Miriam Margolyes: Almost Australian (2020): Season 1, Episode 1 - The Australian Dream - full transcript

In Australia, there is a light,

the sky...

..life feels brighter here.

This pulsing nation with so many
complex,

wondrous people,

I need to know about this country.

Please give a very warm
welcome to Miriam Margolyes.

AUDIENCE APPLAUDS

Six years ago, after coming
here for, gosh, nearly 40 years...

OFF-SCREEN:
We can now call her our own.

..I finally became an Australian
citizen.



It was a day of supreme happiness,
of real joy,

but it also made me realise how
little I know about the place

I can now call home.

I live in a silly little bubble
of people who think like me,

and sound like me.

So, this 78-year-old Jewish lesbian
is embarking on a 10,000km,

two-month journey to explore

what it means to be an Australian
today.

Nice to meet you.
Welcome to Daly Waters.

Where's the loo?

Oh, that's a bit desperate.

Oh, he muffed it.

For me, it's going to be a very
exposing experience.

What you're facing, it's so tough!
Yeah. It is.



I had no idea.

There will be attitudes that I will
find difficult to absorb...

You fucking idiot.

..and there will be wonderful things
that I never knew about.

I can't believe it.

SHE GIGGLES

That really worked.

I'm old, I'm rickety,
I'm arthritic...

Thank you.

..but, you know,
you've got to get out there.

Jesus!

I won't be stopped.

I'm Miriam Margolyes.
Almost Australian.

I didn't expect to be doing this

on camera, but never mind.

Everybody will have to see all my
knickers are the same colour.

Well, at least they're clean.

That's the main thing.

So, this is my view.

I fell in love with the Southern
Highlands of New South Wales

when the movie producer George
Miller brought me here to make

Babe 25 years ago.

My partner, Heather, loved it, too.

So, we built our home near the town
of Robertson.

Heather usually dyes them
for me - Navy blue.

I like a Navy blue knicker.

She does it for love.

SHE CHUCKLES

I wanted to become a citizen
because my partner, Heather,

the love of my life, is Australian.

A citizenship meant that I could be
with her

and travel with her more easily.

This is my Australian dream
and Heather's.

This is our paradise.

To be honest, my Australian dream
really began in England

as a schoolgirl,

watching these films made by
the Australian government

to entice would-be immigrants.

I was dazzled by this sunny,
optimistic country where migrants

were welcome to enjoy a good life,
work hard, and own their own home.

It was an irresistible dream,

and I embraced it completely.

But now, I wonder if I was looking
at Australia

through rose-coloured glasses.

Great Expectations.

So, on this road trip, I want to
find out what the Australian dream

means to different people...

That's me when I was little
with Mummy and Daddy.

..and if the Australia I fell in
love with still exists today.

Knickers!

Of course, a lady of my years needs
to travel with one facility

constantly nearby...

That must be the loo.

..which is why I'll be driving
this fully equipped motorhome.

How does it work?

I think I might get in backwards.

One tit.

Two tits.

Lift up lid.

Pull down knickers.

Put bottom sideways.

I'm going to show you.
It's like this.

What I would call a sideways job.

So, cheerio, Robertson.

In eight weeks, I hope to return
wiser, and, you never know,

a bit more than almost Australian.

This is such a chance for me.

I'm very excited,
because I want to investigate

people's hopes and dreams.

My first stop is 150km north.

In Sydney.

Where at the ripe old age of 39,
I first landed in Australia.

For a new arrival from England
and for many of my compatriots,

Bondi Beach was a dream come true.

And it still is.

Breathe, breathe!

That's it!

When you grew up, as I did
in wartime England,

and things were drab,
and grey, and worried,

and then, coming to Australia
and seeing for the first time

that sweep of beach, the great
Australian sky,

big, blonde, beautiful people,

because they weren't fat then.

It was really like
a kind of paradise.

Can I talk to you?

Yeah.

Have you been swimming,
and is this a daily thing?

Every day of my life.

And do you pee in the sea?

No, no, no.
Well, fish do.

You've got to keep it clean.
MIRIAM CHUCKLES

Fish do all that sort of stuff.
This little guy here is from Russia.

The early morning swimmers.
All year - no stop.

Well, you look pretty fit.
THEY CHUCKLE

I don't know about that.
How old are you?

87. It's improve your immune system.
87?!

This little bloke's 79. We're going
to send him back to Russia.

I'm 80, so...

That is fantastic!

You're inspirational.

Dasvidaniya. Dasvidaniya.

When I first came here in 1980,

I dreamed of buying
a home near the beach.

I fell in love with Australia.

I wanted a piece of Bondi.

Lo and behold - there it is.

NARRATING: In those days, it was
much easier to get on to

the property ladder.

I bought it in 1984 for $98,500.

Bondi was a very raffish suburb
with lots of drug takers,

a place people
didn't really want to be in,

and everybody thought
I was crackers to buy it,

but I liked the location.

