At the start of 2023, my fellow traveller and I journeyed on a Viking cruise from Sydney to Auckland. It was the second Viking cruise we have been on, the first a cruise from London to Bergen in 2019. The most recent cruise was originally a river cruise from Amsterdam to Basel which was postponed several times due to the pandemic and then converted to a cruise in local waters. On our return from New Zealand we immediately rebooked the original river cruise for 2024 and persuaded two friends to join us on it.
Getting on board
Once I had never been on a cruise and never imagined I would ever go on a cruise. That all changed when I visited Scotland in 2017. I became fascinated by the degree to which Scotland and Northern England were connected to Norway. We decided we would like to see Orkney and the Shetland Islands and after looking around settled on the Viking cruise. A cruise to Norway on a Norwegian ship seemed highly appropriate.
We arrived from Bath at Greenwich, ouside London, where he ship was riding at anchor. Dragging our luggage along the quay, I can still remember the little group in Viking uniforms who came up behind us and said ‘we’ll take that’ – it was our welcome to the world of Viking. When I saw Viking Jupiter sitting high on the Thames, waiting for us to board – at Greenwich as well, such a powerful historical place in terms of British maritime history – I knew I had to come to the right place.
A decorated gunner on a destroyer escort
Only weeks before, on the way to a stay in a National Trust cottage in an abandoned inlet in Cornwall, we had been in the naval centre at Portsmouth. There I remembered one of my five uncles, all of whom fought in World War 2. He had been a decorated gunner on the destroyers protecting merchant ships supplying Russia round distant North Cape at the very top of Norway. Only a week later we were to see the very North Cape he sailed around as we crossed the Arctic Circle and headed to the top of Norway.
Unfortunately, soon after we set sail that night, the brand new ship broke down in the Thames. As a result, we were delayed for a couple of days and missed Orkney and Shetland, the original impetus for our trip. This was beyond Viking’s control and they compensated us for it and their brilliant excursion team hastily organised a replacement visit to the legendary Sissinghurst, home of Vita Sackville-West, while the ship was being repaired. The tour was stunning and a welcome addition to the trip.
One of the most memorable moments of my life
We loved the cruise to New Zealand and the Norway cruise was definitely one of the most memorable moments of my life – gliding through the deep fjords at night and travelling far above the Arctic Circle. For me the highlight of travel with Viking is the fact that the ships are like a combination of floating libraries and Nordic spas, with good food and wine added – what not to like? On top of that, there’s the general bonus everyone notes that cruises offer – you only unpack once.
On board Viking ocean ships, once you have exhausted yourself relaxing in the sauna, spa and pools, the library is everywhere, and it’s more amazing than it sounds. There are shelves of books dispersed all around the ship, with quiet corners where you can read in peace, mostly away from the intermittent live television broadcasts of American sports, which I didn’t remember from the Norway trip – which luckily you can avoid. The collection is ‘curated’ (to use the latest on trend word) by a London-based bookstore and many of the volumes, while representing the idiosyncratic choices of the bookstore, are surprising and exceptional.
Cultural and educational focus
Viking prides itself on its cultural and educational focus and designs its shore excursions to reflect this. Yet, as I told them, I was amazed that the stops in Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart and Wellington had no excursions to the Powerhouse Museum, the Melbourne Museum, the Museum of Old and New Art or Te Papa, the national museum of New Zealand, all world class institutions full of fascinating collections. At the most, the generic Viking ‘Sights of’ tours mention the institutions in passing. In Melbourne there was a major Alexander McQueen fashion exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria, which we visited independently, that could easily have been an excursion.
Just before we arrived in Napier we discovered at the informative port talk that precedes arrival in each destination that one of the most significant Māori archaelogical sites in New Zealand was only 17 minutes by bus from Napier. The Ōtātara Pā was listed as a massive fortified village site covering 58 hectares. Yet it was nowhere to be seen on the Viking list. We had planned to abandon the official list of shore excursions and take a taxi there, but we had to be back on board by 1 pm, so it was too tight.
My sense of the excursions and port talks on the Auckland cruise were that they weren’t as good as on the Norway cruise, perhaps because the Australian routes being new were less familiar to Viking. In this case, a friend who subsequently visited reported that there was not a lot to see at the site, so luckily we didn’t end up missing much. The good news is that Viking took my comments on board (so to speak) and hopefully will follow them up.
