Fear under their feet: An icon of heroes, regional perspectives

Abstract

Aims: This thesis is centred in the question of the Australian image of the heroic. The European settlement in a land geographically alien to, and distanced from, those lands which had been left, and the convict beginnings of the Australian society would have had an impact on the Colonials, their view of themselves, and their relationships between each other and the land. The often violent nature of the contact between the new arrivals and the original inhabitants, and the various turning points of history, such as their involvement in World War 1, have all influenced Australia's concept of the heroic. This thesis examines an historic event to which Australians turn again and again, an event which has become mythologised and ritualised to give Australians their heroes, and a blue-print for living. Some of the questions, which emerge, are: What is the Australian experience of the heroic? Does this differ from that of other countries'? Does the celebration of the heroes have the potential to provide Australians with a mystical experience? Could it enable them to live in an I-Thou relationship with each other?