It's got two bedrooms,
steps down to a yard with a tree,

and it's lovely,

and when I look at it, I think
how clever I was to buy it.

Of course, I can't take
all the credit.

I was influenced by Mummy.

With no formal education,

she traded her way out of poverty
by buying houses,

doing them up, and renting them out.

So, today I've arranged to meet
her modern day counterpart...

..at Paddy's Market in Sydney.

Where I can stock
up for my trip, as well.

Have you got any long ones?

That's all we have.

If you haven't got long ones
we'll get two short ones.

I'm going to meet a rather
interesting woman who started life

in another country like me.

She's Chinese, which is
not a lot of help here

because this is Chinatown.

Are you Miriam?

Yeah... Are you Monica?

I'm Monica. Oh, my God.
So nice to meet you.

I'm very pleased to meet you.

Biggest fan. Oh!

That's so nice of you.

But forgive me my Chinglish, right?

After 30 years, my language is still
a little bit like, "Hee-hee!"

You speak better Mandarin than I do.

So... Oh, thank you.
THEY LAUGH

When I first come to Sydney,
this is the first place,

I start my business.

So, I didn't sell the vegetable
in Mandarin.

You don't remember those days
where we have something

called floppy disc?
You sold floppy discs?

Yes, for many, many years.
Show me your... OK, let's go.

I'll follow you.

Is that beetroot? Beetroot.

I want beetroot, ginger, and carrot.

Oh, thank you.

Do you think you've achieved
your Australian dream?

I think I'm still achieving,
you know?

Many Chinese...
Are you a millionaire yet?

I'm a multimillionaire.

Fucking hell. Are you really?
I know. I know.

That's wonderful. Oh, thank you.

I don't often hug a millionaire.
Yeah, yeah.

Really? Oh. I know!

Thank you so much.
That looks good.

NARRATING: Monica arrived here
in 1988 as a student.

So, how did she go from selling
floppy discs

to becoming a multi-millionaire?

I was in the market almost, like,
ten years.

I was working in a shop
in the day time, and the weekends

I worked in the market.

To earn as much as you could?

Yes, yes.
What do you do now?

I call myself not a realtor,
or real estate agent.

I call myself a property concierge.

That's really cool - concierge.

That's brilliant.

I found out, what's the reason you
are in Australia?

What is your Australian dream?
You want to start a family here?

Your children want to go to school?

So, you're selling the dream,
as well as the house.

I'm selling Australian dream. Yes.
What kind of people do you sell to?

I sell to anybody.

But my strength is, of course,
because look at my eyes,

and I'm Chinese, obviously...
So you sell to Chinese people?

We sell a lot of properties
to Chinese.

What kind of properties
are you selling?

Oh, I think if you have time, I'd
love to show you one this afternoon.

Oh, yeah.

NARRATING: When Mummy and I
inspected properties in Oxford,

we did it in our modest
little motor,

but Monica's at a different level
entirely.

I could get fond of this. Yes.
Very posh.

Now, this is a very important moment
for me,

because this is the Sydney
Harbour Bridge.

This means Australia. Yes.

Of course, it's only since the end
of the White Australia policy

in the 1970s that the Australian
dream has been opened

to migrants like Monica.

Before that, only Europeans
were welcome.

Now there's more new Chinese
migrants than British in Sydney.

As Chinese culture is, number one,
if you do have the money,

you have to buy houses.

You buy something, you can see,
you can touch,

and you can pass them to a next
generation.

That's deep in the culture?

Deep in the culture.

And Monica's taking me to Castle
Hill, a suburb her clients love

for its leafy streets
and spacious homes.

Where for more than $10 million,
you can buy something like this.

Oh, this is nice.

We're here.

They've got a pool.

NARRATING: The family selling
are part of

the European post-war generation who
developed this suburb.

Hello, Paul. Hello there.
How are you going? How are you?

Good to see you. Good to see you.
How are you doing?

Let me introduce Miriam.

This is Paul. Miriam. How do you do?
Nice to meet you.

Paul and his wife, Jennifer,
have spent 40 years

creating their dream home.

I love the stone on the floor.

This is marble. Yep.

Is that Italian marble?

Paul arrived in Australia
from Sicily as a teenager,

unable to speak a word of English.

Jennifer is Australian-born,
from Maltese parents.

So, what do you call this room?
Do you call this the billiard room?

Billiard room. Absolutely.
What else would you call it?

And here's the loo in case
I need a loo. Yes.

Let me just look. Go ahead.

What do you call this loo?

The men's one, cos in the...

I see. So, this is the ladies' one.
Ladies, yeah.

Because men piss all over the seat.
I know!

We don't want that.
SHE LAUGHS

After raising their children
here, Paul and Jennifer

are ready to downsize.

Oh, boy. This is something.

This is all hand carved.

