When did Australians become hated?

I don't hate Australians at all - my only irrational dislike based on country is Italian men of a certain type - but I think the hating the Oz and the Saffers over here is cos of the amount of backpackers who come and then get jobs in pubs for a while, the 'year out' brigade. I don't really understand it but it's definitely linked to that I think. I know in Cornwall they are hated, hated, hated because of the change in the landscape that the tourist industry around surfing has brought, so that's another factor. The UK is strange.

mistersloane said:

I don't hate Australians at all - my only irrational dislike based on country is Italian men of a certain type - but I think the hating the Oz and the Saffers over here is cos of the amount of backpackers who come and then get jobs in pubs for a while, the 'year out' brigade. I don't really understand it but it's definitely linked to that I think. I know in Cornwall they are hated, hated, hated because of the change in the landscape that the tourist industry around surfing has brought, so that's another factor. The UK is strange.

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I don't know about Aussie hate, never really encountered it, but I think you have a point. When you live in a crappy country and these jolly backpackers pass through with no commitment to the place and full knowledge that they will be leaving soon and everything is just bonzer it might stir up a bit of resentment.

People hate the Eastern Euros because they think the place (the UK) is amazing and full of 'opportunity' and can't understand what we all complain about. They've had the 'socialist' nightmare so they think we've all been having a fantastic time for the last 50 years.

The Spaniards know the UK is a mickey mouse country and so they view us with utter contempt, sometimes pity.

This is something I've thought about a lot so humour me here

I don't find this very surprising. I'm an Australian living in London but I'm not what anyone would call a stereotypical Australian, or even just a 'typical' one. I'm of mixed race heritage (father: white, mother: filipino) and most of my friends growing up were from SE Asia. As a result my accent, culture, interests etc deviate from the Aussie norm (throw in homosexuality and it's all a big mess). So most English people don't pick up that I'm Australian on first meeting. But anyway, being the exception has given me a unique perspective on the 'Australian in London' condition.

Obviously, lots of Australians have come to London over the years and something that people have noticed is that they seem to put on the 'Australianness' extra thick. For example, they add more twang to their accent, speak more loudly and generally make it their business to let everyone (interested or otherwise) know that they come from the land down under. This is why everyone hates Australians (well hate is strong word). Add alcohol and they can be reaaallly annoying. Just go to a Walkabout and see.

I've always wondered why my fellow aussies do this and here's what I think...

Australia is a very young country with not much history or a defined sense of national identity beyond that of novelty and peculiarity (anyone remember the lawnmowers at the 2000 olympic opening ceremony?). It is also a very isolated place with the nearest country with a significantly different culture being a 6 hour flight away for most people (New Zealand doesn't count). Sure there are immigrants in Oz but their cultures still exist in the context of the general Anglo hegemony. Anyway, the point is Australians generally don't know who they are and aren't regularly faced with situations which require them.

That is until they come to London. When Australians are plopped down in the middle of different culture they suddenly become aware of the qualities which make them different from everyone else surrounding them. These points of difference are what form the basis of an Australian cultural identity. Aussieness only manifests in contrast to non-aussieness. So suddenly, these Aussies have a new toy in the form of a defined national cultural identity and they LOVE to play with it and tell everyone about it . Hence, the exaggerated Aussie accent, the 'oi oi oi' in the pubs, and general in your face behaviour. This is why Australians are getting a bad rep. We're the new Americans.

Of course this is all generalisation and speculation. There are plenty who don't follow this model but it's apparent enough to be worth thinking about anyway.

So, moral of the story, please forgive my rowdier country men and women, we're all just a bit naive when it comes to being a foreign national.

Not just bad losers but really bad winners as well.

Because of the type of aussies we get over here. Based on the kind of brits who typically knock around in Sydney i think a lot of people would have a pretty dim view of the UK.

And there are plenty of boorish, tiresome British people who can't drink without making a spectacle of themselves. We've just had more practice at tuning them out, so we don't notice them as much.

Find Australians (males in particular) less 'encumbered' by matters such as political correctness. This is something of a gross generalisation and I know plenty of Australian liberals who don't fit this mould but I would argue that there is a 'live for the day' mentality which can rile people who take a more 'nuanced' view on things.

Also, like South Africa, Australia has some fairly well publicised dirty laundry at least in liberal circles (see Pilger and friends) in its treatment of indigenous peoples. Difference between South Africa and Australia is that the former has gone some way to addressing these issues whereas in Australia the Aborigines are still very much at the bottom of the heap.

Final point I'd add is that I reckon is that many Briton's are envious of a country that seems so similar (still largely Anglo in both population and customs) but with the advantages of sun sand and surf...

"they are in the top three hated people in london after south africans and isrealis but i don't think it was ever thus. is it tied into their success at sport? is it tied into years and yers of right wing governemrnt? or is it just cos they can't handle their alcohol and are quite annoying and racist and arrogant? what are the historical roots of todays australia hatred?"

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I just think there are a lot of Australians in London and people think they can say they hate them without being racist.
What Israelis? Jews yes but I've met about one Israeli in London.

