It was summer 2014 and we were sitting down by the Harbour having after work drinks, enjoying the very best of Australian life. The sun was setting, but it was still warm; there was a relaxed summer vibe in the air as the people shrugged off the work week and soaked up the Harbour.
We looked around, and someone said, “How good is Australia?”. “Yeah” we all said.
Tourists mixed with the Sydney crowd, and we couldn’t tell who was who. They were all dressed in foreign branded fashion wear: New York, London, and Hong Kong. There was FCUK, Polo, Ralph Lauren, Benetton and Hilfiger. Where was Australia? We wondered what had happened to iconic Australian fashion – if there had ever been any. What was Australian, what was our identity, and what do we wear? We lamented the decline of once iconic brands and we wondered what had taken their place.
As the day grew long, the drinks and our creative juices flowed. We decided that what was needed was a new Australian brand, a celebration of our unique and proud culture, derived from the diverse mix of people who’ve made Australia their home; something that was cool, functional and comfortable. A subtle stand against the overseas brand invasion, which, we thought, has served to dilute the Australian character, as defined in the clothes we wear and how we identify ourselves.
And so Fark was born.
The word itself is Australian as they come.
It was the plaintive cry of the crow adopted by the original inhabitants of Australia as their clarion call, the stark, dark call of the Australian outback landscape.
It was borne on the wind, through the trees, down the beach and across the water at the landing of the First Fleet.
It was there at Gallipoli, Flanders, Kokoda and Khe Sahn. It rode with Breaker Morant and froze with Douglas Mawson; it flew with Kingsford Smith and Andy Thomas to the end of the earth and beyond; it ran in beside Keith Miller at Lords and texted Shane Warne in Durban; it raced up into the stands with Pat Cash and soared above the pack with Gary Ablett; it shat on Don Bradman’s cap and was heard during Boonie’s world VB record.
It’s been there in disappointment, shock, elation, amazement, pain and anger.
It’s breathed character into the language of every sporting field, workplace, farm, back-yard shed, school, public house and parliament. Fark!
It’s brought life to literature, books and magazines, the common touch to theatre and moving pictures; was immortalized by the King on the flickering blue screen. It’s a word that unites us in triumph and failure.
Sydney, Australia