So, this is actually quite
European, this. Yes.

What was your business?

A wholesaler
at Flemington Market.

Sydney Market you could call it?

What did you sell?

12 hours a day. Mainly fruit.

Listen, you've done well.
Oranges, pears.

Still working seven days a week.

This is the Australian dream
on steroids.

I'm fascinated by both of
you, because...

Cos of good looks.
THEY CHUCKLE

I'm dazzled by your looks.
I thought you would be.

IN NEW YORK ACCENT: It's your
personality I want to talk about.

Her dream came true from the market.
Yeah.

And your dream came true
from the market.

Do you think now you have everything
you want?

This is... How do you feel?

This is what I want.
THEY CHUCKLE

You have the woman of your dreams.
How true.

As a chapter ends for Paul
and Jennifer,

it's time for Monica to sell their
dream on to the next generation.

Hi, William! Hey.

Oh, thank you so much for coming.
Hey, how are you?

Hi, William. This is Miriam.

How do you do? Good.

You're interested in this lovely
house, are you?

Yes.

You look around, you know,
the gardens,

the flowers,
look at the cherry blossoms.

So, you can see that only in
Japan, right?

So, that is right in
your garden, William.

THEY CHUCKLE

I think Monica is a ferociously
clever woman.

She knows how to make a sale.

It seems the Australian
dream of home ownership

is still as potent as ever.

My Australian dream is something
I've actually got.

A house in the country
in a beautiful place,

but I also hope that the Australian
dream is built on

much more than just bricks
and mortar.

And that's what I want to explore,
as I travel beyond the suburbs

of Sydney into the open
landscapes of the bush.

I've left Sydney behind and I'm on
the road that will eventually

get me to Melbourne.

This will be my first night
as a grey nomad, which I've learnt

is Aussie slang for people like me
who realise their dreams

of touring the country.

It's lovely to be on the open road,
but it's a long, long way.

I'm a bit nervous,
so I'm driving conservatively.

I try not to do anything
conservatively.

I'm heading to a camping ground
in the middle of a forest

four hours west of Sydney.

I suppose I can just choose
where I want to go.

I don't have a clue what
I should be looking for.

I imagine it's not a bad
idea to get some shade.

So, under a tree is perhaps
what one aims for.

I feel like a little mole
emerging from the depths.

I've never been camping before.

Mummy always said it's something
nice Jewish girls don't do.

Do you mind somebody coming
so close to your quiet place?

Not at all. My name is Miriam.

Let me introduce myself. Miriam
Margolyes. My name's Claire.

Claire. How do you do?
Pleased to meet you, Miriam.

How do you do? This is my home.

It's got a front door.

It has.
THEY LAUGH

Are you a homeless person?

No, I have a home.

Let me hear your story.

I have two children and four
grandchildren. So...

But no husband.

No husband.

I just drive.

I use a thing called WikiCamps
on my phone, and it tells me

where free campsites are.

So, I live off grid.

You've no electricity?

I make my own with solar panels.

Wow.

You're responsible.

You're a thoughtful grey nomad.

I'm not even grey!
SHE LAUGHS

No, but, I mean, that's the
concept, isn't it?

No. The grey nomads are people
that have their own home

and they get a super big caravan.

This is my home.
I live in it full time.

Would you like to have a look?

I would actually.

You do cook?

I do cook.
I don't eat takeaway food.

Is that a television?

That's my computer. I'm a
photographer and I do photo editing.

I like to stand up sometimes
and work.

Blimey. So this is... It's compact,
isn't it? That's your bed.

This is my bed.

I could sit here, and I could pull
this out,

and I could eat here, or I can, you
know, use a laptop here.

It's very cleverly designed.

I'll show you this, even
though it is a wee bit messy.

This is my bathroom.

This is a compost toilet,

and this is my shower, complete
with toilet paper

that I can hang up there, and I can
put a shower curtain on there.

So, I do have it all.

Slightly nutty.
SHE LAUGHS

It is slightly nutty.

And do you prepare meals here?

I do.

There are a few things a 78-year-old
lady like me needs,

and one of them
is a toilet outside the kitchen.

What made you take this decision
to do this?

Well, I had a house,
but I also had a mortgage.

I thought better to feel
wealthy in something small

than feel anxious about mortgage
and maintenance

on a single pension.

There are women, especially,
that raise their children,

they don't have the same length of
putting money into a pension fund.

So they're a bit strapped for cash,
then? Bit strapped for cash.

I've met women who live in cars.

I met one woman who lives in a tent.

But, yeah, must be cold.

So there are lots of women like
this, are there?

It's seeming more normal now
in my age group, Miriam.

Jeez, that's not right.

I'm trying to find out
what the Australian dream is.

Did you have a dream, or...?

I think the dream is
probably freedom.

Now, whether that be freedom
to have a beautiful big house,

and a pool, and a family,
and a good job,

it's the freedom to live
the way you want to live.

