'Westie', or 'Westy', is a colloquial term used in
Australian and
New Zealand English to describe residents of the western suburbs of Sydney (Australia) or Auckland (New Zealand). It may also refer to people who might not live in the western part of a city.
Dictionary definition
According to the
Macquarie Dictionary, the term in Australian English now refers to people from outer suburbs and a lower socio-economic background or the stereotypes associated with such people.
[1] It also states that the term has spread throughout Australia and is used to refer to people who may not live in the western part of their city.
1 With reference to its use in Sydney, the Macquarie Book of Slang says the term is applied negatively to anyone that may live west of one's own suburb.
[2]
Origin of the term
The term originated, and is most often used, in relation to residents of the numerous
western suburbs of
Sydney,
Australia, and of
Auckland,
New Zealand.
Auckland, New Zealand
In Auckland, Westies are almost entirely residents of
Waitakere City, in particular the
Auckland city-side suburbs of
Te Atatu,
Henderson, Sunnyvale, Glen Eden, and
New Lynn. Some people from
Avondale are called by others and themselves ''westies'' although Avondale is actually within the territory of
Auckland City.
To be called a ''westie'' in Auckland is sometimes ambiguous as it can be both a pejorative or good natured, depending on intent. Many people from Waitakere City will call themselves ''westies'' with pride, yet not meet the stereotypical criteria.
[3] Westies (pronounced locally as "Weesties") are stereotypically seen as being more brash and of-the-soil than other districts of Auckland.
The shift from a pejorative to a societal identifier has been abrupt an in no small part due to local comedian
Ewen Gilmour whose stand-up comedy act as Ewen "Westie" Gilmour gave the term national prominence between
1995 and
2000 in the premier television programme, "Pulp Comedy". He was "unofficially appointed cultural ambassador" for Waitakere City.
[4] He was elected as councillor for the Waitakere City Council in
2004 and joins former mayor
Tim Shadbolt as stereotypical westies who have entered local body politics.
Often stereotypically identified with old V8 cars and black jerseys.
Sydney, Australia
In Sydney, westies have taken their name from Sydney's western suburbs, a region of suburbs in which the cost of living is generally considered to be less than that of Sydney's more easterly and inner-city suburbs. The west also has lower levels of professional employment and suffers from higher crime rates. As a result, the term "westie" was used in a derogatory sense to suggest that someone was uncouth or unsophisticated. The Macquarie Book of Slang reports that the area which westies inhabit does not have clear boundaries even though Western Sydney is generally regarded as being the metropolitan area west of
Parramatta. While some in the
eastern suburbs might consider residents of
Ryde westies, others may restrict the term to areas such as
Blacktown and
Penrith.
2 An alternative measure is whether the suburb's postcode is greater than 2150.
In Sydney the term originated within the surfing community in the early 1970's. Board riders or surfers who lived in the eastern suburbs, closer to the beach and waves, would often refer to what they saw as "part time" weekend surfers, who travelled to the beach from the western suburbs as "westies". In this regard they were seen as "blow ins" who crowded the beach and waves each weekend.
Coastal suburbs
It could be noted in this context that both in Auckland and Sydney, the western suburbs often have no (or less prominent) coastal access. This is often reflected in house prices and suburb 'status'.
The westie stereotype
The term westie is often used to associate someone or something with a stereotype. The stereotype depicts people from the outer suburbs as unintelligent, undereducated, unmotivated, unrefined, lacking in fashion sense, working-class or unemployed. Clothing such as
flannelette shirts,
Ugg boots, and leopard-print fabric are associated with the stereotype, as are the "uniform" of black t-shirt and ripped jeans.
[5] The female of the species commonly wears jeans with tassles, and tight-fitting tops, often white.
Similar Australian and New Zealand English terms
There are many colloquial terms originating in other cities which have similar connotations:
1[6]
★
Bogan in Australia and
Hutt Valley, Tawa in
Wellington, New Zealand.
★ in
Brisbane.
★ in
Hobart.
★
Booner in
Canberra.
★
Yobbo throughout Australia and Britain, but particularly synonymous with Westie in
Perth.
★
Yobbo,
Feral, 'Northern Scum' or 'Bethan' (In Reference to Adelaide's Northern Suburbs such as Elizabeth, this is on par with the Sydney description above) in
Adelaide.
★
Dero in Australia
Similar terms used in other English dialects
Other derogatory terms associated with stereotypes of unsophistication include:
★
Trailer trash (
US)
★
Cracker (
US)
★
Hillbilly (
US)
★
White trash (
US)
★
Chav (
UK)
★
Essex girl (
UK)
★
Ned (Scottish) (
Scottish, particularly
Glasgow dialect)
★
Knacker (
Ireland)
See also
★
Elitism
★
Classism
★
Class conflict
★
Parochialism
★
Greater Western Sydney
References
1. "Westie", Macquarie Dictionary Online Edition 2005.
2. "Westie", Macquarie Book of Slang, Macquarie Library, 2000.
3. Review of Bob Harvey's book (see below). (NB: pdf file)
4. Ewen Gilmour's official website
5. Scott Poynting and Jock Collins (eds), ''The Other Sydney: Communities, Identities and Inequalities in Western Sydney'', Common Ground, 2000. p20.
6. "Yobbo", Macquarie Dictionary Online Edition 2005.
★
SMH Radar: You are where you live
★
Out west : perceptions of Sydney's western suburbs, Diane Powell, , , St. Leonards, NSW : Allen & Unwin, 1993, ISBN 1-86373-503-8
★
The other Sydney : communities, identities and inequalities in Western Sydney, Jock Collins & Scott Poynting (Ed.), , , Altona, Vic. : Common Ground Publishing, 2000, ISBN 1-86335-017-9
★
Westies up front out there, Bob Harvey, , , Auckland : Exisle, 2004, ISBN 0-908988-38-9
External links
★
Strine and Aussie Slang
العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
Español
