Breaker Morant's Split Personality: Australian Male Identity Through Opposing Eyes
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Breaker Morant's Split Personality: Australian Male Identity Through Opposing Eyes by Bronwyne Thomason BA (Hons), MA Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Deakin University May, 2013 Abstract Breaker Morant's Split Personality: Australian Male Identity Through Opposing Eyes Creative Artefact: Pilgrim’s Time The creative artefact is loosely based on Morant’s life and death. The narrative is written from three points of view and makes use of three variations of tense with the dual purpose of distinguishing between the different voices and to establish a dissonance that isolates the characters from each other by time and distance. The main character’s voice is written in past tense, third person and is set in Australia. It is juxtaposed against his mother’s voice that is written in present tense, third person and is set in England. The novel is framed with a prologue, that alerts the reader to the character’s imminent death, and the story begins in 1894, five years before Morant joined the Anglo-Boer war. The novel tells the story of a character known as ‘The Pilgrim’ who is unclear about his own identity and his place of belonging. His allegiance is divided between Australia and England, mother and father, friend and enemy. A number of minor characters highlight the theme of identity as central to the novel. Harvey, for instance, is a revision of Henry Lawson’s Arvie Aspinell. Fryingpan is a re-creation of A B Paterson’s innocent non-white Australian after the tradition of ‘Frying Pan’s Theology’, an overtly racist poem on the relationship between Australian Chinese immigrants, Indigenous Australians and white colonisers. Fryingpan’s naiveté, which is present in Paterson’s poem, is overturned in the novel in such a way that he is the spiritual presence that helps the novel to culminate in the transformation of Pilgrim from confused and ambiguous living identity to a spiritually encompassing identity that belongs in several places simultaneously: life and death, above and below, home and away. Exegesis: The Making of Breaker Morant: Mythology and the Australian National Identity This thesis, which consists of a creative artefact and an exegesis, reflects on the ‘myth’ of Breaker Morant, the Anglo-Australian poet and horseman who was controversially executed by the British for murder in the second Boer War. The exegetical section of the thesis examines the early life of Edwin Henry Murrant and unravels the ambiguities of his life story and the way in which Australians from different social classes responded and related to both the man and the stories about him. The exegesis then goes on to discuss how The Breaker emerged, and continues to be re-imagined by biographers and creative writers, as a character that symbolised Australian national identity. By establishing the premise that The Breaker was a symbol of Australian national identity, the argument analyses how Morant became mythologised through film and literature of the 1980s that depicted Morant’s involvement in the Anglo-Boer war, as a ‘famous’ poet, legend, and ‘war hero’ at a time when Australia was still ‘processing’ its experiences in the Vietnam War. With the current resurgence of interest in Morant, I argue that the Australian military male identity is again being re- examined and defended through cultural representations such as songs and re-runs of plays about Morant. The conclusion drawn by this exegesis that Breaker Morant, as a representation of ‘Australian Male Identity’, is one that is in continuous state of retrospection and flux depending upon political currents and creative interpretations. Acknowledgments At the beginning of my candidature I was grateful to have received an Australian Postgraduate Award and a Deakin University Postgraduate Research Scholarship that supported me for three and a half years. I also received a Geelong Community Foundation Start up Grant of $5000 supplied by Wheeler Investment Advisors Pty Ltd., with which I purchased a new computer and travelled to Bourke, Renmark and Adelaide. During my candidature the Faculty of Arts and Education provided funds to attend conferences, to make two trips to Sydney to conduct field research, and to visit the Mitchell Library. The School also provided me with a wonderful office that gave me views of the courtyard and a serenade of birds. I have been supported and encouraged continuously. Dr Maria Takolander and Professor David McCooey have taught me to question the placement of every word and to analyse the validity of every argument that is contained within this thesis. Professor Michael Meehan also helped me with the creative artefact of this project. Professor Meehan’s expertise in novel writing