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thousands settled into day-to-day
life and the personality of the nation
began to emerge.
Other resources soon were dis–
covered and developed. Vital indus–
t r ial and strategic minerals, oil,
new agricultura! products and opals
soon became commodities exported
throughout the world.
During these developmental
years, Australian government was
established by creating five
separate states- all this in a
territory about the size of
the continental United
States. But the vast interior
deserts of Australia prohib–
ited the same popu lation
growth the United States
would experience.
In the latter part of t he
19th century nat ive-born
Australians began to out–
number immigrants. Yet,
even though the more than
15,000,000 people who in–
habit Australia today live
mostly in coastal cities, the
rugged individualism of
strong men and women who
carved out a nation still
exists.
Unlike the United States
where a great diversity of
peoples can be identified by
differing geographical re–
Australia in tbree views: stockpiling iron ore for the
domestic market and for export to Japan; a burgeoning
cultural and commercial metropolis rises astride Sydney
Harbour- tbe Opera House
in
foreground, Nortb
Sydney opposite; tbe robot enters agriculture-at least
in an experimental stage!
gions, the Australian does not
appear to be Eastern, Western or
Southern. In America one could
not mistake the Boston accent, the
deep Southern drawl or the Mid–
western twang. In Britain, one can
easi ly spot, among others, the Loo–
don Cockney cab driver, the Scot–
tish brogue or the [rish lilt.
But there seems to be one Aus–
tralian. Whether from Sydney or
Perth, Hobart or Darwin, this har–
dy brand of Westerner seems to
somehow fit in his national commu–
nity.
Somehow most of the rest of the
world bolds this type of individu–
alism in regard.
Yet ...
The Penalties of Modernism
The majestic sights of Austral ia
such as the harbor at Sydney, the
backdrop of Mount Wellington at
Hobart , the wine region of South–
ern Austral ia, the majestic coast–
line of Victoria, the charm and
July/ August 1985
cleanliness of Perth and the under–
water wonders of the G reat Barrier
Reef lead one to hope t hat the dif–
f iculties and sins of t he world
might somehow have passed by this
land down under.
But such is not the case. The
roadways are clogged with rush
hour traffic at the end of the work–
day. The roar of jet engines con–
ceros residents near busy ai rports.
Smog colors the air in industrial–
ized sections. The crime rate is
about the same as any major West–
ern country.
Shoppers scurry through gleam–
ing department stores. The national
economy rises and falls, producing
periods of unemployment for too
many thousands. There are evi–
dences of corruption and scandal in
government.
Austral ia's problems are so
much like the rest of the Western
world that the London
Daily M ai1
titled a special featu re on Austral ia
" The Continent of Crime- It 's
turned the land of milk and honey
into a jungle society."
The once touted pioneering
image of masculine toughness is
giving way to a new image. Sydney
is thought to have the largest
homosexual population of any
Pacific city except San Francisco.
The d readed and incurable dis–
ease AJOS has arrived in Australia,
threatening the health and lives of
hundreds.
And then there is the escalating
drug problem. National election
campaigns were in full swing while 1
was in Australia. I heard Prime Min–
is ter Bob Hawke break down in tears
on television as he discussed the dis–
covery that his married daughter and
her husband were both heroin
addicts. My wife and I couldn't help
but cry with him.
Daily Mai/
reporter Brian James
quoted leading Australian church
figure Ted Noffs talking abou t one
part icular group of teenagers:
37