Pervasive Mateship

It’s now almost a month to the day since I left Singapore – my home for 28 years – and moved back to Canberra, where I last lived in 1971 and have visited on and off since. Not much has changed really. There have been changes made to the centre of the city, of course, and there is urban sprawl aplenty, but the relatively relaxed atmosphere prevails.

This is most evident in the way people take the time to pass the time of day and be generally friendly and helpful. I have been struck by the way the bus service operates here, for example.

Even in their design, everything in the way the buses operate is geared towards the needs of the user. As the doors open to let passengers in, the entry is lowered to enable them to step on or, more importantly, to allow wheelchair access. There’s a space at the front for baby buggies, heavy bags or walking frames, and front seats dedicated to wheelchair users or the disabled and parents with children. Even bicycle users are able to put their bikes onto a specially designed rack on the front of the bus and keep them secure during the journey.

But what has impressed me most is the helpfulness of the drivers. They get out to help the disabled, the elderly and people encumbered with children and shopping. I have also seen passengers lend a hand – and once this was a youth sporting a Mohawk, tattoos and multiple piercings, and another time it was a slightly doddering old gent, himself in need of assistance! Passengers and driver share a friendly greeting and leave-taking that is not just a formality but a genuine friendly exchange with eye contact. In once instance, a young man was talking very loudly on his mobile and, at a stop sign, the driver – also in his youth – turned and politely asked him to keep his volume down, at which the young man said “Sorry, mate,” and duly complied with the request.

In the shops and offices where I have had to apply for all the usual cards, licences and registrations, I have had more than the usual cursory exchange with the service personnel. Granted not all of them have been Australians by birth, but it is certainly a reflection of the general modus operandum.

Perhaps I have just not been here long enough to have sampled the ugly side of my fellow Aussies, but for now I am happy that my experiences have been pleasantly positive. It makes me miss the hubbub of the busy metropolis of Singapore a little less, at least.