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How the Aus accent works and what's unique about it

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How the Aus accent works and what's unique about it

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https://7news.com.au/news/vic/australian-accent-explained-by-voice-coach-c-10139819

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"Mate" helps express a friendly, casual identity and characteristics of Australians

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"Mate" helps express a friendly, casual identity and characteristics of Australians

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https://foreignlingo.com/australian-slang-for-friend/

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Listen to this article
The most common way to refer to your friends in Australian slang is simply "mate". This is the most common and universal. You might also hear "cobber", "mick" or more generic and widely used terms such as buddy and pal. "Mate" will do just fine in most settings. "Tidda" can also mean a female friend.
So, Australians certainly do have a few of their own unique slang terms for friend.

There aren't a huge number that you wouldn't also hear elsewhere in the English speaking world, but those that there are have really become quintessentially Australian.

Let's find out more.

What do Australians call their friends?

By and large, Australians just call their friends "mate".

If you've ever spoken to an Australian, likelihood is they may have called you mate.

While the term can also be a friendly way to address someone you don't know, it's just as common to be used for close friends, too.

Studies show around 82% of Australians use this term in conversation regularly.

But mate is of course used in other countries, too.

One of the most common slang terms for friend, which you're unlikely to hear outside of Australia, is "cobber".

This is typically used between men to refer to their friends. It's rather an old term, but is still in use today particularly among the older generations.

Another one that is still quite common is "mick".

This has largely the same sense as does "cobber". It's a somewhat old fashioned term for friend still used among the older generations, more commonly among groups of men than women.

This one you might hear, to a far lesser extent, in parts of England, but it is much more Australian in character.

There are other terms that will be used to refer to friends, such as "buddy" and "pal," which deserve a mention simply because they are such a big part of Australian slang.

"Buddy" is far more common here, as in other parts of the English speaking world it's more likely something you would call a child or an animal.

Finally, the Australian Aboriginals have a word, "Tidda," which is used to refer to a female friend or sometimes a sister.

This has taken on a broader use in Australian society, as indeed have a number of other aboriginal terms.

So, this one is a bit more specific than just friend, but it still means only friend and not a lover.

So, where do all these slang terms come from?

Why do Australians say mate?

As you may know, "mate" was originally a British slang term used by the working class.

Originally, it referred to a habitual companion, particularly someone you would work alongside each day.

It is still in widespread use in Britain today.

By at least 1826, "mate" was already in widespread use among Australians to refer to their friends.

By that year, two of the country's major newspapers reported that it was an increasingly commonplace greeting.

Australia was, at that time, still a British colony, so it's hardly surprising that it borrowed so heavily from British slang.

It is perhaps more common today, and with a broader application, than it ever has been.

It's friendly, polite, and rolls off the tongue with ease.

Why do Australians say cobber?

This one is a bit more of a mystery.

We aren't entirely sure of the origin of the slang term cobber, although we have a good idea.

There a couple of leading theories.

One suggests that "cobber" comes from the Yiddish word chaber, which means "comrade".

There have been large Yiddish-speaking Jewish communities in Australia since the earliest days of its colonization.

So, the term could have spread this way.

On the other hand, some think it dervies from the British slang verb "cob".

This meant to take a liking to someone.

Thus it would eventually become "cobber" in Australian slang.

Why do Australians say mick?

This one has a somewhat more troubled history.

In British slang, it has in the past been a derogatory term for an Irish person.

It passed on to Australian in something like this form, though quickly expanded to simply refer to anyone who is Roman Catholic.

At some point, the term was entirely reclaimed to just mean a friend of any descent or creed.

When and how this happened is very hard to tell, but it seems to have been sometime in the last century.

Today, it is less common, but still very much in use.

Why do Australians say tidda?

Finally, we have tidda.

As I mentioned, this one is unique as it derives ultimately not from English, but from the Australian Aboriginal language.

Here, tidda has a few different meanings. Literally, "sister" is probably the closest translation.

However, it doesn't necessarily have the sense of a blood sister. It could mean just a girl you're very close with.

