Epilogue: 'a high lean country / full of old stories'

Capturing the character of any region is never easy, but in Australia it is particularly difficult. In Europe and much of the Old World, regional cultures grew through long periods of local isolation and shared histories. In the Americas, regionalism is well marked – partly through the group immigration of communities distinguished by common interest (often religious) and common patterns of speech – but colonial societies elsewhere are not so neatly divided. If any part of Australia does have such a regional culture, it should be New England. With a certain geographical distinctness, its first European settlers were proud of being largely untainted by a continuing convict presence. Later, and more significantly, for several decades it boasted a strong movement for a new state with a government of its own.