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Production and Consumption

Bananas

Bananas are a tasty and convenient fruit which are a common part of the modern Australian diet. Bananas are well known as an Australian grown commodity that is available year-round and approximately 5 million bananas are eaten in Australia every day (ABGC 2017). The Australian banana industry is a protected industry and importation of fresh bananas is not permitted into Australia under bio-security legislation, so when local crops are damaged by extreme weather incidents, we tend to see significant price fluctuations and decreases in supply in this important foodstuff (ABGC 2014). Therefore, all fresh bananas sold commercially in this country are grown and transported within Australia. Outside of Australia, bananas are a significant global food commodity and staple carbohydrate in many nations, and are grown and eaten in a wide variety of countries and cultures.

Bananas are a cultural icon in Australia, synonymous with the warm climate and tropical regional agriculture, and are celebrated on the northern coast of NSW, with the 'Big Banana' tourist attraction. However, despite the popular view that Australia's tropical and sub-tropical regions are naturally abundant with fruit such as banana, the modern banana that we consume today are an introduced species. The history of how the modern banana came to find its home in Australia is global story.

The origins of bananas lay close to home

Many original wild species of bananas were thought to originate around Southeast Asia, particularly in the Malay Peninsula, Indonesia, New Guinea and the Philippines, with the early domestication most likely occurring in the Highlands of New Guinea (Denham et al, 2003). Attempting to trace the archaeobotanical path of bananas historically from this point onwards is a complex task, with many aspects of the exact order of dispersal of bananas globally still unresolved, however it does appear to be closely wrapt in the movement of humans between continents and evolving trade relationships from 7000BCE onwards (Denham et al, 2003; Kennedy, J. 2008). Additionally, there are numerous varieties of banana plants, including a wide array of hybrid plants, all of which have been influenced by travel, exploration and sharing of knowledge of food sources and horticulture (ABGC 2017).

Bananas appear to have travelled with traders from Arabia, Persia, India and Indonesia, who planted banana suckers around the coastline of the Indian Ocean, and the plants moved on further to Africa, China, Oceania and Polynesia approximately 2000 years ago or earlier, as indicated on Figure 1 (ABGC 2017; Robertshaw, P. 2006). Western European culture does not appear to have intersected with bananas until the 15th century, when it appears that Portuguese sailors discovered the plant in West Africa and went on to propagate the plant in colonial plantations in Latin America and the Caribbean from the 16th century onwards (ABGC 2017).

Earliest arrival in Australia

The arrival of bananas in Australia pre-dates the western European interaction with the plant through colonial times. The National Museum of Australia and the Australian Museum have historical evidence of bananas being traditionally traded and consumed by Torres Strait Islander people both as foodstuffs and materials from banana plants being used to manufacture traditional tools and fishing equipment, as well as cultural artefacts (NMA 2014). However, the banana plant that was to reappear in Australia in the 1800s would be a different hybridised variety.

The Cavendish Banana

The story of how the Cavendish variety of bananas found a home in Australia is a fascinating tale that speaks to the colonial influences on trade and travel between east and west in the early 1800s. According to the Australian Banana Growers Council (2017), it is thought that banana plants of Chinese origin were taken to Mauritius in the early 1800s and then further transported to then England, where they were kept in glasshouses by the 6th Duke of Devonshire, William Spencer Cavendish, before being brought to Samoa and Fiji by an English missionary in 1838. The Cavendish variety then most likely arrived on the east coast of Australia in the mid 1800s with the drafting of labour for cane cutting from Fiji and other Pacific Islands (ABGC 2017). It is however worth noting that other varieties of bananas had already been introduced to Polynesia from the western Pacific in various phases of trade and migration, prior to the European introduction (Kennedy, J. 2008).

Chinese Immigration and Gold Mining

Contemporary to the Fijian connection to bananas entering Australia, is the influence of Chinese immigrants on Australian society, who arrived with the goldrush of the 1800s bringing banana plants with them, firstly to Carnarvon Western Australia in the early to mid 1800s (Couchman, S. 2005). Biosecurity was not an issue at that time, so waves of migration brought numerous foreign species of plants to Australia, and this process was likely encouraged for the development and self-sustainability of early colonies.  Chinese fruit plantation owners in Fiji, who initially supplied the Sydney fruit market, went on to establish banana plantations in Northern NSW in the 1870s (Couchman, S. 2005). The first commercial crops of bananas in Queensland commenced in the 1880s around Cairns and Geraldton, established by Chinese goldfield workers (ABGC 2017). Chinese fruit growers and merchants became dominant players in the Queensland industry, which included the distribution of bananas in Sydney and Melbourne (Couchman, S. 2005). After the construction of legislation to prevent coloured labour working in the banana industry in 1921, the Chinese dominance of the industry began to fade (Couchman, S. 2005).

