Last International Trip of 2019: Australia

I turn 30 this year. It is a little hard to believe. I do not feel like I am 30, but in just a few short weeks, like it or not, I will bid adieu to my 20s. A few months ago, Alison asked me what I wanted to do for my 30th birthday. After bouncing around a few ideas I decided I wanted to go to Australia.

Alison went about making this idea a reality. She began watching flights. While she did not find a deal on flights around my birthday, she did find a truly great deal on flights over the week of Thanksgiving. We pivoted and planned a Thanksgiving trip - this worked out better because not only did we save money, but we also will be taking less time off work. While it did not work out exactly as we planned it is an early birthday trip.

Books Read:

The Commonwealth of Thieves: The Story of the Founding of Australia by Thomas Keneally

A Short History of Australia by Manning Clark

Girt: The Unauthorised History of Australia by David Hunt

Movies Watched:

Australia
The Dressmaker
Tracks
Rabbit-Proof Fence
Quigley Down Under
Crocodile Dundee

What did I know about Australia before I planned this trip? Four things come to mind. 1 - Australia was a penal colony for Great Britain from the 18th century to the early 19th century. Much of modern-day Australia, politically and demographically, is influenced by British colonialism. 2 - A vision of Australia as a wild place with large desolate areas. Shows such as The Crocodile Dundee and Quigley Down Under promoted these images in my mind. 3 - My favorite dog breed, the Australian Shepherd, is so named because they are popular herding dogs in Australia. California imported these dogs and assumed they were an Australian breed, hence the name forever linking this cattle dog to the land down under. 4 - The iconic view of the Sydney Opera House in Sydney Harbour. Having the opportunity to visit the harbor and see this landmark is one of the reasons we chose to visit Australia. 

A few common themes showed up in the books and movies I consumed.

Australia has an interesting history. It is primarily an immigrant nation. Most of what I learned about Australian history in school is that it was a British penal colony for a time. This is true. It was interesting to delve deeper into the history of Australia. I learned more about when the penal colony ended and how Australia developed into the nation it is today.

Another common theme was the treatment of the Aboriginal people in Australia. This theme was particularly prevalent in the majority of the movies we watched. The Aboriginal people, as with many other native populations around the world, were decimated after the arrival of European settlers. The Aboriginal people have long dealt with discrimination. In fact, Australian law did not consider Aboriginal people to be citizens until 1967. There was also a law on the books in Australia (this law was a key point in multiple movies we watched) that allowed the government to remove "half-caste" children, or children of aboriginal and European decent, from their homes and resettle them in camps, orphanages, or other institutions. Most of these children were trained to be domestic servants. These laws gave an administrator known as the Chief Protector the power to control all aspects of indigenous life, including who they could marry and where they could work. The laws allowing this to occur were finally repealed in 1969. Today the Aboriginal population is around 3.1% and while there are efforts to preserve Aboriginal culture so much has been lost and destroyed. The treatment of the aboriginal peoples of Australia shows the worst of humanity - the cruelty and cultural destruction were wholly unjustifiable. 

We are excited to visit Australia. We will have opportunities to see some of the wildlife, experience the great barrier reef, visit iconic landmarks, and spend plenty of time enjoying beautiful beaches.