Avoiding convenience
After our first cruise when the pandemic hit I read an article by an Australian academic who specialises in writing about the cruise industry. She spelled out the ways cruise lines register their ships in ports of convenience to avoid work health and safety, employment and tax obligations. I was curious about Viking, so I did some research. I was pleased to find that all Viking ocean ships are registered in Norway and all river cruise ships are registered in the country in which they sail – that is massive and definitely worth promoting, though maybe many of the Americans who seem to be Viking’s largest market don’t really care. On top of that talking to Viking crew members on the ships conveyed the impression that they liked working for Viking. It was clear to us that the staff on Viking ships are Viking’s greatest asset.
In the world of cruising Viking is pretty exceptional, and cruising on its ships is very seductive. We met some very interesting people, including two terrific Americans, who we clicked with straight away and have maintained contact with since. I haven’t bothered to look at any other cruise line since our first cruise with them.
Travelling light – Into Northern seas: UK, Norway, Denmark and Germany 2019
‘Neither I nor my fellow traveller had been on a cruise before, but suddenly we were sailing from London to Bergen, retracing the steps of the ancient Vikings. When we were in Scotland in 2017, we became entranced by the centuries of exchange and movement between Northern England and Scotland and Norway. We saw a cruise that travelled from Edinburgh to Bergen and became quite excited about the idea. Before you knew it, we were booked to sail from London to Edinburgh, then across the Norwegian Sea far above the Arctic Circle to the Northern-most tip of Norway before working out way down through the fjords and passages of the Norway coast to Bergen, the second largest city in Norway. We hadn’t even been discouraged by the fact that earlier that year another Viking cruise ship was nearly wrecked when one of its engines failed in a huge storm and passengers had to be lifted off by helicopter above raging seas’, Travelling light – Into Northern seas: UK, Norway, Denmark and Germany 2019.
I smoke baby cigars Absent without leave – ocean crossing in an (almost) post-pandemic world
‘I’ve been a little out of touch with what’s been happening in the world of Australian creativity and culture because for all of February and early March this year I was visiting Aotearoa New Zealand, on a journey that originally started in November 2016 and was then resumed over six years later. While I was away the Labor Government announced its new National Cultural Policy and soon after I arrived back I received bad news of a loss from the tight group of friends and colleagues who had helped form my cultural world-view so many decades earlier – when we spoke the language of community, the language of culture and the language of changing the world for the better’, Absent without leave – ocean crossing in an (almost) post-pandemic world.
The Asian Century was underway long before the British arrived
‘We are all used to being astounded as we see growing evidence of how widespread contact and trade was across the breadth of the ancient European world and with worlds far beyond. The Romans and the Vikings and many after them all roamed far and wide. This is the stuff of a hundred television documentaries that show just how interconnected the ancient world was. Connection, not isolation, has always been the norm. Seaways were bridges, not barriers – a way to bring people together, not divide them. Now important archaeological work confirms just how widespread that cross-cultural, international network was across the whole of Northern Australia, long before the British arrived’, The Asian Century was underway long before the British arrived.
History all around us – the long term practical impact of cultural research
‘Cultural research has long term impacts in terms of our developing body of knowledge which stretch far into the future. Researchers are finding stories in our major cultural collections that were never envisaged by those originally assembling them – a process that will continue long into the future. The collections of our major cultural institutions are becoming increasingly accessible to the very people the collections are drawn from and reflect. In the process they are generating greater understanding about some of the major contemporary issues we face’, History all around us – the long term practical impact of cultural research.
The Magna Carta – still a work in progress
‘You don’t have to be part of ‘Indigenous affairs’ in Australia to find yourself involved. You can’t even begin to think of being part of support for Australian arts and culture without encountering and interacting with Indigenous culture and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and individuals who make it and live it.’ The Magna Carta – still a work in progress.
The hidden universe of Australia's own languages
‘I’ve travelled around much of Australia, by foot, by plane, by train and by bus, but mostly by car. As I travelled across all those kilometres and many decades, I never realised that, without ever knowing, I would be silently crossing from one country into another, while underneath the surface of the landscape flashing past, languages were changing like the colour and shape of the grasses or the trees. The parallel universe of Indigenous languages is unfortunately an unexpected world little-known to most Australians.’ The hidden universe of Australia's own languages.
Viking Jupiter in Geirangerfjord Norway
Once I had never been on a cruise and never imagined I would ever go on a cruise. That all changed when I visited Scotland in 2017. I became fascinated by the degree to which Scotland and Northern England were connected to Norway. We decided we would like to see Orkney and the Shetland Islands and after looking around settled on the Viking cruise. A cruise to Norway on a Norwegian ship seemed highly appropriate.
