Australia is known for the Sydney Opera House, the Australian Open, Nobel Laureates, Ian Thorpe, UGG boots, agriculture products, and the list goes on. But wait. Didn’t the country start out as a colony of convicts?
The National Library of Australia by stage88
The National Library—found in Canberra—allows Australians to trace their convict lineage! In short, this country began with terrible conditions. How did the country go from convict colony to a nation with a legacy to the world?
A unique beginning
Last December, I visited the Hyde Park Barracks museum. Not the usual tourist fare. It used to be one of the convict barracks. And it sure depicted the kind of life they lived through the personal items they had, the lodging, and the kind of routine they kept.
Hyde Park Barracks in Sydney, Australia
The museum had an ingenious replica of the convicts log, which documented each prisoner’s name, crime, sentence, and hometown in Britain. There were murderers but a lot committed petty crimes. One was sentenced to 7 years in prison for stealing a hair-brush. Regardless of the severity of the crime, the point is, these people were unwanted by society. Some early settlers were survivors of the Irish famine while some were orphans. To tell you the truth, it was heart-wrenching for me to go through the entire museum all because I realized that Filipinos did not start out as convicts. I remember that the Spanish were shocked to find the early Filipinos clad in gold!!!
Ancient Filipinos clad in Gold from the Boxer Codex
The early Filipinos were learned people. The big question is, while the convicts made a nation for themselves, what happened to the Philippines?
Kangaroos with a vision
The kangaroo and the emu—animals native to Australia—are conspicuously found in the nation’s emblem.
The Coat of Arms of Australia
This is for the reason that these animals have the inability to walk backward, thanks to their physiology. Come to think of it, it would be really funny to see kangaroos hop backwards. But seriously, these animals symbolize the forward-looking spirit of a people who began in the worst beginnings. For instance, in Parramatta, Sydney, you’ll find The Experiment Farm.
The Experiment Farm, Parramatta, Sydney, Australia
Farming was developed here and this made Parramatta the bread basket of the country. There was an urgent need to develop agriculture due to the impending starvation of the colony—since the site where the colony settled was not suitable for planting. The convict, James Ruse, began the experiment and the rest is history!
Even a rock has a story
One by one, the settlers came to love the country. They didn’t see it anymore as a place where the unwanted lived. It became a place where a new life could begin. I’ve been to the amazing places of Australia but what really amazes me is that in present-day Sydney, practically every corner has a story. I would sometimes just shake my head, thinking that it’s already exaggeration. I would often reflect that the Philippines should have more stories to tell because the early Filipinos were ancient! But it’s not really about whether Australia has many stories or not. I realized that stories abound because when people have love for country, even a piece of rock will have a story. I was brought to what is called the Blow Hole. So many people were eagerly waiting for something to happen. And I was wondering what it was, only to find out that they were waiting for the water from the crashing waves to go through the hole in the rocks and shoot up into the air! Well nothing happened that time because it was low-tide—it didn’t dampen their excitement though! Another time I was brought to a cliff. It was called a Look Out. Well, it literally looked out into the sea because it was a cliff!!! And in my heart I wept for the Philippines. We have the most beautiful sunset in the world, the best beaches, the most diverse flora and fauna and we can go on forever. But we will be story-less all because there is no love for country.
Restoring history
Last March, I visited the Old Governor’s House. And there was this sweet old lady who was a volunteer tour guide.
The Old Governor’s House, Parramatta, Sydney, Australia
We spent 30 minutes just talking about a particular tree in the heritage site. By the end of the tour, she asked if there were also many historical houses being restored in Manila. I said that there are some but things could be better. I will never forget her reply. She said, we can only restore when we have come to terms with our history. She was referring to restoring heritage sites but I was thinking about the heritage of the Filipinos as a people.
I dropped by Kinokuniya bookstore in the CBD. Malaysia, Indonesia, Laos and Cambodia have their own sections. The one book I found on the Philippines was in the PACIFIC ISLANDERS section. Why should our identity matter to the world when it does not matter to us? Again I wanted to cry because the world treats us according to how we treat ourselves. The Australians became proud of their accent, which was deplored as un-British, while Filipinos want to have the accent of Beverly Hills and worse, we deplore our own color!
We need not stay convicts
The history of Australia is full of people of vision. James Cook, the founding father, was one of the greatest explorers of the world. Richard Taylor, the first chaplain, took care of the convicts and saw a future in the change of their character. The governor-generals were people of character, learning and discovery. The War Museum in Canberra is a very beautiful testament to the valor of the soldiers who happily died for principle, even in a heart-breaking losing battle!
The Australian War Museum, Canberra, Australia
But what I love the most about the history of Australia is the fact that the country was transformed by the choices of the individuals who considered Australia not anymore as the largest prison in the world but as a place of hope and new beginnings. It is ironic to hear that Australia is now the safest country in the world. A penal colony! The transformation of the country is due to the realization of people that they too can be a legacy to the world. After everything, the trips to the Land Down Under became a message about my beloved country—the Philippines. The real prison sentence is not done by any court but by the kind of actions we choose to take, the kind of life we choose to live and the kind of love we choose to bestow on our country. Nation of Servants is a sentence. Basket Case of Asia is a sentence. But just like the early Australians, we need not stay convicts. Let us choose not to. We too can be a legacy to the world. When our love for country has grown up, the time will come that every alitaptap in the Philippines will have its own story to tell.
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