Pirates Plank

Posts Tagged ‘australian pirates in myth’

Because Johnny Depp may be the most visible pirate in the world today, sometimes sharing screen time with Penelope Cruz and a host of other talented stars, the pirate’s life holds a certain mythical attraction.  It’s not entirely difficult to see why, especially these days, where precarious financial situations and increased responsibilities can make the usual rules of waking life a little overwhelming.  Daydreaming about another kind of life is nothing new, and as long as there has been an imagination, there have been dreams of living differently.  Or at least a little more intensely.

It is easy to see why pirates have taken hold of the popular imagination, where cultures around the world have seemed ready for a new way of thinking about their own inner desires.  A reckless and lawless life, one guided by instinct, and a host of other rules that are nothing if not romantic, is one that can take hold of nearly everyone, at least for a little while.  In a setting like Australia, the romanticism of the place is doubly fueled by the romance of the outback, and here is where myth comes face to face with history.

It isn’t always a particularly complex history, however.  William Dampier, one of the most famous pirates to set foot down under, didn’t stay for a particularly long time.  By all accounts, he found the desolate areas he saw to be very desolate, and soon enough settled with his treasures in England, long before the 17th century was to come to a close.

Perhaps that’s just long enough for a myth to take hold.  Whenever cultures come into contact, there is a certain charge that lasts long after the meeting.  His time here was just enough to give power and strength to a romantic ideal, enough so that sometimes
Sydney night life seems to be moving into a new direction, fueled by the energy of that particular spirit.

At the same time, there is already something of the pirate in the Australian national spirit.  The presence of sea-themed attractions and pirate-oriented quotations give proof to the notion that this is a place where the fierce independence of individuals is held in very high esteem.  In chaos there is order, and in order, there is the potential for chaos, and the particular cultural scene in Sydney is such that it’s impossible to know which of these forces are at work, and sometimes it doesn’t seem to matter.

(Howard Pyle illustration of a pirate ghost, from Howard Pyle’s Book of Pirates.)