Issue 33
January 2001

Copyright
Prairie Grains Magazine
January 2001

Prairie Ramblings

Arvo mat, grab a tinny and lob into the Mulga

By Tracy Sayler

Slang, said folklorist Carl Sandburg, is language that rolls up its sleeves, spits on its hands and goes to work. We Americans have slang that spikes our vernacular: Cool, nerdy, wasted, whazzup, whatever, moonshine, TGIF, Uncle Sam, y’all and yadda yadda yadda among them. However, no one does slang better than the Australians.

You may have caught televised features on Aussie slang during the Olympics, in between the nail-biting badminton and race walking finals. Some examples in case you missed it:

Arvo = afternoon. Big Bikkies = A lot of money (‘That tractor is worth big bikkies’) Black stump or The Mulga = Any imaginary, very remote place in the outback. Bushie = Person from the countryside. Chockers = Very full (variation on ‘chock-full’) Dunny = Bathroom. Give it a bash = Make an attempt. Jackeroo = Ranch hand. Lolly water = Soft drinks. Lob in = Arrive unexpectedly. Mozzie = Mosquito. Nellie = Wine, especially cheap stuff. Sheila = Female. Stonkered = Drunk. Tinny = Can of beer. Your shout = Your turn to buy a round of tinnies.

Sarah Dawson, author of the book “Aussie Slang” where I found most of these references, writes that Aussies coined and adopted slang with great gusto, no doubt as a means of “cocking a snook” at authority and at social niceties favored by the “mother country” Australia is a commonwealth country that still recognizes the British monarchy as its head of state. Aussie coins to this day carry the image of Queen Elizabeth II. And on the reverse side of their 20-cent coin, an image of a floating platypus.

I had the good fortune of visiting the land Down Under recently, participating in a meeting of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists and an agricultural tour through southeast Australia. Getting there was a long, grueling trip—a total of 22 hours in the air one way, not counting airport layover time. Getting used to the 15-hour time difference was another tall order.

All in all though, a fascinating and educational experience. My schedule didn’t allow any time in Sydney, and I regret not seeing the city’s landmark opera house. On the other hand, just as foreigners will not get the best perspective of America by visiting New York, the sophisticated city life in Sydney is a far cry from the soul of the Australian countryside. I was able to experience a slice of that, from meandering through the Australian version of our American cattle-and-cotton candy state fair to downing a Bundy (Bundaberg rum) at the Conargo Pub, a watering hole in the bush that has been serving dust-covered jackaroos for more than 150 years.

General observations from Down Under
•  Close to 90 percent of Australians are urban dwellers who live on the coasts. “Bush country” would best describe rural towns and farms outside the cities, while “outback” best describes the desert-like, uninhabitable interior.

•  If you think about it, our main source of knowledge about Australia before the Olympics came from the 1980s movie, “Crocodile Dundee.” Thus, it’s not surprising that Australians (like most everyone else in the world) know a great deal more about Americans than we do about them.

•  Generally Australians like and admire Americans, and vice versa. American music, TV, and movies are commonplace.

•  How can you tick off usually laid-back Australians? Tell them they stink at sports, one native told me, or that they’re serious.

•  Voting in Australia is compulsory, and there’s a small fine if you skip the polls. Not surprisingly, voter turnout is over 90%.  I realize that voter turnout across our fruited plain is pathetic, but the contradiction of mandating votes in a free country doesn’t seem right either.

•  The value of their dollar against ours is about 60 cents, so there are good buys to be had down there as a tourist. But on the flip side, it makes their exported goods (like wheat) more competitive.

•  Australian farms receive minimal government support, and certainly much less than in the European Union and in the United States. However, their land and chemical costs are cheaper.

•  You wouldn’t expect to see a lot of vineyards in this arid country, but there are indeed, with production enabled by irrigation and a favorable climate. Australians are big on wine and in fact, Australia has become the fourth-largest shipper of wine to the United States, behind Italy, France, and Chile, according to USA Today.

•  Tipping (service, not cows) isn’t expected there, and it’s something that Australians who travel to the U.S. say they find hard to get used to. 

•  Australians drive on the other side of the road, just like the British.

•  Koalas are becoming rare, but kangaroos run wild down there like deer in Minnesota. Roos are commonly hunted, and a market for roo meat is growing. I did have a roo burger and roo steak down there but in my opinion, beef is still better.

•  Their toilets way outflush ours. Virtually every Australian toilet comes equipped with two buttons: a half-flush button for small jobs, and a turbo-force flush for big jobs. Manufacturers of wimpy American toilets, take notice.

Prairie Grains editor, Tracy Sayler, recently had the opportunity to participate in a meeting of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists and an agricultural tour through southeast Australia.

(The views in this column are those of the author, and not of Prairie Grains or the associations that publish it. The author encourages suggestions and input from readers, which may be emailed to tsayler@prairieagcomm.com)