Europeans in an Australian Environment

Europeans have had an interesting and varied relationship with the Australian landscape since they first set foot upon its shores. While the relationship has changed over time, what has not changed is the impact which the natural environment has had in shaping the identity of Australia and its people.

Early colonisers viewed the landscape as a hostile one, an unforgiving landscape that required taming in order to produce a means of survival. One only needs to look at current-day focus on conservation to to see how much this idea has changed over time. This idea of 'man-versus-environment' is an interesting one, however, as it is central to the concept of the pioneer myth.

The pioneer myth itself grew out of this European experience, as the 'victories' of the pioneers over the landscape were celebrated in the realist literature of the late 19^th century. It became a common theme within the imagined community of Australia, and remains well embedded within the national identity. The myth celebrates many of the qualities which are readily identifiable in the Australian identity. Ideas of mateship and camaraderie can perhaps be traced back to roots within this pioneer myth, as Europeans battled side by side against bushfire, flood and drought to not only survive but grow and flourish.

It can be argued that this pioneer myth has now been outgrown within the imagined community, and it is certainly true that the myth itself has several flaws which make it harder to conceptualise in the contemporary context, particularly when one considers the role both women and indigenous Australians play within the myth, which is to say not much at all. That being said, it would be wrong to discount the importance of the pioneer myth's contribution to Australia's national identity.

European settlement has dramatically and permanently impacted upon the natural landscape of Australia. However, it is clear that the Australian environment has had an equal impact upon the Europeans who settled here.

Henry Lawson (1867 - 1922), by Lionel Lindsay, courtesy of National Library of Australia. nla.pic-an9721119. .http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A100016b.htm?hilite=henry%3Blawson

Perhaps the most influential and enduring of all late 19th century Australian realist authors, Lawson greatly contributed to the pioneer myth