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(chuckling) That's not a knoife. (pulls out a ten inch Bowie knife) That's a knoife!
A cousin of the badass Spaniard.
Since Australia has earned a reputation as one of the most dangerous countries on Earth, due to its harsh environment and myriad of highly dangerous creatures, many authors have stood to reason that anyone who can survive there must be quite a bit tougher than your ordinary human. Australians (specifically, Anglo-Australian males) in fiction are often portrayed as über-masculine rough-and-tumble supermen, champion outdoorsmen who tear up the outback in their Jeeps and have never met a crocodile they couldn't wrestle. Expect a fondness for knoives. Obviously not 100% realistic, but there's some truth here.
For more completely true information on Australia, see Land Down Under.
Examples:
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Advertising
- Parodied on the "How to Speak Australian" campaign for Fosters Beer. For example, a man who goes "ow" after being crushed by a boulder is a "crybaby".
Comic Books
Film
- Mick Dundee, Paul Hogan's character in Crocodile Dundee, is the trope codifier (much to many Australians' dismay). Something of a subversion, since his famous claims turn out to have been substantially exaggerated, and he's a bit clueless when out of his element. Still decidedly tough, though.
- The Drover in the film Australia was clearly designed with this stereotype in mind, complete with the use of "Crikey!" As such, he references several other famous Badass Australians.
- Mad Max: "Mad" Max Rockatansky.
- The globe-trotting hunter Robert Muldoon is portrayed this way in Jurassic Park, though most of his badassery is informed. He's said to have traveled the world, hunting the most dangerous animals there are, though he's eventually caught and devoured by velociraptors.
Literature
Live Action TV
Video Games
Webcomics
Western Animation
Real Life
- Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, the ballsiest animal rights activist ever to walk the Earth. As his nickname implies, Irwin is mostly known for wrestling crocodiles, which he had done since the age of nine. He based his persona on Crocodile Dundee.
- The whole Irwin family counts. Steve's wife, Terri, even became an Australian citizen.
- Albert Jacka
- Billy Sing, Australia's greatest sniper in WWI. Born in the state of Queensland, and notably unusual (in terms of this trope) for being ethnically half-Chinese. General William Birdwood, commander of Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), told Lord Kitchener that "if his troops could match the capacity of the Queensland sniper the allied forces would soon be in Constantinople." The enemy forces specifically assigned a champion Turkish sniper to assassinate the man. When said sniper had Sing in his sights, Sing shot first, and was the only one of the two to walk away alive.
- Along simlar lines was Caleb Shang, a Chinese-Australian soldier and something of a soldierly jack-of-all-trades, worked as both advanced scout, sniper, machine gunner, stretcher bearer, anything the regiment needed him to be. He was the most highly decorated non-white soldier of the ANZAC forces, including Billy Sing.
- Just about every dangerous animal from that continent. Tawny Frogmouths, huge birds with red eyes and wide, reptile-like mouths. Dingos. The Inland Taipan, the most venomous snake in the world. And, of course, saltwater crocodiles.
- Huntsman spiders.
- Huntsman spiders may be giant and hairy, but they're really quite gentle.
- Ned Kelly, famous bush-ranger, outlaw and now firmly entrenched figure of folk-lore.
- 'Sir' John Monash, WW 1 General and last man ever knighted on the field of battle. Held responsible by King George for winning the entire damned war. One notable quote: King George commented that they just 'might' win the war using Monash's tactics. Monash's reply, a single incredulous 'might?'
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