I love the idea of a dream
that's about freedom

and not about property. But

I'm shocked to discover
that women over 55

now make up the fastest growing
population of homeless

in the country.

There are nearly 117,000
homeless people in Australia

and a lot of them are older women.

Women are generally retiring
at the moment

with half the superannuation
men have.

Probably, Claire is making the best
of a very tough situation.

At this campsite, everyone
meets for drinks around the fire.

There's some children.

I really don't like children.

That's the bit I don't like
about this sort of life.

You can't tell people to bugger off.

Australians are generally
a very friendly bunch,

saying g'day to everyone,
even strangers.

Put some corn on there.

But I'm only almost Australian.

This is not for everyone, you know.

Oh, isn't it? No, it isn't.

Oh. We're just stopping in
to say hello.

We just do it with everyone. Oh.
I'm Claire. Who are you?

I'm Matt. Hi, Matt.

Well, this is all a bit
friendly here.

Oh, it's Australia.
This is how we do it.

Slice of lemon, Miriam?

Yes, please.

Oh, thank you so much.

Cheers, queers and others.
Chin-chin. Lechaim. To life.

To life.

Christ!

Time to burst out of the bubble

and properly meet
my fellow travellers,

Laura, Matt and their two children.

Did you have a house? I did.

We had a house,
we had two businesses,

bills, mortgages,

never home.

Six till six, and barely spending
any time with the kids or my wife.

So, I was just, like,
I don't want this life.

Five months in,
and in no hurry to stop.

Well, what happens
if you want to make love?

What about your children?

It's fine, they sleep.
I'm not THAT noisy.

I'm enjoying the gin.

I'm glad.

You deserve it, my darling.

Thank you.

One can get sucked into life
that one doesn't really want.

Oh, completely. Yep.

So the dream isn't really just about
material things, is it?

No, not at all.

There's more to it than that.
Yeah. Experiences, I think.

What we're doing right now.

Being on the road, as a family,
is definitely the dream for us.

Tell us what you see in the fire.

Erm, I can see...

..fairies in there.

I can see fat old ladies with hats.

Mm!

It's a different kind of life,
this sort of living on the road,

and living off the grid.

I worry for the people
who don't choose it,

who have to do it,
because of financial concerns.

I couldn't do it.

Of course, 200 years ago,
the Australian dream

was all about prosperity.

I've downloaded this fascinating
handbook,

How to Settle and Succeed
in Australia.

It was published in, I think,
1848,

er, and written by a Jew,

actually, John Sidney, whose
real name was John Solomon.

He says, erm,

"It's the possibility
of making a fortune

"that drives the emigrant.

"They might find gold.

"They might do well.

"In Australia, the ordinary
emigrant can aspire to such luck."

That's the dream.

Today, I'll be heading further west,
just like the new settlers did

in John Solomon's day.

The great bowl of the sky.

Even my favourite author,
Charles Dickens,

sent two of his sons here
in the 1860s to seek their fortunes.

When the Dickens boys arrived,

the bush was a place of optimism
and growth...

Here he comes.

..until drought struck,

and then, like now,
the land went from green to brown.

Dry, dry as dust.

Now I understand
what that phrase means.

With vast swathes of eastern
Australia looking like this,

I've come to the town of Trundle

to see the impact of drought
for myself.

There are some sheep.

The drover's dog.

Hello. Hello.

I'd better get out of the road.

No, I...

I want you to stay where you are.

Why is that?
Because I want to ask you something.

Do you?

Is that all right?

Yeah. You can ask me what you like.

I'm Miriam. Hi.

Yeah, I'm Ron Jones.

Ron. Hi.

Are you local?

I've been here for 82 years.

82 years? Yeah.

In this place? In Trundle, yeah.

How long has the drought been on?

Oh, this'll be the third year.

Third year? Three years.

Because it looks a bit miserable
at the moment.

Eh? Oh, it's, it's taken its toll,

but it'll break.

It'll rain one day.

Too long to wait.

Eh? No, it ain't. No.

I'm glad you're optimistic.

Eh? I'm always...

I wouldn't live here
if I wasn't optimistic.

I'm going to keep going, I think.

All the best.

Righto. Well, I'll get a move-on.

I do admire Ron's chutzpah,

but I wonder how anyone can hang on
to their dreams at times like these.

What happened, the horse bloke drove
it from Sydney to Brisbane...

Yes? ..In the trailer... Yes?

..and they put a woollen blanket
over it. Yeah?

Hello. Are you just passing through?

I hope so.

LAUGHTER

You don't want to stay?

I'm Dolly.
And I'm Miriam.

How are you, Miriam? Good.

How have you been doing
her hair for a few years?

I've been doing hair
for a long time.

She was born out here.

Yes, I was a Trundle girl,

went away, came back, and have,
and started this business

and loved being back here.

