MovieChat Forums > Donovan's Reef (1963) Discussion > Aussies are not Limeys

Aussies are not Limeys

posted 13 years ago by corgi37
10 replies | jump to latest

You Yanks are just so spaz. Poms are Limeys, Aussies are Aussies, Americans are Yanks.

And we never, ever go around singing waltzing bloody Matilda!

We go around singing "Khe Sanh" by Cold Chisel.

[–] mark-1589 13 years ago

You are the spaz if it wasn't perfectly evident to you that Lee Marvin was playing a clueless buffoon, hence he calls aussies limeys.

[–] bondgirl42 12 years ago

The Aussie sailors correct him too. And keep in mind that this was made in the early 60's, when the world wasn't such a small place as it is now. People didn't know that much about other countries/cultures/people, so they used Waltzing Matilda since it was the only Aussie song anyone had heard of. :)

[–] amazon423 12 years ago

Other than "Kookaburra" at camp.

[–] Captain_Augustus_McCrae 11 years ago

Was the Naval organization Australian or British? Australians DO serve in the RN, after all, and if they do, they are Limeys, whether they came from Britain or not.

"It ain't dying I'm talking about, it's LIVING!"
Captain Augustus McCrae

[–] megatosspot 10 years ago

And a whole bunch of Aussies were Limeys by birth anyway.

stfu about fking avatars already.

[–] Aloysius_von_der_Trenck 8 years ago

The Australian officers and sailors belong to the RAN, the Royal Australian Navy, established on July 10, 1911.

[–] baran_erik 8 years ago

What does the "Royal" refer to, the King of Australia?

[–] Aloysius_von_der_Trenck 7 years ago

Exactly. King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King of Australia, King of Canada, Emperor of India, etc, etc.

🔺

[–] f-ascaso 10 years ago

This thread makes me wonder whether I watched the same film being discussed here.

Lee Marvin called them Limeys on purpose, as an insult, in that scene he was itching for a good fight and was goading them into one.

They were introduced as the Royal Australian Navy, so they weren't serving in the British navy. This is set shortly after WWII, Waltzing Matilda was considered a patriotic song and it wasn't uncommon for them to sing it.

"if it was any good they'd have made an American version by now." Hank Hill

[–] PKLarkins 10 years ago

Americans are Yankees, not Yanks.

And you need to learn something about "Waltzing Matilda." It has sometimes been used as an unofficial national anthem in Australia--as it was at the time this movie was made--and in 1977 was one of four songs included in a national plebiscite to determine Australia's official anthem. (It came in second, losing out to "Advance, Australia Fair.") It is the quick march of the 1st battalion, Royal Australian Regiment.

I doubt if "Khe Sanh" by Cold Chisel has ever been used in an official capacity.