Australia 43

Listen to Australia 43, a 53-year-old man from Carnarvon and Thornlie, Western Australia. Click or tap the triangle-shaped play button to hear the subject. 

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Please note that the subject uses explicit language in his unscripted speech.

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

AGE: 53

DATE OF BIRTH (DD/MM/YYYY): 21/06/1970

PLACE OF BIRTH: Perth, Western Australia

GENDER: male

ETHNICITY: White (Australian/British)

OCCUPATION: farmhand (ex-butcher)

EDUCATION: finished year 11

AREAS OF RESIDENCE OUTSIDE REPRESENTATIVE REGION FOR LONGER THAN SIX MONTHS:

The subject has never lived outside Western Australia. He grew up in Thornlie until age 18. (At the time, it was a small suburb on the outskirts of Perth.) He then moved to Carnarvon and has since lived there or in various rural stations in the area.

OTHER INFLUENCES ON SPEECH: none

The text used in our recordings of scripted speech can be found by clicking here.

RECORDED BY: Debbie Dowden

DATE OF RECORDING (DD/MM/YYYY): 28/09/2023

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF SCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

ORTHOGRAPHIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH:

[I was born in] Perth. So, I grew up in a suburb called Thornlie, which was on the, well, it’s, it’s on the south of the river [Swan River]. Was all farmland; mum and dad bought the block in ’68; I’m born in ’70. I can still remember that there was cows walking through the backyard when I — as far back as I can remember, when it was all bush. Lived there ’til I was 18. Hmm, Mount Magnet! For two weeks, [interviewer laughs] working, working for a trucking company, ’til I saw the light, went back to Perth, um, and then I, uh, ended up in Carnarvon. Had to get out of Perth, and went to Carnarvon. That woulda been, um, so that’s about 90, 90, 91, 90 or 91, one or the other. On and off for the last 30 years. [Interviewer whispers.] Was, uh, yeah, that was sorta home, and then you’d move out, go and work on stations, or, yeah. Follow your dreams in the bush and then go back to town when you run outta money. …

Year 11, did a pre-apprenticeship butchering, for 12 months, got a butchering apprenticeship. Snatched that about halfway through second year, and went into the wholesale meat industry, and boning [removing bones from] kangaroos for pet food. Worked at Rogs jetty, and then that was sorta, yeah. That was when I flew the coop. Get outta Perth and never went back. …

On mum’s side, it’s documented that they came out on the second boat to Perth. So that’s um, 1830 or 1829. [Birds chirping.] They settled as free settlers in Perth. On the old man’s side, we’ve just found out that his, both his grandparents — well, apparently grandparents — came from Adelaide. And then, um, his father was born in Narrogin, but this old Aboriginal woman looked after him. So we don’t know whether that was his nanny or his mother. There’s a lot more pointing towards it coulda been his mother. Uh, but we don’t know. There’s nothing written down, and they would — didn’t write shit down in those days. The ironic bit is that the grandparents never lived together. And you find out more and more these days. …

Carnarvon has its own language. And I can’t — now that I’m on the spot — I can’t think of — we’ve certain sayings and people say to us, “Well, you got that Carnarvon slang.” It’s a different — yeah, I dunno what it is. It’s just a — there’s, there’s different slangs, and they reckon we got a different tone, I suppose. There’s heaps, lots of — and I use a lot of colloquialisms. Um, just trying to think. Can’t think of one at the moment. [Interviewer laughs.] Maybe, looking, looking at your little dog, and we were talking about the tennis ball, y’know? “Oh, that’s as awkward as a roo dog fucking a tennis ball.” [Interviewer laughs.] Yeah, that sorta stuff. Um, I dunno. And that’s the language we use. We swear a lot! And I believe, after reading up all sorts of stuff, they reckon the more a person swears, the more honest they are!

TRANSCRIBED BY: Rhea Dowden

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): 28/09/2023

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

SCHOLARLY COMMENTARY:

Though the subject was born on the outskirts of Perth, his dialect is clearly more representative of the Carnarvon area.

COMMENTARY BY: Rhea Dowden

DATE OF COMMENTARY (DD/MM/YYYY): 28/09/2023

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