It's just a lovely town to live.

That's a wonderful perm
you've got, by the way.

What's your name?

I'm Jeanette Williams.

Can I call you Jeanette?

Yes, you can call me Jeanette.

Thanks.
Has the drought affected you?

Well, I am so ashamed.

All those years,

we've been renowned as people
who cared for their animals.

But in the last fortnight,
my niece told me,

"I'm now shooting sheep."

I've never had anybody say
that to me in 91-and-a-half years.

And what has brought on
this sad thing?

It's the lack of being able
to pay for their food

for the next 13 months.

Jeanette's grandparents lived
through the Federation Drought

in 1901, that helped ruin
Dickens' youngest son, Edward.

The current drought is considered
worse than that.

Carolyn, has the drought affected
you? Oh, very much. Very, very much.

I'm tearing up now just talking
about it because... Really?

Yeah. It's a family.

We all know each other. There's only
380 of us or so.

And everybody knows everybody.

Doll does their hair, I sell them
their hardware

and when you see them struggling,
it's tough.

It's really, really hard.

How can the town survive?

I think farmers have a vision
that it's going to get better.

To keep the town going. So you're
going to keep going no matter what?

Oh, yeah.

We look after each other. We're a
network.

No matter what.

These people are just holding
on here.

It's really tough.

Charles Dickens' son, Edward,

who tried to make a life
in a place like this,

he experienced drought and, in the
end,

he died in poverty.

You can feel the ghosts of many
a ruined dream in Trundle.

I'm on my way to meet a family

who've been farming for four
generations.

What's that dust storm over there?

I want to find out what happens
when dreams literally turn to dust.

So here we are.

We can see absolutely clearly
the barrenness,

the utter devastation.

Bumpity-bump.
There we go.

Hello, I'm Katie.

Hi. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet
you.

This is James. Hello.
And I'm Harrison.

And my husband, Justin.

Hi, Miriam, nice to meet you. Nice to
meet you, Justin. How are you? Good.

It's pretty dusty. It's
unbelievable.

Was there a lawn here?

There was. There was and in good
times,

we normally mow this entire house
yard.

When you think it can't get any
drier,

it gets drier.

The O'Briens are cattle farmers,

but like many others,

they've been forced to shoot some
of their starving animals.

What do you call this room?

This is our organised chaos room.

Our do drop in, and we solve many of the
world's problems at the kitchen bench...

Right here at this table... or right
here at the table.

Bad times, good times.

They seem to be on a crazy
pendulum here.

I'm pregnant with Harrison
in that one.

SHE CHUCKLES

Absolutely lush.

And there's some photos of our
cattle in front of the house here,

which looks totally different
right now.

Now, is it a question of survival?

It is at the moment. Yeah.

We are a long way down on our
rainfall.

And are you in debt?

Totally. Erm, yeah.

There wouldn't hardly be a farmer

that wasn't carrying some sort of
debt level.

I'm trying to understand
what you're going through

and how you've dealt with this
business of the drought.

Well, when things started to get
really bad last year,

I wasn't in a good place.

And it has a lot of mental
health aspects on farmers

when it's dry like this. It really
does put a lot of pressure on you.

It eats into your soul, doesn't it?
It does.

We had hit... Rock-bottom.
..rock-bottom.

We had nothing left in the tank.

I wasn't in a good way.

So I ended up seeking some
help from Aussie Helpers.

And it was an enormous help to me.

I realised that somebody
was there to help. Yeah.

It was a big thing.

It kept you alive. That was quite
brave of you, wasn't it?

Because I think men are not
open to admitting

that they're having a hard time.

They're not and I think the biggest
thing with Jus

is he felt he'd
let us down and...

What you're facing, it's so tough.

Yeah. It is.

The family then did something
even braver.

Together, they went public
about Justin's suicidal feelings.

We bared our soul. We put our...

We put a face to drought.

If we saved one life by just saying,

"Hey, Justin reached out," that was
worth it.

I want to talk more...

..but outside, there's a cow that
needs Justin's urgent attention.

I'm going to disappear for a split
second.

If that calf's literally
just had that baby...

Literally... she probably
needs a bit of attention. Yeah.

Give me a second.

It really is a farm.

CALLS TO CAT

Katie and Justin have chosen a
life which, despite its challenges,

they hope will be inherited
by their young boys,

Harrison and James.

What do you think's caused all this
drought?

Mother Nature. She has her good
days, she has her bad days.

Australia can go to one extreme
to another,

from the floods in Townsville

to the drought everywhere.

I haven't been in it as long as Dad

and if he was able to get through
the '82 drought with his family,

we should get through this one.

Have you heard about climate change?

Well, climate change...

I reckon Mother Nature
is just a person standing up there

and controlling our world.

I think that the action of human
beings on the planet has an effect.

Yeah. Some cases.

I want you to look into it a bit.

Don't just...

