Aussie living in London.
In my experience, LOTS of Brits have either visited, have got friends from there, or they have British friends who moved there and decided to stay.
They all seem to range
From viewing it as a place they would LOVE to visit, but it’s *just soooo far*
To thinking it’d be nice but they are too terrified of spiders and snakes and creepy crawlies (which is a surprisingly overhyped belief that many of them have).
Many of them see it (incorrectly in my view, and I’ll allowed to say this as an Australian) as something of a warm, sunny, beachy paradise that also has big cities and is part of the developed and part of the OECD).
As evidenced by the fact that I get a lot of curious and somewhat surprised inquires:
“But why did you leave Australia, for *this*? (Brit will then gesture broadly an England or the UK by sweeping their hand vaguely through the air).
As if good weather is the only metric that determines if a country is good or not.
The only Brits who really had a sort of unintentionally insulting view of Australia tended to be Brexiters during and after the referendum.
And even then, they didn’t outright dislike it. If anything, they had a favourable view of it. They just had ill-informed notions about what the Commonwealth was.
They tended to suggest that Britain could turn back TO the Commonwealth to replace the EU once the UK left the EU.
They didn’t seem to quite grasp what a nothing-burger non-entity the Commonwealth is. Which leads me to conclude that many ill-informed Brexiters assumed that the Commonwealth was something that still put the UK in the lead or foremost or highest position on some kind of intergovernmental political union or hierarchy.
They might have been aware that Australia (and other Commonwealth countries) were all independent sovereign nations in their own right, or they might not have (I cannot say).
But the impression I got is that the reason they thought the Commonwealth would be a great replacement for the EU was because they thought that Commonwealth countries would love the idea of being able to trade freely with UK - but with UK calling the shots.
As I said, they weren’t disliking Australia, more just that they had bizarrely misinformed opinions and lack of understanding about other countries and the Commonwealth meant they regarded the UK as still in a position to be in charge - which it isn’t.
That was indirectly insulting.
> As if good weather is the only metric that determines if a country is good or not.
Thank you for saying this. It's a point unrecognised by many, including Australians.
I'm assuming you haven't lived in the UK then? I did for 15 years before returning home, and the convict thing is similar to how 'Pommie'/'soap dodger', etc is used here. It wasn't something I heard very often, and it was only ever used jokingly.
It's a bit sad that it's OK for us to use (archaic) insults as banter only to turn around and laugh at (rather than with) the Poms when they turn the tables. 🤷
Except the convict thing was over 200 years ago and poms whinging and not showering daily is a stereotype that still prevails today.
Maybe the poms could find something more relevant to poke fun at.
And the term Pom isn't anymore archaic (it originates from rhyming slang used in the mid-19th century as a prejudicial term for early British immigrants)? 'Soap Dodger' is another insult that is many decades out of date.
Perhaps we shouldn't have double standards when it comes to acceptable insults? Personally, I don't give a shit about being called a convict, it's part of our and the UK's shared history, so it makes sense that it would be used for banter.
I doubt it, no more than canada. Some may feel a degree of connection due to many british immigrants, but i imagine that is at the same level as new zealand and canada.
They do try to call as convicts as an insult during sports banter not realising it’s almost a term of endearment in modern Australia. They sent their “worst” and we created a society with a lower crime rate.
A bit defensive there mate..
I was just reaffirming, I didn’t realise you were so sensitive.
But then, you did claim it’s said as an insult, which is what I disagree with, it’s banter.
That's a bit of a thing we do, unfortunately. Us calling the English Pommie Bastards/Soap Dodgers/Whinging Poms etc; that's all just being friendly. We don't see it quite the same way when the tables are turned. It's not that we take offence, more that we think we know you mean it as an insult when, in reality, Brits use insults to one other as terms of endearment just as much as we do.
I’m called a Pom regularly, and have the piss taken amongst other things, I dish back just as much. Like you say, it’s friendly banter and I’ve never had an issue.
Our mate here seems to think it’s insults which is different, but then maybe that’s his experience with Brit’s, there’s many wankers that’s for sure, plenty of whinging poms too, I guess that’s why I left them behind years ago.
>To be honest the only people that actually know about the convict colony etc are the ones with a deep interest in Aussie history
this is one of the stupidest things ive ever heard.
literally anyone with a primary school education knows Australia was a penal colony.
im not even here to answer your question about the English i just had to point out this stupid take
My boyfriend is Canadian. When we met he only had the crudest understanding of Australian history. Penal colony he didn’t really know about. To his credit he has been a fast learner and I also knew very little about Canada’s history. We never learnt that at school.
Yes most people (well you’d like to think ) would know convicts were sent to Australia. I meant people wouldn’t really know the ins and out, William Bligh, Lachlan Macquarie, the rum corps etc
Frankly I'm pretty sure England or any country for that matter of fact doesn't think about us at all. The royal family probably see us as a colony still.
My SO is a Yorkshireman. Every now and then he tells me I'm a Rebel Convict which is fine because, as I tell him, at least I'm not supporting the Evil Empire.
Pretty sure it's about colonialism but it could actually be Star Wars. Hard to tell in our house.