‘Once I had never been on a cruise and never imagined I would ever go on a cruise. That all changed when I visited Scotland in 2017. I became fascinated by the degree to which Scotland and Northern England were connected to Norway. A cruise to Norway on a Norwegian ship seemed highly appropriate.’
We arrived from Bath at Greenwich, ouside London, where he ship was riding at anchor. Dragging our luggage along the quay, I can still remember the little group in Viking uniforms who came up behind us and said ‘we’ll take that’ – it was our welcome to the world of Viking. When I saw Viking Jupiter sitting high on the Thames, waiting for us to board – at Greenwich as well, such a powerful historical place in terms of British maritime history – I knew I had to come to the right place.
Viking Jupiter rides at anchor on the Thames at Greenwich
Only weeks before, on the way to a stay in a National Trust cottage in an abandoned inlet in Cornwall, we had been in the naval centre at Portsmouth. There I remembered one of my five uncles, all of whom fought in World War 2. He had been a decorated gunner on the destroyers protecting merchant ships supplying Russia round distant North Cape at the very top of Norway. Only a week later we were to see the very North Cape he sailed around as we crossed the Arctic Circle and headed to the top of Norway.
‘I remembered one of my five uncles, all of whom fought in World War 2. He had been a decorated gunner on the destroyers protecting merchant ships supplying Russia round distant North Cape at the very top of Norway. Only a week later we were to see the very North Cape he sailed around as we crossed the Arctic Circle and headed to the top of Norway.’
Unfortunately, soon after we set sail that night, the brand new ship broke down in the Thames. As a result, we were delayed for a couple of days and missed Orkney and Shetland, the original impetus for our trip. This was beyond Viking’s control and they compensated us for it and their brilliant excursion team hastily organised a replacement visit to the legendary Sissinghurst, home of Vita Sackville-West, while the ship was being repaired. The tour was stunning and a welcome addition to the trip.
One of the most memorable moments of my life
We loved the cruise to New Zealand and the Norway cruise was definitely one of the most memorable moments of my life – gliding through the deep fjords at night and travelling far above the Arctic Circle. For me the highlight of travel with Viking is the fact that the ships are like a combination of floating libraries and Nordic spas, with good food and wine added – what not to like? On top of that, there’s the general bonus everyone notes that cruises offer – you only unpack once.
‘Gliding through the deep fjords at night and travelling far above the Arctic Circle – for me the highlight of travel with Viking is the fact that the ships are like a combination of floating libraries and Nordic spas, with good food and wine added – what not to like?’
On board Viking ocean ships, once you have exhausted yourself relaxing in the sauna, spa and pools, the library is everywhere, and it’s more amazing than it sounds. There are shelves of books dispersed all around the ship, with quiet corners where you can read in peace, mostly away from the intermittent live television broadcasts of American sports, which I didn’t remember from the Norway trip – which luckily you can avoid. The collection is ‘curated’ (to use the latest on trend word) by a London-based bookstore and many of the volumes, while representing the idiosyncratic choices of the bookstore, are surprising and exceptional.
Cultural and educational focus
Viking prides itself on its cultural and educational focus and designs its shore excursions to reflect this. Yet, as I told them, I was amazed that the stops in Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart and Wellington had no excursions to the Powerhouse Museum, the Melbourne Museum, the Museum of Old and New Art or Te Papa, the national museum of New Zealand, all world class institutions full of fascinating collections. At the most, the generic Viking ‘Sights of’ tours mention the institutions in passing. In Melbourne there was a major Alexander McQueen fashion exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria, which we visited independently, that could easily have been an excursion.
‘Viking prides itself on its cultural and educational focus and designs its shore excursions to reflect this. Yet, as I told them, I was amazed that the stops in Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart and Wellington had no excursions to the Powerhouse Museum, the Melbourne Museum, the Museum of Old and New Art or Te Papa, the national museum of New Zealand, all world class institutions full of fascinating collections.’
Just before we arrived in Napier we discovered at the informative port talk that precedes arrival in each destination that one of the most significant Māori archaelogical sites in New Zealand was only 17 minutes by bus from Napier. The Ōtātara Pā was listed as a massive fortified village site covering 58 hectares. Yet it was nowhere to be seen on the Viking list. We had planned to abandon the official list of shore excursions and take a taxi there, but we had to be back on board by 1 pm, so it was too tight.
Viking Jupiter glides through sheer Norway fjords
My sense of the excursions and port talks on the Auckland cruise were that they weren’t as good as on the Norway cruise, perhaps because the Australian routes being new were less familiar to Viking. In this case, a friend who subsequently visited reported that there was not a lot to see at the site, so luckily we didn’t end up missing much. The good news is that Viking took my comments on board (so to speak) and hopefully will follow them up.
