Westie (person)

Westie, or Westy, is a colloquial term used in Australian and New Zealand English to stereotypically describe residents of the Greater Western Sydney, the western suburbs of Melbourne and Brisbane (Australia) or the West Auckland city of Waitakere (New Zealand). It may also refer as a derogatory term to people who might not live in the west of a city. An alternative term bogan is often used instead as bogan has a similar definition but does not refer to a geographical area.

Origin and definition of the term

The term originated, and is most often used, in relation to residents of the numerous western suburbs of Sydney, Australia, and of Auckland, New Zealand.

According to the Macquarie Dictionary, the term in Australian English now refers to people from outer suburbs and a lower socio-economic background, or to the stereotypes associated with such people. It also states that the term has spread throughout Australia and may be used to refer to people who may not live in the western part of their city. With reference to its use in Sydney, the Macquarie Book of Slang says the term is applied negatively to anyone that may live west of one's own suburb.

The westie persona

The term "westie" is often used to associate someone or something with a stereotype. This stereotype depicts people from the outer suburbs as unintelligent, undereducated, unmotivated, unrefined, lacking in fashion sense, working-class or unemployed. Clothing such as flannelette shirts, Ugg boots, leopard-print fabric, Adidas outfits with clear stripes, white singlets are associated with the stereotype, as are the "uniform" of black t-shirt and ripped jeans.

Auckland, New Zealand

In Auckland, westies are almost entirely residents of Waitakere City, in particular the Auckland city-side suburbs of Massey, Te Atatu, Henderson, Sunnyvale, Glen Eden, Titirangi, Ranui, and New Lynn. Some people from Avondale are called by others and themselves westies although Avondale is actually within the territory of Auckland City.

To be called a westie in Auckland is sometimes ambiguous as it can be both a pejorative or good natured, depending on intent. Many people from Waitakere City will call themselves westies with pride, yet not meet the stereotypical criteria. Westies are stereotypically seen as being more brash and of-the-soil than other districts of Auckland. The stereotype also incorporates black jerseys and old V8 cars.

The shift from a pejorative to a societal identifier has been abrupt and in no small part due to local comedian Ewen Gilmour whose stand-up comedy act as Ewen "Westie" Gilmour gave the term national prominence between 1995 and 2000 in the premier television programme Pulp Comedy. He was "unofficially appointed cultural ambassador" for Waitakere City. He was elected as councillor for the Waitakere City Council in 2004 and joins former mayor Tim Shadbolt as stereotypical westies who have entered local body politics.^{[citation needed]}

The successful television series Outrageous Fortune is set in West Auckland with the main charactors being the West family, a play on the word 'Westie'.

The persona of the standard Auckland "Westie" continues to evolve. In November 2008 Paula Bennett un-seated the long-standing Labour Member of Parliament for Waitakere under the banner "Proud to be a Westy". This solo mother and former beneficiary is now Minister for Social Development, Minister for Disability Issues and Minister of Youth Affairs in the new National-led Government.

See also: Jafa

Sydney, Australia

In Sydney, westies have taken their name from Sydney's western suburbs, a region of suburbs in which the cost of living is less than Sydney's affluent easterly, north shore and inner-city suburbs.^{[citation needed]} The west also has lower levels of professional employment, and has Sydney's highest crime rates.^{[citation needed]} As a result, the term "westie" was used in a derogatory sense to suggest that someone was uncouth or unsophisticated.^{[citation needed]} The Macquarie Book of Slang reports that the area which westies inhabit does not have clear boundaries even though Western Sydney is generally regarded as being the metropolitan area west of Strathfield. While some in the eastern suburbs might consider residents of Epping westies, others may restrict the term to areas such as Blacktown, and Arabic areas such as Granville, Bankstown and Berala. Westies were also a common sight in the 1980s in the south-western suburbs such as Minto and Campbelltown

In Sydney the term originated within the surfing community in the early 1970s. Board riders or surfers who lived in the eastern suburbs, closer to the beach and waves, would often refer to what they saw as "part time" weekend surfers, who travelled to the beach from the western suburbs as "westies". In this regard they were seen as "blow ins" who crowded the beach and waves each weekend.^{[citation needed]}

Victoria, Australia

The term Westie is often used to describe a person living in Wendouree West, a suburb of Ballarat.

Coastal suburbs

It could be noted in this context that in Sydney, the western suburbs often have no (or less prominent) coastal access. This is often reflected in house prices and suburb 'status'.^{[citation needed]} The typical commute of a resident living in the western suburbs of these cities also involves driving towards the sun each way, possibly explaining the cultural similarities across multiple cities.

See also

• Bogan
• Elitism
• Classism
• Class conflict
• Parochialism
• Greater Western Sydney
• Outrageous Fortune

References

• SMH Radar: You are where you live
• Diane Powell (1993). Out west : perceptions of Sydney's western suburbs. St. Leonards, NSW : Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86373-503-8. 
• Jock Collins & Scott Poynting (Ed.) (2000). The other Sydney : communities, identities and inequalities in Western Sydney. Altona, Vic. : Common Ground Publishing. ISBN 1-86335-017-9. 
• Harvey, Bob (2004). Westies up front out there. Auckland : Exisle. ISBN 978-0-908988-38-9.