In Australian slang, it has come to take on this meaning exclusively.

Your "tidda" is a close female friend, someone you might think of like a sister, but whom is not literally your sister.

Australians have a number of slang terms for friend, then, but if you're not an Australian yourself, I'd say stick to mate at first!

It's universally used and everyone understands the meaning and tone of the word.

Nonetheless, there are a number of other Australian slang terms for friend still widely used, with some fascinating history of their use.

Polly is the founder of Foreign Lingo. She has traveled to many countries around the world. Now she writes about travel, languages, traditions and cultures.

Thanks for your feedback!

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Australian Slang For Friend (Revealed!) - Foreign Lingo

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The most common way to refer to your friends in Australian slang is simply "mate". This is the most common and universal. You might also hear "cobber", "mick"

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melbourne museum using wominjeka on website because we are being not racist :OOOOOOOO

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melbourne museum using wominjeka on website because we are being not racist :OOOOOOOO

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https://museumsvictoria.com.au/wominjeka-welcome/

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Albanese's Fair go framework (happened this year)

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Albanese's Fair go framework (happened this year)

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The fair go framework uses the slang "fair go" to establish the Australian value of egalitarianism.

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Fair go - Identity of egalitarianism 2/8/23

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Fair go - Identity of egalitarianism 2/8/23

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https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/fair-go - published 5 days ago

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fair go definition: 1. something you say when you want someone to act in a reasonable way: 2. something you say when.... Learn more.

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Good Quotes for Aboriginal language 2/6/23

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Good Quotes for Aboriginal language 2/6/23

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Good examples include:
"Naarm" - Melbourne
"Aunty" - like the non-related aunty honorific.
"Wouldn't let us mob" non-standard grammar with the use of the first person pronoun in place of a determiner such as "Our" or "My". As well as use of "mob"
"We never been over..." omission of the auxilliary verb 'have'.
"Sis" used to refer to a friend.

https://balwynhs.sharepoint.com/:w:/r/sites/student/english/34englang/_layouts/15/Doc.aspx?sourcedoc=%7B3EBCA627-AB74-4C74-BCD6-456419740162%7D&file=Deadloch%20quotes.docx&action=default&mobileredirect=true&cid=2c40a066-bd99-4f26-80d9-a8adc994c46f

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Attitudes to informal language and negotiating taboos 21/7/23

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Attitudes to informal language and negotiating taboos 21/7/23

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Particularly the attitudes around words like "cunt"

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Why do Aussies shorten so many words? Published January 6th 2023

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Why do Aussies shorten so many words? Published January 6th 2023

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"Aussies can't seem to get enough of these shortened words" - Kate Burridge and Howard Manns (website has 2 authors)

Indicates that Australians like using shortenings of nouns such as "brekkie" or "mozzies". Contributes to Australian national identity (perhaps??? I'm not quite sure)

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"Naur yeah" the vowel in Naur is a triphthong.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/dec/14/naur-yeah-australia-youre-performing-linguistic-magic-when-you-pronounce-the-two-letter-word-no-heres-why

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Naur, yeah: Australia, you’re performing linguistic magic when you pronounce the two-letter word ‘no’. Here’s why | Amy Hume for the Conversation

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On social media, speakers from outside Australia are fascinated by our ability to pack so many sounds into such a small word

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Lizzie, a guest on the Christian O' Connel show used the word "Bonza" to describe the performance of the Matildas (Austalian womens national football team) in their last game against Canada.

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Development of Australian Shortenings, and use in context with their different social meanings. 6/1/23

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Development of Australian Shortenings, and use in context with their different social meanings. 6/1/23

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Interesting point about lowering the prestige of other languages words such as "cab sav" or "Savvy B" as opposed to the French Cabernet Sauvignon, which decreases the prestige in which the French language typically carries.
“uniquely suited to the Anglo-Australian ethos […] and style of interaction”
- Linguist Quote [Anna Wierzbicka]
https://theconversation.com/brekkies-barbies-mozzies-why-do-aussies-shorten-so-many-words-192616?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1673051198

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Australians sure do like those brekkies, barbies and mozzies.