Avoiding convenience
After our first cruise when the pandemic hit I read an article by an Australian academic who specialises in writing about the cruise industry. She spelled out the ways cruise lines register their ships in ports of convenience to avoid work health and safety, employment and tax obligations. I was curious about Viking, so I did some research. I was pleased to find that all Viking ocean ships are registered in Norway and all river cruise ships are registered in the country in which they sail – that is massive and definitely worth promoting, though maybe many of the Americans who seem to be Viking’s largest market don’t really care. On top of that talking to Viking crew members on the ships conveyed the impression that they liked working for Viking. It was clear to us that the staff on Viking ships are Viking’s greatest asset.
‘I was pleased to find that all Viking ocean ships are registered in Norway and all river cruise ships are registered in the country in which they sail – that is massive and definitely worth promoting, though maybe many of the Americans who seem to be Viking’s largest market don’t really care.’
In the world of cruising Viking is pretty exceptional, and cruising on its ships is very seductive. We met some very interesting people, including two terrific Americans, who we clicked with straight away and have maintained contact with since. I haven’t bothered to look at any other cruise line since our first cruise with them.
On our trip to New Zealand we heard about an ocean cruise that circumnavigates Britain, which looked interesting, but I wasn’t sure my fellow traveller would be up for another cruise on the high seas – too choppy and rocky for her liking – though I don’t find it a problem at all. A Pacific cruise or one down the Yangtze would be enticing. I thought I’d keep convincing her, or river cruising might open up future options. I was looking forward to our cruise up the Rhine from Amsterdam to Basel the following year. After that, I thought who knows?
PS We are now booked on the 2026 ocean cruise leaving from Bergen and circumnavigating Britain – as a special treat the two Americans we met are booked as well. All aboard.
PS We are now booked on the 2026 ocean cruise leaving from Bergen and circumnavigating Britain – as a special treat the two Americans we met are booked as well. All aboard.
© Stephen Cassidy 2025
See also
See also
Travelling light–along the Rhine and beyond
‘Travel during the global pandemic had become an artform. After our first ever cruise, from London to Bergen, via North Cape, way above the Artic Circle, in 2019, we decided to try something very different – a river cruise. We chose a short week-long one from Amsterdam up the Rhine to Basel in Switzerland. Due to the pandemic, this was postponed several times and then finally converted to a cruise in local waters, when Viking started to operate from Australia. It was then postponed again, before we finally sailed. Apart from the many attractions of travelling the length of the Rhine, the trip meant that I saw two cities in two countries I had never seen before – Amsterdam in the Netherlands and Basel in Switzerland’, Travelling light–along the Rhine and beyond.
‘Travel during the global pandemic had become an artform. After our first ever cruise, from London to Bergen, via North Cape, way above the Artic Circle, in 2019, we decided to try something very different – a river cruise. We chose a short week-long one from Amsterdam up the Rhine to Basel in Switzerland. Due to the pandemic, this was postponed several times and then finally converted to a cruise in local waters, when Viking started to operate from Australia. It was then postponed again, before we finally sailed. Apart from the many attractions of travelling the length of the Rhine, the trip meant that I saw two cities in two countries I had never seen before – Amsterdam in the Netherlands and Basel in Switzerland’, Travelling light–along the Rhine and beyond.
Travelling light-The largest islands in the Pacific
‘I’ve been to New Zealand only twice – once on a brief stop in Auckland on the way to Tahiti in 2014 and then on a longer trip around the North Island at the end of 2016. On the first trip my fellow traveller was in New Zealand because she wanted to visit Tahiti, whereas I was in Tahiti because I wanted to visit New Zealand - though, mmm, as everyone commented, Tahiti was nice. On the second visit, we had planned to continue on to the South Island – till it became clear this would be biting off more than we could chew. Then, finally, six and a half years later, we were going back to New Zealand – and this time we would visit the South Island. We had sold our house after 12 years and we were on the road again. We were on the train to Sydney. On Tuesday we would board a Viking ship for a two week cruise down the East coast of Australia, across to New Zealand, finishing in Auckland. Then it would be four weeks of trains, ferries and hire cars as we got to know one of our favourite countries even better’, Travelling light-The largest islands in the Pacific.
