The perception of the stereotype Aussie has changed with various generations. Britain's first recognised dinkum Aussie was the convict who had done his time and elected to stay on amongst the kangaroos and kookaburras. He was considered to be an uncouth ruffian who adapted the lingo of the London shums to the prison cells of Botany Bay and the bush. He detested authority, lived in a bark hut with his dogs,drank rum and chewed baccy. The recognized Aussie symbol was an obscenely wealthy digger who retained all the above except the bark hut . The symbol moved on to become a youthful, suntanned boundary rider with a drawl, a big hat and a beer. The swaggie of Waltzing Matilda fame was never seen as the symbol of Australia, but the digger of Gallipoli definitely was. In fact, that's where the world-accepted Australian was born. Australians and the rest of the world saw the stereotype Aussie blur for a moment then, like the chips of a shaken kaleidoscope,...come together to form a pattern which stuck for quite some time. The laconic bronze Anzac vanished and, in its place, boldly appeared the bronzed lifesaver, with his coloured cap tied under his chin and his clear blue eyes, frank and honest. ( It's interesting to note that no ladies had strutted the stage as the archetype Australian.) The rock-jawed, clean-shaven defender of our beaches was accepted warmly by the world. Our cricketers and tennis players, though admired by all, played second fiddle to the lifesaver image of an Aussie. But then he drowned in a surf of amber liquid, and, overnight the beer-gutted, dull-eyed lounge lizard, Norm, took over centre stage --- and I'm not sure he's not still occupying the spotlight. Nor am I able to predict who will replace him as we leave behind another Australia Day and head towards our next celebration of the day which replaced Empire Day. Just before Australia Day, astronaut Andy Thomas flew the Aussie flag at the launch of the Mir muddle. But the astronaut won't be considered an Oz hero, as the world would have thought it was the Brltish flag he waved. Johnny Howard says an English queen isn't relevant to Australia anymore and there is a strong argument for a republic,so you can bet we'll have a new flag before long. An outback dunny with a redback on the seat, a kangaroo steak cooking over a fire of gumIeaves and wattle; anything... so long as it's Aussie. Surely all would agree that Canada's maple leaf flag is far better than Australia and New Zealand's Jack-in-the-corner lookalike model. But becoming a republic will cost a pretty penny, so maybe our symbol will be a flag-draped lawyer clutching, in one hand, his republican papers, with a bag of dollars, representing his fee, in the other. But, whatever it is, we need to do something quickly, because, as the Governor, Sir Jimmy, warns, our exclusive occupation of Australia could be under threat unless our young are well educated with an emphasis on trades and skills. "If we don't use our talents to the utmost, we may be unable to escape the question as to how long a population of only a mere 18 million can continue in exclusive occupation of the vast and rich land," Gov. Gobbo said. He also underlined that we are recognized as one of the world's most succesful multicultural societies. So maybe our future stereotype Aussie won't have round eyes and pink skin. Maybe they'll be natually brown and have eyes that slant towards a pug nose. Unthinkable, do I hear shouted by those among us who still freckle? Well, dear friends, the fashion's already started. The Prime Minister declared Tan Le, a Vietnamese-born student, to be Young Australian of the Year. Whacko! That's one for Pauline to stickup her album. The brlght young Tan was a boat refugee who is articulate, intelligent and studying Commerce and Law at Monash. Tan enrolled, and was accepted, at the uni when only 16. So, you see folks, our investment in Tan has been --and I'm sure will continue to be --paid off! Tan was given the award for, amongst a myriad of other reasons, tireless work in helping the Vietnamese community become part of mainstream Australia. Hooray!! And what is also fascinating is that Tan is a young female. Yes, sir--an Asian jam tart is our Young Oz of the Year. And Tan's mum is mayor of Maribyrnong, after only being in Australia for 16 years, and before that a stall holder in HoChiMin City's market. Things are changing, folks. Next thing you know, we'll have a lady in the lodge and maybe even a female - who may not have been born here-at the helm in Geelong. But, then again, neither was the Queen born here--and we've been ruled by her for ages.

Edited article written for The Geelong Advertiser , January 28th, 1998.