We're not talking about "actual" mozzies here. We're defo (definitely) talking about words - and Aussies can't seem to get enough of these shortened words.

Some say we're lazy for clipping them. Others claim it's just Aussies knocking words down to size - ta, we'll have a glass of cab sav or savvy b instead of whatever that is in French.

Our most beloved shortenings end in -ie/y and -o. Journos often ask us why Aussies use them, and whether they'll last. Well, not only are we still using them, seppos (Americans) and pommies (Brits) are joining the action, too.

Here's an uplifting story for your hollies (holidays) about Australia's " incredible shrinking words ".

Endings that bond and bind us

These alternative forms of words are often described as "diminutives" (or hypocoristics).

Pet names with such endings can show we have a warm or simply friendly attitude toward something or someone (think of the -s on Cuddles). Certainly, on names, -ie/y and -o are often affectionate (think Susy and Robbo).

But the vast majority of Aussie diminutives are doing something different.

Indeed, saying journo or pollie doesn't usually indicate we're thinking of journalists and politicians as small and endearing things. These "diminutives" are also a world away from the birdies and doggies of the nursery. Adult Australians might cheerfully talk about blowies and trackies, but not birdies and doggies - well, unless it's on the golf course or perhaps in reference to the Western Bulldogs getting a specky (spectacular mark).

For Australian National University linguist Anna Wierzbicka, these expressions are among the most culturally salient features of Australian English - expressions of informality and solidarity that are "uniquely suited to the Anglo-Australian ethos [...] and style of interaction".

Experiments by Australian linguists have empirically confirmed the social effects of these embellished words. Colloquialisms such as barbie and smoko are like accents - part of the glue that sticks Australian English speakers together.

Are -ie/y endings darlings or weaklings?

Diminutives can die out when they take on the burden of new social meanings. One of the oldest endings (found as far back as Anglo-Saxon times) is -ling. We see it still on words like twinkling and darling. However, by modern times it had flipped and become contemptuous, especially when used of humans (think of weakling and underling).

In contrast to -ling, our -ie/-y endings carry important, positive meanings, and there's no sign yet that we're giving up on them. Those sunnies, scungies, boardies, cozzies, stubbies and trackies are still the stuff of our sartorial summer fashion.

Slang might come and go, but the process that transforms sunglasses into sunnies and tracksuit pants into trackies continues to thrive.

Read more: Get yer hand off it, mate, Australian slang is not dying

So thriving in fact are these expressions that some are among Australia's successful exports. International celebrities include greenie, pollie, surfie, mozzie, budgie (and its offshoot budgie smugglers).

And let's not forget the linguistic rockstar that is selfie - its meteoric rise to stardom in 2013 saw it crowned Word of the Year by Oxford Dictionaries, and also by the Van Dale dictionary in the Netherlands.

We are, however, constantly refreshing our stock of -ie/y words. Many of the gems in Wendy Allen's 1980s collection of youth slang in Melbourne ( Teenage speech) have bitten the dust (for example, scottie from "he's got no friends" -> "s'got no friends" -> "s'got + ie").

But the second edition of the Australian National Dictionary shows us how many -ie/y words have proliferated since the 1980s/1990s ( firie, tradie, trackie daks).

Bottle-o, milko and smoko: still alive-o?

That other long-time favourite ending -o occurs all round the English-speaking world. However, as the Oxford English Dictionary describes, its use "is especially associated with Australia".

The earliest Australian examples (like milko, rabbito, bottle-o) date from the 19th century and are abbreviated nouns referring to a person's trade ("milkman", "rabbit-seller" "bottle-collector"). Sometimes they appear with -oh because of their association with street calls, and this use is old - think of those cockles and mussels of 18th century London, all very much "alive, alive-oh".

Our love of this -o suffix may also owe something to Irish English. However, Australian linguist Jane Simpson points out it has much wider applications in Australia (and New Zealand), as shown by place names such as Rotto (Rottnest Island), Freo (Fremantle), Paddo (Paddington) and common nouns such as compo (compensation), ambo (ambulance driver) and bowlo (bowling club). And we're exporting these too - demo, preggo and muso have made it into the wider world.