‘I’ve been to New Zealand only twice – once on a brief stop in Auckland on the way to Tahiti in 2014 and then on a longer trip around the North Island at the end of 2016. On the first trip my fellow traveller was in New Zealand because she wanted to visit Tahiti, whereas I was in Tahiti because I wanted to visit New Zealand - though, mmm, as everyone commented, Tahiti was nice. On the second visit, we had planned to continue on to the South Island – till it became clear this would be biting off more than we could chew. Then, finally, six and a half years later, we were going back to New Zealand – and this time we would visit the South Island. We had sold our house after 12 years and we were on the road again. We were on the train to Sydney. On Tuesday we would board a Viking ship for a two week cruise down the East coast of Australia, across to New Zealand, finishing in Auckland. Then it would be four weeks of trains, ferries and hire cars as we got to know one of our favourite countries even better’, Travelling light-The largest islands in the Pacific.
Returning to France – liberté, égalité, fraternité
‘As we prepare to visit France yet again later this year, I had to ask myself why I find it so fascinating. Part of the reason is the influence French culture has had in so many areas. Part of the reason concerns a story told about Zhou Enlai, the former Premier of China. Asked by Kissinger what he thought were the long term effects of the French Revolution, he replied ‘it’s too soon to tell’. Even though it seems he was referring to the student uprising of May 1968, the truth is his answer could more accurately be a reference to the original French Revolution. I am very fond of a long term view – which seems particularly Chinese’. Returning to France – liberté, égalité, fraternité.
‘As we prepare to visit France yet again later this year, I had to ask myself why I find it so fascinating. Part of the reason is the influence French culture has had in so many areas. Part of the reason concerns a story told about Zhou Enlai, the former Premier of China. Asked by Kissinger what he thought were the long term effects of the French Revolution, he replied ‘it’s too soon to tell’. Even though it seems he was referring to the student uprising of May 1968, the truth is his answer could more accurately be a reference to the original French Revolution. I am very fond of a long term view – which seems particularly Chinese’. Returning to France – liberté, égalité, fraternité.
Travelling light – Into Northern seas: UK, Norway, Denmark and Germany 2019
‘Neither I nor my fellow traveller had been on a cruise before, but suddenly we were sailing from London to Bergen, retracing the steps of the ancient Vikings. When we were in Scotland in 2017, we became entranced by the centuries of exchange and movement between Northern England and Scotland and Norway. We saw a cruise that travelled from Edinburgh to Bergen and became quite excited about the idea. Before you knew it, we were booked to sail from London to Edinburgh, then across the Norwegian Sea far above the Arctic Circle to the Northern-most tip of Norway before working out way down through the fjords and passages of the Norway coast to Bergen, the second largest city in Norway. We hadn’t even been discouraged by the fact that earlier that year another Viking cruise ship was nearly wrecked when one of its engines failed in a huge storm and passengers had to be lifted off by helicopter above raging seas’, Travelling light – Into Northern seas: UK, Norway, Denmark and Germany 2019.
Travelling light – Island on fire: Tasmania 2019
‘On an island you’re never far from the sea – that is unless the island is huge, like Australia. In tiny Tasmania, perched like an afterthought at the foot of Australia, even the mountains in the centre are not far from the ocean raging around them – just as in the distant homeland from which those who settled it came. On the main island, though, everywhere is a long way from everywhere else. Two islands, very different in size, in many ways with both similar and different histories. Both on fire. But this not just about the fires – it’s about what happened in front of the fire, the life lived in a time of warming and burning, even if it sometimes felt like a rehearsal for the end of the world’, Island on fire.
‘On an island you’re never far from the sea – that is unless the island is huge, like Australia. In tiny Tasmania, perched like an afterthought at the foot of Australia, even the mountains in the centre are not far from the ocean raging around them – just as in the distant homeland from which those who settled it came. On the main island, though, everywhere is a long way from everywhere else. Two islands, very different in size, in many ways with both similar and different histories. Both on fire. But this not just about the fires – it’s about what happened in front of the fire, the life lived in a time of warming and burning, even if it sometimes felt like a rehearsal for the end of the world’, Island on fire.
I smoke baby cigars
‘Smoking baby cigars in the dark of the backyard. Like some Cuban presidente haranguing the crowd with reminders, I proffer a list of romantic anniversaries, our May 4th movement, our July 12th uprising – our moment when everything became new’, I smoke baby cigars.
Cut back to black
‘Cut back to black, thin chill drizzle mid-winter – infinite regression on petrol’. Also called ‘Revhead heaven’, Cut back to black.
Coming back to these stones
‘Coming back to these stones – in the sandy dry reaches of the Coorong in South Australia’s South East birds flicker across the flat water like beads of run-away mercury’, Coming back to these stones.