The Australian Banana Industry Today

The banana growing regions of Australia have remained relatively unchanged over the past 100 years, with plantations in sub-tropical regions of Northern NSW to Southern Queensland and in the tropical region in Northern Queensland. There are additionally plantations in NT and northern WA. The plantations are intentionally spread over geographical locations within Australia to ensure that the industry is diverse and able to cope with weather or other natural fluctuations (ABGC 2017).

Bananas bunches are still collected by hand from banana plants today. Until the early 1900s, bananas were transported in wooden boxes via punts and steamboats along rivers within Queensland, and via sea to Sydney and Melbourne, where they were transported by horse and cart from the docks to ripening rooms before distribution to market (Couchman, S. 2005). Transportation of bananas has shifted with technology, so after the end of World War II, bananas were able to be transported to markets by rail until the 1960s and then more recently air-conditioned road trains and rail transport fruit to southern states, packed in specialised cold-storage cardboard boxes (ABGC 2017; Orora 2016).

Consumption

As I live in Sydney, the bananas that I eat are transported from Northern NSW and Queensland. These bananas are supplied in bulk to the Sydney Market located in the suburb of Flemington and are then transported again via truck to my local supermarket, only a few kilometres away. The trucking companies involved in the transportation of fruit and foodstuffs make up a National transportation network.

The main local Australian retailers of bananas are supermarkets, and consumers of bananas include local retail food outlets, cafés, restaurants and food manufacturing and processing companies.

References

ABC (2014). Imports considered as banana shortage continues, The World Today. 16 June 2006. Australian Broadcasting Corpor ation (2014). Available online at:

http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2006/s1664715.htm

 AGBC (2017). The Australian Banana Growers Council Inc. website. Available online at:

https://abgc.org.au/

 Australian Bananas (2017) industry website. Available online at:

https://australianbananas.com.au/

 Couchman, S. (2005). Banana Industry. Chinese-Australian Historical Images in Australia, La Trobe University. Available online at:

http://www.chia.chinesemuseum.com.au/biogs/CH00008b.htm

 Denham, T.P., Haberle, S.G., Lentfer C., Fullagar, R., Field, J., Therin, M., Porch, N., and Winsborough, B. Origins of agriculture at Kuk Swamp in the highlands of New Guinea, Science Vol. 301, Issue 5630, 189-193 (2003), 10.1126/science.1085255

 Kennedy, J. Pacific Bananas: Complex Origins, Multiple Dispersals? Asian Perspectives, Spring 2008, Vol.47(1), pp.75-94 

 NMA (2014). Geology and trade. National Museum of Australia website, viewed 8 April 2017. Available online at:

http://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/lag_meta_aus/geology

 Orora (2016). Orora Packaging Australia Pty Ltd website. Available online at:

https://www.ororagroup.com/

 Robertshaw, P. Africa’s Earliest Bananas. Archaeology Vol. 59, No 5. (September/October 2006). pp. 25-29

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Triple J Unearthed

Music Artists: 'Hana and Jessie-Lee', duo playing alt-country, based in Adelaide, South Australia.

The history of alt-country music and its influences

Although the Triple J Unearthed website lists this duo under the genre of 'roots', Hana and Jessie-Lee's bio details their genre as predominantly alt-country (alternative- country). It is apparent that there is a degree of overlap in the popular definitions of these two music subgroups. The term alt-country is used interchangeably with the term Americana, with one of the most famous artist contributing to this genre being Johnny Cash. The popular definition of roots as a genre is a broad, catch-all term for the modern versions, and revival of traditional versions, of musical subgroups that include, Americana, folk, country, world music and rock, as well as music that blends these influences. Whereas alt-country, or Americana as the name suggests, is a modern form of American music, which draws on the local traditions of American country music and appears to occupy a space between country and roots-rock music, and further incorporates various influences within the American music scene such as country, blues, folk and roots-rock (Americana Music 2017). Performers of the contemporary genre of alt-country appear to make a number of distinctions between themselves and traditional country music, both in terms of their more gritty and sultry style, other musical influences drawn upon and the use of electric band instruments. However, the two genres do appear to have many common elements, as both use acoustic instruments producing the classic twangy country sound and use of downbeat lyrical themes.