As with -ie/y endings, our -o endings don't seem to be going anywhere in a hurry. However, their long-term survival seems slightly less assured than -ie/y. We're still seeing newer coinages (such as housos), but a 2011 study suggests young people might be using this one less than previous generations.

Rellies or rellos, garbies or garbos: is there a pattern?

There are wharfies and truckies but not wharfos and truckos; garbos and musos but not garbies and musies. People who ride motorcycles are generally bikers; those who belong to motorcycle gangs tend to be bikies.

So what's wrong with bikos? And why are there gaps? Those who build houses are neither buildos nor buildies.

Undoubtedly there are nuanced differences of meaning involved here. Does weirdie describe unconventional people more affectionately than weirdo, or even weird person? Certainly there's a world of difference between the sicko (psychologically sick person) and the sickie (leave you take when you're sick - or is that when you're not sick?).

You tell us: do you prefer a lammo or a lammie for the small chocolate and coconut-covered cake? And are members of your family rellos or rellies? There's a lot of lexicographers, linguists and other word nerds who haven't figured this out.

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Brekkies, barbies, mozzies: why do Aussies shorten so many words?

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Australians sure do like those brekkies, barbies and mozzies. We're not talking about "actual" mozzies here. We're defo (definitely) talking about words - and Aussies can't seem to get enough of these shortened words. Some say we're lazy for clipping them.

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"Mate" as a part of Australian identity. Also differentiates between the use of this Australianism and its use in all accents, and is used by speakers of more cultivated accents as well as broad accents. 12/1/23

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"Mate" as a part of Australian identity. Also differentiates between the use of this Australianism and its use in all accents, and is used by speakers of more cultivated accents as well as broad accents. 12/1/23

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Talks about their opinion as it being used in its denotative sense of meaning friend as in the old meaning when it first became popular, but now it more is a general expression to refer to the person you are speaking to and not calling them a friend.
https://www.theage.com.au/lifestyle/life-and-relationships/i-am-uncomfortable-using-the-word-mate-am-i-un-australian-20230109-p5cb8f.html

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I am uncomfortable using the word ‘mate’. Am I un-Australian?

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Maaaate, there could be hope for me yet. I used to find “darl” or “hun” terribly fake and twee, but I’m coming around.

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Good regional variation example: Potato scallop vs Potato Cake 10/1/23

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Good regional variation example: Potato scallop vs Potato Cake 10/1/23

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It also touches on the "Parma", "Parmi" "parmy" regional variation as a second example for different variations in slang meaning the same thing
https://thenewdaily.com.au/life/eat-drink/2023/01/10/mcdonalds-potato-scallop-debate/?utm_source=Adestra&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Sunday%20Best%20-%2020230115

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Talks about the amount of slang in relation to stupidity, and the possible formation of such slang including slang such as "nincompoop" "nimwit" etc.
https://lens.monash.edu/@politics-
society/2022/11/09/1385251/digging-deep-on-aussie-nongs-and-drongos?utm_campaign=MLENS_UMC&utm_source=Lens_newsletter&;utm_medium=email&utm_content=lens_edm_heading4&quot;&gt;https://lens.monash.edu/@politics-society/2022/11/09/1385251/digging-deep-on-aussie-nongs-and-drongos?utm_campaign=MLENS_UMC&utm_source=Lens_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=lens_edm_heading4&idU=1

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Earlier this year, we surveyed 2300 Australians about their slang, and their responses continue to delight.

There were certain areas of the survey where people truly excelled - we've already reported here, for example, on a number of the contributions to do with drinks and drinking.

Equally striking was the exuberance of expressions people gave us for stupidity. Favourites ranged from mild drongo (the clear winner in our survey with 886 mentions) to the more potent dickhead (third in the list, but a long way behind drongo with 120 mentions).

Quite high on this list was also nong (and its relative ning-nong). Nong has been a favourite in this country for some time - since at least the turn of the 20th century, in fact, Australians have been referring to each other as colossal nongs.

