AustLit
Latest Issues
AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'From the true-blue Crocodile Hunter to the blue humour of Stiffy and Mo, from the Beaconsfield miners to The Sentimental Bloke, Australia has often been said to possess a "larrikin streak". Today, being a larrikin has positive connotations and we think of it as the key to unlocking the Australian identity: a bloke who refuses to stand on ceremony and is a bit of scally wag. When it first emerged around 1870, however, larrikin was a term of abuse, used to describe teenage, working-class hell-raisers who populated dance halls and cheap theatres. Crucially, the early larrikins were female as well as male.
Larrikins : A History takes a trip through the street-based youth subculture known as larrikinism between 1870 and 1920. Swerving through the streets of Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, it offers a glimpse into the lives of Australia's first larrikins, including bare knuckle-fighting, football-barracking, and knicker-flashing teenage girls. Along the way, it reveals much that is unexpected about the development of Australia's larrikin streak to present fascinating historical perspectives on hot "youth issues" today, including gang violence, racist riots, and raunch culture among adolescent girls.' Source: http://uqp.com.au (Sighted 03/04/2012).
Bellanta refers throughout to literary representations of the larrikin in the works by writers such as Louis Stone, Ambrose Pratt and C. J. Dennis.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
Review : Larrikins : A History
2013
single work
review
— Appears in: Queensland Review , June vol. 20 no. 1 2013; (p. 130)
— Review of Larrikins : A History 2012 single work criticism -
The Leary Larrikin
2013
single work
column
— Appears in: Ozwords , April vol. 22 no. 1 2013; (p. 1-3) -
Books : Australia
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 28 July 2012; (p. 34)
— Review of Larrikins : A History 2012 single work criticism -
Rowdy Youth Shaped a Nation
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 21-22 July 2012; (p. 32)
— Review of Larrikins : A History 2012 single work criticism -
The Dinkum Larrikin
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 14 July 2012; (p. 23)
— Review of Larrikins : A History 2012 single work criticism
-
Our Larrikin Colonial Past
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 2 - 3 June 2012; (p. 21)
— Review of Larrikins : A History 2012 single work criticism -
The Dinkum Larrikin
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 14 July 2012; (p. 23)
— Review of Larrikins : A History 2012 single work criticism -
Rowdy Youth Shaped a Nation
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 21-22 July 2012; (p. 32)
— Review of Larrikins : A History 2012 single work criticism -
Books : Australia
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 28 July 2012; (p. 34)
— Review of Larrikins : A History 2012 single work criticism -
[Review Essay] Larrikins : A History
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Literary Studies , October-November vol. 27 no. 3/4 2012; (p. 154-155)
— Review of Larrikins : A History 2012 single work criticism -
The Leary Larrikin
2013
single work
column
— Appears in: Ozwords , April vol. 22 no. 1 2013; (p. 1-3)
Awards
- 2013 winner Ernest Scott Prize