you want to live more of an active lifestyle outdoors – a balance between a metropolitan area mostly in the way of its employment district and beautiful beaches to spend your weekends, where athleisure wear and fitness culture abound in every area of life in between.
Gisele Weishan is a university student in Amsterdam. The views expressed here are not necessarily those of The Amsterdammer.