Like so many you-beaut Aussie-isms, the word has its roots in British English. When ning-nong (early 1800s) was transplanted here, it went on to thrive, and produced some distinctly antipodean offspring in the form of nong (also nong-nong and noong).

Nong has always been an effective insult to question someone's intelligence or competence, but like other insults, it continues to be an important signal of mateship - and true affection.

Oh, what a nong I am to think that you were gay when you're a big Barbara Streisand fan. #PurveyorOfFineMeats pic.twitter.com/dRVzDYkD0z
- Kath & Kim Quotes (@KathKimQuotes) July 18, 2016

Our noddy, numpty noodledom

Nong might appear a straightforward shortening of ning-nong, but dig any deeper and things start getting murky.

What you'll uncover in fact is a densely tangled kinship system of insults relating to stupidity. Here's just a small handful dating back to at least the 1500s - as you can see, it's an impressive noodledom ("collection of foolish people") with noticeable family resemblances:

nidiot; nidget; nod; noddy; noddy poll; nodcock; niddicock; noddy poop; hoddypeak; ninny, ninnyhammer; ninny lobcock; numps; nup; nupson; nincompoop; numbskull; nigmenog; nikin; noddle; noodle; ning-nong; ning-nang; neddy; nig-nog; nitwit; nong; numpty

There are lots of sounds here suggesting foolishness, and for centuries people have been having fun with this, shifting these words, reshaping them, and shuffling them up.

Look at nincompoop - a lexical salad of colloquial bits and pieces with a hint of loftier non compos (mentis) "of unsound mind" from legal Latin. It's impossible to pinpoint the origins of these words and, not surprisingly, most dictionaries opt for "of obscure origin".

Is it any wonder that Australia's numbat ("the termite-eating marsupial", below) has shifted its meaning to include stupidity? It's not in mainstream dictionaries with this sense, but it featured in our survey, as did the recently created numbnut. Another new family member is nimwit (and note the additional satisfying echo of dimwit here).

These entangled word clusters would have started with a couple of standout expressions that just happened to share similar meanings and sounds - perhaps n idget (a squished version of an idiot) and nod/noddy/noddle/noodle (slang words for "head").

Coincidences like these encourage people to start forging stronger sound-to-sense links, which can then become powerful triggers for creating new words, and altering the shape and meaning of existing ones.

History shows that expressions with the support of these sound-sense associations tend to be longer-living (most slang isn't).

I can't help but wonder whether the success of nong in Australia has been assisted by the additional echo of drongo (as one of our survey respondents noted).

Nong is falling out of favour

The trouble is there are other louder echoes now, and nong might well have appeared higher up in the survey's list of favourites were it not for these echoes - people clearly love the word, but many now worry it's offensive. ("I suspect that it has racist roots," wrote one survey respondent).

When taboos are involved, the association of meaning and sound is always strong - such is the eye and ear-catching nature of offensive words that innocent bystanders get caught up in their net to then be abandoned. (For example, the demise of many single-syllable words in English such as fuk, a sail, and the disappearance of niggardly from American English).

Nong has no etymological connections with any ethnic slur, but if people's perceptions are that it's seriously offensive, then this will be the kiss of death. However, rest assured there'll be plenty of creative substitutes that will step up.

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Digging deep on Aussie nongs and drongos

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The Australian phrase "nong" has no etymological connections with any ethnic slur, but if people's perceptions are that it's seriously offensive, then this will be its kiss of death. However, rest assured there'll be plenty of creative substitutes that will step up. Read more at Monash Lens.

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"I don't agree with it either way. I don't think it's the right thing to do," Published July 17 2023

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"I don't agree with it either way. I don't think it's the right thing to do," Published July 17 2023

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Quote by Usman Khawaja on the topic of swearing in public. (context is foul mouthed behaviour of the spectators at the Ashes cricket match).

Attitudes to language: Indicates that some people aren't comfortable with swearing in public.

