The book review every product manager should read
Some great Dons have distinguished themselves in Australia.
One by the name of Don Bradman swung the willow for Australia like a sword.
Then there’s Don Watson, one of Australia’s great writers of non-fiction who wrote some of the best lines to come out of Paul Keating’s mouth.
Remember Keating’s famous Redfern speech that acknowledged the impact of European settlement on Indigenous Australians? That was Don Watson talking.
In his latest literary work, titled The Bush, this mighty Don swings his keyboard like an axe, cutting a swathe through the myths and mystery surrounding the history and culture of the Australian landscape.
Whether it’s a contemplation of horses, sheep and working dogs in the rural landscape, or a blistering, unromantic look at the hardships that shaped the psyche of the squatters who took on the forests of gums and cedar, Watson’s keen eye is fresh and revealing.
Why is it that Australians still feel comfortable clinging to the beaches and ‘burbs, when a large part of our national identity has been shaped by fire, drought, and tragedies from our vast inland called “the bush”.
Is there a reason why Australia’s metro media outlets reach for stereotypes and clichés when reporting on any important issue confronting the “bush’?
In his latest literary work, titled The Bush, this mighty Don swings his keyboard like an axe, cutting a swathe through the myths and mystery surrounding the history and culture of the Australian landscape.
Part memoir and part travel document, Don Watson helps unravel those questions and highlights the origins of the great divide between city and country that continues to flourish in the first half of the 21st Century.
The amazing thing is, the differences are still so pronounced.
In the ongoing research that Redhanded collates, the great divide between the country and their metro cousins has grown into a chasm that can easily swallow the unsuspecting or naïve marketer.
For example, only 13% of those in regional and rural Australia are born overseas compared to 31% in major cities.
The average age of farmers is 52 years, which is 12 years above the national average for other occupations.
Married people represent 63% of the rural population compared to 55% in suburbia.
Think that doesn’t have an impact on a purchase decision? Our research shows it does. Before you spend another dollar of your marketing budget go to:
https://redhandedcomau.wpengine.com/crossing-the-great-divide/rural-pulse/
No–one who reads Don Watson’s book or Redhanded’s Rural Pulse will ever look at the country quite the same way again.