19 Jan A Love Letter To Australia

We pen a letter to Australia, thanking the country for all its true blue beauty.

Dear Australia,

You make Australia home and I want to thank you for all these things… and more:

Quokkas – my favourite Aussie animal and the happiest in the world!

Fairy bread – our national delicacy.

Having a dream holiday on our doorstep with your beautiful beaches, fine cities and rolling countryside.

Pavlova – the Aussie celebratory dessert (sorry New Zealand but we’re claiming this one!).

Our unique wildlife and all those cuddly and cute native animals – Koalas, Kangaroos and Wombats, we are looking at you.

All the things that our fine country of masterminds have invented – notepads, Google maps, Utes, colourful banknotes, Gumtree (the website,) Uggs, Hills Hoists, the spork, refrigerators (Harrison’s method was totally us,) double flush toilets and of course all our medical marvels like penicillin and the HPV vaccine.

Thanks also for keeping our bellies happy with meat pies, milk bar treats, Vegemite, Tim Tams, Golden Gaytimes, BBQs, the epic Bubble O’ Bill, Ice Vovos, Smith Potato Chips, Chiko rolls, Anzac biscuits, Lamingtons and all that handy bush tucker.

And don’t forget the stunning landscapes and unique wonders – Australian native plants, The Outback, Great Barrier Reef, Sydney Opera House, Uluru, The Big Pineapple and The Big Banana.

Our sense of community and Aussie slang.

All the Australian mothers, creatives, athletes, authors, artists, film-makers and musicians doing us proud.

I guess I could kinda, sort of, maybe forgive you for these not-so-good things too… Heatwaves, poisonous snakes and spiders (the deadliest in the world!), possums (who keep eating all the flowers in our gardens), the fact that we are a bloody long way away from all other countries (no one likes long-haul flights…).

But you really should get working on getting bullet trains, Quokkas put on bank notes and bringing Australia’s Wonderland back!

Jenna xo

Aussie Illustrations + Artwork by Lilly Miranda + Martina Martian