I won't let it slide by, I'll
just... I'll look into it.

That's it. Good lad. Good lad.

It looks cloudy up there, doesn't
it?

From looking at these signs,

cos it was going to be
another thunderstorm

or something like that,

it would have already started
thundering.

So at the moment you don't
think it's going to rain?

If it's going to rain, it's going
to be a little drizzle.

Praying month after month,
year after year for rain

that never comes would drive me mad.

I had no idea...

..no idea at all.

The... The magnitude of this is
something shocking to me

and I just didn't know.

And I don't think most people
know.

This family, they've stared it in
the face and thought,

"No, we're not having any of it.

"We're going to... We're going
to carry on."

And I'm looking at this...

..pretty bleak landscape...

..and I just hope it works out.

I hope so.

These kids have been keeping me
entertained.

They're quite remarkable and I am
famous for not liking children...

Beautiful... but those kids, they'll
do.

They'll do. They'll be all right.
That is fantastic.

You can come back any time.

Thank you very much
for that invitation.

All doors in our home are open.

Not that it has any locks
anyway.

Oh, you're going to get a hug.

Oh, I'll give you a hug.

It was lovely meeting you.

I'll give you a hug, with pleasure.

Lovely meeting you. Yeah!

You know, I want so much
that the rains fall.

Love you. Love you.

Harrison was right.

The heavens opened,

but only a drizzle fell from the
sky,

absorbed immediately by the dust.

ACOUSTIC GUITAR PLAYS

Leaving the drought behind,

I'm heading south to Melbourne.

I'll be very glad to be in the city
I've loved ever since my first visit

with my partner, Heather.

Melbourne is where Heather's
family is.

I said to them,

"A fat Jewish lesbian
is the last thing you wanted

"in your family, but you have
welcomed me and I love you for it."

And that's why I started to love
Melbourne, because of them.

I like to see old friends, see
Heather's family,

go to the op shops.

But this time I'll be looking beyond
the bubble of family and friends.

I'm conscious that I don't know
many Aboriginal people.

That's one of the things
I want to change on this journey.

I'm driving now to meet
an Aboriginal activist,

a woman I've never met before.

Her name is Lidia Thorpe.

She's agreed to talk to me about the
Aboriginal perception of the Australian dream.

Is it working for them?

Hello.

I'm Miriam.

Hi, Miriam.

Lovely to meet you. Thank you.
Hello.

Miriam, this is my daughter Kaya.

Nice to meet you, Kaya.

Now, you're Aboriginal, is that
right?

Is that what I call you? Erm, I
prefer to call myself

Gunai or Gunditjmara.

My mum's a Gunai Gunditjmara woman,
so that's what I identify as. OK.

So what do you call me? Old, fat
Jews?

What do you call us?

Well, I would call you an elder.

That implies that I have some
sort of wisdom... Absolutely.

..which maybe I have,

maybe I haven't. I don't know.

I'm learning.

I wanted to show you my possum skin
cloak. Gosh.

This is what I wore in to parliament
when I won the election.

That must have given them
all a bit of a turn.

Oh, absolutely.

Lidia became the first Aboriginal
woman

to be elected to the Victorian
parliament in 2017.

For an Aboriginal kid who grew up in
public housing

and left school at 14,

taking my seat in this chamber

is something I was told
could never happen.

Her dream was hard fought for.

Both her grandmother and mother
were also important activists

in the struggle for Aboriginal
rights.

Tell me a bit more about
what being Australian means for you.

Well, I don't identify
as being Australian.

It's a concept that's been imposed
upon our people

since we were invaded. By my lot.

Yes.

The colonisers came and set up the
colony

which they now call Australia.

Mass genocide occurred.

I have been going to Invasion Day
rallies since I was five.

So Australia Day
for you is Invasion Day? Yes.

And that was the day I got my
citizenship, of course.

I didn't do
it disrespectfully. Yeah.

When we see people having barbecues
and parties

on a day that represents theft and
murder for us,

we say it's like
dancing on our graves.

The land is vital, isn't it?

The land is the heart of it.

The land is us.

We don't separate ourselves
from the land

or the water or the trees.

That's a completely different idea
from the way we see land,

which is something that you buy
and sell and... Hm.

You don't have an Australian dream.

No. That's not about us.

That is a serious trampoline.

That's beautiful.

What's your hope for the children?

My hope is that particularly my
grandchildren

and my youngest daughter, when they
get to my age,

that they're not fighting the same
struggle,

that they get all of the
opportunities

without having to find their way
through the many injustices

that we continue to face.

Lidia's left me with a lot
of troubling questions.

I'm not totally in love
with the Australian dream any more.

It troubles me because it was only
possible by dispossessing the people

who already lived here.

It's the elephant in the room.

I knew it was going to be
complicated

because while everybody loves
Australia,

and I think people really do,

there is quite sharp division on
whether the Australian dream exists.