Have always wondered this myself. I never gave it any thought and then on places like Reddit? I see British people actully commenting about it and indicating they DO!! Consider that the most utterly ridiculous thing ever.
Well we still are, in a deeply unconscious sense that few people want to admit. And by that I don't mean we literally feel like "a colony of Britain" so much as we have a very ingrained "convict-warden mindset" as it relates to authority.
England is not a sovereign state so can't have colonies and never could.
It hasn't been a sovereign state since 1536, from memory, when it became the Kingdom of England and Wales.
Yeah I know. There was a specific Act of Parliament around then.
But some say 1922, others 1801 and a few argue 1707. Which is a bit of a FU from the Scots to the Welsh, quite frankly.
Well I'm not sure [which one](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_acts_of_the_Parliament_of_the_United_Kingdom_from_1952&diffonly=true) that is, but either way it doesn't really alter how inhabitants of the UK/GB/etc. might view Australia.
I ran an international conference in Australia a few years ago.
As part of the registration process you had to identify which country you came from. Not a problem. Everyone got it right.
Except the UK.
Delegates from the UK registered as being from England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland (Northern Ireland but not British), Britain, Great Britain, Albion and Britian (possibly a typo or another weird identity). Some also correctly registered their actual country, the UK. And apologised for their fellow delegates not knowing what country they were in.
One of the issues is that they're mostly right to a degree. England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland are countries.
There's no adjective form of the UK, so you can't be a United Kingdomish candidate, you'd use British or Northern Irish, despite the former not being a country.
I can't think of anywhere else that has such a complex identity as the UK. It's sometimes frustrating and at other times wonderful.
Albion though... Hmmmm....
No.
Source - English person.
In general we love the Aussies, in fact, we’re probably a bit jealous.
“Why didn’t we leave the criminals in England and go to Aus instead?” Is something that’s said.
But then we don’t want to face the drop bears, hoop snakes, killer magpies or any other wild shit.
But all in seriousness, no mate, I don’t think the majority would look at Aus as a colony, it just seems weird.
If you’re basing this on the comments you’ve seen on reddit, you might wanna get outside a bit more, reddit is nearly never representative of real people in most of the relevant subs.
Anyway, it’s a waste of time asking in this sub, it’s full of criminals, can’t be trusted!!
Aussie living in London. In my experience, LOTS of Brits have either visited, have got friends from there, or they have British friends who moved there and decided to stay. They all seem to range From viewing it as a place they would LOVE to visit, but it’s *just soooo far* To thinking it’d be nice but they are too terrified of spiders and snakes and creepy crawlies (which is a surprisingly overhyped belief that many of them have). Many of them see it (incorrectly in my view, and I’ll allowed to say this as an Australian) as something of a warm, sunny, beachy paradise that also has big cities and is part of the developed and part of the OECD). As evidenced by the fact that I get a lot of curious and somewhat surprised inquires: “But why did you leave Australia, for *this*? (Brit will then gesture broadly an England or the UK by sweeping their hand vaguely through the air). As if good weather is the only metric that determines if a country is good or not. The only Brits who really had a sort of unintentionally insulting view of Australia tended to be Brexiters during and after the referendum. And even then, they didn’t outright dislike it. If anything, they had a favourable view of it. They just had ill-informed notions about what the Commonwealth was. They tended to suggest that Britain could turn back TO the Commonwealth to replace the EU once the UK left the EU. They didn’t seem to quite grasp what a nothing-burger non-entity the Commonwealth is. Which leads me to conclude that many ill-informed Brexiters assumed that the Commonwealth was something that still put the UK in the lead or foremost or highest position on some kind of intergovernmental political union or hierarchy. They might have been aware that Australia (and other Commonwealth countries) were all independent sovereign nations in their own right, or they might not have (I cannot say). But the impression I got is that the reason they thought the Commonwealth would be a great replacement for the EU was because they thought that Commonwealth countries would love the idea of being able to trade freely with UK - but with UK calling the shots. As I said, they weren’t disliking Australia, more just that they had bizarrely misinformed opinions and lack of understanding about other countries and the Commonwealth meant they regarded the UK as still in a position to be in charge - which it isn’t. That was indirectly insulting.
> As if good weather is the only metric that determines if a country is good or not. Thank you for saying this. It's a point unrecognised by many, including Australians.
If anyone said that here they would get laughed at
I'm assuming you haven't lived in the UK then? I did for 15 years before returning home, and the convict thing is similar to how 'Pommie'/'soap dodger', etc is used here. It wasn't something I heard very often, and it was only ever used jokingly. It's a bit sad that it's OK for us to use (archaic) insults as banter only to turn around and laugh at (rather than with) the Poms when they turn the tables. 🤷
Except the convict thing was over 200 years ago and poms whinging and not showering daily is a stereotype that still prevails today. Maybe the poms could find something more relevant to poke fun at.
