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Mateship in Australia


            Early Australian literature has played a significant part in developing several beliefs and values that Australians consider important today. Poetry and ballads written by Banjo Patterson and Henry Lawson focus a great deal on the bush, which is now an iconic Australian trait. Australians believe in mateship and a "fair go." These values originated from convicts and early colonialists who struggled against a harsh and unfamiliar land and often unfair authority. Australia's famous bushranger Ned Kelly protested against the poverty and injustice of a British class system. This weakened the hero's fight for "justice and freedom" and has been embraced as part of the national culture and inspired many books and movies. On the goldfields of the mid-1850s, diggers were portrayed in stories and songs as heroes who embraced democracy. The Eureka Stockade, where Victorian miners struggled with an authoritarian licensing system, came to symbolize a triumph of social equality. Later, during World War I, the courageous ANZAC soldiers who served in Gallipoli gave new meaning to the expression "tough Aussie.".
             Events such as the "Eureka Stockade" and stories of the legendary bushrangers have certainly played a major role in Australia, with nurses and teachers hitting the streets and protesting against the authority. Such events that have been influenced by the past. Australian bushrangers went to extreme lengths to obtain freedom and wealth. "For we scorn to live in slavery, bound down in iron chains." The words of Bold Jack Donahue, a man who robbed the most wealthy, disobeying police along the way, wouldn't settle for anything less then freedom. A key event in developing the Australian democracy was the Eureka Stockade. Miners fought for what they believed was fair, resulting in both death and triumph. This pushed Australians to fight for what they believe in, which today has changed the outcomes of many political and social decisions.


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