I've got to question it. I've got to
test it.

I've still got an afternoon
left in Melbourne...

..and where better to spend
it

than one of my favourite places.

Oh, Vinnies.

I love Vinnies.

I'm looking for Pyrex.

Darling, have you got any Pyrex?

Pyrex? Maybe somewhere random in
that area.

What's your name?

My name is Muj. Muj, I'm Miriam.

BOTH: Nice to meet you.

Where are you from? I'm from
Afghanistan.

A tough place to come from.

HE LAUGHS

I never buy clothes, only jumpers...

Jumpers there.

..because I'm fat and it's very rare
to find anything that fits me.

What about this one? No, that's not
big enough,

but it's got to have a bit of
flair to it.

You know what? You know that word
"flair"?

Flair, I do know that word. It
means a little something...

Little bit... it lifts it. Yeah.
Yeah.

6D, that's never going to go
round my breasts.

What was your business
when you were in Afghanistan?

I was only 11, 12 years old.
I never had a business.

Did your mum and dad come with you?

I lost them in the war.

Oh, I'm so sorry. With five of my
brothers, my mum...

I lost them in the war.

Is there a place we can sit down?

Oh, this is better.

So you came on a plane or on a
boat?

A convoy boat.

From where? From Indonesia.

Somebody paid a sea captain
to take you? No.

I just...

You hitched a ride?

Yes, I did, because I did not
have any money.

I was a little boy.

And obviously you didn't speak
English then? Nothing at all.

Nothing. I came from Surabaya to
Christmas Island,

takes me 32, 31 days. Oh, God.

You came quite alone.

Yeah. Was nobody with you? No.

I'm 25 and I'm still alone.

At the same time, I'm happy.

I'm relaxed. I'm happy
with what I've got.

I'm proud of who I became.

If I can communicate with
people,

I can talk to people, I can listen
to people, I'm safe here.

I'm not going to die tonight.

I'm not going to get a bomb in my
head.

I'm not going to get a shot in my
head.

I'm just happy to be here.

Do you know when your birthday is?

I never... I don't know how old I
am.

I never had a birth certificate.

I always want to find out how old I
am.

I'm sorry.

But one day I might find out.

It's wonderful that you can talk
about it to me

and to cry... It's... it's good.
Believe me. It's tough.

It's tough to talk about those kind
of things.

Because I don't want to think about
who I was,

where I come from.

The past is past,

focus for now, focus for the
next step,

focus for that future. You've got to
climb on it.

I want to ask you about your visa.

What is the situation?

At the moment I'm on a P...
Protection Visa.

They gave it to me after ten years

and my visa is finishing next year
and I don't know what to do.

It seems that Muj is in
no-man's-land.

From what I know, a Temporary
Protection Visa is just that.

Temporary.

As inclusive as Australia is,

the government has decided that
no-one who arrives by boat

will ever get permanent residency
here.

I hope in my heart of hearts
that's not true for Muj.

So what is the dream, the dream
that you have now?

The dream is I just want to be
independent, like you guys.

Go to work, go home, cook some
dinner, lie down,

watch my own TV.

I would love to go help young
people,

because when I was a young, I got
a lot of help.

I've got to give it back. I can't
take it with me.

I've got to give it back
to the community.

I think Australia's very lucky
to have you.

I'm going to ask you a funny
question. Yeah?

How Australian do you feel?

I've been living here ten years.
I can tell I'm an Aussie.

Yeah. Because I play for
Collingwood, my football club.

I play AFL. Yeah.

Like, "I see you play AFL, that
proves that you are Aussie."

MIRIAM CHUCKLES
You know, the Aussie Rules. Yeah.

You're a remarkable young man.

You've taken me on a journey today.
Aw.

And all I did was come in for a
Pyrex dish.

THEY LAUGH

Australia was so welcoming to me,

but it can be so hard for others.

It makes me feel angry.

I'm sad.

We don't know how lucky we are.

That's all you can think.

We have so much.

While that situation exists,
the Australian dream,

it's a fiction.

It's a dream for some people.

But not for Muj.

I shan't forget this.

I'm leaving Melbourne in a rather
grumpy,

exhausted and disillusioned
state...

..but the landscape's cheering me
up.

Thank God all of Australia
isn't in drought.

I can't quite get my head
around the scale of all this.

It's just so much huger
than anything I've ever known.

I've been away from home
ten days now.

I've travelled over 2,000km
and I still have 8,000 to go.

At the end of the first leg of my
journey,

I'm stopping over in the small
Victorian town of Nhill,

population 2,000-ish.

But unlike poor old Trundle,

Nhill looks like it's thriving.

It's very modern.

I wonder what its secret is?

I just wish I wasn't over van life.

Oh, come on, you fucking thing!

God, that really pisses me off,
that door.

Christ, it's very cheap round here.

I've arranged to meet a local
resident.

