Discussion Paper: Perspectives on Australian Identity & Mateship

This essay critically examines Australian identity, focusing on the concept of 'mateship' through personal experiences and observations in Australia, contrasting it with cultural norms in China. It reflects on the author's encounters with Australian amiability, inclusivity towards disabled individuals, and the unique driver-passenger relationships. The essay contrasts these experiences with the author's home country, China, highlighting differences in social attitudes, treatment of disabled individuals, and the presence or absence of 'mateship'. It also discusses the broader understanding of mateship within Australian culture, its historical roots, and its significance as a core national identity, while comparing and contrasting the culture of mateship in Australia to that of China, with a call for promoting the culture of mateship in China.

Running head: AUSTRALIAN STUDIES
AUSTRALIAN STUDIES
Name of student:
Name of university:
Author note:

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Mateship in Australia
Based on some calculation it has been found that Australians trace their lineage from
more than 200 countries and they are found to be speaking in more than 300 languages.
Australians belong to more than 100 different religious groups. This makes it a challenge to
define an Australian. However, when someone is making an effort to define a prototypical
Australian people are engaging in defining the typical Australian mateship as one of the most
important aspects. Mateship has been strongly embedded in the Australian identities. It has
found that Australians have the tendency to treat strangers with bonhomie and thereby
building up a strong relationship with the people (Watson 2005). In Australian if you walk
down the street especially in Perth people exhibit their warm attitude by greeting
goodmorning to the strangers, although the person may not know. This demonstrates that
Australian have an amiable nature. In Australia, transportation facilities are top notch and the
train services are quite good. The train always arrives on time, therefore underlining the
aspect of punctuality that is key to Australia. The train would arrive on the right time without
any delay during the normal situations. All the trains in Australia are equipped with the
wheelchair position (Minter 2012). This indicates that the society in Australia is concerned
about the disable individuals and makes an effort to challenge the able-bodied orientation of
the society. The buses that have been introduced by the Australian government is
environment friendly and this is something that I appreciate about the present government.
People who are dependent on the wheelchair find it convenient to access the bus. This is
because all the new buses in addition to being environment friendly also have the lift system
that makes it easier for the disabled people to access the bus. In this light, it can be stated that
Australia has disabled friendly environment where the disabled people are accommodated
within the society through inclusive ant able-bodied policies. The mateship in Australia is
strongly is connected to all person on board the bus not just between the drivers and the

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passengers. The mateship ensures that all the persons are on boarding the bus and not just
between the driver and the passenger. I have observed something unique about the millenials
in Australia. In the bus or any other public transport, whenever they would encounter any
elderly person they would leave their seat and stand up. Before coming to Australia, I had no
idea that the driver and passenger could be so friendly to each other, considering the
hierarchical dimension in their relationship (Li 2011). The driver and passenger relationship
is premised on class and occupational stratification. Therefore, to witness such change in
behaviour made me realize that there is hope in the world. Contrary to the conventional
image of Australia as a racist country, I realized that the media sensationalism could be quite
brutal in tarnishing the image of a nation based on certain isolated incidents. I have constantly
compared this driver-passenger relationship in Australia to that of my home country, China. I
have immense respect for my country and the glorious history it has weaved over the years,
however there are certain aspects of my country that makes uncomfortable (Migrants Need to
Learn Mateship 2012). The driver-passenger relationship is certainly one of them. In China,
the passengers maintain a snooty attitude and prefer to keep away from the drivers. This
highlights the class-stratified relationship of the driver and the passenger where the driver is
deemed to be someone who is subordinate and engaged in the menial task. On the other hand,
the passenger functions with a sense of ownership and authority and therefore, looks down
upon the driver. On the aspect of disability in China, I read in the newspaper that 95 per cent
of the orphans in China are in need of special needs. Similarly, the cities in China are not well
–equipped to cater to the needs of the teeming disabled population (Bretherton 2012). This
can be attributed to the lack of proper infrastructure, governmental institutions, and the
transportation system that reeks of an able-bodied environment. Unlike, Australia where the
disabled people are treated with respect and dignity, I am quite crestfallen looking at the
plight of the disabled community in China. Some entrepreneurs in China are exploiting the

