0 Australia loves Bali : postcards show deep relations

Recognizing the Island of Gods as a home away from home for many Australians, the Australian Consulate-General office in Denpasar launched a series of postcards titled “Australia Loves Bali” as part of their Australia Day celebration, which fell on Jan. 26. The postcard series, designed by well-known Balinese cartoonist Putu Ebo, aims at showcasing a more positive side of Australians in Bali, which may have been overshadowed by the high-profile arrests of Australians and the poor stereotypes, including the Ubud hippy, the slacker surfer, and the Kuta “bogan”, that the local Balinese might have developed of them over the years. 

“Through these postcards, and the publicity we hope to raise around them, we wanted to tell the stories of some ordinary Australians that have given back to Bali, forged closer links between our peoples and who actually care about what happens here beyond just tourism. Not because they have to, but because they want to,” Australian consul Tom Walter said in his speech during the launching of the postcard series over the weekend in Canggu. The colorful postcards portray Australian expat nurse and midwife Kim Patra, professional surfer Richard Porta and the family of an Australian-Balinese couple in the familiar cultural setting of Bali. 

“There are so many people here who make a difference every day in education, healthcare, aid projects and in many other fields, who we wish to honor. We also aim to highlight some of the lesser-known enjoyments Australians find here in Bali, to demonstrate that Australians enjoy Bali for all it has to offer, not just the nightlife, the surf or the yoga,” added Walter. The postcards will be freely distributed through the PT Pos Indonesia offices in Bali and East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), as well as at The Canggu Club, Kuta Beachwalk and several hotels and restaurants across the island. 

After the initial distribution of the themed postcards, Walter said the there would be three other themes of postcards to follow. “If the initial postcards generate lots of interest, we hope to distribute more,” said Walter, adding that as part of the trial, the Australian Consulate-General’s office had printed 2,000 for each theme. “We chose postcards because they are small portable artworks that everyone looks at. They are everywhere. We spoke with the Indonesian Post Office about it first to check if people here still use postcards and they confirmed that they did. 

We wanted to chose a medium used by, and accessible to, the Balinese people.” Australians are the second-largest group of visitors to Bali. Last year, between January and October, the Bali Tourism Agency recorded Australians accounted for 684,312 out of a total 2.88 million visitors to the island.

source : bali daily