Australia in Music

As “‘[p]laces’ can be thought of as complex entities, ensembles of material objects, people, and systems of social relationships embodying distinct cultures and multiple meanings, identities and practices” (Hudson 2006, p. 627), it is very difficult to fully depict a place in a single song. Australia poses a significant problem in this respect – despite being such a geographically stagnant continent, its vast size and widely varying landscape is coupled with a constantly changing society and a constantly changing perception of that society. “[C]omposers have drawn inspiration both from the landscape itself and the fauna it supports ... [but] There is no geographical or spiritual consistency in the landscape that is Australia, rather it is a diverse place stimulating a wide range of responses” (Richards 2007, p. 1). This has resulted in wide variation in Australian songs, yet many songs have been promoted as capturing the spirit of Australia, heralded as snapshots of Australian life, even if they only refer to a small part of the country or a local identity, “a regional image [being] appropriated to stand for national identity” (Douglas, 2000).