Banking on BANJO: business, bias, and belonging in rural social imaginaries

ABSTRACT Social imaginaries, like those in the work of A. B. “Banjo” Paterson and Henry Lawson, reinforced by contemporary ideas of a bucolic rural idyll, reflect images of Australia shared in contemporary media. These images are often used in marketing rural places. This research examines the social imaginaries used to create marketing for a wide-ranging area around Stanthorpe, Queensland. These marketing ideas promote stereotypes of Australia’s rural areas as rugged, adventurous places filled with “authentic” people and experiences. Promotion of these autochthonous social imaginaries, however, brings with it challenges, including the exclusion of those who don’t fit normative ideas of a predominantly white, male, heterosexual society. This research uses proximity ethics to challenge the notion of using the past to sell the present and contributes to ideas about current rural discourse. Findings may be used to raise awareness within rural Australia about the exclusionary nature of these social imaginaries.