It's not about sun and surf for me.. being Australian is the street where I live, where my neighbours say "G'day" in ten different accents. It's the sound of rain on a tin roof and the freshness of laundry just unpegged from the clothes line in the back yard.

That unmistakeable, irresistable smell of next door's barbecue in the air, and the overpowering perfume from the lillypilly tree as a spring breeze tickles it's petals to the ground.

Possums thundering across the rooftops in the middle of the night and waking far too early to the musical call of a family of magpies looking for food. The sad brownness of a region in drought and the wonder in the eyes of a desert-bred 5 year old when she feels rain on her face for the first time.

Being Australian is not having to worry about going broke if you get sick. It's about knowing someone will always give a mate a hand. Roast lamb on Sundays and complaining there's nothing on TV except football in winter and cricket in summer.

Australians don't think much of their politicians. We are a cynical race. You won't find too many of us with our hats off and hands on our hearts at a sporting event when they play the National Anthem. Matter of fact, you won't find too many of us that even know the words... but we can all sing Waltzing Matilda :)

You won't hear us brag too much about being Australian... but we are quietly proud of our special corner of the world. And when we're away from home... and someone asks us where we're from (or worse - asks if we're BRITISH) there's a feisty spark of pure patriotism in our eyes as we answer