Ednapedia: A History of Australia in a Hundred Objects

By Dame Edna Everage

It's very rare that we see the emergence of a completely original idea in the world of books. Dame Edna Everage's masterly history of Australian civilization is one such idea, and, possums, you will never think of historical writing in the same way again. 'From our dainty gum nuts and towering Uluru to our world-class sharks and Opera House, marauding possums and poets, taking in game-changing inventions such as the dual-flush toilet and zinc cream, you will be amazed at what our sunburnt country has contributed to modern civilization.' Barbies. Bex powders. Bogans. Feral Koalas. The immortal pink Lamington, Australia's contribution to world patisserie. Plastic banknotes. Thongs, Uggs and utes. Not to speak of the Great Barrier Reef, goon and Nellie Melba.

One of the world's most distinguished thinkers and cultural personalities, Dame Edna Everage has inspired generations of Australian artists and icons, from Germaine Greer and Peter Carey to Kylie Minogue and Shane Warne.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Release date: Sep 8, 2016
• ISBN: 9781784975593

Dame Edna Everage

Dame Edna Everage is the world-famous housewife, talk show host, investigative journalist, social anthropologist, chanteuse, satirist, spin doctor - and author.

Book preview

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DAME EDNA’S EDNAPÆDIA

A History of Australia in 101 Objects

as dictated in person to

Barry Humphries and Ken Thomson

Start Reading

About this Book

About the Author

Table of Contents

www.headofzeus.com

About Dame Edna’s Ednapædia

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Dame Edna Everage is the megastar housewife, talk show host, investigative journalist, social anthropologist, chanteuse, satirist, spin doctor – and author. One of the world’s most distinguished thinkers and cultural personalities, Dame Edna has inspired generations of Australian artists and icons, from Germaine Greer and Peter Carey to Kylie Minogue and Shane Warne.

Contents

Cover

Welcome Page

About Dame Edna’s Ednapædia

Introduction

a

Aeroplane Jelly

Alexander Technique

Anzac

Australian States

Automatic Record Changer

b

Backpackers

Barbecue

The Bee Gees

Bex

Big Things

Billabong

Black Box

Black Swan

Blowfly

Bogans

Boomerang

Box Jellyfish

c

Clapperboard

Coogi

Corroboree

Crocodile

Cyclone Tracy

d

Didgeridoo

Dingo

Dog on the Tucker Box

Driza-Bone

Drongo

Dual-flush Toilet

Dunny

e

Emu

Escape Slide (Inflatable)

Esky

Etiquette (Down-Under Style)

f

Fairy Penguin

Foster’s Lager

Frilled-neck Lizard

g

Galah

Gladiolus

Great Barrier Reef

Germaine Greer

Gum Tree

h

Hats

Hills Hoist

Hoons

Humidicrib

Barry Humphries

k

Kangaroo

Kangaroo Cranes

Ned Kelly

Kiwi Shoe Polish

Koalas

Kookaburra

l

Lamington

Latex Gloves

Lollies

m

St Mary MacKillop

Mallee Root

Meat Pie

Dame Nellie Melba

Melbourne Cup

Rupert Murdoch

n

Neighbours

New Australians

Notebook

o

‘O’ Words

Ocker

p

Pacemaker

Pavlova

Permanent Crease

Phar Lap

Plastic (Polymer) Bank Notes

Plastic Spectacle Lenses

Platypus

Polly Waffle

Possums

r

Refrigeration

ResMed

Royal Flying Doctor Service

s

Shark

Southern Cross

Speedos

Spray-on Skin

Joan Sutherland

Swagman

Sydney Funnel-web Spider

Sydney Gay Pride

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Sydney Opera House

t

Thong

The Three Sisters

The Twelve Apostles

u

Ugg Boots

Uluru

Ute

v

Vegemite

w

Wattle

Patrick White

Wine Casks

Woop Woop

Wowsers

z

Zinc Cream

Thanks

About Dame Edna Everage

An Invitation from the Publisher

Copyright

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Introduction

Why, you may well ask, am I taking time off from my fabulous career to pen this book? Well, I accept I have always been a bit of an enigma, not unlike Leonardo’s Gioconda – that spooky picture of a smirking Italian woman. People have been trying to get to the bottom of both of us for as long as I can remember, to plumb our depths and find out what makes us tick.

Is it nature or nurture? All I can say is that, in my case, Dame Nature must have been in a pretty good mood when she fashioned me. As for nurture – forget it! My dear mother was committed to a twilight home when I was knee-high to a grasshopper, so she cannot claim any brownie points for the Force of Nature that I have become. Like most Australian fathers, my dad was a non-starter in the cultural department, so he deserves no credit either.

I know that some carping critics and know-alls will say that Australia has moved on from the days of my childhood and motherhood, and is now the most world-class, ultra-sophisticated little country on the planet. But all I can say to these carpers is what I’ve always said: ‘Call me old-fashioned.’ By the way, possums, I myself am an Australian, and for some people I have been the very first Australian they have come across. What a marvellous shock that must have been for them; and what an honour for me to know I personify our Broad, Brown Land.

So the book you hold so greedily in your hand is my effort to tell Australia like it is, the country that moulded – i.e. nurtured – me. A big ask, I know, but I’ve sifted through thousands of items for possible inclusion. From our dainty gumnuts and towering Uluru to our world-class sharks and Opera House, marauding possums and poets, taking in game-changing inventions such as the dual-flush toilet and zinc cream, you will be amazed at what my sunburnt country has contributed to modern civilization. In fact, I can say, with all modesty and without fear of successful contradiction, that almost everything worth mentioning has been invented by my countrymen – or womenfolk.

It has been pointed out by some smart alecks that this compendium of a hundred-odd things is not a totally original idea. I accept that and admit that my late bridesmaid, Mrs Madge Allsop, before she was gathered, was halfway through compiling a book entitled A History of New Zealand in 15 Objects.

Dame Edna Everage

Cap Ferrat and Moonee Ponds

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Aeroplane Jelly

This is a dessert item and the inspiration for a quaint Australian folk song from 1938, and well-known by housewives of the 1940s since it was played more than a hundred times a week on Australian radio:

I’ve got a song that won’t take very long,

Quite a good sort of note if I strike it...

It is something we eat, and I think it’s quite sweet,

And I know you are going to like it.

I like Aeroplane Jelly

Aeroplane Jelly for me.

I like it for dinner, I like it for tea,

A little each day is a good recipe.

The quality’s high as the name will imply,

And it’s made from pure fruits, one more good reason why

I like Aeroplane Jelly

Aeroplane Jelly for me.

Words and