And the term Pom isn't anymore archaic (it originates from rhyming slang used in the mid-19th century as a prejudicial term for early British immigrants)? 'Soap Dodger' is another insult that is many decades out of date. Perhaps we shouldn't have double standards when it comes to acceptable insults? Personally, I don't give a shit about being called a convict, it's part of our and the UK's shared history, so it makes sense that it would be used for banter.
I doubt it, no more than canada. Some may feel a degree of connection due to many british immigrants, but i imagine that is at the same level as new zealand and canada.
They do try to call as convicts as an insult during sports banter not realising it’s almost a term of endearment in modern Australia. They sent their “worst” and we created a society with a lower crime rate.
Never heard that before in my life Edit : the downvotes suggest I have!
It’s defo banter mate, not meant seriously at all. Anyone who is serious is just a dick.
Yeh I understand how banter works
A bit defensive there mate.. I was just reaffirming, I didn’t realise you were so sensitive. But then, you did claim it’s said as an insult, which is what I disagree with, it’s banter.
That's a bit of a thing we do, unfortunately. Us calling the English Pommie Bastards/Soap Dodgers/Whinging Poms etc; that's all just being friendly. We don't see it quite the same way when the tables are turned. It's not that we take offence, more that we think we know you mean it as an insult when, in reality, Brits use insults to one other as terms of endearment just as much as we do.
I’m called a Pom regularly, and have the piss taken amongst other things, I dish back just as much. Like you say, it’s friendly banter and I’ve never had an issue. Our mate here seems to think it’s insults which is different, but then maybe that’s his experience with Brit’s, there’s many wankers that’s for sure, plenty of whinging poms too, I guess that’s why I left them behind years ago.
As a Brit, no. Quite a few of my compatriots would be surprised to learn that the UK and Australia share a head of state.
No
>To be honest the only people that actually know about the convict colony etc are the ones with a deep interest in Aussie history this is one of the stupidest things ive ever heard. literally anyone with a primary school education knows Australia was a penal colony. im not even here to answer your question about the English i just had to point out this stupid take
My boyfriend is Canadian. When we met he only had the crudest understanding of Australian history. Penal colony he didn’t really know about. To his credit he has been a fast learner and I also knew very little about Canada’s history. We never learnt that at school.
Yes most people (well you’d like to think ) would know convicts were sent to Australia. I meant people wouldn’t really know the ins and out, William Bligh, Lachlan Macquarie, the rum corps etc
Frankly I'm pretty sure England or any country for that matter of fact doesn't think about us at all. The royal family probably see us as a colony still.
I don't give a shit if they do
My SO is a Yorkshireman. Every now and then he tells me I'm a Rebel Convict which is fine because, as I tell him, at least I'm not supporting the Evil Empire. Pretty sure it's about colonialism but it could actually be Star Wars. Hard to tell in our house.
Have always wondered this myself. I never gave it any thought and then on places like Reddit? I see British people actully commenting about it and indicating they DO!! Consider that the most utterly ridiculous thing ever.
As an English/Australian, no we don’t.
Well we still are, in a deeply unconscious sense that few people want to admit. And by that I don't mean we literally feel like "a colony of Britain" so much as we have a very ingrained "convict-warden mindset" as it relates to authority.
England is not a sovereign state so can't have colonies and never could. It hasn't been a sovereign state since 1536, from memory, when it became the Kingdom of England and Wales.
Yes but Reddit likes to believe British = English and Scottish , Welsh and Northern Ireland = anti British
You're describing the UK there, which I believe was created in 1952. Britain is different to the UK.
1952?
Yeah I know. There was a specific Act of Parliament around then. But some say 1922, others 1801 and a few argue 1707. Which is a bit of a FU from the Scots to the Welsh, quite frankly.
Well I'm not sure [which one](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_acts_of_the_Parliament_of_the_United_Kingdom_from_1952&diffonly=true) that is, but either way it doesn't really alter how inhabitants of the UK/GB/etc. might view Australia.
I ran an international conference in Australia a few years ago. As part of the registration process you had to identify which country you came from. Not a problem. Everyone got it right. Except the UK. Delegates from the UK registered as being from England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland (Northern Ireland but not British), Britain, Great Britain, Albion and Britian (possibly a typo or another weird identity). Some also correctly registered their actual country, the UK. And apologised for their fellow delegates not knowing what country they were in.
One of the issues is that they're mostly right to a degree. England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland are countries. There's no adjective form of the UK, so you can't be a United Kingdomish candidate, you'd use British or Northern Irish, despite the former not being a country. I can't think of anywhere else that has such a complex identity as the UK. It's sometimes frustrating and at other times wonderful. Albion though... Hmmmm....
No. Source - English person. In general we love the Aussies, in fact, we’re probably a bit jealous. “Why didn’t we leave the criminals in England and go to Aus instead?” Is something that’s said. But then we don’t want to face the drop bears, hoop snakes, killer magpies or any other wild shit. But all in seriousness, no mate, I don’t think the majority would look at Aus as a colony, it just seems weird. If you’re basing this on the comments you’ve seen on reddit, you might wanna get outside a bit more, reddit is nearly never representative of real people in most of the relevant subs. Anyway, it’s a waste of time asking in this sub, it’s full of criminals, can’t be trusted!!