Australian Dream
Encyclopedia
The Australian Dream or Great Australian Dream is a belief that in Australia
, home ownership
can lead to a better life and is an expression of success and security. Although this standard of living
is enjoyed by many in the existing Australian population, rising house prices compared to average wages are making it increasingly difficult for many to achieve the "great Australian Dream", especially for those living in large cities. It is also noted as having led to urbanisation (or more specifically suburb
anisation), causing extensive urban sprawl
in the major cities. The concept of homeownership for all is also found in very similar terms in New Zealand, which shares many cultural and social values with its larger neighbour. The term itself is dervied from the American Dream
, which first described the same phenomenon in the United States
, starting in the 1940s.
. The dream flowered in the 1950s and 1960s due chiefly to the expansion of Australian manufacturing, low unemployment rates, the baby boom
and the removal of rent controls.
There is some evidence, however, that the vast open spaces of early colonial Australia first instilled the notion in the early generations of Australian families. It was certainly aided by the widespread ownership of the automobile. Even as it was growing, the aspirational dream became an occasional object of ridicule in art and literature, some of the strongest criticism appearing in the mid 1950s paintings of John Brack
, the celebrated novels of Australian manners They're a Weird Mob
(1957) by Nino Culotta (John O'Grady
) and My Brother Jack (1964) by George Johnston
, and Robin Boyd's
fierce critique of Australian architecture The Australian Ugliness
(1960).
Typically the Australian Dream focused upon ownership of a detached house (often single storey with a solar hot water
heater on the roof) on a quarter acre
suburb
an block, surrounded by a garden, which featured in the back a Hills Hoist
and a barbecue
. Notably, this mirrored the fact that while almost 50% of Australian households owned their homes through the first half of the century, the proportion jumped to more than 70 per cent in the 20 years after World War II. While many Australians saw home ownership as a domestic ideal to aspire to, artists sometimes viewed it as representing a deadening conformism and narrow-mindedness—a critical perspective advanced by Brack's bleak images of uniform box-like houses surrounded by almost identical gardens, as well as Johnston's literary depiction of a rigidly uniform suburbia where neighbours try to police one another's behaviour.
If financial independence
and the possession of a house were important, the Australian Dream was chiefly identified with embracing a particular lifestyle. Those who had achieved the dream also followed a set of urban rituals, including taking an annual summer holiday by the ocean, living within a nuclear family
, as well as—for male bread-winners—weekly lawn-mowing (preferably with a Victa lawn mower
) and washing the family car (either a Ford or a Holden
) on Saturday mornings. These unspoken yet rigid social customs were actually the focus for the comic novel They're a Weird Mob
, a simulated autobiography by a fictitious Italian migrant who struggled to understand the often baffling ways of urban Australians. The novel is resolved when the protagonist adopts the same values by marrying an Australian girl, buying his own quarter acre block, and building his home on it. From the 1970s, the Australian dream expanded to cover possession of a swimming pool
in the back-yard, a second family car, and, for the affluent, either ownership of a beach-house or taking an annual overseas holiday.
Despite the decline of the Australian Dream due to modern planning policies, house prices and the influence of immigration on demographics and culture, many observers still consider ownership of a dwelling as important to many Australians even if they cannot achieve it.
As noted in the conclusion to Chapter 2 – ‘Social aspects of home ownership’ (‘A good house is hard to find’ report):
"2.8 The Productivity Commission concluded that:
Access to affordable and quality housing is central to community wellbeing.
Apart from meeting the basic need for shelter, it provides a foundation for family and social stability, and contributes to improved health and educational outcomes and a productive workforce.
Thus it enhances both economic performance and 'social capital'. (Productivity Commission (2004, p. 3).)
2.52 Given its importance in promoting and maintaining a functional, stable and just society, housing should not be considered just another commodity. Many of the social benefits we see flowing from home ownership – such as security, connection to community and control over one's lived environment – can also be conferred through more secure tenancy models. . . "
Television shows that depict suburban life and the Australian Dream include:
Australian economy:
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, home ownership
Home ownership in Australia
Home ownership is a key cultural icon in Australia. Australians have traditionally aspired to the modest Great Australian Dream of "owning a detached house on a fenced block of land." Home-ownership has been seen as creating a responsible citizenry; according to a former Premier of Victoria, "The...
can lead to a better life and is an expression of success and security. Although this standard of living
Standard of living
Standard of living is generally measured by standards such as real income per person and poverty rate. Other measures such as access and quality of health care, income growth inequality and educational standards are also used. Examples are access to certain goods , or measures of health such as...
is enjoyed by many in the existing Australian population, rising house prices compared to average wages are making it increasingly difficult for many to achieve the "great Australian Dream", especially for those living in large cities. It is also noted as having led to urbanisation (or more specifically suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
anisation), causing extensive urban sprawl
Urban sprawl
Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a multifaceted concept, which includes the spreading outwards of a city and its suburbs to its outskirts to low-density and auto-dependent development on rural land, high segregation of uses Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a...
in the major cities. The concept of homeownership for all is also found in very similar terms in New Zealand, which shares many cultural and social values with its larger neighbour. The term itself is dervied from the American Dream
American Dream
The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States in which freedom includes a promise of the possibility of prosperity and success. In the definition of the American Dream by James Truslow Adams in 1931, "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each...