Country and western music, or simply 'country' as it is now known, historically developed in Australia independently of the North American version of this genre and is therefore a separate genre of music, despite strong commonalities. The early convicts and colonists that arrived in colonial Australia in the 1780s were predominantly British and Irish people who brought with them well established oral traditions of songs and folk music and it was from this base that the Australian culture of country music arose, with bush songs reflecting everyday life experiences in colonial Australia and eventually outback life as well (culture.gov.au 2011). The instruments typically used in this form of folk music included the fiddle, banjo, guitar and harmonica, producing the renowned Australian country sound that carries through to modern country music as well as some alt-country music acts today (culture.gov.au 2011).

Australian country music was initially spread by the medium of radio during the 1920s and was seen as synonymous with rural life by the 1930's (culture.gov.au 2011). From the 1930s onwards, American country music arrived and somewhat influenced the local country music scene (culture.gov.au 2011). Although local Australian country acts were keen to emulate the new sounds of American country artists, the Australian acts readily hybridised the American sounds and adapted this with Australian themes of local places and characters in their lyrics (Bannister, R. p. 133, 2005). American country music had travelled a completely different historical path of development, with its background in a fusion of white working-class fiddle music or Appalachian folk music, and black blues music, which came from the cultural fringes of the Southern United States in the 1920s, to initially create 'hillbilly' music (Scherman, T. 1994). The success of this genre was fuelled by poor rural populations' reliance on radio which aired amateur music during the Depression, and in response to its early successes, American music promoters used this medium to develop and refine country music from the 1930s onwards (Scherman, T. 1994). Contemporary to the evolution of this form of music was the success of American Western films in which heroic cowboy characters were created, and this iconic social construct gelled with the emergence of country music at the time (Scherman, T. 1994).

In the 1950s and 1960s the emergence of rock and pop music began to challenge the popularity of the country music genre in Australia. However, there remained a dedicated Australian country music following within Australia, with focal points like the annual Australasian Country Music Awards and the renowned Tamworth Country Music Festival, which commenced in 1973, to name but a few of the festivals that continue to celebrate this aspect of Australian culture (culture.gov.au 2011). The number of top selling country genre albums and dedicated country music radio stations in Australia demonstrate the large appeal and range of local performers who continue to pursue and develop country-related genre music in Australia today. Further, the degree ongoing appreciation for country music has undoubtedly fuelled new generations of county-influenced music in Australia, inspiring further evolution of this genre, fusing with other musical influences to produce local alt-country acts such as Hana and Jessie-Lee. Notably, in 2013 the Tamworth Country Music Festival included the Golden Guitar award for the alt-country category (The Australian, 2016).

The Artists' identity and visual representation

Although the artists Hana and Jessie-Lee distinguish themselves as belonging to the alt-country genre, they clearly portray country genre cultural traits in their visual musical identity through their chosen mediums of online pages and bio-photographs. The use of quintessential American Western themes included in their soundcloud page, such as stylised images of spurred cowboy-boots and lettering drawn with ropes, which are emblematic of that cultural construct. In the few photographs of the duo that are available online, both women dress in large ten-gallon hats, commonly associated with the stereotypical 1930s American Western cultural scene. Also as part of their image, the two women are pictured in denim jackets and casual shirts, which gives them a down to earth appearance, rather than using their female body images as the focal point of their presence, as is seen in the portrayal of female artists in other music genres. The women appear to be choosing to reveal an image of 'real people'  who are easy to relate to, which reflects the raw nature of their music, which is written and performed by themselves.

As an outsider not familiar with country or alt-country music, in reviewing the online and visual images and themes presented by Hana and Jessie-Lee before listening to their music, I personally interpreted this to indicate that they played traditional country music, so one can only assume that the duo intend for this assumption to be made about them. However the strong soulful signing combined with electric guitar reverb and blues influences, fuse together to form an altogether unique style of music.

Artist Profiles:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hanaandjessielee/

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/hanabrenecki

Triple J Unearthed: https://www.triplejunearthed.com/artist/hana-and-jessie-lee

 References:

Americana Music (retrieved 2017). The Americana music association website, viewed 15 April 2017. Available online at:

http://americanamusic.org/node/494

 The Australian (2016). Alt country wins over audiences at annual festival in Tamworth, The Australian News website, 26 January 2016. Available online at:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/music/alt-country-wins-over-audiences-at-annual-festival-in-tamworth/news-story/0d3a12db5033658ad83c3d6d3fbcc270

 Bannister, R. Singing Australian: A History of Folk and Country Music. Musicology Australia, 1 January 2005, Vol.28(1), p.131-135

 Culture.gov.au (2011), viewed 16 April 2017. Available online at:

https://web.archive.org/web/20110217020802/http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/music/country/

  Scherman, T. Country. American Heritage, Nov 1994, Vol. 45 (7) pp.38 (16). 5