Horses for Discourses: a critical examination of the horse in Australian culture

Abstract

The cultural significance of the horse functions as one of the cornerstone narratives in the production and performance of Australian national identity. From Phar Lap's preserved remains to the Opening Ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games; from 'Banjo' Paterson's poem "The Man from Snowy River" to the 2018 Wild Horse Heritage Bill (NSW), the notion that the horse is meaningful to Australians continues to be perpetuated. Nonetheless, the exact nature of this significance remains nebulous and imprecise, and the topic has drawn little critical attention from Australian Studies or Cultural Studies scholars. In view of this academic silence, this thesis interrogates the key narratives associated with the Australian 'horse discourse', and asks, broadly, what is the nature of the horse's significance in Australia, and what does this reveal about Australian identity?

Drawing on a mixed-methods approach - including a nation-wide survey of collecting institutions, stakeholder interviews, and the analysis of literature from a diversity of fields - this research seeks to explore the foundational assumptions upon which the equine significance narrative is constructed. The thesis addresses representations of the horse from several key perspectives - as an imported cultural trope; as historically important; within the museum context; and when framed as heritage, particularly with respect to the recent brumby debates. Through these multiple entry-points, the thesis offers a considered analysis of constructions of this animal as an identity narrative.

Building on anthropologist James Wertsch's notion of schematic narrative templates, I identify an Australian iteration, which I name the Underdog narrative template. The thesis argues that tales from the equine significance discourse, when underpinned by the Underdog schematic narrative template, are reinforced, becoming potent sites for the expression of nationalism. Combining this understanding with an Animal Studies framing, I argue that the significance of the horse in Australia is largely instrumental, predicated upon an inherently anthropocentric and utilitarian approach. This in turn allows it to be deployed as a symbolic construct, revealing the cultural work the horse is tasked with - in particular in mediating anxieties of belonging among white, Anglo-European Australians.