Proudly Oz-African

One of the first things I've noticed, being a fresh-off-the-boat Souf Efrican in Oz, is the  number of South African companies that have opened up shop here. I get really excited about this, pointing them out to no-one in particular whilst jumping up and down like a kid outside a petshop. Yet, when I proudly enlighten Aussies of the roots of these companies I tend to get a "Oh, I didn't know that so and so was South African," usually followed by a "I also don't really give a shit...," muttered under the breath.  I guess it's not really that interesting to most people, but I think other Saffa expats know the feeling, that twinge of pride mixed with homesickness, of unexpectedly seeing something from home in a foreign location.

 Ann Street Spar, Fortitude Valley

The first time it happened was when I was walking around in our neighbourhood and spotted a Spar Supermarket (There's a friendly Spar, wherever you are!). Funnily enough, they are pretty much the same as normal Spar's in South Africa (in other words, a tad more expensive than your average supermarket chain). Of course, like most South Africans I ignorantly assumed Spar was a South African company (due to the name which means "Save" in Afrikaans) but they're actually Dutch and moved to SA in the 1960s (and Oz in the mid-80s) and have the most stores in the UK with well over 2000, compared to SA's odd 700 and Australia's 75 shops.

Brisbane is also home to Australia's two Pick 'n Pay Hypermarkets, in Sunnybank and Aspley. The Pick 'n Pay in Aspley which was established in the 80s, was,according to Wikimapia, once "the largest supermarket in the Southern Hemisphere", and is now owned by Coles.  Nice and big, just like the South African ones, where you could get lost in the myriad of neon lights, whole trolley-surfing down the white-tiled aisles and  perusing the  endless Great Wall-like shelves for hours!

Perhaps my favourite South African company in Australia (at least the one I'm most thankful for) is Nando's. Luckily, their Australian marketing is as on-the-ball and witty as their South African big brother's, with a great website and in-store advertising. I do miss the fantastic TV ads which the franchise is so famous for in South Africa and is sadly lacking here.

They've been in Oz since 1990, arriving on the Western shores just like those famous peri-peri Portuguese explorers Da Gama and Diaz did round the tip of Africa all those years ago. Their chicken is also just as tasty, and they offer the same range of scrumptious sauces and marinades here.  In fact, if I walk around in a Spar here in Brissy and am faced with a shelf-full of Nando's sauces, I could just as easily be anywhere in suburban South Africa.

Courtesy of www.evalu8.org

Sadly, if you google Nando's, the UK franchises dominate, the web which may actually fool people into erroneously believing that this salivating peri-peri chicken take-aways originated in England (or Portugal!). This proudly South African export is now in 26 countries on five continents.

The final, and perhaps most surprising South African company in Oz is those brasse "Ek en djy", or the fish company I&J! Their fish fingers can be found adorning the frozen foods section of many an Aussie supermarket today, a long cast from Charles "Ocean" Johnson and George "Driver" Irvine's humble beginnings, trawling the Cape coastline in the early 1900s. They hit the Australian market in 1997, and have since defrosted the Aussie hearts with their fantastic ad campaign starring Iron Jay, the fish-finger mad, pro wrestler, who has since built up a cult following. I&J is now the second biggest retail seafood brand in Australia.

I have a feeling that this might only be the tip of the frozen iceberg lettuce and I'll try to uncover more South African brands living large in Oz, but if you know of any, please  drop a comment!

Welcome to Brisbane, home of the Coon Toastie.

I think the most appropriate thing to do when welcoming new visitors to an area is to give them a taste of the local flavour. Give them something that smacks of "Oh, so this is what it's like!". And that's what the Ekka is. Local. Done lekker.

The Ekka is traditionally held at the RNA Showgrounds here in Brissy on an annual basis, and is a celebration of all things Queenslandish and country-like. First started in 1876, the Ekka draws crowds from all over the State, if not the country. In fact, it's so big they have a public holiday for it! They have vegetables and fruit on display that are so large they will make your spinster aunt blush for no apparent reason.

This year there was, as alays I was told, a melee of activity, centering around the country goods displays and Woolworths Food Pavilion, and for the kids, the magnetic attractions of Sideshow Alley, which is where all carnival rides, greasy treats and ghosthouse is. Tied for first place is the Showbag Pavilion, housing more than 500 different showbags and more sugar per square metre than a Cadbury's factory and a definite determining factor in Australian childhood diabetes. It will probably also play a big role in my next dentist appointment as I went for the Sourbombs Showbag and am still puckering through it all. As we say in Afrikaans: Dit trek jou kiewe so op 'n knoop (it's something about sourness and fish).

According to the Ekka's website, 4000 scantily-dressed fireman calendars were sold during this week in August, 150 chickens were born, over 3000 $1 Coon cheese toasties were sold in the Food Pavilion and 6.5 tons of pink puke was cleaned up due to 6.5 tons of Strawberry Sundaes which were consumed just prior to attempting the Tornado of Terror in Sideshow Alley.  Okay, so I made that last one up. Next year, a new company will organise the Ekka, making it bigger, brighter and taking it out of the showgrounds onro the streets of Brisbane. There's been a lot of mumbling about this as some of the attractions will be removed, but I guess we'll have to wait until next year to see what really happens. Here's a scenic taste of what this year's Ekka was like: