Australia in Asia; Asia in Australia

Veranda, South India

Veranda, South Australia

     Arriving at our host's home in a suburb of Adelaide, I felt very much at ease. Craig and Maureen quite possibly have more books crammed into their house than we do in ours. On the coffee table, I spotted Alison Broinowski's The Yellow Lady: Australian Impressions of Asia. (1992) Turns out that Craig went to college with Dr. Broinoswki, a beautiful and brilliant blond, diplomat and an outspoken critic of Australia's participation in the Iraq War.

     A few years ago, I decided I couldn't wait until my next life to learn Chinese, so I began a crash course in Mandarin, Vietnamese, Japanese, Asian History, Asian Art, Asian-American Society and Culture, Chinese Calligraphy and Brush Painting. Two trips to China and others to Vietnam and South India and I'm still learning. Naturally, I dove into this book which promised to to clue me into the Australian experience of Asia.

     Broinowski's thesis is that White Australia could have developed its identity based on its location in the Eastern Hemisphere, or based on its history as a British Colony. Choosing the latter course meant that the Australian experience of Asia was mediated through European Centers. So for example, the architecture of bungalows and verandas, developed by the British to accommodate the climate of India was adopted by the British in Australia; its elaborate ironwork a Victorian echo, perhaps, of Islamic decoration. 

     In contemporary Australia, this makes for some curious moments. Puccini's Madame Butterfly was playing at the Sydney Opera House, Gilbert and Sullivan's  The Mikado in Adelaide. 

     The political and social consequences have been serious. It was observed that "Australian Nationalism is the chauvinism of a British imperialism, intensified by its geographical proximity to Asia." As in the United States, exclusionary laws were passed excluding Asians: "To say that most settler Australians did not welcome Asians as neighbors is an understatement."

     And yet. The reactionary John Howard's fourth term ended and in 2007 Kevin Rudd became Prime Minister. Rudd is the first Western leader who can speak Mandarin. A Sydney paper covers news such as the ability of an Australia law firm, RMB Partners, to draft wills that accommodate both Koranic and Australian law. The paper also features fashion articles on elegant Hijabs (headscarves).

     Proximity, that location factor, does make a difference. 21 years ago, Peter Wilson, a columnist for The Australian newspaper found himself teaching Australian rules football to students at Japan's equivalent of Oxford and Cambridge. (Or Yale and Harvard to us Yanks.) It changed his life, as it made him a "mate" to the Japanese players, something he'd learned was almost impossible for a foreigner in Japanese Society. On the other hand, the waters that Japanese whalers claim to be researching are Australian.

     I think the United States has a similar opportunity to have a fresh understanding of Asia. I had to chuckle when it turned out that both our cab driver going to the airport in Adelaide, and our cabdriver coming home in SFO turned out to be of Chinese extraction. I never lack for opportunities to practice Mandarin!