The essential Australian is male, working-class, sardonic, laconic, loyal to his mates, unimpressed by rank, an improviser, non-conformist, and so on. These virtues are defined and redefined under the harsh conditions of the bush, workplace, war or sport, in which women, and the feminine qualities, are considered to be beside the point
--Susan Dermody and Elizabeth Jacka describing the ―male ensemble‖ (1988, p. 62