helped me to consider the structure of my novel, and I very much appreciated his support during my first ever conference presentation. In addition to my three primary supervisors, I am grateful to have had the benefit of the encouragement of several other individuals. Ted Robl has devoted many years of his life to researching the life of Harry Morant and was eager to share his knowledge and research with me. I personally acknowledge Ted for his dedication to uncovering the truth about the life of Morant and for his generosity and kindness. James Unkles, military lawyer, inspired me with his untiring quest for justice in military process. Mr Unkles kept me informed of new developments in his campaign to gain a pardon for Morant. At the Sydney Institute Mr Unkles introduced me to Kenneth Ross (writer of the original play, Breaker Morant) and Nick Bleszynski (author of Shoot Straight, You Bastards!). Through discussions with these men I have gained tremendous insights into the life of Morant. Without the love, the joyful senses of humour and the support of Mrs Robyn Ficnerski, Research and Training Officer, and Ms Kylie Koulkoudinas, Faculty Ethics and Publication Officer, I would have found the task of balancing family, research and employment a lonely and frightening concept. For this, I also thank my colleague, fellow PhD student, Lance Collins who put me in touch with James Unkles and alerted me often to information and news about Morant. Lance also shared with me his insights and knowledge of the military, of horses, of writing and of military history. It was a delight to share the process of writing this thesis in the presence of a fellow student who was so interested in my project. Several government bodies and organisations have contributed to this project: ‘Olivewood’ in Renmark; Bangalore Homestead; Army Museum of South Australia and Keswick Barracks; Back O’Bourke Exhibition Centre; City of Sydney; Sydney Lands Department; State Library of New South Wales; the Sydney Institute; History House and the Royal Australian Historical Society; the State Records Department, Sydney; the Henry Lawson Historical Memorial and Literary Society, Victoria branch and the Henry Lawson Centre in Mudgee. I also must thank the proprietors of the Mudgee Bushlands Tourist Park and the Bourke Gidgee Guest House who gave me contacts and information. Finally, I would like to thank Floriana Badalotti for proofreading my final document. Table of Contents Breaker Morant's Split Personality: Australian Male Identity Through Opposing Eyes Creative Artefact: Pilgrim’s Time 1 Prologue 2 Part One – The City 4 Part Two – The Bush 127 Part Three – The Game 154 Part Four – War 183 Part Five – Home 199 Part Six – Countdown 209 Exegetical Section: The Making of Breaker Morant: Mythology and the Australian National Identity The Making of The Breaker: Conflict and Identity 227 The Making of The Breaker: A B Paterson and Will Ogilvie 244 The Making of The Breaker: Mythmaking and The Anglo-Boer War 255 The Making of The Breaker: Poetry of a Nation 262 The Making of The Breaker: The Creative Imagination 266 The Making of The Breaker: In Defence of the Australian Military ‘Male’ Identity 275 The Making of the Breaker: Interpretation and Continuum 281 References 286 Pilgrim’s Time BJ Thomason Prologue February 1902 and a hot storm has formed up and rumbled over Pretoria. On the twenty-seventh day of the month, Pilgrim prepares to die. He remembers a Thomas Moore poem he’d once loved. He had lov'd for his love, for his country he died, They were all that to life had entwin'd him, Nor soon shall the tears of his country be dried, Nor long will his love stay behind him. He is seated now, hands bound behind his back but he doesn’t struggle. He speaks. Darkness lifts; a blindfold is raised. Early morning light stings his eyes and enters his head like a knife blade; way back inside his eye sockets the muscles tense against the sudden inlet of bright light. Time moves slowly now; he is savouring these moments. He must see everything but death. Not death at all. Page 2 Part One The City Breaker Morant's Split Personality: Australian Male Identity Through Opposing Eyes Pilgrim’s Time - The City Bronwyne Thomason 1 Pilgrim woke up agitated. It was the dream again. And, to add to his annoyance, the dog was straddled over him licking his face. He gagged, shoved the dog. ‘Fleabag.’ He rolled out of bed and stepped onto the floor, shivering at the shock of cold pressing against his nakedness. Pilgrim scooped up the newspaper that the dog had brought in. ‘Thanks, Mate,’ he said as he turned it over and examined the label, ‘but, where’s my Bulletin?’ He tossed the roll onto his bed. If his poem had been published, The Bulletin wouldn’t pay the par if the poet couldn’t hand over a copy of the poem cut out from The Bulletin’s own pages.