Greatest Country Australians top 100 list: Mary MacKillop, Don Bradman, more

We’ve named the top 100 Aussies from the bush, now it’s your turn. Watch the rankings change in real time as you tell us if we got right.

The 100 Greatest Country Australians

Welcome to the 100 Greatest Country Australians.

This is our tribute to the lives, achievements and legacies of the most notable residents of country Australia both past and present.

Our criteria for the people that appear in this list is simple. All have lived all or part of their lives — even if only their formative years — beyond the major metropolitan cities, and their achievements have had a major role in shaping Australia.

Simply, those on this list call, or have at some point called, country Australia home.

There are those whose achievements have stretched well beyond regional areas on to the national and world stage. And there are those whose impact on rural Australia is without peer.

Some in this list have been figures of controversy, either in their own lifetime or afterwards. But there is no doubt that each has been a giant in their field — and in some cases, fields — of expertise.

There are politicians, such as prime ministers John Curtin and Robert Menzies, founders of Federation John Quick and Isaac Isaacs, and female trailblazers including Edith Cowan and Enid Lyons.

There’s the movers and shakers of agriculture, from John and Elizabeth Macarthur, cattle king Sidney Kidman and Sunshine Harvester manufacturer HV McKay, through to the extraordinary artistic talents of writers Banjo Paterson and Miles Franklin, singer Slim Dusty and painter Arthur Streeton.

The achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people — including Doug Nicholls, Eddie Mabo and Neville Bonner — demand inclusion. And who could forget sports stars such as Ron Barassi, Lauren Jackson, Cadel Evans and the great Don Bradman.

Many will not agree with the inclusion or exclusion of some. As for our ranking, we realise we can be neither right nor wrong. We have based our ranking on the criteria set out above. We expect debate. In fact, we welcome it — if you think we have ranked these country Aussies too high or too low, you can vote and move the rankings accordingly. Switch between the official and the readers’ top 100 lists to see how they compare.

One thing that cannot be disputed, however, is that Australia has produced some of this nation’s greatest sons and daughters who have shaped our society and made the nation what it is today.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE LIST?

Fill out the form at the bottom of the list for your chance to win a set of the books short-listed for the Miles Franklin Literary Award 2021.

Viewing on a mobile and can’t see the interactive list? Click here to check it out.

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