Your Say SA 2020: You little beauty: The inside word on SA
We asked you, our readers, to describe South Australia in three words. Here’s what you had to say – and how it lines up with how some prominent South Australians rate our state.
SA News
Don't miss out on the headlines from SA News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
YOUR SAY SA 2020 VISION
- It’s time for South Australia be bold
- South Aussie pollies aren’t listening to the people
- Just not enough jobs to go around in SA
South Australians boast a generally positive view of their state, defying the long-held notion that we have an inferiority complex.
Asked to choose three words to describe the state, respondents to our YourSay SA 2020 Vision survey mostly opted for favourable terms, sprinkling this with varying degrees of intense criticism and mild complaint.
The 10 most popular words, in order, were: beautiful; friendly; slow; safe; quiet; affordable; expensive; relaxed; conservative and boring.
High-profile South Australians, including Premier Steven Marshall, Port Adelaide captain Tom Jonas and Crows chief Andrew Fagan, choose words including dynamic, cruisy and family.
After the top ten, the next most popular words were: clean; comfortable; easy; liveable; backward; peaceful; potential; diverse; small; backwards; behind; great; wine; dry; stagnant and home.
The top-ranked “beautiful” was almost twice as popular as the second-most-popular friendly.
Professor of Psychology and director of the Appleton Institute, CQUni, Adelaide, Drew Dawson, said the results captured South Australians’ “deeply rooted ambivalence about our identity”, with many “caught between the reality of our busy lives in a city and the dreamy romanticism of the bush”.
“The word cloud captures the quintessential tension between our country ‘self’, the beauty, the slow pace of life and the friendliness, the wine and the food. All the qualities in short supply in the busy metropolises of Melbourne and Sydney,” Professor Dawson said.
“On the other hand, it equally embraces the opposites. Adelaide is not a ‘big city’ on the world stage. So our metropolitan ‘self’ rails simultaneously against the worst aspects of a small-town mentality. We are concurrently, conservative, boring, backward and, sin of sins, parochial.”
Premier Steven Marshall described SA as dynamic, vibrant and enterprising.
“South Australians voted for change at the last election and what we’re seeing is a vibrant and dynamic state, with more jobs and opportunities for business, whether it be in defence or space, whether it be in agriculture or education, the state has a new energy, more opportunities for families, and there is a real sense of entrepreneurship that I haven’t ever felt before. It’s an exciting time,” he said.
Opposition Leader Peter Malinauskas labelled the state diverse, progressive and resilient.
“We are so lucky to have such a diverse population, a diverse economy and a diverse environment,” Mr Malinauskas said.
“SA has long been a leader – whether it be the first place in the world to grant women the right to vote and stand for parliament or nation-leading anti-discrimination laws.
“SA has faced its fair share of challenges, but we have always risen to the occasion.”
Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor echoed the Adelaide city brand: Designed for Life.
“In all seriousness, our city brand captures the essence of Adelaide and South Australia more broadly. We are so fortunate to live in such a beautiful state and I wouldn’t live anywhere else,” she said.
Local Government Association of SA president and Tumby Bay Mayor Sam Telfer chose the words beautiful, high-quality and potential.
“The beauty of our natural environment cannot be taken for granted, with access to a wide variety of scenic coastal and inland areas throughout our regions,” he said.
“Our state’s productive areas deliver sustainable grains, pulses, fruits, vegetables, seafood, and proteins of the highest quality, which can be used domestically and internationally to provide for many.
“There is so much extra potential in our state, with our people and businesses having a knowledge and skills base that could be better energised and utilised with well-targeted investment into productive infrastructure and community capacity, especially within our regional areas.”
Port Adelaide Football Club captain Tom Jonas’s three words for SA were cultured, cruisy and picturesque.
“The lifestyle in SA provides such a great balance. It’s relaxed and stress-free, while providing a range of cultural activities within a beautiful setting,” Jonas said.
“I, for one, get to play every second week at one of the most picturesque sporting arenas in the world (Adelaide Oval).” Adelaide Football Club chief executive officer Andrew Fagan chose family, passionate and unique. “There’s no better place to raise a family than South Australia and, in particular, the city of Adelaide, where you can be close to the city, beaches and hills, plus enjoy all the other benefits of one of the world’s most liveable cities,” he said.
“SA is renowned for its passion for football. It is extraordinary and there is no better place to watch it come to life than Adelaide Oval.”
TOP TEN WAYS TO DESCRIBE SA
428 — Beautiful
272 — Friendly
237 — Slow
227 — Safe
226 — Quiet
204 — Affordable
204 — Expensive
202 — Relaxed
178 — Conservative
177 — Boring