Like most kids, when mine were younger they would do their great impressions of animal noises. They did all the standard ones like dogs, cats, cows, pigs and sheep, often with actions to accompany them.
One day while I was getting my daughter to go through her full performance the thought came to me that as Australian parents we never get our kids to mimic our own native animals like a koalas, kangaroos or ring tailed possums?
If asked I’m sure most Aussie parents would say that Australian animals don’t make noises (except of course for “Skippy’ the bush kangaroo with her clicking thing).
This probably shows the disconnection most of us have from our land as many of our native animals have a wide assortment of calls. Koalas are actually one of the noisiest animals you can imagine. From the pig like grunts of the males and the baby cries and screams of the females. Kangaroos do make clicking, clucking, coughing and growling noises (as well as banging their feet on the ground), ring tailed possums make a beautiful trilling sound, dingos howl, and emus do a bizarre drumming noise from deep in their chest. Of course brush tailed possums make that psychotic growl that makes you think there is an axe murderer outside your window (or maybe that's just me).
The thing with many of these sounds is they have never been named unlike, woof meow, moo, oink and baa. Cats do of course actually say a lot more than meow. One of mine had a vocabulary of at least twenty different sounds from chirps, mews, rows, hisses, mbop and a special double meow when it wanted to go outside. But meow is pretty good shorthand for a cats call and easy for adults to explain to a child.
I can’t help thinking it would nice if some Aussie kids knew what some Aussie animals sounded like. But I suspect it won’t be happening anytime soon.
Though I do wonder what a fat-tailed false antechinus might sound like?
Friday, 9 March 2007
The Munchkins – An Unfairly Maligned Community?
The Munchkins were first revealed in L. Frank Baum’s 1900 book “The Wizard of Oz”. But since the release of the 1939 MGM film of the same name, they have become figures of fun and derision. However, a detailed study of Munchkin society reveals that they are in fact a highly sophisticated community that should be lauded for their achievements rather than lampooned.
In support of this contention I submit the following information that details the sophistication of this petite civilisation. They have:
A democratic system of Government, which includes a Mayor, (no Wizard or King for these people). Well drilled and equipped armed forces (seen marching in front of Dorothy’s carriage). A knowledge of forensic medicine, as their Coroner is able to perform an autopsy on the Wicked Witch of the East and pronounce that she is most sincerely dead. A modern economy, which allows for employment in service industries and government bureaucracies. Social clubs equivalent to the Lions or Rotary in the shape of the Lollipop Guild and the Lullaby League. Child care services (babies are held in a large imitation birds nest). Their own distinct architectural style combined with an obvious knowledge of building and construction techniques. Well developed transport infrastructure with very smooth roads made of yellow brick and excellent bridges.
They also have: knowledge of a wide variety of textile manufacturing techniques and their own distinct fashions. Strong religious beliefs (a man in ecclesiastical robes is seen next to the Mayor). A knowledge of agriculture and animal husbandry. A strong culture that includes painting, music, song and dance. An education system that has delivered them not only the basics such as literacy and numeracy but also a love of history (Dorothy is told she will be admitted to their hall of fame).
These are all obvious hallmarks of a modern and complex society. These marvellous people are however assaulted by a genuine supernatural tyranny in the form of the Wicked Witch of the East, while the Citizens of the Emerald City lead a life of indolence and ignorance. These supposedly more sophisticated residents of Emerald City allow themselves to be bamboozled, hoodwinked and humbugged by a mere sideshow charlatan while the Munchkins manage to preserve their way of life under the utmost duress.
It is now time to recognise that a great wrong has been committed against the Munchkins, and that they have been discriminated against simply because of their diminutive stature and the pitch of their voices.
In support of this contention I submit the following information that details the sophistication of this petite civilisation. They have:
A democratic system of Government, which includes a Mayor, (no Wizard or King for these people). Well drilled and equipped armed forces (seen marching in front of Dorothy’s carriage). A knowledge of forensic medicine, as their Coroner is able to perform an autopsy on the Wicked Witch of the East and pronounce that she is most sincerely dead. A modern economy, which allows for employment in service industries and government bureaucracies. Social clubs equivalent to the Lions or Rotary in the shape of the Lollipop Guild and the Lullaby League. Child care services (babies are held in a large imitation birds nest). Their own distinct architectural style combined with an obvious knowledge of building and construction techniques. Well developed transport infrastructure with very smooth roads made of yellow brick and excellent bridges.
