The Australian Canon
The Great Works of Australian Literature and the Arts
A nation without a past is a nation without a future.
The great works of Australian culture are essential to understanding our past and our present; but they are increasingly being discarded and/or denigrated in our schools and our universities.
Genius is defined as “the prevailing character or spirit of Australia”.
By exploring the works in the Australian Canon developed here at the Centre for the Australian Way of Life, new generations of Australians can connect to the classic works that tell us who we are; which made us who we are.
This site provides essays, commentaries and Podcast episodes to help Australians make those connections, as they read, watch, view and listen to the great works in the Australian Canon.
Each canonical work will be analysed
Over time an introductory commentary will be provided on every work in the Canon.
Go to the Index, below, and you will see links highlighted wherever these posts have already been published.
Key Essays on the Australian Canon
Why the Canon is needed; what’s in it; and what’s so good about it.
Relevant IPA Research
The Genius of Australia Podcast
(coming soon)
The Canon of Australia Index
Questions We’re Frequently Asked
Another criterion is the hope that every Australian would be familiar with the work.
For a song like Waltzing Matilda, a poem like Clancy of the Overflow, or a short(-ish) and very entertaining read like My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin, this is an attainable goal. We will literally be saying: “you must read this” (while in the case of the latter saying, at least watch the excellent 1979 movie with Judy Davis). For this reason too we have selected not books of poetry by our best-known poets, but rather particular poems. I would rather a young Australian read one poem by the ‘Bard of Bunyah’, Les Murray, than be daunted by a recommendation to read a publication from just one period of a long career, or even a collected works. I want Noonday Axeman to be a gateway drug to the sensibility of a very fine poet and patriot. But then as well as the very popular (and accessible) The Getting of Wisdom, by Henry Handel Richardson, we have also included that author’s epic trilogy, The Fortunes of Richard Mahony, which chronicles the rise and fall of an Anglo-Irish doctor who travelled to Australia to seek his fortune on Ballarat’s goldfields.
The Genius of Australia is available as a Podcast or can be watched on YouTube.
Subscribe to the Podcast via these links:
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The main image is from a larger illustration by the great illustrator, artist and cartoonist, John Spooner.
It shows the “Jolly Swagman” of Waltzing Matilda fame, with his “jumbuck” (the sheep he had just stolen), reading contentedly under the Cooolabah tree the works of the Australian Canon.
You can see the whole image represented here.
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For all other inquiries, please contact cpeterbudge@ipa.org.au.
Latest Posts
Manning Clark’s History of Australia
Michael Cathcart (editor), 1989 Sitting down in his flat at Balliol College, Oxford, in October 1938, the drum beat of war growing louder across Europe, a twenty-three year old Manning Clark wrote an impassioned letter to his future wife, Dymphna. 'I feel certain that I can write something one day on Australian history … I believe quite [...]
The Harp in the South
Ruth Park, 1948 Now a bestselling Australian classic, The Harp in the South was hastily written in just six weeks by author Ruth Park at her parent’s kitchen table with two young children underfoot. It is conspicuously Australian, deeply empathetic and provides a unique insight into life in the slums of Surry Hills. The ordinary problems [...]
The Drover’s Wife
Henry Lawson, 1892 Poet and writer Henry Lawson explores the darker side of the Australian myth in his short story about a young mother living alone in the bush - The Drover’s Wife. Deeply gloomy in tone, Lawson paints a bleak but realistic picture of the challenges faced by early settlers. He draws out the way [...]
A Town Like Alice
Nevil Shute, 1950 The impact of World War II and the Prisoner of War experience on the Australian psyche is described in gritty detail by Neville Shute in his famous novel A Town Like Alice. It is a story of trial and triumph, cruelty and kindness, loss and gain. Shute draws out the Australian dream of [...]
Dot and the Kangaroo
Ethel Pedley, 1899 A plea for environmental conservation sits at the heart of classic children’s tale Dot and the Kangaroo which constructs a strong sense of national identity based on Australia’s unique native flora and fauna. Ethel Pedley explores the wonder and beauty of the Australian bush in captivating detail. Her key theme of living in [...]
Life Cycle
Bruce Dawe, 2009 Best-selling poet, Bruce Dawe (1930 – 2020) has been acclaimed as Australia’s premier bard of the suburbs. A highly respected writer and educator, Dawe’s work was described by Les Murray – arguably Australia’s most important poet of the 20th century – as “wonderfully pitched so it will speak to people of little or [...]
