Convict Creations. Com "You feel free in Australia. There is great relief in the atmosphere - a relief from tension, from pressure, an absence of control of will or form. The skies open above you and the areas open around you" D.H Lawrence- English author "I can personally affirm that to stand before an audience of beaming Australians and make even the mildest quip about a convict past is to feel the air conditioning immediately elevated." Bill Bryson - American author ".. but a special sort of Ocker. He lives out his own values, undeflected by the pretensions of the mighty. I have met plenty of Australians like that and I regard them as the best Australians. I have no doubt there are people like that everywhere and that is the secret of Hogan's universal appeal." Jim McClelland - Australian politician |
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| When people think of great history, they usually think of a great man invading his neighbours and then building monuments to his glory. The closest Australia has to such a history is John Macarthur leading a rebellion to protect his interests in sheep farming. However, compared to Chaka Zulu uniting the tribes of Africa, Napoleon conquering Europe or Qin Shihuang building a terracotta army to protect him in the afterlife, the story of a sheep farmer seems diminutive. Although Australia’s history may not be a great one, for students of psychology, it is an interesting one. It is not a history of certainty, of clear lines separating right from wrong or fact from fiction. Nor is it a history that motivates an audience to put their hand on their hearts in praise. To the contrary, Australia's history is about people. It is a history that shows the peculiarities of people, the contradictions of people. It shows a diverse range of individuals reacting to novel circumstances with humour, malice, compassion, idiocy, insightfulness and most of all, novelty. It is not a history of great power being gained and used gloriously, to the contrary, it is a history of concentrated power being slowly diversified by those who have little power of their own, but want some. Upon the urban history, a novel culture has formed. For all the peculiarities of Australian history, there just isn’t much emotional resonance in putting the old ball and chain on your leg and subsequently walking down the street in tribute to the founding fathers. Likewise, there isn't much pride in laying down in a seductive pose in tribute to the founding mothers. With Australian history failing to provide the morality tale or powerful monuments to unite people in praise, each generation of Australians have struggled to work out methods to selectively access the past or disconnect themselves from it completely. It is fair to say that Australia is not a unified country and never has been. As a site dealing with the conflict of power, stereotypes, and identity, as well as the history used to justify them, Convict Creations is not a site for everyone. Any topic of contention will always elicit negative views from those who want the "truths" to be those "truths" that are favourable to them. However, for people who want to think, or who want nuances instead of political dichotomies, the site will have ideas and perspectives that not only reveal things about Australia, but about humanity itself. |
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