Bitey things

I have been in Australia for just over four weeks now (not crossing off the days or anything, you understand), and I have not been bitten, stung, sucked, nipped or pecked by anything, whether insect, reptile, mammal, bird or human. Now this would be a quite banal piece of information in most parts of the world, and indeed the norm in much of the northern hemisphere, but, here in Australia, it could be considered something of an achievement. For without a shadow of a doubt this country is home to more of the world’s biters and stingers than practically anywhere else on earth.  It is, at least potentially, the bitiest place in the world.

 

Aussie salute
In spite of this, or perhaps because of it, native Australians have a remarkably tolerant approach to their sometimes aggressive wildlife.  The assault of flying insects is often met with nothing more deadly than the Aussie salute: a gentle wafting of the hand in front of the face to bid the flies depart.  Indeed the salute is so ingrained in some, that they do it almost automatically, even when no mozzies are to be seen; on occasion, it is almost a royal wave. As a second line of defence, I am told, the famous cork strung hat, itself,  is not infrequently deployed at such events as summer race meetings, where, even when worn in irony, it is as efficient as ever in deterring attack.  Chemical sprays and lotions have of course been adopted by some, but Australians still seem to have a much higher threshold of tolerance to the insect blitz than many of their foreign visitors ; although not, it would seem, when it comes to the entrances to their houses. The springs on their anti-fly doors can snap shut with a  startling vengeance as soon as released, and you wouldn’t be the first unsuspecting tourist to survive the flies, only to be bitten by the house.

Fair go for sharks

Aussie tolerance of their native biters even extends to sharks.  In response to the danger of shark attacks ( around 10 to 12 a year) the government of Western Australia has introduced a catch and kill policy, whereby sharks are caught using baited drum lines and then shot.  Strange as it may seem, this provoked mass protests by thousands of Australians.  The protests were essentially on environmental and scientific grounds, but also related to one of the key principles underpinning the Australian character: the concept of the “fair go”.  It was clear from broadcast interviews with demonstrators that many simply thought that the sharks were not getting a “fair go”.  It was the sharks' environment that was being invaded and they had been there first, so deserved a “fair go” (think possibly, on reflection, that this aspect of the Australian character didn’t  reach full maturity until quite some time after 1788).   It is an appreciation of the entitlement of the shark to a “fair go” with which I think I might be inclined to agree…………well, right up until the moment I could see the fin approaching anyway..

 

Spiders

I have been assured that the world famous Australian dunny spider is not a problem anymore, since most Australians no longer have outside dunnies. However, these assurances have often been accompanied by a wry smile, followed  by advice to check my shoes in the morning, and that the newly favoured hiding place of the redback  spider was behind the sun visor of the car.   They were, of course, just engaging in the national sport of pulling the pommie’s leg.  However, I must admit, I do now, jokingly of course, check my shoes in the morning, and  have a quick glance behind the sun visor before I set off.  After all, this is Australia. 
Yeah
As an addendum to last week's brief consideration of Australian speech,  I have since noticed  a tendency to add   a somewhat drawn out "yeah" to the end of any statement or series of statements.  It is almost as if they are promoting agreement by agreeing with themselves.  And, oddly enough, it seems to work. Yeahhhhhh.