Hmm, the Aussies that come to London do seem to have a reputation - not entirely undeserved, I would add, in my admittedly not huge experience - as rather drunk and annoying; but plenty of them are quite nice, too. I think culturally they're a lot closer to us Poms than the Americans are.

Two Aussie women recently moved into the house I live in and they're both great, even if one of them does have a REALLY loud laugh.

when i was in australia i was surprised how accepted racism seemed to be.

and the idea of it being chilled out didn't fit at all. i often found people uptight and defensive, with chips (not curly fries) on their shoulders and an aggressive approach to alternatives.

saying that, i WAS a backpacker AND a dickhead...

The whole refugee issue here really stirred up a lot of dislike for Australia overseas. Coupled with the pretty well known plight of the indigenous population, there is a widespread perception that Australia is a racist nation.

I'm not sure if that's what causes it in the UK, but a friend of a work mate was in India, waiting for a train. Some guy came up to talk to him, asked him where he was frm and then started yelling at him "You're Australian? You're a racist! How do you like being a racist, you racist. You're from a racist country."

That sort of thing.

i don't think uk people hate Australians, i think they don't understand why they would want to come here when Australia is so beautiful. I think they dislike the loud ones, Australians seem to be much louder than the brits and their accent is quite ugly imo.
I think it's travelers in general everyone hates, a certain type of totally self righteous traveler with a total lack of self consciousness and fucking awful taste in everything.
Never heard of Aussies being hated in cornwall, they surf and get involved in stuff, esp the surfing industry which is a useful and viable industry for cornwall.
people over 25 in cornwall hate newquay and under 25 think it's heaven so maybe that's the deal as there are alot of aussies around newquay and south africans.
They hate second home scum who have turned most of cornwall into a fucking community-less overpriced wasteland which they like to drive to in their 4x4's occasionally with a hamper full of m and s food.

i think in general one tends to judge those who resemble us more harshly, they are not exactly like us in good ways and bad, hence envy and dislike. with guests there is also an element of doing as romans do and tourists in general don't do that very well, and when they do it's a caricature, which is extra annoying. with commonwealth/anglo populations i imagine there is a kind of sympathy-infused looking down on children gone astray, so to speak, and a kind of resentment and reinforcement of identity in response by those who feel rejected/not valued. i find even when one travels and comes home there is an adjustment period where people perceive you as out of place until you are fully integrated into the machine again. ultimately, as mms points out, it's the tourist, the whole backpack wearing lonely planet-wielding blandness and awful taste of it all is sinister, and there is no end in sight!

Gabba Flamenco Crossover said:

Because of the type of aussies we get over here. Based on the kind of brits who typically knock around in Sydney i think a lot of people would have a pretty dim view of the UK.

And there are plenty of boorish, tiresome British people who can't drink without making a spectacle of themselves. We've just had more practice at tuning them out, so we don't notice them as much.

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i've got loads of austrailian mates and unless i go into the walkabout i find it difficult to recognise the picture being painted here - the ones i know are erudite, chilled out and optimistic - they aren't walking about encumbered by the weight of historical failure and obsolescence that brits are.

bassnation said:

i've got loads of austrailian mates and unless i go into the walkabout i find it difficult to recognise the picture being painted here - the ones i know are erudite, chilled out and optimistic - they aren't walking about encumbered by the weight of historical failure and obsolescence that brits are.

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my Australian brother in law has a dim view of the uk but is also chilled optimistic, he thinks its too expensive and people don't get paid enough but he made the mistake of moving to cornwall with my sister where that's standard, he also thinks there is a poor quality of life.

an australian once argued with me adamantly that ltj bukem was australian, plus also they invented the band concorde dawn which is horrible drum and bass so thats one reason to not like them.

in london, may be it's down to the fact that a lot of the australians who come here for a year out are pretty young, perhaps away from home for the first time, and as such don't really give a fuck about showing consideration for others. people get pissed off with them for the same reason they get pissed off with students.

there's a nice old pub near me that's become popular with australian twenty somethings who pour pints into buckets and then down them, play trumpets, and (the women) storm in the gents' toilets screaming that they're looking for people with names like 'oz-dog'.

the pensioners who are regulars there look mortified, and justifiably so.

simon silverdollar said:

in london, may be it's down to the fact that a lot of the australians who come here for a year out are pretty young, perhaps away from home for the first time, and as such don't really give a fuck about showing consideration for others. people get pissed off with them for the same reason they get pissed off with students.

there's a nice old pub near me that's become popular with australian twenty somethings who pour pints into buckets and then down them, play trumpets, and (the women) storm in the gents' toilets screaming that they're looking for people with names like 'oz-dog'.

the pensioners who are regulars there look mortified, and justifiably so.

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Sounds funny, only for a short while tho.

bassnation said:

i've got loads of austrailian mates and unless i go into the walkabout i find it difficult to recognise the picture being painted here

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I think if you voluntarily walk into a Walkabout you pretty much deserve whatever you get!

Mr. Tea said:

I think if you voluntarily walk into a Walkabout you pretty much deserve whatever you get!

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Cheap beer and loads of TVs?

does anyone know if there's a UK equivalent of Walkabouts in Australia, for all the gap year kids and ex-pats? i bet they're grim beyond belief.