259 – Adelaide Vietnamese style

2008 The Poplars Coonawarra Autumn Harvest Botrytis Chardonnay 375 ml … tasting notes

This is a steal for $15 a bottle. Read more and buy this Botrytis online here.

In 1976, the first Vietnamese boat people arrived in Australia, landing in Darwin. This arrival happened in the wake of the Vietnam War which ended in 1975 when Communist forces captured Saigon and South Vietnam surrendered. Vietnamese people continued to arrive in Australia en masse for 20 years and today there are around 200,000 people of Vietnamese background in Australia. Two of them are joining us tonight, the so-called Double Dragon comedy duo, Kim Le and Viet Bui.

What is it like growing up in #Adelaide when you're from a #Vietnamese background? Kim Le and Viet Bui share their stories this week, covering #boatpeople #racism #pho and #culture. Plus we discuss #comedy, drink superb #botrytis #chardonnay, and eat! https://t.co/qNmS93Ihkb

— The Adelaide Show (@TheAdelaideShow) August 8, 2018

Kim, you make a joke about your parents being boat people. What is your family’s story in relation to arriving in Australia.

Viet, what is your story.

By the way, Amy Dale, the curator at the Migration Museum will be listening to your chat tonight, with interest and she’s keen to hear from you if you have any objects relating to Vietnam or your family’s migration.

Viet, in your act, you are quite strong about some cultural icons like pho. What is that, how do you pronouce it, and how significant is it in Vietnamese culture?

There is a lot of material about white privilege today. In one, I saw it said it is white privilege to LEARN about racism rather than EXPERIENCE it. Have you and do you experience racism today?

Kim, how did Europe differ, if at all?

How do you react when you hear about asylum seekers wanting to come to Australia, and all the political posturing that surrounds the topic?

What did you think when His Excellency the Honourable Hieu Van Le AC was named as governor of South Australia?

We made Vietnamese rolls as a family a few weekends back and it was a hoot. Do Vietnamese families do the same?

What are the best food items to ease plain eaters into Vietnamese cuisine?

This is the TEDx talk that Kim did and Steve referred to in the interview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ7A74Vx7YE

Nigel Dobson-Keeffe challenges the panel to pick the fake story from three stories from South Australia’s past.

Canberra Times September 1970
Record arrests made In Adelaide
Record number of 130 arrests were made in the ugliest confrontation witnessed between police and demonstrators. The confrontation came when about 400 police charged on 5,000 peaceful demonstrators who refused six warnings to leave the intersection of King William Street and North Terrace. Wave after wave of uniformed and plainclothes police, backed up by mounted police, charged into the ranks of the demonstrators. The South Australian Premier, Mr Dunstan, said last night he would call an- urgent Cabinet meeting to consider measures to ensure that democratic law
and order procedures were established. Mr Dunstan flew to Canberra at 2pm yesterday where his press secretary issued the following statement: It is deplorable and frightening that violence and disorder occurred in Adelaide during today’s Moratorium demonstration.

Naracoorte Herald January 1950
Fat Sheep purchased for Indo-China
Elder Smith, & Co., Limited have purchased 600 prime fat crossbred wethers, to be shipped to Saigon, Indo-China. Clients In the Naracoorte district had sheep of this description to offer, and Mr. L. J. DeGaris was instructed to .make the purchase and 600 magnificent crossbred wethers were bought. These had to be of a dressed weight of not less than 70 lbs. The sheep were purchased from Messrs. F. C. Copping and Son, J. F. B. Porter, H. E. Clark end V.M, Burke. In each case they were magnificently finished crossbred wethers, in prime condition. These sheep are being shipped on the “Eastern Saga” from Port Adelaide. To our knowledge this is the first occasion on which sheep from South Australia have been shipped to this destination

The Advertiser June 1954
Indo-China Less Important
Indo-China was less important to Australia than Korea, and of lesser importance to the entire world. Mr. Downer, MHR, said in a talk on “Australia and South-East Asia” at the United Nations luncheon in Epworth Building yesterday. In 1950 we were prepared to fight Communism in far-away Korea, however I doubt we will need to show the same willingness in much nearer Indo-China,' Mr. Downer said. “The war is a genuine nationalist movement seeking independence from the French which have been tardy at transferring control of the colony over to an independent government. ‘It has not become a become a stage in a Communist bid to dominate the whole of East Asia. That battle was held up in Korea and Malaysia and until the communists can make advances in those countries it is clear their plans have stalled and unlikely they will intervene in Indo-China. Mr. Downer also added that it was an issue for the French and it was not a threat to Australia’s security.

We opened the vault to go back 100 weeks to the lead up to the Adelaide Fashion Festival with Dave Court, the designer behind Fools and Trolls, Rachelle Boyle, event manager of Fashion’s Future, a TAFE SA student showcase, and Jana Fuss, one of the fashion coordinators of Fashion’s Future graduate of TAFE.

In our discussion we touched on the psychological forces at work in the world of fashion and this quote from Dr Jennifer Baumgartner, “the brain loves trends because they are fast acting short-lived blasts of novelty… and our gray matter simply loves new things!” My question to our guests is, what are Vietnamese people like when their human side makes them want to chase the NEW and their communal side might make them want to honour TRADITION?