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Champ has the denotation of being a shortening of "champion" and hence in that manner can be used as a compliment, but in Australian society it has a meaning that was developed in the army to mean that someone has a mental problem and hence has become a term with a connotative meaning that degrades another (insult).
https://www.tiktok.com/@bodycoatmagic1/video/7197727156703628545?_r=1&_t=8b9ivgvcnej

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#stitch with @masonsixtencox #foryoupage #fyp #aussie 

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@bodycoatmagic1
#stitch with @masonsixtencox #foryoupage #fyp #aussie
♬ original sound - tombodycoatmagic

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https://www.news.com.au/technology/motoring/on-the-road/tradies-disgraceful-act-on-gold-coasts-m1-enrages-driver/news-story/ddc1bbd168ffb648c153f9aa2eb335be

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A "selfish" tradie has infuriated Aussies for hogging the fast lane of a freeway as an ambulance with light and sirens on tries to pass.

Reddit fired up on Wednesday as footage of the act went viral, with plenty slamming the driver who appeared to "block" the ambulance.

It's understood the incident took place on the M1 on the Gold Coast, with the passenger who filmed the incident claiming it "went on for a good minute or so before I started recording."

The video shows the ambulance in a state of emergency, trying to cut through traffic.

A tradie in a white ute and trailer is seen refusing to move from the fast lane.

"He won't pull over. They're high-beaming him and everything," a woman from the car filming says.

"Get the f**k outta the way - get outta the way, f***ing hell," she yells at the driver.

The woman then claims she saw the driver of the ute laughing.

Reddit had plenty to say about the disgraceful act.

"Spoken like a true Aussie ... Hope he gets a f***ing big fine," one person commented.

"This happens constantly, unfortunately. So many shit drivers on our roads," commented another.

Another suggested the trailer may have been the problem.

"I suspect his trailer was obstructing the view from all his mirrors. It looks wider than the tray," they said.

Others said the tradie towing the trailer, who was being undertaken by other cars, had no business in the fast lane.

"Why do you need to be in the overtaking lane, towing a trailer, not overtaking anyone? Not to mention they're probably doing 10kms under the speed limit also," one wrote.

In Queensland, motorists who move into the path of an emergency vehicle or fail to get out of its way face a $311 fine and lose three demerit points.

In NSW, it's a fine of $457 carrying three demerit points.

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Tradie's 'disgraceful' act enrages driver

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A "selfish" tradie has infuriated Aussies for hogging the fast lane of a freeway as an ambulance with light and sirens on tries to pass.

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Women's & Gender Diverse County Footy Club 17/6/23

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Women's & Gender Diverse County Footy Club 17/6/23

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"What stopped me were the words 'gender diverse'. I'd never seen that word used in a sporting context before, let alone a football context,"  - Sat 17 Jun 2023
Recent changes and additions of inclusive guidelines and clubs reflects the  progressiveness of the Australian society, and how that forward, future minded thinking is shown through one of their closest Australian identities, their love for the AFL, and sport in general.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-17/community-football-club-mount-alexander-falcons-for-women/102487612

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It was a spot of hope in the depths of COVID-19 restrictions; a poster, stuck on a closed cafe outside a regional Victorian supermarket inviting women and gender diverse people to try football.

Photographer Mitch Nivalis never had an interest in Aussie Rules.

"What stopped me were the words 'gender diverse'. I'd never seen that word used in a sporting context before, let alone a football context," they said.

Mx Nivalis identifies as non-binary - a term used by those who experience their gender identity and/or gender expression as falling outside the binary categories of 'man' or 'woman'.

A photography project was what Mx Nivalis had been looking for when they saw the poster outside the supermarket in Castlemaine, just over 18 months ago.

What they found was a sense of belonging.

Club seeks to create a safe space

Mx Nivalis has since become part of the Mount Alexander Falcons; a community football club created by, and for, women and gender diverse people.

Club president Alana Wearne had just given birth to her second baby when a friend approached her with the idea to form the club in early 2021.

"AFL clubs haven't always been safe spaces for women and gender diverse people," Ms Wearne said.

