AUSTRALIA DAY
When I was a kid I was fascinated by some of the bits and pieces of memorabilia my father had retained following his WWII service in the Pacific. Most intriguing of all was a booklet, POCKET GUIDE TO AUSTRALIA, provided to U.S. forces by the War and Navy Departments. Here are some excerpts.
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD
You and your outfit have been ordered to Australia as a part of the world-wide offensive against Hitler and the Japs – a drive that will end in Tokyo and Berlin.
You're going to meet a people who like Americans and whom you will like. The Australians have much in common with us – they're a pioneer people; they believe in personal freedom; they love sports; and they're out to lick the Axis all the way.
Since American troops first landed in Australia, the Australians have gone out of their way to welcome them and make them feel at home. Australian newspapers have used up newsprint (and it's scarce) to print baseball scores and major league standing and home town news – and even American cooking recipes for housewives. The Government has made American money legal tender in the country and set up special exchange rates for American soldiers. And Australian audiences, at theatres and concerts, honor our national anthem by rising when the Star Spangle Banner is played.
No people on earth could have given us a better, warmer welcome and we'll have to live up to it.
The Australians need our help in winning this war, of course, but we need theirs just as much. You might remember this story when you get into an argument about "who's going to win the war": Not so long ago in a Sydney bar, an American soldier turned to an Australian next to him and said: "Well, Aussie, you can go home now. We've come to save you." The Aussie cracked back "Have you? I thought you were a refugee from Pearl Harbor."
THE PEOPLE DOWN UNDER
Except for the 70,000 or so primitive "Abos" who roam the waste lands. the Australians are nearly 100 percent Anglo-Saxon stock – English, Irish, Scotch and Welsh who through courage and ingenuity made a living and built a nation out of a harsh empty land. They built great cities. organized a progressive democracy and established a sound economic system, for all of which they're justly proud.
And they're proud too of their British heritage and to be a member of the British Commonwealth – but they still like to run their own business and they take great pride in their independence. They resent being called a colony and think of themselves as a great nation on their own hook, which they are. And it's natural that they should find themselves drawn closer to Americans because of the many things we have in common. They look at the swift development that has made the United States a great power in a few generations, and compare our growth with theirs. Nearly 40 years ago, an Australian statesman said of the United States: "What we are, you were. What you are we will some day be." And just a short time ago Australian War Minister Francis Forde said: "We feel that our fate and that of Americas are indissolubly linked. We know that our destinies go hand in hand and that we rise and fall together. And we are proud and confident in that association."
You'll find the Australians an outdoors kind of people, breezy and very democratic. They haven't much respect for stuffed shirts, their own or anyone else's. They're a generation closer to their pioneer ancestors than we are to ours, so it's natural that they should have a lively sense of independence and "rugged individualism." But they have, too, a strong sense of cooperation. The worst thing an Australian can say about anyone is: "He lets his cobbers (pals) down." A man can be a "dag" (a cutup) or "rough as bags" (a tough guy), but if he sticks with the mob he's all right.
Of course, the best thing any Australian can say about you is that you're a "bloody fine barstud."
You'll find that the digger is a rapid, sharp and unsparing kidder, able to hold his own with Americans or anyone else. He doesn't miss a chance to spar back and forth and enjoys it all the more if the competition is tough.
Being simple, direct, and tough, especially if he comes from "outback," the Digger is often confused and non-plussed by the "manners"of Americans in mixed company or even in camp. To him those many "bloody thank you's" and "pleases" Americans use are a bit sissified. But on the other side of the fence, if you ask an Australian for an address in a city you happen to be, he won't just tell you. He'll walk eight blocks or more to show you.
The guide has this inside its front cover: "For use of Military Personnel only. Not to be republished, in whole or in part, without the consent of the War Department." I hope I don't get in any trouble.
One final thing, political correctness is not a recent innovation: the 1940s booklet makes no mention of Australia's days as a penal colony and does not contain the word "convict".
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD
You and your outfit have been ordered to Australia as a part of the world-wide offensive against Hitler and the Japs – a drive that will end in Tokyo and Berlin.
You're going to meet a people who like Americans and whom you will like. The Australians have much in common with us – they're a pioneer people; they believe in personal freedom; they love sports; and they're out to lick the Axis all the way.
Since American troops first landed in Australia, the Australians have gone out of their way to welcome them and make them feel at home. Australian newspapers have used up newsprint (and it's scarce) to print baseball scores and major league standing and home town news – and even American cooking recipes for housewives. The Government has made American money legal tender in the country and set up special exchange rates for American soldiers. And Australian audiences, at theatres and concerts, honor our national anthem by rising when the Star Spangle Banner is played.
No people on earth could have given us a better, warmer welcome and we'll have to live up to it.
The Australians need our help in winning this war, of course, but we need theirs just as much. You might remember this story when you get into an argument about "who's going to win the war": Not so long ago in a Sydney bar, an American soldier turned to an Australian next to him and said: "Well, Aussie, you can go home now. We've come to save you." The Aussie cracked back "Have you? I thought you were a refugee from Pearl Harbor."
THE PEOPLE DOWN UNDER
Except for the 70,000 or so primitive "Abos" who roam the waste lands. the Australians are nearly 100 percent Anglo-Saxon stock – English, Irish, Scotch and Welsh who through courage and ingenuity made a living and built a nation out of a harsh empty land. They built great cities. organized a progressive democracy and established a sound economic system, for all of which they're justly proud.
And they're proud too of their British heritage and to be a member of the British Commonwealth – but they still like to run their own business and they take great pride in their independence. They resent being called a colony and think of themselves as a great nation on their own hook, which they are. And it's natural that they should find themselves drawn closer to Americans because of the many things we have in common. They look at the swift development that has made the United States a great power in a few generations, and compare our growth with theirs. Nearly 40 years ago, an Australian statesman said of the United States: "What we are, you were. What you are we will some day be." And just a short time ago Australian War Minister Francis Forde said: "We feel that our fate and that of Americas are indissolubly linked. We know that our destinies go hand in hand and that we rise and fall together. And we are proud and confident in that association."
You'll find the Australians an outdoors kind of people, breezy and very democratic. They haven't much respect for stuffed shirts, their own or anyone else's. They're a generation closer to their pioneer ancestors than we are to ours, so it's natural that they should have a lively sense of independence and "rugged individualism." But they have, too, a strong sense of cooperation. The worst thing an Australian can say about anyone is: "He lets his cobbers (pals) down." A man can be a "dag" (a cutup) or "rough as bags" (a tough guy), but if he sticks with the mob he's all right.
Of course, the best thing any Australian can say about you is that you're a "bloody fine barstud."
You'll find that the digger is a rapid, sharp and unsparing kidder, able to hold his own with Americans or anyone else. He doesn't miss a chance to spar back and forth and enjoys it all the more if the competition is tough.
Being simple, direct, and tough, especially if he comes from "outback," the Digger is often confused and non-plussed by the "manners"of Americans in mixed company or even in camp. To him those many "bloody thank you's" and "pleases" Americans use are a bit sissified. But on the other side of the fence, if you ask an Australian for an address in a city you happen to be, he won't just tell you. He'll walk eight blocks or more to show you.
The guide has this inside its front cover: "For use of Military Personnel only. Not to be republished, in whole or in part, without the consent of the War Department." I hope I don't get in any trouble.
One final thing, political correctness is not a recent innovation: the 1940s booklet makes no mention of Australia's days as a penal colony and does not contain the word "convict".
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