Mateship

Many people assume a mate is simply a friend, but Nick Dyrenfurth contends that this view misses most of the story. This book is the first full-length study of mateship, the informal code Australians often describe as uniquely their own. Its author is one of the country's leading younger historians and a regular public commentator.

The word's origins are less sentimental than many expect. The first Australians to address one another as 'mate' were business partners, and some reformers hoped mateship could be the basis of a socialist society. Meanwhile, critics tie the idea to conformity, bullying, corruption, racism and misogyny, while its defenders regard it as the finest word in the language.

Across more than two centuries of settler history, the book follows an unusually wide cast: shearers, soldiers, tradespeople, bankers, poets, politicians and even the occasional feminist. Former prime minister Julia Gillard is among those who have claimed the creed as their own.

Dyrenfurth's central observation is that Australia's distinctive contribution to the idea lies less in mateship itself than in the sheer amount of time the nation has spent debating it.