Australian Missionary

In February of 2004 I visited Melbourne for the first time during a short-term missions trip.  Knowing that jet lag would lead to my falling asleep very early, the Missionary couple I stayed with handed me a stack of children’s books about Australian history with an encouragement to read them in the early morning hours.  More than nine years later the time reading those small books is seen as a vital part of my ministry.

There are a number of differences between the American and Australian cultures, but one of the most important relates to the idea of respect.  Individuals in the States will normally base their opinion about someone on their level or success, authority, or position (those in authority are usually treated with respect).  Australians base their respect on a person’s character, and will often go out of their way to disrespect those in authority.  This isn’t done in a rebellious way; instead it’s uses practical jokes, verbal put downs, or actions meant to test the person’s character.

Many Missionaries (both American and otherwise) upon arriving in Australia think the people hate them because they give us a hard time.  However this is just the Aussies way of explaining, “Respect is earned instead of given” within their culture.

But why do they emphasize challenging those in authority?  The answer lies in the history of Australia, and the relationships they had with those in positions of power.

Of course it wouldn’t be possible to write about everything learned in those books, but it’s interesting to see how some historical events and cultural ideas have helped form their relationship with those in authority.

1.  Australia’s Beginning:  Most people know that Australia began as a prison colony for England.  Running out of space in their prisons, the British decided to send their worst criminals to an island that had recently been discovered.  Not only did this separate prisoners from the general population, but also allowed them to be in a very controlled environment since everyone in the position of power was British.

This lack of freedom was understandable when dealing with criminals who were being punished for their actions; but eventually it was placed upon innocent children born there, and those who traveled to Australia to escape the poverty of other Countries.  As the prisoners slowly died off instead of giving more freedom those in power added to their control over the people, and the prison mentality continued even though the people had done nothing wrong.

2.  Eureka Stockade:  During the Australian gold rush (1854) the animosity between the British and Australians continued to grow.  Gold Miners were charged unfair taxes on the gold they found and many times was given less than the proper value by those in power.  The frustration over this and other issues led a group of miners to kill a British soldier, and then gather in Eureka, part of what is now called Ballarat.

Once there they flew the Eureka flag, one created specifically for the occasion because it didn’t have the British flag in it.  This was viewed as an open declaration of war, and soon English troops attacked Eureka.  Unfortunately the miner’s inexperience in fighting led to their demise because instead of preparing for war, they spent much of the night celebrating their victory, within a few days the British troops had killed every one of them.  There were many other violent revolts against the corrupt government but each ended in failure.

3.  Ned Kelly:  Following the Sheep Shearers Rebellion (1891) Australians were finally given the ability to rule themselves and enjoy newfound freedom.  However there where still some areas where the authority (police, Government) was focused on continuing the old way of doing things.  In these cases Australians would always rise to the challenge and confront the injustice of those in leadership.

One of these individuals was Ned Kelly, a man who after police tried to put him in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, started robbing banks with his brothers.  They were always careful not to hurt anyone (whenever the Ned Kelly gang robbed a bank they would put all the people in the town hall so they could dance and have a party while the bank was being robbed) and would give the money back to those in poor areas instead of keeping it for themselves.  Legend has it that Ned Kelly had created a plan to kill many corrupt police by tearing off the train tracks knowing that they would come to capture him by train.

This plan was averted because one man asked permission to get his “dancing shoes”  but instead stopped the train a few miles ahead.  Ned Kelly was hung, but to this day is loved by the Australian people because he stood up to corrupt leaders.

4.  Tall Poppy Syndrome:  The idea of confronting injustice is still has an important part of the Australian culture, though they no longer rob banks and try to kill police.  Instead most people in positions of power are what Aussies call “tall poppy,” or a person who thinks they are better than everyone else.  There are few things that Australians hate more than someone who is full of pride, so it becomes their responsibility (much like old Ned Kelly) to cut down the tall poppy.  This isn’t done with guns, but words, jokes, or seeing how the person responds to stress.

No Australian would say their emphasis on earning respect instead of getting it because of your position comes from the corrupt British leadership, but they are raised from a young age to question authority.  That sounds terrible yet in my opinion it’s one of the best things about Australia.

We have all been influenced by people who looked or seemed trustworthy, only to learn later they had no real character at all.  Their view of respect forced me to focus on developing relationships with Australians (which is how you truly earn respect) and living a Godly testimony instead of ministry activity during my first year on the field.  Initially this seemed like a waste of time, but the respect I earned because of it has reaped wonderful benefits.