Living in the Outback

The isolated outback covers the vast interior of the Australian continent. Sparsely populated and characterised by dry weather, red dirt and a certain harshness, its beauty and terror have entered into Australian folklore and identity.

The still silence of the breathing desert is not always hospitable. It holds its secrets in mystery. Who knows what happens in the distant reaches of the dry landscape? There are places most eyes will never see, that most feet will never go. Not all those who have visited have returned to tell the story. The distances are long and many outback locations, inaccessible. 

The Outback: a far flung part of Australia (Photo credit: Lea Pearson)

However, the red earth of outback Australia does support life. Indigenous communities have long lived in this rugged terrain. Early European colonists penetrated these lands and claimed them for the crown; many place names around the Australian outback reflect the names of both Indigenous and European predecessors. The outback has witnessed some atrocities, just as it has witnessed the best of kinship ties and bonds and supported the oldest continuous culture on the planet.

Cattle stations that cover massive areas are dotted all over the outback. The concept of a jackaroo or jillaroo mustering stock in a cloud of dust under a scorching sun is something all Australians are aware of. There is a gap between country and city Australians, but the quintessential outback ringer is as much part of the collective national consciousness as any coastal city of blue water and pristine beaches. Australia’s extensive lands mass is so big that both climate and experience across its breadth varies; however, the outback is considered special by most Australians.

The huge expanses of desert and a history of lives spent in such a challenging environment have become synonymous with Australia. Overseas people know us as a place and people for whom the outback is iconic. When we think of Australia, we think of the bush, of isolation, of ruggedness. The toughness the outback breeds in its citizens has become famous, and we pride ourselves on our resilience. This aspect of Australia cannot be divorced from who we are, and who will become in the future.