As many of you will know, we saw OISE Oxford Principal David Newton off recently before he and his family emigrate to Australia. While munching a second slice of the delicious cake and wondering whether there should have been a comma between the 'Good Luck' and the 'David', I began musing to myself as to what kind of country he's off to, and how things have changed since I used to reside in the Lucky Country. Of course, David is going to Sydney and I'm a Melbourne man. I'm not sure that that old rivalry still exists in the 21st century, but in any event I'm confining my remarks chiefly to Melbourne as that's the bit I know best.
There's no doubt vast changes have taken place. I recall watching a test match (that's cricket for you non-Brits) at the MCG (that's the Melbourne Cricket Ground) a few years ago, and thinking perhaps there hadn't been too many changes: a sea of white faces packed the ground and there was plenty of light-hearted Pommie/Aussie banter amongst the fans. You could say it was pretty much an Anglo-Saxon event. But step outside the ground and get on one of Melbourne's excellent trams and you realise that times have really moved on. I did precisely this a few years ago during the Boxing Day Ashes match (that's England v Australia), and found my tram was full of Vietnamese and Chinese immigrants who probably knew as much about cricket as they did about Yorkshire Pudding.
That's a big change. When I worked in Australia in the 1960s it was true that there were plenty of 'New Australians', but the White Australia policy still ruled and these new Aussies were from places like Greece, Italy and Yugoslavia. In fact it was said that Melbourne had the biggest Greek community of any city outside Athens. But in general Australia had the feeling of being a bit of the UK in the sun; people of my parents' generation called England (or Scotland) 'home', studied Shakespeare and learned French as their first foreign language. The fact that they were on Asia's doorstep was largely ignored. They would have been surprised indeed to think that one day Australia would be contemplating becoming a republic.
I would say that the other big change is a tremendous growth in self-confidence. When I said in the 1960s that I had a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics I was met with general derision. "Only teachers and public servants have arts degrees, mate" I was told " Australia wants only useful people like engineers and plumbers who can build the country." In fact I was often met with downright hostility which appeared to come from some sort of inferiority complex. This seems to have completely gone: now Australians seem to be much more at one with themselves. This makes them far more welcoming and proud of their country. And well they should be. Melbourne, once the home of the '6 o'clock swill' and men only beer-drinking pubs, now boasts a bewildering array of eating places and entertainments with food from all over the world. It's clean and modern too.
Oh yes, it's got great beaches and surf too. That hasn't changed.
So if you're thinking of a holiday in the sun, that's the place to go.