Landscapes in a rear vision mirror
‘Heading at a moment's notice into Broken Hill, breaking several traffic laws on the Barrier Highway, in the rear vision mirror the land kept switching colours’, Landscapes in a rear vision mirror.
Stopping by Lake George
Cut back to black
‘Cut back to black, thin chill drizzle mid-winter – infinite regression on petrol’. Also called ‘Revhead heaven’, Cut back to black.
Coming back to these stones
‘Coming back to these stones – in the sandy dry reaches of the Coorong in South Australia’s South East birds flicker across the flat water like beads of run-away mercury’, Coming back to these stones.
Landscapes in a rear vision mirror
‘Heading at a moment's notice into Broken Hill, breaking several traffic laws on the Barrier Highway, in the rear vision mirror the land kept switching colours’, Landscapes in a rear vision mirror.
Stopping by Lake George
‘Lake George is a vast stretching freshwater lake, with no outlet. It is only diminished by evaporation. Many stories are told about Lake George, a still point of the turning earth, with all the quiet of the eye at the centre of a hurricane’, Stopping by Lake George.See other work from the Conversations group exhibition, Goulburn Regional Art Gallery, 2004 – a collaborative exhibition of writers and visual artists.
State of origin
Multimedia piece developed with visual artist, Deborah Faeyrglenn, State of origin looked at where we come from, where we go next and where we truly belong. In this work the writer and visual artist combined word, image and computer technology to make visual music. Words and images moved across the computer screen, with no fixed address, State of origin.
The lost art of conversation
Installation, developed with visual artist, Deborah Faeyrglenn, on words, meaning, reflection and infinite (or at least, partial) regression. Three tall thin vertical mirrors stand against the wall, covered in bursts of words. Three matching paper shadows flow out from the wall along the floor. Words on the mirrors flutter and blur into shadows, The lost art of conversation.
balloon
A fictional narrative work in the form of a website, the website as writing. About the adventures of a refugee from the big city who sets up the High Country Thought Balloon Company. A series of brief vignettes about the characters, situations and stories which intersect the path of the balloons as they soar across the skies of the Southern Tablelands and Snowy region. It is about changing perspective, balloon.
Malacoota Inlet
‘Shutdown in a flat, wet land, the line beween sea and sky where grey meets grey, where stricken yachts come in’, Malacoota Inlet.
Sitting on twigs
‘Sitting on twigs in the flat lands, in a piece of country loaded with meaning, like a tightly coiled spring’, Sitting on twigs.
An everyday life worth living – indefinite articles for a clean, clever and creative future
‘My blog “indefinite article” is irreverent writing about contemporary Australian society, popular culture, the creative economy and the digital and online world – life in the trenches and on the beaches of the information age. Over the last ten years I have published 166 articles about creativity and culture on the blog. This is a list of all the articles I have published there, broken down into categories, with a brief summary of each article. They range from the national cultural landscape to popular culture, from artists and arts organisations to cultural institutions, cultural policy and arts funding, the cultural economy and creative industries, First Nations culture, cultural diversity, cities and regions, Australia society, government, Canberra and international issues – the whole range of contemporary Australian creativity and culture’, An everyday life worth living – indefinite articles for a clean, clever and creative future.
‘My blog “indefinite article” is irreverent writing about contemporary Australian society, popular culture, the creative economy and the digital and online world – life in the trenches and on the beaches of the information age. Over the last ten years I have published 166 articles about creativity and culture on the blog. This is a list of all the articles I have published there, broken down into categories, with a brief summary of each article. They range from the national cultural landscape to popular culture, from artists and arts organisations to cultural institutions, cultural policy and arts funding, the cultural economy and creative industries, First Nations culture, cultural diversity, cities and regions, Australia society, government, Canberra and international issues – the whole range of contemporary Australian creativity and culture’, An everyday life worth living – indefinite articles for a clean, clever and creative future.
Beyond a joke – surviving troubled times
‘We live in troubled times – but then can anyone ever say that they lived in times that weren’t troubled? For most of my life Australia has suffered mediocre politicians and politics – with the odd brief exceptions – and it seems our current times are no different. Australia has never really managed to realise its potential. As a nation it seems to be two different countries going in opposite directions – one into the future and the other into the past. It looks as though we’ll be mired in this latest stretch of mediocrity for some time and the only consolation will be creativity, gardening and humour’, Beyond a joke – surviving troubled times.