, which first described the same phenomenon in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, starting in the 1940s.
History
The origin of the Australian Dream dates back to the period of reconstruction following World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The dream flowered in the 1950s and 1960s due chiefly to the expansion of Australian manufacturing, low unemployment rates, the baby boom
Baby boom
A baby boom is any period marked by a greatly increased birth rate. This demographic phenomenon is usually ascribed within certain geographical bounds and when the number of annual births exceeds 2 per 100 women...
and the removal of rent controls.
There is some evidence, however, that the vast open spaces of early colonial Australia first instilled the notion in the early generations of Australian families. It was certainly aided by the widespread ownership of the automobile. Even as it was growing, the aspirational dream became an occasional object of ridicule in art and literature, some of the strongest criticism appearing in the mid 1950s paintings of John Brack
John Brack
John Brack was an Australian painter, and a member of the Antipodeans group.-Life:...
, the celebrated novels of Australian manners They're a Weird Mob
They're a Weird Mob
They're a Weird Mob is a 1966 film based on the novel of the same name by John O'Grady under the pen name "Nino Culotta", the name of the main character of the book. It was one of the last collaborations of the British filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger...
(1957) by Nino Culotta (John O'Grady
John O'Grady
John Patrick O'Grady was an Australian writer. His works include the comic novel They're a Weird Mob and the poem The Integrated Adjective, sometimes known as Tumba-bloody-rumba.- Pseudonym :...
) and My Brother Jack (1964) by George Johnston
George Johnston (novelist)
George Johnston OBE was an Australian journalist, war correspondent and novelist, best known for My Brother Jack. His second wife and literary collaborator was Charmian Clift.-Life:...
, and Robin Boyd's
Robin Boyd
Robin Gerard Penleigh Boyd CBE was an influential Australian architect, writer, teacher and social commentator...
fierce critique of Australian architecture The Australian Ugliness
The Australian Ugliness
The Australian Ugliness is a 1960 book by Australian architect Robin Boyd. Boyd investigates the Australian aesthetic in regard to architecture and the suburbs and in the process coins the doctrine "featurism" to describe it...
(1960).
Typically the Australian Dream focused upon ownership of a detached house (often single storey with a solar hot water
Solar hot water
Solar water heating or solar hot water systems comprise several innovations and many mature renewable energy technologies that have been well established for many years...
heater on the roof) on a quarter acre
Quarter Acre
In Australian and New Zealand English, a quarter acre is a term for a suburban plot of land. Traditionally, Australians and New Zealanders aspire to own a 3- or 4-bedroom house or bungalow on a section of around a quarter of an acre , also known locally as the Australian Dream or the New Zealand...
suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
an block, surrounded by a garden, which featured in the back a Hills Hoist
Hills Hoist
A Hills Hoist is a height-adjustable rotary clothes line, manufactured in Adelaide, South Australia by Lance Hill since 1945. The Hills Hoist and similar rotary clothes hoists remain a common fixture in many backyards in Australia and New Zealand...
and a barbecue
Barbecue
Barbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...
. Notably, this mirrored the fact that while almost 50% of Australian households owned their homes through the first half of the century, the proportion jumped to more than 70 per cent in the 20 years after World War II. While many Australians saw home ownership as a domestic ideal to aspire to, artists sometimes viewed it as representing a deadening conformism and narrow-mindedness—a critical perspective advanced by Brack's bleak images of uniform box-like houses surrounded by almost identical gardens, as well as Johnston's literary depiction of a rigidly uniform suburbia where neighbours try to police one another's behaviour.
If financial independence
Financial independence
Financial independence is a term generally used to describe the state of having sufficient personal wealth to live indefinitely without having to work actively for basic necessities . In the case of many individuals whose financial circumstances fit this description, their assets generate income...
and the possession of a house were important, the Australian Dream was chiefly identified with embracing a particular lifestyle. Those who had achieved the dream also followed a set of urban rituals, including taking an annual summer holiday by the ocean, living within a nuclear family
Nuclear family
Nuclear family is a term used to define a family group consisting of a father and mother and their children. This is in contrast to the smaller single-parent family, and to the larger extended family. Nuclear families typically center on a married couple, but not always; the nuclear family may have...
, as well as—for male bread-winners—weekly lawn-mowing (preferably with a Victa lawn mower
Victa lawn mower
The Victa lawn mower was invented in 1952, in Concord a suburb of Sydney, Australia, by Mervyn Victor Richardson.In 1951, Mervyn's son Garry mowed lawns to earn money in university holidays. Garry borrowed Mervyn's cylinder-based power mower which was heavy to transport and to operate. Mervyn...
