Getting away from it all

Australian folklore is often bundled together with some kinds of literature as part of the enterprise of seeking out distinctive national characteristics, but it's very different from the triumphalist vision of the 'Advance Australia Fair' kind ofnationalis~. If we look at collections like Bill Wannan's The Australian, we are struck by all the defeat and desperation, with people making the best of a bad lot, and with sad cowcockies and various bush oddballs struggling to survive. I shall quote one joke as typical: