Back to the Back of Beyond / Aussies - Laid Back?

On Friday I travelled 250km South East from Perth to the inland town of Kojonup, where I was met by my new hosts and driven a further 8km to their farm. It's another place that some would hasten to call 'the middle of nowhere' or 'the back of beyond', but I have a new standard for such labels after my dairy farming days around the empty plains of Northern Victoria, especially as I knew that the population would rapidly tend towards zero if I headed from there towards the centre of the continent. The Shire of Kojonup is a lot like Northern Victoria in some regards - it is an extremely sparsely populated area of farmland, the big city is several hours away, and the combination of relentless sun and water shortage has rendered the fields a golden-yellow hue - since mid-October there have only been 8mm of rainfall here. However, this part of Western Australia isn't giving me the same remote, barren, even harsh feeling that I was hit with in Northern Victoria. I attribute this to several factors: Firstly, the landscape here is not completely flat and featureless, but pleasingly undulating and blessed with plenty of trees, with the farm enjoying scenic views of fields and trees gently ascending the surrounding hillsides. Secondly, the flies. Oh, the flies! On the dairy farm they were merciless in their covering of my face and buzzing in and around my ears. In thankful contrast, none have bothered me here yet. Thirdly, the savage run of 40 degree days I sweated through in Northern Victoria hasn't been recreated here - so far it has been manageably hot during the days and then it cools off in the evening. The farm I'm staying at is home to a whopping 15,000 sheep and the farmers also grow canola, wheat, barley, and oats. My jobs are mostly going to be around the garden rather than on the farm, but I'll still have plenty of opportunities to learn about the business so it promises to be a fascinating two weeks.

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If Brits were asked to name characteristics of Aussies, I think 'laid back' would be one of the most common responses. However, I haven't really seen sufficient evidence to support that stereotype yet. Sure, I have met a plethora of superbly laid back Australians, but I've also encountered many who aren't distinctly easy going, and met a handful who are about as laid back as Harry Redknapp during the final ten minutes of a relegation six-pointer. So overall, I wouldn't say Australians are noticeably more laid back than other people. However, my hosts here in Kojonup, the incredibly friendly Tim and Anita, are gloriously laid back, and it is surely people like them who have given Aussies their laid back reputation. It is impossible to imagine them ever rushing around and I don't think I could fluster them if I tried. For example, yesterday Tim and I were driving an archaic truck down a dusty road when the engine started sputtering. We had run out of fuel (avid readers of this blog may recall the same thing happened on the dairy farm). Was there shouting and swearing? Were fists bashed furiously against the steering wheel? Were there stern watch consultations to determine how much time this delay was going to cost us? Nope, Tim simply commented "we seem to be out of fuel", calmly stopped the truck on the side of the road, remarked "that's one of the exciting things about working with old machinery", and phoned his son for help.

On Saturday, the 100th day of my travels, I accompanied Tim to the weekly tennis meetup where I joined a number of equally laid back guys for a fantastically laid back afternoon. We arrived at the farm that was hosting this week's edition just before 2pm and four of us hopped on a court that was full of character and bad bounces in equal measure. The court was fenced in by chicken wire and the concrete surface was cracked and uneven in places, giving the opportunity for devilish serves that landed on the forehand side, then bounced wickedly and irretrievably over to the backhand side. Surrounded charmingly by farmyard, trees and fields, it was a lot of fun to play on. There were 13 players and just one court, so the ratio of sitting on the side and talking to playing was high, and that was just fine with everyone.  The matches were played to the sound of jovial chatter and laughter, sometimes directed at the play but more often about anything and everything. It was noticeable and refreshing how the conversation never drifted from the light hearted and agreeable, with nobody taking advantage of having company to moan or argue. Meanwhile, none of the players were whining about their game or the court, with effort being put in but winning or losing inconsequential. At around 3.30pm, tea, sandwiches, and cake arrived courtside. At 5pm, the Esky was inevitably rolled out and by 6 everyone had shunned tennis in favour of beer. Just before seven the crowd started to disperse, but until then not one of the 13 guys had been needing to rush off somewhere.

When people imagine laid back Australians, I think they picture slackers with a beer in one hand and a skewer of barbequed shrimp in the other - people who are laid back by virtue of not doing much or caring about much. But that is cheating at being laid back in my opinion. My hosts and the tennis guys are genuinely laid back. They all work extremely hard on their farms and have families and property and so forth to take care of. But they are happy, cordial, unstressed and just don't worry about things that don't really matter, which is almost everything when you stop and think about it. It's nice to be around.

A view from the farm.