) and washing the family car (either a Ford or a Holden
Holden
GM Holden Ltd is an automaker that operates in Australia, based in Port Melbourne, Victoria. The company was founded in 1856 as a saddlery manufacturer. In 1908 it moved into the automotive field, before becoming a subsidiary of the U.S.-based General Motors in 1931...
) on Saturday mornings. These unspoken yet rigid social customs were actually the focus for the comic novel They're a Weird Mob
They're a Weird Mob
They're a Weird Mob is a 1966 film based on the novel of the same name by John O'Grady under the pen name "Nino Culotta", the name of the main character of the book. It was one of the last collaborations of the British filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger...
, a simulated autobiography by a fictitious Italian migrant who struggled to understand the often baffling ways of urban Australians. The novel is resolved when the protagonist adopts the same values by marrying an Australian girl, buying his own quarter acre block, and building his home on it. From the 1970s, the Australian dream expanded to cover possession of a swimming pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
in the back-yard, a second family car, and, for the affluent, either ownership of a beach-house or taking an annual overseas holiday.
Despite the decline of the Australian Dream due to modern planning policies, house prices and the influence of immigration on demographics and culture, many observers still consider ownership of a dwelling as important to many Australians even if they cannot achieve it.
Homes - not just another commodity
The importance of equitable access to housing (rent or buy), in the terms of having the broader economy function in an optimal fashion, cannot be underestimated.As noted in the conclusion to Chapter 2 – ‘Social aspects of home ownership’ (‘A good house is hard to find’ report):
"2.8 The Productivity Commission concluded that:
Access to affordable and quality housing is central to community wellbeing.
Apart from meeting the basic need for shelter, it provides a foundation for family and social stability, and contributes to improved health and educational outcomes and a productive workforce.
Thus it enhances both economic performance and 'social capital'. (Productivity Commission (2004, p. 3).)
2.52 Given its importance in promoting and maintaining a functional, stable and just society, housing should not be considered just another commodity. Many of the social benefits we see flowing from home ownership – such as security, connection to community and control over one's lived environment – can also be conferred through more secure tenancy models. . . "
In popular culture
The Australian Dream has been expressed in many mainstream movies, poems and books.- Emoh Ruo (film) (1985)
- Australian Dream (film) (1987)
- The CastleThe Castle (film)The Castle is a 1997 Australian comedy film directed by Rob Sitch. It starred Michael Caton, Anne Tenney, Stephen Curry, Sophie Lee, Eric Bana and Charles 'Bud' Tingwell. The screenwriting team comprised Sitch, Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner and Jane Kennedy of Working Dog Productions.The Castle was...
(1997) - That great Australian dream by Nicholas Nekelkopoulos
Television shows that depict suburban life and the Australian Dream include:
- Kingswood CountryKingswood CountryKingswood Country is an Australian sitcom that screened from 1980 to 1984 on the Seven Network. The series started on 30 January 1980 and was a spin-off from a sketch on comedy program The Naked Vicar Show that had featured Ross Higgins as a blustering bigot...
(1980-1984) - NeighboursNeighboursNeighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...
(1985-) - Hey Dad..!Hey Dad..!Hey Dad..! was an Australian sitcom produced by Gary Reilly Productions, originally airing from 1987 to 1994 on the Seven Network.-Synopsis:Architect Martin Kelly singlehandedly raises his children Simon, Debbie and Jenny...
(1987-1994) - Kath and Kim (2002-)
See also
- American DreamAmerican DreamThe American Dream is a national ethos of the United States in which freedom includes a promise of the possibility of prosperity and success. In the definition of the American Dream by James Truslow Adams in 1931, "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each...
- European dream
- New Zealand dreamNew Zealand dreamThe New Zealand dream is centered around the acquisition of a family house on a quarter acre section, with at least one motor vehicle. The New Zealand dream is similar to the Australian Dream...
Australian economy:
- Australian economyEconomy of AustraliaThe economy of Australia is a developed, modern market economy with a GDP of approximately US$1.23 trillion. In 2011, it was the 13th largest national economy by nominal GDP and the 17th largest measured by PPP adjusted GDP, representing about 1.7% of the World economy. Australia was also ranked...
- Australian property bubbleAustralian property bubbleThe Australian Property bubble is an observation that real estate prices in Australia are valued at more than they are worth. This is a real estate bubble....
- Home ownership in AustraliaHome ownership in AustraliaHome ownership is a key cultural icon in Australia. Australians have traditionally aspired to the modest Great Australian Dream of "owning a detached house on a fenced block of land." Home-ownership has been seen as creating a responsible citizenry; according to a former Premier of Victoria, "The...
- Median household income in Australia and New ZealandMedian household income in Australia and New ZealandMedian household income is commonly used to measure the relative prosperity of populations in different geographical locations. It divides households into two equal segments with the first half of households earning less than the median household income and the other half earning more.Since 2000...
External links
- Is the Australian Dream Disappearing?
- The Great Australian Dream Project, fighting the government forces arrayed against home ownership