Are we really the lucky country?

I’ve often wondered why Australia is called the “Lucky Country”.

I mean, has it won a $200 million U.S. power ball lottery? Is it married to Scarlett Johansson or Brad Pitt? Has it narrowly missed tripping on a broken paving stone outside Woolies…?

Sadly, the real reason is much less fanciful and somewhat ironic.

Apparently, historian Donald Horne coined the phrase in a book in 1964, claiming Australia was a lucky country run mainly by second rate people who share its luck. Ouch! No OAM for you Donald.

My pontification on the origin of the phrase came to head recently during a road trip to the south coast of New South Wales. I’ve lived in Sydney for 27 years but have previously only made it as far as Southern Highlands in my myriad wanderings.

The scenery throughout the Shoalhaven region and down as far as Batemans Bay is just impeccable. It reminded me of parts of Tasmania for its striking beauty; a mix of green, rolling hills and the kind of picture-perfect beaches you only find in glossy travel magazines or in expensive TV ads.

My mind returned again to the ‘lucky’ theme when I attended the launch of another sublime piece of Australiana from the good folk behind the Ayers Rock Resort.

Hot on the heels of their success with Field of Light and Wintjiri Wiru, they now bring us Sunrise Journeys, described as a “cultural and sensory immersion”.

The red centre desert will become the canvas for an animated indigenous experience that once more aims to highlight this country’s incredible indigenous heritage.

It will launch on August 1 and I hope to maybe get a sneak preview when I travel there shortly before it launches.

People often tell me that I am lucky to do the job that I do, venturing around the world and reporting back on incredible travel experiences.

They’re not wrong but perhaps we need to look a little closer to home to discover that actually, all of us are fortunate enough to live in such a diverse, absorbing and amazing country.

So it’s not the country that’s lucky but the people who live it in. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it, Donald!