‘We live in troubled times – but then can anyone ever say that they lived in times that weren’t troubled? For most of my life Australia has suffered mediocre politicians and politics – with the odd brief exceptions – and it seems our current times are no different. Australia has never really managed to realise its potential. As a nation it seems to be two different countries going in opposite directions – one into the future and the other into the past. It looks as though we’ll be mired in this latest stretch of mediocrity for some time and the only consolation will be creativity, gardening and humour’, Beyond a joke – surviving troubled times.
‘I’ve been a little out of touch with what’s been happening in the world of Australian creativity and culture because for all of February and early March this year I was visiting Aotearoa New Zealand, on a journey that originally started in November 2016 and was then resumed over six years later. While I was away the Labor Government announced its new National Cultural Policy and soon after I arrived back I received bad news of a loss from the tight group of friends and colleagues who had helped form my cultural world-view so many decades earlier – when we spoke the language of community, the language of culture and the language of changing the world for the better’, Absent without leave – ocean crossing in an (almost) post-pandemic world.
Industries of the future help tell stories of the past – Weta at work in the shaky isles
‘After three weeks travelling round the North Island of New Zealand, I’ve had more time to reflect on the importance of the clean and clever industries of the future and the skilled knowledge workers who make them. In the capital, Wellington, instead of the traditional industries that once often dominated a town, like the railways or meatworks or the car plant or, in Tasmania, the Hydro Electricity Commission, there was Weta. It’s clear that the industries of the future can thrive in unexpected locations. Expertise, specialist skills and industry pockets can occur just about anywhere, as long as you have connectivity, talent and a framework of support that makes it possible. These skills which Weta depends on for its livelihood are also being used to tell important stories from the past’, Industries of the future help tell stories of the past – Weta at work in the shaky isles.
‘After three weeks travelling round the North Island of New Zealand, I’ve had more time to reflect on the importance of the clean and clever industries of the future and the skilled knowledge workers who make them. In the capital, Wellington, instead of the traditional industries that once often dominated a town, like the railways or meatworks or the car plant or, in Tasmania, the Hydro Electricity Commission, there was Weta. It’s clear that the industries of the future can thrive in unexpected locations. Expertise, specialist skills and industry pockets can occur just about anywhere, as long as you have connectivity, talent and a framework of support that makes it possible. These skills which Weta depends on for its livelihood are also being used to tell important stories from the past’, Industries of the future help tell stories of the past – Weta at work in the shaky isles.
My nephew just got a job with Weta – the long road of the interconnected world
‘My nephew just got a job in Wellington New Zealand with Weta Digital, which makes the digital effects for Peter Jackson’s epics. Expertise, specialist skills and industry pockets can occur just about anywhere, as long as you have connectivity, talent and a framework of support that makes it possible. This is part of the new knowledge economy of the future, with its core of creative industries and its links to our cultural landscape. Increasingly the industries of the future are both clever and clean. At their heart are the developing creative industries which are based on the power of creativity and are a critical part of Australia’s future – innovative, in most cases centred on small business and closely linked to the profile of Australia as a clever country, both domestically and internationally. This is transforming the political landscape of Australia, challenging old political franchises and upping the stakes in the offerings department’, My nephew just got a job with Weta – the long road of the interconnected world.
‘My nephew just got a job in Wellington New Zealand with Weta Digital, which makes the digital effects for Peter Jackson’s epics. Expertise, specialist skills and industry pockets can occur just about anywhere, as long as you have connectivity, talent and a framework of support that makes it possible. This is part of the new knowledge economy of the future, with its core of creative industries and its links to our cultural landscape. Increasingly the industries of the future are both clever and clean. At their heart are the developing creative industries which are based on the power of creativity and are a critical part of Australia’s future – innovative, in most cases centred on small business and closely linked to the profile of Australia as a clever country, both domestically and internationally. This is transforming the political landscape of Australia, challenging old political franchises and upping the stakes in the offerings department’, My nephew just got a job with Weta – the long road of the interconnected world.
‘We are all used to being astounded as we see growing evidence of how widespread contact and trade was across the breadth of the ancient European world and with worlds far beyond. The Romans and the Vikings and many after them all roamed far and wide. This is the stuff of a hundred television documentaries that show just how interconnected the ancient world was. Connection, not isolation, has always been the norm. Seaways were bridges, not barriers – a way to bring people together, not divide them. Now important archaeological work confirms just how widespread that cross-cultural, international network was across the whole of Northern Australia, long before the British arrived’, The Asian Century was underway long before the British arrived.
