MarkMyWords

When I go and visit my English colleagues, I think I ought to take some quintessentially Australian present for them. Got any suggestions? (I don't think I can afford Kylie Minogue.)

HiddenPaw

I think we established on another thread that she's actually Welsh

Erm, a stubby holder (to keep the beer warm)?

tiredwithtwins

I would LUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURVE an australia shaped mouse mat!!! I saw one years ago, wish id bought it now! why not get you and anya's pic in front of a pool and bbq (=quintessentially 'australian') and have it put on mouse mats or mugs or something like that??

sue

anya4oz

LOL - you lot!

I suggested he took Rolf Harris :scared:

Anya.

tiredwithtwins

My aussie friend once sent me a small leather pouch with some aussie coins in it - turned out to be a kangaroo testicle sac - ewwwwww!!!!!!!

Rolf might object............why not get someone with a grey beard to let you chop a bit off - get it framed and tell em its a bit of Rolfs beard??


ps anya - i love your signature line !

MarkMyWords

Tackyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!

MarkMyWords

We did? I must have missed that one. Can't be hard to find, though.

tiredwithtwins

erm....yes, it wasnt meant to be serious!

HiddenPaw

Yes - "Pom or Aussie" was the thread.....altho' JAJ actually managed to dispel the suggestion before hysteria broke out, by confirming that although her mother is Welsh, she is not entitled to British citizenship by descent. Pah! (So I was exagerating just a wee bit.)

Plenty of macadamia nuts for sale at the airport but since they were named after a Scot (John McAdam) does it detract from them being 'quintessentially Australian'!?

Ugg boots....although they are soooooo last year!! (Actually 'Ugg Australia' is owned by a US company).

That just leaves fluffy koalas then!!

OzTennis

You'll also be able to then trace Minogues and most Brits back to Rome, Saxony, Brittany, Normandy, Scandinavia, Ireland, Pakistan, India, West Indies ............ Kosovo, Albania, and maybe soon Iraq (?) etc, etc.

I'd make sure your quintessential Aussie gift is not marked 'fabrique en Chine' or 'Made in China'. Most kangaroo/koala/possum/echidna etc type gifts are.

I'd suggest a trip to Queen Victoria Market - if you can't find anything there I'd be surprised. Body Map and the Geographic Shop or whatever it is called (Dick Smith owns it) are excellent - but on the expensive side. We've purchased most things known to man over the years - sweatshirts and T-shirts with genuine Aboriginal designs; placemats and calendars with Australian scenes; keyrings with native fauna and flora; the canned marsupials you can get etc have been among the most well received. Lamingtons don't travel well - Vegemite does.

When are you heading off Mark?

OzTennis

samnrob2

I heard about the kangaroo testicle sac / coin pouch...

In fact I've already started discussions with a work colleague here in the UK that we'll start up and import/export business and that these can be our 'speciality'!

Rob

HiddenPaw

I would concur that markets are a good place to look for Aussie-made stuff.

Have you been to the Sunday market on Southbank? Amongst the touristy stuff, there are actually a lot of very nice, good-quality handicrafts - beautiful glassware, which is locally made, for example, and items produced from local timbers - absolutely gorgeous little boxes, picture frames, and so on, made from jarrah, red gum, etc. There is also a local artwork (with local subject matter). (I say all this in the present tense, assuming the market hasn't changed in the last year!!)

Quinkana

Something novel, exotic, cheap but memorable?

A bar of soap?

OzTennis

Tea (Ti) Tree or Eucalyptus soap of course!

OzTennis

blossom

What about a John Williamson CD, good songs with stories about Australia - everytime we buy one we have to record them for the rest of the family!

Blossom