A Symbolic Australian Landscape: Images in Writing and Painting

Abstract

Images or visions of the Australian landscape have been integral to the forging of a national consciousness since 1788, when the British began the settlement of Australia. A recurring theme in Australian literature and landscape painting centers on relationships between people and the landscape. In landscape painting; this theme has been both a dominant movement and a tradition. The fascination with the concept and meaning of the term bush has become part of an Australian preoccupation with national identity and purpose. This essay examines the Australian traditions of the rural vernacular, the bush, and attitudes towards landscape, as seen historically by Australians with a predominantly British Anglo-Saxon cultural background, and shows how a deep attachment to an Australian sense of place has developed as a result.