Lake Eyre

  • Dead Heart: Australia’s Desert Centre

    Australia has a heart. It is also, rather oddly, called dead. “The Dead Heart” is an old expression for the arid interior of Australia. The phrase became particularly influential after geologist John Walter Gregory used it as the title of his 1906 book The Dead Heart of Australia, following his expedition around Lake Eyre. The name reflects an older way of imagining Australia’s inland deserts as dry, empty and lifeless. Modern knowledge tells a much richer story: central Australia supports a remarkable range of plants, animals and human cultures. Even so, “the Dead Heart” remains part of Australian English and Australia’s historical vocabulary. Meaning 「Dead Heart」は、オーストラリア中央部の乾燥した内陸地域、特に砂漠地帯を指す古くからの表現です。この表現を広めた重要な人物が地質学者John Walter Gregoryで、1906年にThe Dead Heart…

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    Australiana for Australia Day

    オーストラリア人コメディアンオーステン・テーシャス氏＊が1983年豪州象徴的なものや地名などのごろ合わせによって詩「Australiana」で全国一世風靡し、No. 1ヒットとなった。かなりやばい言葉使いであり、色な所で放送禁止となった。 1月26日建国近年日にあたる「Australia Day」にちなんで、下記再現する。お楽しみ。 Australiana Sittin’ at home last Sunday mornin’ me mate Boomer rang (boomerang). Said he was havin’ a few people around for a barbie, Said he might cook a burra (kookaburra) or two. I said, “Sounds great, will Walla be (wallaby) there?” He said “Yeah and Veggie might (Vegemite) come too”. So I said to the wife “Do you wanna Go Anna (goanna)?”. She said “I’ll go if Din goes (dingoes).” So I said “What’ll (wattle) we do about Nulla?” He said “Nulla bores (Nullarbor) me to tears, leave him at home.” We got to the party about two and walked straight out the kitchen to put…