{"id":243,"date":"2009-09-06T16:57:26","date_gmt":"2009-09-06T06:57:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fionalake.com.au\/blog\/?p=243"},"modified":"2015-02-23T16:04:29","modified_gmt":"2015-02-23T06:04:29","slug":"aussie-expats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fionalake.com.au\/blog\/aussie-expats\/","title":{"rendered":"Aussies Overseas – Aussie Expats"},"content":{"rendered":"

Approximately 1 million of Australia\u2019s 20 million citizens are living overseas at any one time. 50% of this website\u2019s visitors live in countries other than Australia, as can be seen on the world map<\/a>. It\u2019s a fair bet that a slab of these overseas visitors are Aussie expats. Australians like to roam about.<\/p>\n

There are many Australian expatriate organisations, especially country\u2013specific groups. Two of the largest international organisations are the Southern Cross Group and Advance.<\/p>\n

Advance \u2013 Global Australian Professionals<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Specifically for Australian professionals overseas \u2013 more business\/trade oriented. Based in New York with other chapters elsewhere in the U.S; with a chapter opening in London in 2006 and more planned elsewhere. High\u2013profile functions and good business networking opportunities. Advance encourages the development of Australians abroad as ambassadors.<\/p>\n

There are many websites written by individual expats, but the wittiest and most wonderfully readable that I\u2019ve discovered is An(ne) Aussie in America. It\u2019s very practical and interesting, full of anecdotes illustrating the cultural differences between Australians and Americans \u2013 with eye\u2013opening explanations for such unexpected pitfalls for the unwary as differing etiquette for handling a knife and fork. Many people think it\u2019s just that we have different accents. However one Australian exporter I know takes an American friend with him as a \u2018cultural advisor\u2019 when visiting on business, so he doesn\u2019t make any blunders. This site is a must\u2013read for any Aussies heading to the U.S.<\/p>\n

And, of course, you can\u2019t go past the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade (DFAT)<\/a> for serious information, including current safety warnings of where not to go.<\/p>\n

And, I have to mention the song Australians like to sing when at sporting events and similar gatherings because it was written in one of my favourite parts of the country. There are many different versions of the song, the version below is the one we learnt when at primary school in the 1960s.<\/p>\n

Well known poet Banjo Paterson wrote \u2018Waltzing Matilda\u2019 in January 1895, while staying at Macphersons\u2019 Dagworth Station, north\u2013west of Winton (Queensland). Christina Macpherson was also visiting her brothers at the time. While at the Warrnambool (Victoria) races in April 1894, Christina had heard the band march \u2018Craigielee\u2019 and memorised it. Her playing of the melody at Dagworth inspired Banjo to write some verses to it. It is widely believed that the words refer allegorically to actual events in the long and bitter shearer\u2019s strikes of 1891 \u2013 1894, in particular the burning of Dagworth woolshed with 143 lambs inside, and the subsequent suicide of swagman\/shearer Samuel Hoffmeister at a billabong near Kynuna.<\/p>\n

The Southern Cross Group<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

An international non\u2013profit group run by 100 volunteers in more than 30 countries. Works to represent and improve the interests of all Australians overseas (Australian diaspora), including those who technically no longer, or do not yet, hold Australian citizenship. The website is a comprehensive source of practical legal and government information for Australians living abroad and those considering doing so.<\/p>\n

Waltzing Matilda<\/h2>\n

Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong
\nunder the shade of a Coolibah tree
\nand he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled
\n\u201cYou\u2019ll come a\u2013waltzing matilda with me\u201d.<\/p>\n

Waltzing matilda, waltzing matilda,
\nyou\u2019ll come a waltzing matilda with me.
\nAnd he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled
\nyou\u2019ll come a waltzing matilda with me.<\/p>\n

Down came a jumbuck to drink at that billabong
\nup jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee,
\nand he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tuckerbag
\n\u201cYou\u2019ll come a\u2013waltzing matilda with me\u201d.<\/p>\n

Waltzing matilda, waltzing matilda,
\nyou\u2019ll come a\u2013waltzing matilda with me.
\nAnd he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tuckerbag
\nyou\u2019ll come a waltzing matilda with me.<\/p>\n

Up rode the squatter, mounted on his thoroughbred
\ndown came the troopers, one, two, three.
\n\u201cWhose is that jolly jumbuck you\u2019ve got in your tuckerbag?
\nyou\u2019ll come a\u2013waltzing matilda with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Waltzing matilda, waltzing matilda,
\nyou\u2019ll come a waltzing matilda with me.
\nWhose is that jolly jumbuck you\u2019ve got in your tuckerbag?
\nyou\u2019ll come a waltzing matilda with me.<\/p>\n

Up jumped the swagman, and sprang into the billabong
\n\u201cyou\u2019ll never catch me alive\u201d said he.
\nAnd his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong
\nyou\u2019ll come a\u2013waltzing matilda with me.<\/p>\n

Waltzing matilda, waltzing matilda,
\nyou\u2019ll come a\u2013waltzing matilda with me.
\nAnd his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong
\nyou\u2019ll come a waltzing matilda with me.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Waltzing Matilda Centre<\/a>. A museum dedicated to Waltzing Matilda. The Outback Regional Gallery has good quality visiting and local exhibitions, and a great caf run by an ex\u2013station cook. My favourite part of the museum is the display out the back of all sorts of artifacts donated by locals, because these extensive collections have a personal and poignant touch that \u2018sophisticated\u2019 over\u2013curated and polished museums are sadly lacking. If you want an authentic and very friendly place to stay that gives you a real feel for genuine outback Australia, Winton should be on top of your list.<\/p>\n

Roger Clarke\u2019s Waltzing Matilda page. The most comprehensive and interesting source of information on the internet. Nice to see a tribute to Richard Magoffin, who spent his later years devoted to researching and correcting fallacies regarding Waltzing Matilda, while running his unique display at Kynuna (western Queensland).<\/p>\n

Another source of Waltzing Matilda information can be found at the National Library of Australia<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Approximately 1 million of Australia\u2019s 20 million citizens are living overseas at any one time. 50% of this website\u2019s visitors live in countries other than Australia, as can be seen on the world map. It\u2019s a fair bet that a slab of these overseas visitors are Aussie expats. Australians like to roam about. There are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fionalake.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fionalake.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fionalake.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fionalake.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fionalake.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=243"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.fionalake.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4376,"href":"https:\/\/www.fionalake.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243\/revisions\/4376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fionalake.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=243"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fionalake.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=243"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fionalake.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}