Essay/Term paper: Australian life

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Social Issues

Australian Life

Life in the Bush

The Australian life style was portrayed as one of the bushman although it
was not . The life of a typical Australian was really the city life . The
bushman was one with no classes and he treated every person as equal . A middle
class person was the same as a working class man . The bushman was a very trust
worthy and helpful character he would help a stranger as if it was his friend
and if that friend needed anything he would be glade to ofer him every thing he
has .

The bushman lead gypsy like lifestyle with the constant moving and roaming
round the country side . They would often walk or ride horse back from place to
place with their tent and billy and camp out over night when they had no where
to stay . The bushman where very much like aborigines they tracked and did not
need a compass or a map they knew plants and trees . They called this bushcraft .
A bushman would cook , clean , wash his cloths and patch his pants this made
them very independent . If a bushman was ordered or commanded he would say " Are
you talking to me or the dog ? " they treated everyone equal and wanted to be
treated equal .

They dressed in tweeds , flannel tops , with blue jumpers in the cold and
yellow oilskin jackets in the rain . They wore hard wearing blucher boots and
broad felt hats . The bushman would often have a drinkdown the pub . They often
told stories to each other as their past time . The bushmans homes were made
from slabs of bark , green hide . The houses were simple and didn't always show
advantage . Nor dose it have to , the bushman's home (bellow) is there to
shelter him .

In the 1880's writers and painters portrayed the bush life as better then
the city life . This bought on the image that all Australians lived in the bush
.

City Life

The city life of Australia was not recognized as much as the bush life
although most of the population of Australia were present in the cities . The
cities in the mid 1880's were walking cities only the few wealthy were able to
afford the private horse-drawn transport . The wealthy with their transport were
therefore able to live out side of the city center . The working class worked
and played short distances away from home . In the 1870's the population began
to spread as factories and offices moved into the suburbs . The bringing of
people out into the suburbs was also because of the advent of cheaper , faster
transport by way of horse drawn trams . In the 1880's steam and cable trams (
Above ) joined the cities to the suburbs .

Skilled workers could earn upto 8£ and laborers at least earned £2/10/.
Cost of living was reasonable with bread 4½d. for a pound of loaf : milk was 4d.
a quart and meet about 5d. a pound . Middle class and wealthy people were able
to afford a Newfangled phone . In 1860's land could be bought for 200£ the land
price jumped in the 1870 to 2000£ the land continued to double every decade .
The average rent was 50£in 1880 and in 1890 70£ .

With the sorting of work hours a boom began in leisure began . Roller
skating and cyclorama were popular past times . Horse racing , cricket and
football were popular sporting activities this boom made football ( Australian
Rules ) a very popular and recognized sport .

The chart ( below ) shows the rapid growth of Melbourne . Melbourne enjoyed
it's successes from the gold rush era and also the boom . Melbourne was more
recognized and well know then Sydney and had a European feel about it which
attracted people to it .