The Bush as a construct - Australia the "lucky country" - "worker's paradise", but the enduring image of the man in the bush is not a happy landowner but wandering swaggies, or those down on their luck.
The bush a place you can retreat to with your demons, and move on when you need to.
The country type as an image of the Australian.
The Mallee as the bush non-pariel - what to make of it - the quest to turn it into wilderness, but what does that mean if Aboriginals have been working the country for years - what is the primeval state - would any attempt at a wilderness park have Aboriginals in it living a traditional life?
Meanwhile in Morocco intrigue and death, with the French taking over by using the inherent unstable politics of Morocco to their advantage.
The Glaoua playing both sides off on each other - a fantastic 1001 nights tale, that happened in the 20th century.
The Bush p. 190 "The bush we know would not exist if we had not cut it down."
Books read: The Bush by Don Watson, Lords of the Atlas by Gavin Maxwell
Showing posts with label Lords of the Atlas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lords of the Atlas. Show all posts
Thursday, 28 January 2016
Wednesday, 27 January 2016
January 18 2016
The Bush - What is the bush? The noble figures written about by Paterson, Lawson etc. are they real? Perhaps, but so are the scoundrels.
The practical nature of bushies means neglecting the other parts of life - arts, invention etc.
The idea of "good enough" - evidenced at almost every farm you pass - the suspicion generated by a farm that is ship-shape & Bristol fashion.
Men and Women - egalitarian, not the individualism of the USA, but not socialism either, although togetherness - is that because the USA land was easy enough to manage? Probably not.
Women - I hope he writes about them more - written off as whores or breeders, but possibly begins to hit the nail on the head with the description of Drysdale's Drover's Wife. In my experience, it's always the women who run the show, they are the stronger of the sexes in old Australia.
Points out that mateship is a take on Victorian values - hard work, thrift etc. too - the bush behind the times.
Maxwell's book a classic tragedy with an exotic twist - burying slaves alive to trick people...power is all, human life nothing.
Books read: The Bush by Don Watson, Lords of the Atlas by Gavin Maxwell
The practical nature of bushies means neglecting the other parts of life - arts, invention etc.
The idea of "good enough" - evidenced at almost every farm you pass - the suspicion generated by a farm that is ship-shape & Bristol fashion.
Men and Women - egalitarian, not the individualism of the USA, but not socialism either, although togetherness - is that because the USA land was easy enough to manage? Probably not.
Women - I hope he writes about them more - written off as whores or breeders, but possibly begins to hit the nail on the head with the description of Drysdale's Drover's Wife. In my experience, it's always the women who run the show, they are the stronger of the sexes in old Australia.
Points out that mateship is a take on Victorian values - hard work, thrift etc. too - the bush behind the times.
Maxwell's book a classic tragedy with an exotic twist - burying slaves alive to trick people...power is all, human life nothing.
Books read: The Bush by Don Watson, Lords of the Atlas by Gavin Maxwell
Monday, 25 January 2016
January 17 2016
The Bush - the ultimate question - what is the bush? How to use the same term to refer to Qld rainforest, SA desert & Western District grazing land? - brings the question of what is Australia? - does someone in Fitzroy live in the same Australia as someone in Townsville? or Sea Lake? What does keep us together? Did anything in the past? ANZAC might have worked for a time but loses resonance with post WWII migration?
The destruction of the countryside - in a way unintentional, but no less complete for that, and the speed in which it happened - two generations to clear a continent.
Lords of the Atlas - great tale of adventure & tyrants in Morocco - happening at the same time as Watson's story - much is made of humans being the same the world over, but once culture comes into it that's where the difference lies.
The natural beauty of Morocco must be something to see.
The Bush The mystery of how explorers claimed the land as unused even when fighting off Aborigines. The management of the land by Aborigines - changed the environment - Edward Curr doubted if "any section of the human race has exercised a greater influence on the physical condition of any large portion of the globe than the wandering savages of Australia."
Took the Aborigines hundreds if not thousands of years to change the landscape - white men did it in 50.
Books read: The Bush by Don Watson, Lords of the Atlas by Gavin Maxwell
The destruction of the countryside - in a way unintentional, but no less complete for that, and the speed in which it happened - two generations to clear a continent.
Lords of the Atlas - great tale of adventure & tyrants in Morocco - happening at the same time as Watson's story - much is made of humans being the same the world over, but once culture comes into it that's where the difference lies.
The natural beauty of Morocco must be something to see.
The Bush The mystery of how explorers claimed the land as unused even when fighting off Aborigines. The management of the land by Aborigines - changed the environment - Edward Curr doubted if "any section of the human race has exercised a greater influence on the physical condition of any large portion of the globe than the wandering savages of Australia."
Took the Aborigines hundreds if not thousands of years to change the landscape - white men did it in 50.
Books read: The Bush by Don Watson, Lords of the Atlas by Gavin Maxwell
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