She and her friend set out to change that, modelling their club on the Preston-based Darebin Falcons.

"What we've created, we don't think it's rocket science," Ms Wearne said.

"We are putting women and gender-diverse people as the number one priority in the club and putting all our resources into creating a space where [they] can play footy."

Nearly 600,000 women and girls were participating in Australian football in 2022, at more than 2,500 community football teams nationwide.

The AFL said women and girls' participation had surged since the AFLW started in 2017.

Falcons spread their wings

The Castlemaine-based Falcons are playing their first official season as part of the inaugural women's football competition in the Riddell District Football Netball League.

"It's looking unlikely that we'll be playing finals this year," Ms Wearne said.

But just getting to this point has been a win, after the club came off second best in a contest for a spot in the Central Victoria Football League.

The Castlemaine Football Netball Club fielded its first senior women's football side in the league last year, taking home the premiership cup.

Mx Nivalis said momentum for the Falcons kept building, even before the club had a league to play in.

"It was very clear that the community wanted this," they said.

"The number of players that kept turning up each week to come and try sessions was pretty extraordinary."

Ms Wearne, the club's president, said more than 50 players had signed up, wanting to take to the field each week.

"At a time when lots of clubs are really struggling for numbers, we seem to be just getting bigger and bigger," she said.

Inclusion driving footy participation

Mx Nivalis said they and their teammates often joked that it wouldn't have mattered what type of sport they were being invited to come to try.

"It could have been a chess club, and we all would have turned up because we wanted to feel a sense of belonging," the 42-year-old Fryerstown resident said.

"To be able to walk into a space that is already very clearly saying, 'You're welcome', is such a massive load off.

"I remember the first couple of sessions I walked away and just suddenly thought, 'Why do I feel so calm?'

"I'm completely accepted in this space, and that's not normally the case."

They said they were often misgendered, which could be anything from just uncomfortable to feeling unsafe.

"There's been so much conversation, especially recently, about trans and gender diverse inclusion in sport, and that has been met with a lot of really horrible commentary online," Mx Nivalis said.

"There is just this underlying sense that you're never quite sure if you're going to be truly welcome in a space.

"So, to have a club leading so proudly from the very beginning to say everyone's welcome, that was just a really huge thing for a lot of us."

The Australian Sports Commission yesterday released guidelines for the inclusion of transgender and gender diverse athletes in high-performance sport.

The guidelines advocate inclusion first, with a case-by-case approach to determining exemptions, in line with International Olympic Committee guidelines and anti-discrimination laws.

June is Pride Month in Australia; a celebration of the LGBTIQA+ community, and a time to reflect on civil rights.

Club's story on screens

In addition to becoming part of the Falcons, Mx Nivalis did set out what they had intended to do; they documented the club's origins and its fight for inclusion.

Their documentary, Equal the Contest, premieres this weekend as part of the Castlemaine Documentary Festival.

"For a lot of us, we've played sport our whole lives and never been worthy of being photographed, let alone had a film made about us," Mx Nivalis said.

"To see ourselves on screen is a hugely validating thing.

"What I really hope is that people come away from the film, having had really interesting conversations that allow people to start to have a deeper understanding about inclusion, diversity in sport and welcoming trans and gender diverse people into organisations, and really understand what that means and how to make places safe."

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Footy club's stories of belonging for women and gender diverse shown in film

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Photographer Mitch Nivalis was drawn to the country footy club not by the sport, but by its inclusion of gender diverse people. With their help, the Mount Alexander Falcons are finding a bigger audience.

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The renaming of Fraser Island to K'gari. idk search it up I don't have a link

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The renaming of Fraser Island to K'gari. idk search it up I don't have a link

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https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/kgari-fraser
heres a link for you guys that cannot search up the googles

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Parks and forests | Department of Environment and Science, Queensland

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K’gari (Fraser Island), Great Sandy National Park

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Long beaches, dramatic coloured-sand cliffs, natural sandblows, rocky headlands and pristine freshwater lakes and streams are some of K’gari’s (Fraser Island’s) spectacular natural features.