Review

Review: Symbols of Australia shows the difficulty of defining an entire nation through symbols alone

By Mark Thomas
January 22 2022 - 12:00am
Pavlova - the most ambiguous of all Australian symbols. Picture: Shutterstock
Pavlova - the most ambiguous of all Australian symbols. Picture: Shutterstock
  • Symbols of Australia: Imagining a Nation, edited by Melissa Harper and Richard White. NewSouth, $39.99.

This new edition of Symbols of Australia (first published in 2010) starts with a bleak warning from Joseph Furphy in 1903. "Loyalty to something is an ingredient in our moral constitution, and the more vague the object, the more rabid will be our devotion to the symbol."

Subscribe now for unlimited access.

$0/

(min cost $0)

or signup to continue reading

See subscription options

Get the latest Tenterfield news in your inbox

Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date.

We care about the protection of your data. Read our Privacy Policy.