True to the Land: A History of Food in Australia
True to the Land joins Reaktion’s Foods and Nations series, which aims to apply a historical and geographical lens to ‘how food production and consumption of food developed, and how they were influenced by the culinary practices of other places and peoples’. Van Reyk meets this criteria admirably, earning endorsement from Professor Emeritus Barbara Santich – arguably Australia’s leading voice in academic food studies – as ‘a masterful overview of Australian food and foodways’.
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True to the Land: A History of Food in Australia
Paul van Reyk | 2021
Aimed at a broad readership, this book is no romp through the tantalising delights and clichéd curiosities of ‘slippery bob’, ‘kangaroo steamer’ and the like, and it contains only a few recipes. Van Reyk’s voice is direct but relatively informal, his pacing lively but unrushed. True to the land is a serious and well researched study; fully indexed and referenced. Arranged chronologically over 10 chapters, and supported by contemporary and historical images, it recounts ‘the 60,000-year history of food [and drink] in Australia’ – no mean feat for 250 pages. Strong emphasis is placed on climate and environmental conditions, agriculture, technological and industrial innovation (and mistakes), and government economic and social policies. Land and water management, global relationships, and racially prejudiced migration are core themes. Men dominate many of these fields, but women are duly credited in the development and dissemination of taste and culinary practice as domestic cooks, chefs and restaurateurs, writers, educators, and activists for social change.
Having known the author through gastronomy and food writing circles for some years, I am not surprised at his focus on environmental responsibility, social justice, gender equity, racial prejudice and land sovereignty. This distinguishes the work from more populist food histories. Some casual ‘foodies’ might wonder how some issues raised are relevant to food, but as the book unfolds, these are revealed as oft-hidden ingredients in the grand scheme of the meal. There is a pleasing focus on more convivial cultural practices and social trends, with voices from the ‘ground up’, through historical memoirs and anecdotes in the media and popular culture.
The explanation of the Commonwealth of Australia in the early pages indicates that this book is written for international readership (though some domestic readers may be unaware of the nation’s island territories). The first chapter is dedicated to the land itself, its geology, topography, climate and waterways. Australia’s First People and their traditional cultures are the subject of the second chapter. Here the author discusses their land management approaches and food practices developed over millennia, including a short section on Torres Strait Islander foodways. First Nations peoples maintain an important presence throughout subsequent chapters, which move through the transfer, and adaptation of, British tastes in the colonies; the shaping and impacts of ‘White Australia’ at Federation and in the interwar and post-Second World War periods; and the increasing globalisation of taste in the Baby Boomer-dominated period.
We are not limited to metropolitan history, with the inclusion of outback farming and stock-routes, the role of camel-trains and paddle-steamers in transporting food to and from inland areas, and the exploitation of Indigenous and immigrant workers. Diving into Australian drinking culture encompasses the colonial rum and temperance movements, the gradual acceptance of wine, the school milk program and the lockout laws of the 2010s. Breakout sections profile select incidents, innovations and personalities, as well as the odd recipe or food item, however at times their placement interferes with the principal narrative flow. The final chapter is a ‘reckoning’ in the midst of climate crises, calling for investment in regenerative and agroecological farming, including native crops, albeit with the active involvement of and benefits for Indigenous communities, and sustainable food production and management of lands and waters.
Mindful that this review is written for professional historians, I must note that the author does not profess to be a historian. The introduction outlines the structural framework and key themes driving the book. However, without an author biography or foreword it provides little background about van Reyk, who although a respected food writer, is not writing for an academic audience. Van Reyk deserves credit for bringing to the fore many of the actors, events and circumstances less visible in popular food histories, but the book offers, as Professor Emerita Santich has acknowledged, an overview rather than detailed analysis of current scholarship. Small but obvious errors – mainly dates – also do the book a disservice, but it may be that the publishing contract did not allow for an experienced copy editor. If these oversights can be forgiven, True to the land is well worth the attention of those interested in Australian gastronomic history’s many guises – political, economic, cultural and environmental. Many of the policies, events and societal shifts may be familiar objects of historical analysis, but not in the context of food.
Reviewer: Jacqui Newling, PHA (NSW & ACT)
True to the Land is published by Reaktion Books.