Australia Considered Off Apron Strings

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29878, 19 July 1962, Page 7

Australia Considered Off Apron Strings

(N.Z.P .A.-Reuter—Copyright)

LONDON, July 17

Austra 1 i a n s considered themselves “on a sort of escalator going up to greatness.” according to “The Times” today. And they care much less than before what other people thought of them. The newspaper’s Canberra correspondent said Australians no longer regarded Britain as a superior Power. In an article headlined “Australia off the apron strings.” he wrote: “Britain is pitied, not only for her weather, but also for being a country on the slippery dip towards, some think in their heart of hearts, debility. “Australia sees herself, by contrast, on a sort of escalator going up to greatness. Britain's struggles are therefore watched with sympathy, but also with a new detachment.

‘‘Even her attempts to hold the Singapore base rouse little popular concern, because its loss is thought to be inevitable —and then not critical for Australians, who feel themselves dependent only on American bases in the Philippines.” If Britain joined the Common Market “it will be the denouement of a story which has steadily been told since the war.”

The correspondent added: “The denouement, if it comes, will bring new difficulties, but it will be most useful as a dramatisation for

popular consumption of something which has already happened. Australian Identity

“Perhaps this new isolation, in a sense, is the reason why a satisfying Australian identity is beginning to come quite naturally through the overlay of so many old and new exotic influences.

“Australians care much less than they did what other people think of them. Instead, Australia is taking to heart the much less cautious criticism of its own returning heroes, like the actress Zoe Caldwell and the author Morris West.

“It is also listening to the sometimes savage complaints of Australians who spend most of their time at home.”