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exploiting the helplessness and misery of the disabled people by introducing shows such as
China Disabled People’s Performing Art Troupe or The Kingdom of the Little People. This
kind of ruthless marketing strategy I feel is a modern day slavery and I strongly oppose such
endeavours. Another problem that I have observed in china is that the drivers would not treat
the disabled passengers with due respect. However, this is not the situation in Australia where
the disabled community is treated with dignity and respect. Therefore, it can be stated that
there is no mateship in my home country. People will greet each other or wave to each other
if they know each other. Strangers do not share bonhomie with each other unlike the culture
in Australia.
Critical discussion of mateship
American culture is influenced by the ethos of individualism that has informed the
long history of America (Guo 2002). However, at the same time mateship played an
important role in Australian culture. Drawing from the arguments made in the first section, it
is difficult to define an average Australian. Every individual is different despite from their
shared nationality and citizenship, and Australians are no exception to it. However, in case
people are interested to define the nature of Australian mateship, it is quite possible. Mateship
is considered as one of the important attributes of the Australian society. Mateship is
embedded in the Australian culture and would continue to remain a strong part of the strong
part of the Australian culture. Mateship is unique to the Australian tradition and it can traced
to the Aboriginal Australian Tradition that has become the foundation of the Australian
identity during the movements at the end of the 19th century (Guo 2002). According to
Watson (2005) the essence of real mateship is not compatible with modern Australia. If
someone wants to kill mateship then it would be a cliché. Mateship is considered as one of
the most important values in Australia. However, this value was limited to the men in
Australia. Mateship may be applied to the relationships between the miners or shearers during

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the lock-out or strike. Another argument regarding mateship emerged from Bernard Salt
(2002). He was of the opinion that mates are great but it is not just Aussies who support the
mateship culture. However, I would beg to differ with such an understanding. Based on my
visit to different countries as part of student exchange program and drawing from my
experience in my home country, I would assert that the mateship culture is unique to
Australia. Australians maintain an amiable relationship with each other, it is reflected in their
democracy and at the same time in their national independence. The essence of the term lies
in a young helping another person without expecting anything in return. Mateship is
connected with the diggers in Australia in World War I. Mateship is an integral part of the
Australian culture and identity. John Howard, the former Prime Minister wanted to
incorporate mateship into the preamble of the constitution in 1999 (Burin 2015). He argued
that mateship is a unique Australian concept for everyone to assemble irrespective of their
differences. Westpac conducted a survey on one thousand participants and inquired about the
core national identity of the Australians. The survey revealed that 15 per cent of the
Australians attributed mateship to the be the core of the national identity (Burin 2015).
Compare and contrast
In the previous sections, I have elaborately discussed about the culture of mateship in
Australia. Now I would compare and contrast the mateship culture in Australia to that of my
home country. Recently, when I was walking the Black Pearl Lane in Perth, a tragedy
unfolded before eyes-the car in front of me hit an elderly citizen. Initially I was too numb to
react, however quickly I mustered my courage and went ahead to help the person. Another
man who was standing across the street also came forward to help the person. A car that was
passing by stopped and enquired whether we would require any help in taking the elderly
person to the hospital. Another woman who was walking by along with her dog also stopped
on the way to enquire whether we would require any help. The elderly person expressed his

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gratitude top each of us after he was taken to the hospital. This made extremely proud about
the mateship culture in Australia, the reason for which people in Australia extend their help to
the strangers and at the same time feel that it is their moral duty to help people in need
irrespective of their identity. However, if I have to juxtapose this experience with my home
country, the picture would be completely different. I remember news that cause sensation in
the country. In Nanjing, three buses stopped at the station at the same time (Minter 2012). An
elderly person whilst walking to the third bus fell down and a young man came forward to
help the elderly person. The senior person was sent to the hospital, however nobody cam
forward to help the senior citizen. Once the senior citizen was brought to the hospital, the
senior citizen demanded from medical compensation from the young person saying that he
was the one who have hit him. The young man was left with no other choice but to bear the
entire compensation of 40 thousands. Although, the story have ended there but it has made
me realize that I would think twice before helping someone. This is because if I go to help
someone I might be asked to pay the compensation, which I feel, is unfair. Another incident
that shook the people in China was the death of a young girl due to road accident. It was only
after the intervention of the street cleaner that the young girl was sent to the hospital.
Learning about the Australian identity made me realize that Chinese people would rather
keep silent if injustice happens before them calculating the impact of the incident. On the
contrary, the Australian citizens would stand up for each other. I strongly feel the culture of
mateship needs to promoted in China so that there is no death due to road accidents. People
need to develop the culture of helping each other.

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References
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