What is a Mate?

Mateship n. 1. the quality or state of being a mate. 2. code of conduct among men stressing equality and fellowship. (Macquarie Dictionary)

A mate is a very close friend. Usually a man's best mate is like someone who is known in the United States as a "buddy", only lots more.

A mate is the one person who will come, sit and yarn with you when everyone else has turned their back. A mate is the epitome of the Good Samaritan. He will stick by you through thick and thin. And when you keel over in the heat of the outback and die he will dig your grave in the stony ground, mourn your passing, deliver your mementos to your family and see that they are cared for.

Few non-Australians understand the full meaning behind Australian mateship. New generations of Australians have incomplete understanding of it also. Mateship is no longer inculcated in the young by osmosis as it was in my day. It may be fading into the mists of folklore. Consumerism fostered by the media over the last 40 years threatens to swamp our traditional home grown culture and values. But in my childhood and youth it was a strong influence throughout society. You never desert a mate.

Mateship has four strong supporting pillars; Integrity, Humility, Fairness and Perseverance. Mateship can't last if any of the pillars is missing.

Humour is a major human bonding agent, especially the kind of humour that makes fun of self. Other bonding agents are mutual interests, values, place of origin, complementary abilities, but the strongest bonding agent is that of helping each other through severe hardship and suffering.

The majority of the members of previous generations of Australians were nurtured in hardships. Most Australians will reach out to others going through tough times no matter where they came from. And when the others can also laugh at themselves and what they're going through, that is when they will be recognised by Australians as true blue Aussies, and that is when they will find out that they also have plenty of mates; all of us not taking ourselves seriously. We don't want to be thanked; we only want the others to show that they will do likewise and reach out to help others when needed and not take themselves too seriously either.