It is probably unfair to attribute good or bad manners to an entire country of people as if we can in some way assume that all inhabitants of a country are the same when it comes to qualities and traits. To say that Australians are ill-mannered would be as offensive as it would be naïve to say that all are well-mannered. In every country of the world, you will find a combination of both. Looking at manners in a general sense in Australia, it would probably be fair to say that they are much the same as people who live in Britain or in the northern states of the USA.

Australians commonly have a reputation for being very straight talkers, perhaps even brusque in nature. Because the country has grown as a result of immigration from Britain in the 1960s in particular, you will observe a real similarity between Australians and Brits when it comes to their manners and general demeanour. Australia has suffered in much the same way as every other country the world over it seems with the demise of true manners evident in so many instances.

People simply do not say “please” and “thank you” as they used to. They no longer hold doors open or give up their seat on the bus as was the custom in years gone by. The fact is that manners have deteriorated all over the world as people become more selfish and wrapped up in their own little worlds. Australia is no different in this regard.

Having said that, Australian blokes do have a reputation for being unmannerly in their speech and conduct and possibly would consider mannerly behaviour as unmanly. The halcyon days of gentlemen tipping their hats and holding doors open have disappeared and the new generation are no longer learning these good old fashioned ways. Manners are learned initially within the home and if parents are not mannerly, it is highly unlikely that their children will be.

This is not to say that you will not find well mannered people in Australia. Just as it is in any part of the world, there are people who are naturally well mannered and who continue to uphold the standards of their parents and grandparents. In some ways, the climate can make a difference to a person’s outlook and even make them more friendly toward people they don’t know. On this basis, people in Australia should be more friendly and mannerly than those in dull, drab Britain with its terrible weather. We see something similar in the USA where the people in the sunny southern states are friendlier and more mannerly than those up north.

Ultimately, manners are all about the individual as opposed to the country from which they hail. It’s hard to say whether Australia is less well mannered than Britain or the USA. The only measure most of us have is to visit places for ourselves and make a judgement on our own experience.