Found: Asian story

Australia's foundation story

Other countries have them, of course. The day the nation as we know it was truly formed.

For Australia, while our country was officially brought into being in 1901, it took until the First World War for us to consider ourselves truly Australian.

I feel it is significant that my country's first major conflict resulted in a crushing defeat.

Defeat teaches you a lot about yourself. It forces you to examine where you went right and where you went wrong. The phrase "the bonds of mateship were formed on the beaches of Gallipoli" is a cliche, trotted out every ANZAC Day to make us feel like we are part of something big. A greater nation.

Here's what I think the general perception is of what it means to be Australian:

- "Giving someone a fair go". The idea is that anyone can make something of themselves if they're given a shot at it. It doesn't matter what they look like, how they dress, what they eat. Give them a go and see if they can cut it. Australia has a lot of cultures in our 21 million or so people. The vast majority of people have taken on Australian culture along with their own, with good results.

- "You don't let down your mates". This is a big part of our sporting culture, intertwined with our national identity. When Sally Robbins lay down in her boat in Athens, she let down her mates. I think that's why there was so much anger directed towards her. She broke the code. Your mates will be there for you when even your family fails you. So you don't let them down, and they won't let you down.

- "Help out where you can". Whether it's the bush drying up or floods or just the local footy club needing someone to run the bar. You help out where you can. Because someone's gotta do it, and it might as well be you. The oldies did it when you were a kid, so someone's got to help out for the kiddies.

- "Have a crack at it". This might be part of what came out of Gallipoli, but Aussies love the underdogs. There is a massive groundswell of support for someone fighting the odds. And being the underdogs is a huge advantage. This applies to all parts of life. If you've got no hope of winning something or getting something, you may as well have a crack at it. What have you got to lose? This is in stark contrast to the Asian idea of not 'losing face'.

- "Don't get cocky". This is usually negatively shown in the 'tall poppy syndrome', which really hurts Australia in a number of areas. We expect confidence, not cockiness. Confidence is borne out of knowing you can do the job. Cockiness comes from thinking you're already good enough to do it. When someone gets too cocky, they are brought down (with relish) by their mates. The idea is to keep people level-headed. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But the idea is to stop arrogance, and the problems associated with it.

They're the main points. I think those are the areas that we perceive to be Australian values. Whether or not that's true, well that's up for debate.

It's interesting, because I've grown up with those values. They're a part of me. It's very easy to forget that not everyone feels the same. In other countries and cultures, some of those things would be ignored, frowned upon, or looked at blankly.