The Idea of Australia on SBS and SBS on Demand S1E2 – Australia’s identity is shaped by lore – the ‘fair go,’ a multicultural haven, a sporting nation, and the values of mateship, sacrifice, and the larrikin spirit. But how much of this is reality, and how much is a story we’ve told ourselves?
Presented by Academy Award nominee Rachel Griffiths AM (Total Control, Muriel’s Wedding, Hacksaw Ridge, Brothers & Sisters), the landmark documentary event The Idea of Australia isn’t a retelling of history; it’s a reimagining of the future. What does it really mean to be Australian, and where do we go from here?
Series One, Episode Two: Making the Nation
Australians know little about the debates, dreams and compromises involved in making the nation in 1901. This makes it hard to change the constitution. If more were known, would change be possible? The process of Federation that created the nation is a mystery to most.
The 1890s was a difficult period marked by booms and busts, but it was also a time of active debate. It took more than a decade, two polls in each colony and months of negotiation with Britain, to create the foundation of a democracy that others wanted to copy.
Australians are proud of the country’s long democratic history and robust electoral systems, apologetic about the racial exclusion that followed, but reluctant to contemplate changes in a constitution written in a very different time. Re-telling the creation of the nation (as opposed to colonial settlement) as a debate between competing interests, dreams and compromises, is important to breathe new life into the idea of Australia in the 21st century.
The Idea of Australia on SBS and SBS on Demand – Episode Premiere / Wednesday 22 October at 7.30pm (4 Parts)
TV Central SBS content HERE
The Idea of Australia on SBS and SBS on Demand S1E2
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