The Australians: Insiders and Outsiders on the National Character since 1770, John Hirst, Melbourne: Black Inc 2007, 211pp, RRP $29.95, ISBN: 9781863954082, website
In recent years, the term 'unAustralian' has been used to exploit ideas of the national character for political purposes, on both sides of politics. The unAustralian list includes striking workers, ALP policy favouring withdrawal from Iraq, and the treatment of asylum seekers and political prisoners such as David Hicks. In fact, the term unAustralian was originally used in the 1850s to describe landscape and other facets of colonial life that were reminiscent of 'mother England', and therefore rather good. Now the word is used only to deride.
John Hirst is one of Australia's most eminent historians. As such, you might expect his book on the national character to mount an historical argument about the increasing politicisation of the so-called Australian character. It doesn't. The book has no core argument to speak of.
But that is not a failing, because it is an anthology. The sum of the parts affirms that the Australian character exists, that is is robust, but arguably without the depth of that of the European nations from which many Australians arrived. The hand of the historian is evident in the thorough research and judicious assembling of texts. It's up to the reader to decide what he or she wants to do with what Hirst has collected. John Howard might read it from cover to cover and memorise the contents in case some pesky journalist asks him the origin of the term 'digger', or where the 'fair go' came from. You or I might put a wet winter afternoon to good use by pouring through the contents, which are both entertaining and enlightening.
There is an element of controversy in just about every item in the collection, but as a whole it is not a controversial work. In some ways, this is surprising, as Hirst has often stirred debate in the past. For example, his 2005 Australian Quarterly Essay titled "Kangaroo Court" accused the Family Court of being complicit in child abuse.
The Australians is actually not designed for impact or provocation, like Blainey's Triumph of the Nomads or Windschuttle's The Fabrication of Aboriginal History. The collection is more a gentle chronicling of the various stages of our self-reflection. It was published under the auspices of the National Australia Day Council, which is supported by the Australian Government