History all around us – the long term practical impact of cultural research
‘Cultural research has long term impacts in terms of our developing body of knowledge which stretch far into the future. Researchers are finding stories in our major cultural collections that were never envisaged by those originally assembling them – a process that will continue long into the future. The collections of our major cultural institutions are becoming increasingly accessible to the very people the collections are drawn from and reflect. In the process they are generating greater understanding about some of the major contemporary issues we face’, History all around us – the long term practical impact of cultural research.
‘You don’t have to be part of ‘Indigenous affairs’ in Australia to find yourself involved. You can’t even begin to think of being part of support for Australian arts and culture without encountering and interacting with Indigenous culture and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and individuals who make it and live it.’ The Magna Carta – still a work in progress.
‘I’ve travelled around much of Australia, by foot, by plane, by train and by bus, but mostly by car. As I travelled across all those kilometres and many decades, I never realised that, without ever knowing, I would be silently crossing from one country into another, while underneath the surface of the landscape flashing past, languages were changing like the colour and shape of the grasses or the trees. The parallel universe of Indigenous languages is unfortunately an unexpected world little-known to most Australians.’ The hidden universe of Australia's own languages.
Flight of the wild geese – Australia’s place in the world of global talent
‘As the global pandemic has unfolded, I have been struck by how out of touch a large number of Australians are with Australia’s place in the world. Before the pandemic many Australians had become used to travelling overseas regularly – and spending large amounts of money while there – but we seem to think that our interaction with the global world is all about discretionary leisure travel. In contrast, increasingly many Australians were travelling – and living – overseas because their jobs required it. Whether working for multinational companies that have branches in Australia or Australian companies trying to break into global markets, Australian talent often needs to be somewhere else than here to make the most of opportunities for Australia. Not only technology, but even more importantly, talent, will be crucial to the economy of the future’, Flight of the wild geese – Australia’s place in the world of global talent.
‘As the global pandemic has unfolded, I have been struck by how out of touch a large number of Australians are with Australia’s place in the world. Before the pandemic many Australians had become used to travelling overseas regularly – and spending large amounts of money while there – but we seem to think that our interaction with the global world is all about discretionary leisure travel. In contrast, increasingly many Australians were travelling – and living – overseas because their jobs required it. Whether working for multinational companies that have branches in Australia or Australian companies trying to break into global markets, Australian talent often needs to be somewhere else than here to make the most of opportunities for Australia. Not only technology, but even more importantly, talent, will be crucial to the economy of the future’, Flight of the wild geese – Australia’s place in the world of global talent.
Crossing boundaries – the unlimited landscape of creativity
‘When I was visiting Paris last year, there was one thing I wanted to do before I returned home – visit the renowned French bakery that had trained a Melbourne woman who had abandoned the high stakes of Formula One racing to become a top croissant maker. She had decided that being an engineer in the world of elite car racing was not for her, but rather that her future lay in the malleable universe of pastry. Crossing boundaries of many kinds and traversing the borders of differing countries and cultures, she built a radically different future to the one she first envisaged’, Crossing boundaries – the unlimited landscape of creativity.
‘When I was visiting Paris last year, there was one thing I wanted to do before I returned home – visit the renowned French bakery that had trained a Melbourne woman who had abandoned the high stakes of Formula One racing to become a top croissant maker. She had decided that being an engineer in the world of elite car racing was not for her, but rather that her future lay in the malleable universe of pastry. Crossing boundaries of many kinds and traversing the borders of differing countries and cultures, she built a radically different future to the one she first envisaged’, Crossing boundaries – the unlimited landscape of creativity.
Music makes the world go round – the bright promise of our export future
‘After ABBA, in an unexpected break from its traditional way of building national wealth from natural resources, Sweden managed to discover a new source of income. It was not as you would expect coal or oil. Rather than oil what it had discovered was song royalties, part of a fundamental change in the nature of modern economies which transformed them from relying solely on natural resources, transport and manufacturing to make creative content a new form of resource mining. Examples like theirs point to potentially major opportunities for the Australian music industry to become a net exporter of music,’ Music makes the world go round – the bright promise of our export future.
‘After ABBA, in an unexpected break from its traditional way of building national wealth from natural resources, Sweden managed to discover a new source of income. It was not as you would expect coal or oil. Rather than oil what it had discovered was song royalties, part of a fundamental change in the nature of modern economies which transformed them from relying solely on natural resources, transport and manufacturing to make creative content a new form of resource mining. Examples like theirs point to potentially major opportunities for the Australian music industry to become a net exporter of music,’ Music makes the world go round – the bright promise of our export future.
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