Larrikin
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Larrikin is an Australian English term meaning "a mischievous young person, an uncultivated, rowdy but good-hearted person", or "a person who acts with apparent disregard for social or political conventions".<ref name=OxAust/>
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the term generally meant "a lout, a hoodlum"<ref name="Macquarie">Template:Cite book</ref> or "a young urban rough, a hooligan",<ref name=OxAust>Template:Cite book</ref> meanings which became obsolete.<ref name="Macquarie"/>
Etymology
The word larrikin was a dialect term originating from the West Midlands region of England (particularly the counties of Worcestershire and Warwickshire). It was also related to the verb to larrack in the Yorkshire dialect, meaning 'to lark about'. While larrikin eventually fell into disuse in its place of origin, the word started to become widely used in the streets of Melbourne from the late 1860s.<ref name=ozwords>Template:Cite journal</ref>
The term larrikin was reported in an English dialect dictionary in 1905, referring to "a mischievous or frolicsome youth".<ref>Wright, J. Supplement, English Dialect Dictionary (1898–1905). Cited at p. 667 Volume VIII The Oxford English Dictionary. Clarendon Press, Oxford, England. 2000.</ref>
Evolution of larrikin culture
A letter to the editor of the Geelong Advertiser in November 1870, complaining of the "larrikin nuisance" on the market reserve in Geelong, described the typical behaviour of larrikins as engaging in "rows and fights", obstructing the footpath and employing "the foulest and most blasphemous language, frequently to passers-by".<ref>The Larrikin Nuisance, letter to the editor from 'Pro Bono Publico', Geelong Advertiser, 22 November 1870, page 3.</ref>
Commentators have noted the larrikin streak in Australian culture, and have theorised about its origins.<ref name="NLA">Template:Citation</ref> Some say that larrikinism arose as a reaction to corrupt, arbitrary authority during Australia's convict era, or as a reaction to norms of propriety imposed by officials from Britain on the young country. The term was used to describe members of the street gangs that operated in Sydney at the time, for example the Rocks Push<ref name="NLA3">Template:Cite news.</ref> – a criminal gang in The Rocks in Sydney during the late 19th and early 20th centuries – who were noted for their antisocial behaviour and gang-specific dress codes.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>"Celebrating the original larrikin"</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In the late 19th century, one Melbourne newspaper, The Leader, claimed that police records showed nearly all the larrikins were the product of Catholic schools.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
An October 1947 editorial in The Australian Women's Weekly equated larrikinism with various forms of vandalism, including arson: "They are the people who leave their picnic fires smouldering, and start blazes that deal the final blow to green loveliness", and defacing monuments, "A similar larrikin streak sends louts into city parks to shy stones at monuments and chip noses off statuary".<ref name="NLA2">Template:Cite news</ref>
Affectionate colloquial usage
In 1965, Australian swimmer Dawn Fraser was banned from competition by the Australian Swimming Union for various incidents at the previous year's Summer Olympics. Fraser was later described as having a "larrikin streak" as well as being an "iconic figure", and was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1988.<ref name="AWR">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The evolution of larrikinism in Australia is summarised in the publisher's description of a 2012 book by Melissa Bellanta, Larrikins: A History:
Larrikinism in wartime
When the First World War broke out, larrikinism became closely connected to diggers (Australian soldiers), and remains part of the Anzac legend. The notion of larrikinism acquired positive meaning and it became a term of admiration. Indiscipline within the AIF (Australian Imperial Force) was often portrayed as harmless larrikinism that continued in folklore and anecdote.<ref name="Stanley">Template:Cite book</ref> "After the armistice these larrikin digger characters were increasingly celebrated as quintessentially Australian. The idea that the real Australian was a bit of a larrikin crystallized."<ref name="Bellanta" />Template:Rp
Female larrikins
While larrikinism was defined during the colonial era mainly "as a problem of male violence",<ref name="Bellanta" />Template:Rp females were also present among larrikin gangs. Colonial larrikin girls could be just as vulgar as larrikin boys; some of the girls even took pleasure in exhibiting masculine qualities.<ref name="Bellanta" />Template:Rp These girls often engaged in violent behaviour, smashed windows, sang songs with obscene lyrics and had no desire to become "respectable" women.<ref name="Bellanta" />Template:Rp
See also
References
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Further reading
- Duffy, Michael; Moore, Tony The triumph of the larrikin? Discussion transcript at ABC Radio National, 24 October 2011. (Click on "show transcript" near page head.)