Queensland Exceptionalism and the Construction of “Southern Folk Devils” in Twentieth Century Public Rhetoric

Abstract

The history of Queensland has been characterised by intermittent waves of moral panic wherein targeted subpopulations have been singled‐out as scapegoats for the “social problems” facing the state. These panics have been informed by a collective sense of Queensland exceptionalism that gives rise to the construction of folk devils in times of socio‐cultural crisis. Groups selected for scapegoating in Queensland have been, historically, constructed as a product of immoral values spreading from southern states like New South Wales and Victoria, and driven by that spirit of state‐based exceptionalism. Drawing on historical sources, it is argued to characterise these issues as the result of the corruptive influence of more cosmopolitan southern states, is not accurate. Instead, anti‐southern rhetoric was used as a way to abdicate responsibility for domestic problems. The findings dispute the parochial notion of Queensland exceptionalism, providing much‐needed historical context to the study of public discourse in Australia.