“Mudgeerabarbarians”: who dat?

The Mudgeerabarbarians “logo” from the Facebook group

There’s been some talk on social media over past days about the phrase “Mudgeerabarbarian” and its origins and intent. Rather than let that simmer (or, perhaps, enflame) without comment, which is what I tend to do with a lot of social media chatter, I think to protect our community and avoid unnecessary arguments, I should set the record straight a little.

Prior to 2016, the word Mudgeerabarbarian was used rarely, maybe as the odd joke around the place. Whilst it may not have been unheard of, it was indeed quite rare and couldn’t really be considered to have been in the vernacular.

The first official use of the term “Mudgeerabarbarian” was actually the naming of the koala sculpture currently located in Gloria Shirrel Park, in front of the Mudgeeraba Market Shopping Centre; “MudgeerabaBEARian”. The series of koala sculptures (there’s more than 30 across the Gold Coast) are part of project called the “Animals with Attitude Gold Coast Sculpture Trail” which was a fundraiser for the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary Foundation and Wildlife Hospital, first in 2013, and then in 2016.

The MudgeerabaBEARian sculpture was funded in 2015/16 by Division 9 Local Area Works, under the leadership of yours truly (Cr Glenn Tozer). Part of the funds went to the artist and part to the fundraising for the important charity the Wildlife Hospital is for our city, and for our area. You can still make donations to this work here.

When the idea of naming that sculpture arose, it was actually a play on the phrase Koala “bear”. As you know koalas aren’t bears, but coming up with suitable name for sculptures is hard and my team, which included council legends Helen Pereira and Donna-Maree Wilson-Green at the time, thought it was a bit funny, as well as leaning into the idea that the western hinterland is a bit wild and the broader Gold Coast has, for some time, seen our area as “undeveloped territory”. People who live here know that’s far from the truth, but as a leader who gets to experience much of what the broader Gold Coast thinks of us, I think it’s true even today. Accordingly, the idea of “barbarian” is distinctly aligned with the broader Gold Coast’s view of the west (and, probably to some extent, the old Shire of Albert council). There’s more to this perspective, in my personal view, but I’ll save that discussion for another day.

The irony is in the reality that while others might use the phrase “barbarian” in a slightly derogatory or condescending sense, we who live out here do embrace the outdoors, a sense of freedom, and a particular passion for our own family and community. Just like the “barbarians” of Europe, who had their own distinct culture and history and respect and arts (etc), we hinterland locals (despite others criticism) have our own sense of identity that embraces uniqueness in the Gold Coast context. We love the country atmosphere just minutes from the 6th biggest city in Australia, and our hospitality and the fierceness of our sporting teams and parochial passion of our independent secondary schools (Somerset “Spartans”, Hillcrest “Knights, “Kings”) is renowned in competition.

It was not long after 2015/16 that the Mudgeerabarbarians Facebook group was established by a group of locals in consultation with my office, about a decade ago (actually in May 2017). Now the phrase that identifies that Facebook group has become a regularly used colloquialism; the collective noun describing a group of people from Mudgeeraba; that I expect will stand the test of time, despite some “offence” by people who have their own ideas of identity and own challenges they face, as family of early pioneers. Frankly, my personal view is that “offence” is misplaced, and the aforementioned and the following outlines why.

Early pioneers inspired the theme behind the name being considered suitable, really, for both the aforementioned reasons, as well as for the uniqueness of that pioneering spirit in our local area. The Scandinavian motif in the “logo” is simply a metaphor or icon, rather than an historical depiction of reality, which would be difficult to determine anyway, with English, Irish, Scottish, German, and Aboriginal heritage all quite prolific in the early settlement days of this area. Robyn Burrows’ books on the history of our local area provide a fascinating context to understand that pioneering history better.

You can check out an interview I did with Robyn here;

Any historian would tell you that the Romans used to call the Germans “barbarians” and although the Viking helmet is a bit loose, the Germanic or Celtic (Scottish/Irish) helmets aren’t really that different (sans horns?), and it could be said common-day Anglo-Saxons; the English and many Australians; are actually descendants of Vikings and Celts. If a battleaxe in any cartoon depiction was replaced by a woodchopping axe, it would be even more poignant, having regard to the timber getting industry that drove the hinterland economy in early days of settlement. A former Councillor, John Franklin, was a world champion axeman, and tragically passed away in a tree felling accident as he was helping in the local community. woodchopping is a deep connection to our local area.

 Without wanting to labour the point, the “Mudgeerabarbarian” term is a colloquial identifier of people from our area, intended to empower and respect traditions, while reinforcing a sense of country culture in a broader Gold Coast that probably identifies more closely with beach and city life.

It is definitely not intended to offend, and its playful depiction should be celebrated for what it is; a bit of fun humour, conveying a fierce loyalty to our area, tongue firmly in cheek (with helmet on head and axe in hand).  

Feel free to contact my office at division9@goldcoast.qld.gov.au, or on Facebook if you want to discuss local resources for history in more detail.