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Rheba & Bruce// I think the issue being to close to the trees to see the forest is just the human condition regardless of your nationality. You are immersed 24/7 in it. I’m not.. Although you hab the additional burden of your history-one of service and nationalism, Aussies don’t trust any govt official or leaders. A fascinating example was 1943/44 when the Yanks under General Douglas McArthur actually ran Qld and the whole Nth of Aust by Aus Govt edict-no shit. Background: The American troops arrived in Brisbane mainly although quite a few in Sydney too. They were way better paid-way better mannered and a little exotic to Aussie woman who you must remember many Aussie men were away in the Army in Nth Africa and SE Asia and Europe to a much smaller degree. 1oK in UK bomber command alone out of 30K and sprinkled in fighter plane squadrons. The saying was “The bloody Yanks are over-sexed, over paid and over here”. So fights erupted a lot . In one instance there was a gunfight on a train at a station in Brisbane where several troops on both killed by gunshot and dozens injured. All kept hush hush. However as they say in Texas -“you can’t put the shit back in the horse.” Another afterwards was were fights at bars resulted in American MPSs coming over to break it up and being too heavy handed handed with GIs . The Aussies seeing this attacked the MPs to defend the GIs further adding to US troop confusion. As an afterthought there are many streets in post WW2 areas named after US ships in the Midway battle and other Pacific conflicts of note. Maroubra Sydney zip code 2035 has Minneapolis Cres and Midway Ave as a sample.
remember the heritage here were the unwanted and unwashed as our original Brit masters said ie transported prisoners from England.