I no longer tell people I’m from Victoria. They can get their laughs elsewhere |
I no longer tell people I’m from Victoria. They can get their laughs elsewhere
Pity, derision and puzzled anger are part of the deal when I cross the border.
July 17, 2026 — 3:00am
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I’ve taken some long drives recently, leaving Victoria and crossing the border into Australia. And I’ve found that people out there in Oz pity us Victorians with a raised lip, the way you pity an addict, a drunk, an embezzler or beggar who came from a good home and an easy start in life but crashed to infamy via years of wantonly sybaritic habits.
“Yeah, it’s sad what’s happened to her – but she did it to herself, and she’s no one else to blame.”
It’s tough to be a Victorian in greater Australia now. Walk into any pub in South Australia. “Where you guys from?”
“Victoria, eh? Jesus! What’s goin’ on there?” And they’ll cite Dan and Jacinta and our debt and that bent unions and bikies are our kings in The Garden State now and what a shame it is. “Why do you need tunnels, anyway, when Jacinta’s........