Hello.

I'm Tha Blay.

Hello. This is my brother, Mu.

Mu? Yeah.

Is this your restaurant?

No. This is Mr Le.

And you're from Vietnam? No, no.
We're Karen. From Burma.

From Korea? No-no... From Burma?

Yeah. So are you Burmese?

No, we're Karen.

K-A-R-E-N. Karen.

It's... Karen?

It's an ethnicity in Burma.

We are not recognised as citizens.

We... I was born as stateless.

And when you were in Burma,
what did your family do there?

My parents were subsistence
farmer, but things were bad.

At the age of eight years
old, I came...

We ended up in the refugee camp
along the Thai-Burma border.

You were refugees?

Yes. Mu was born in the refugee
camp.

So you've come from a totally
different world.

Why did you come
to this little town?

There's a factory in here called
Luv-a-Duck.

Luv-a-Duck? Luv-a-Duck.

OK. Duck processing? Duck
processing.

Not many local people
would like to work in there. Right.

So because my dad desperately needed
work, we ended up here.

Apparently, this Luv-a-Duck is one
of the main employers in Nhill.

Tha Blay's father is one of around
60 Karen people who work there.

I'll take you to Luv-a-Duck
first. The factory.

Yes, Luv-a-Duck. Luv-a-Duck.

Luv-a-Duck. Yes.

And you always have to say the "ck".

Oh, sorry. Luv-a-Duck. Luv-a-Duck.

Yes!

Luv-a-Duck. You've got it.

That's a hatchery. A hatchery.

Hatchery. Yeah, you got it, kid.

Well, that duck on the picture looks
very happy,

but I'm not sure about the ones that
are all going to be killed.

From an initial foothold
at Luv-a-Duck,

Karen people are now employed
in businesses all over town.

What does Nhill offer to you?

Overall, Australia offers
opportunity,

freedom...

You know, the support...
And safety. Safety.

I can walk around the town
in the middle of night,

not worry anything is...

Nothing's going to happen to me,
I'm sure.

That's a huge thing, to be safe,
isn't it? Mm-hm.

I mean, that's a dream come true.

Yes. Yes. A dream come true.

So you're Australian.

I see myself as Aussie/Karen.

I'm in the middle.

But isn't that wonderful?

You have two worlds.

Tha Blay has invited me to her
home for a barbecue,

Aussie/Karen style.

Hello!

Oh, my goodness. Here she is.

What a banquet.

INDISTINCT CHATTERING

Hello. Hello. Hi.

The whole family's turned out.

My dad.

Lovely to meet you, hello.

My name is Khin Swhe. Khin Shwe.
Yes. Nice to meet you.

We've been waiting for so long to
meet you.

The former general manager of
Luv-a-Duck and his wife are also here.

I'm John. John. Lovely to meet
you.

I'm Margaret.

Can I have something to cover
my breasts?

Uh... This is all...

Oh, yeah.
That's good. That's good.

Oh, it's gorgeous.

What on Earth gave you the idea
to bring people

from the other side of the world
over here?

Well, people are just not here
to work.

And Aussies don't want to
move from the capital cities,

they don't want to come into the
country.

We had no choice. That's what
happened.

Do you think Australians are a bit
conservative about people

from other cultures?

They were very cautious to start
with because they didn't know

if they going to be a different
religion,

if they were going to be a
forceful people,

if they were going to be...

Troublemakers. Yeah, troublemakers.

But once we got to know them...
And now,

everyone thought it was a great
idea.

But it's only, what, ten years
down the track

that everyone just embraces them.

How many now?

320. That's a lot.

That's 10% of your population.

Now, it's your house, isn't it?

This is my house. You bought it?
I bought it.

It's under my name.

That is the Australian Dream.

And so a small country town
is renewed.

Now, let's have a look at this.

Five new citizens.

THEY CHUCKLE

How lovely.

Miriam Margolyes.

It took you about 30 years
to get citizenship.

Why the delay?

Well, I think you have to be sure,
don't you?

CROWD LAUGHS And now I am.

That really was life-affirming.

And I think this is... this
is the point,

that there can be an Australian
Dream

and that's an Australian Dream in
action.

People from different cultures,

good, decent people can
just make the handshake.

And...

..the food was good. The food was
lovely.

That's always very,
very life-affirming.

So off we go.

Australia, here I come!

Next time, this old lady
hits The Red Centre,

or rather, The Red Centre hits me.

Alice Springs is the lesbian
capital of the world.

Yeah.

I'll be grappling with the
Australian concept of mate-ship...

I'm going to take my hat off and
kiss you. Mwah.

..who it includes...

I'm a fucking lady trucker.

Don't you forget it.

..how deep it runs...

You're transgender? Yes, I am. Oh,
for heaven's sake.

..and most importantly,

who'd be my mate... Crikey,
look at that.

..if I ended up like that.