They also have: knowledge of a wide variety of textile manufacturing techniques and their own distinct fashions. Strong religious beliefs (a man in ecclesiastical robes is seen next to the Mayor). A knowledge of agriculture and animal husbandry. A strong culture that includes painting, music, song and dance. An education system that has delivered them not only the basics such as literacy and numeracy but also a love of history (Dorothy is told she will be admitted to their hall of fame).
These are all obvious hallmarks of a modern and complex society. These marvellous people are however assaulted by a genuine supernatural tyranny in the form of the Wicked Witch of the East, while the Citizens of the Emerald City lead a life of indolence and ignorance. These supposedly more sophisticated residents of Emerald City allow themselves to be bamboozled, hoodwinked and humbugged by a mere sideshow charlatan while the Munchkins manage to preserve their way of life under the utmost duress.
It is now time to recognise that a great wrong has been committed against the Munchkins, and that they have been discriminated against simply because of their diminutive stature and the pitch of their voices.
A Vision of the True Australian Landscape
The 1955 John Brack painting “Collins St 5 p.m.” has had more impact on me than any other painting I have ever seen. Brack’s dark but honest vision cuts to the core of what life is really like for most Australians.
Collins St., 5p.m., John BRACK
http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/explore/collection/work/3161/
I remember the first time I saw it, shown to me by my father. Dad was no great art critic, but he understood the deep truth of this painting, having worked in Melbourne and been bound to the daily suburban commute for over 40 years. You could almost see him shudder as he looked at the painting and reflected on the understanding by the artist of the average white collar worker. I also came to understand its true meaning, working for many years in Collins Street and walking by the spot it was painted everyday. Although the fashions and shopfronts had changed, the implications were still the same.
For most Australians this is the true Australia. A landscape of brick, concrete, traffic and cancelled trains and not the far and wide horizons eulogised in verse, song and cinema. For the most part, Australian’s vision of themselves as a people inhabiting a wide brown land is at best a myth and at worst a lie. We are coastal city dwellers, the most urbanised people on the planet, bound by mortgages and other commitments to the drudgery of the daily grind.
This painting will never be ranked as Australia’s favourite painting. That honour will be reserved for a landscape like Robert’s “Shearing the Rams” or Drysdales’s “The Cricketers” that reflect an image of how we wish we were. Brack’s masterpiece shows us as how we really are, a thought bound to make us uncomfortable.
You can see the original “Collins St 5 p.m.” for yourself, for free, hanging in the Ian Potter Gallery across the road from Flinders Street Station, Melbourne Victoria.
Collins St., 5p.m., John BRACK
http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/explore/collection/work/3161/
I remember the first time I saw it, shown to me by my father. Dad was no great art critic, but he understood the deep truth of this painting, having worked in Melbourne and been bound to the daily suburban commute for over 40 years. You could almost see him shudder as he looked at the painting and reflected on the understanding by the artist of the average white collar worker. I also came to understand its true meaning, working for many years in Collins Street and walking by the spot it was painted everyday. Although the fashions and shopfronts had changed, the implications were still the same.
For most Australians this is the true Australia. A landscape of brick, concrete, traffic and cancelled trains and not the far and wide horizons eulogised in verse, song and cinema. For the most part, Australian’s vision of themselves as a people inhabiting a wide brown land is at best a myth and at worst a lie. We are coastal city dwellers, the most urbanised people on the planet, bound by mortgages and other commitments to the drudgery of the daily grind.
This painting will never be ranked as Australia’s favourite painting. That honour will be reserved for a landscape like Robert’s “Shearing the Rams” or Drysdales’s “The Cricketers” that reflect an image of how we wish we were. Brack’s masterpiece shows us as how we really are, a thought bound to make us uncomfortable.
You can see the original “Collins St 5 p.m.” for yourself, for free, hanging in the Ian Potter Gallery across the road from Flinders Street Station, Melbourne Victoria.
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