Australia

Today Australia observes a day of mourning for victims of bush fires that swept mercilessly through Victoria state killing more than 200 people. What a tragedy. My sincere condolences to the families of the victims and may Victoria rise again from the ashes!

A few weeks ago I saw the film AUSTRALIA . I liked it, though I thought it was a bit too long. The scenes between Nicole Kidman and the half-native boy was rather indulgent too – going on and on and on! Hugh Jackman was terrific and lived up to his newly-crowned title! Wonder how he will fare as host at tonight's 81st Academy Awards ceremony.

The film stirred memories my stay in Australia. It also made me think why till now I had not written anything about my time in Australia.

I guess it is because my stay in that country was short (and sweet), just barely two and a half years. And it was rather uneventful – everything went well and there were no controversies or stress at work. Most Australians I met have had some connection with Malaysia and thought well of our country. Australia hosted thousands of students from Malaysia and there was a huge and growing alumni of students who had studied there. And of course thousands of Malaysian have made Australia their home (and aunt of mine has lived in Perth for more than three decades with her entire brood). So there is indeed a strong bond between the people and between the countries. The Australian government and media sometimes have their very own views about Malaysia, but that's another story!

I lived in Canberra and it was like no other city in the world. It was clean and quiet, very spread-out and well-organised, a truly planned city with no clutter and bustle. Is was like living in one endless manicured park. A first time visitor might even wonder where the city was as there was no big commercial hub, instead convenient business centres spread out discreetly all over. Living in such an ideal situation risked being boring but I was never bored in Canberra although it took a while to get used to it in the beginning.

Having spent some ten years in Europe, it was quite a cultural shock coming to Australia. What struck me was what a young country it was (anything more than 45 years was considered antiquity). And the vast openness of the place – you could drive on and on endlessly to practically nowhere!

I loved the quality of life in Australia. The fresh air, the open spaces, the freshness and quality of the food, the excellent facilities and services, and the whole EGALITARIAN thing. I always tell people that my stay in Australia was the healthiest period of my life – no stress, no language problem, NO TRAFFIC JAMS, good television and radio, lots of books, music, art, films and theatres and the friendliest and ‘matey’ of people who says it as it is!

I made many friends and travelled quite a bit within Australia (which was rather expensive for me then). But I took every opportunity to spend my real holidays outside the country – which took me to New Caledonia (another subject to write about some time), back to Malaysia and to Europe. I did a lot of gardening in my big garden and I loved visiting the Australian nurseries and farms. The way the Australian cared about their environment was somethig I really admired.

Canberra is often the butt of jokes because of its quaintness and uniqueness. Prince Philip of England was reported to have referred to it as ‘the cemetery’. I guess if I was living in Sydney, or Melbourne or some other bigger and normal’ city in Australia my stay would have taken a different turn. But in Canberra it was as if I was under constant sedation. And I didn’t mind it really, for that period of time. And I am really looking forward to returning to Australia again and again when I retire to visit my friends.

Good on ‘ya mate!