29 Iconic Aussie People, Phrases, And Pastimes That Explain Why We're All So Fucked Up

    "The mate pulling into the servo to grab some durries" — pure nonsense to anyone who's not Australian.

    Steph Hazelton
    by Steph Hazelton

    BuzzFeed Staff

    Part of growing up in Australia meant witnessing a few weird and wonderful characters pop up over the years — both the fictional and the concerningly real kind. Some came with a song and dance, some offered true value to our lives, and some, well, they still haunt us to this day.

    View this video on YouTube
    youtube.com

    Late at night, I still hear the man-dog barking. 

    As a result, growing up in the '90s and '00s, many Aussies were familiarised with a string of truly iconic moments and niche sayings that made little sense to anyone outside our shores — some of which were captured in this thread by Reddit user u/Useful-Cookie-9855, who asked, "What is your favourite niche Aussie cultural icon?"

    A personal favourite? None other than old mate Prime Possum. Even though as a kid I refused to obey the message to go to bed ('cause FOMO), he's still an unsung hero in many families.

    Seven Network / Via youtube.com

    Here's some more of our favourites — and to check out the entire list, click here. 

    1. "Always gonna be the Ferals from Feral TV for me."

    —u/MuadDope

    2. "Nothing more Aussie than 'a succulent Chinese meal'."

    View this video on YouTube
    youtube.com

    —u/OriginalCause

    3. "I'd say 100%, it has to be 'Waiting for a mate'."

    View this video on YouTube
    youtube.com

    —u/mondocock

    4. "Lee Lin Chin. In a world of humourless clones, she decided to play dress-up on live news, and we all went with it."

    SBS

    —u/geeohgeegeeoh

    5. "Blinky Bill and Caramello Koalas."

    Twitter: @mickfrommackay

    —u/stupidmortadella

    6. "VB Longneck at 7:40 in the fucking morning."

    Twitter: @kcarr_52

    —u/PMMEYOURCHEESEPIZZA

    7. "Saying 'Cheers, mate' to bus drivers."

    Westend61 / Getty Images / Westend61

    —u/geeohgeegeeoh

    8. "Russell Coight."

    Working Dog Productions

    —u/CricketIsForPedos

    9. "A Bunnings snag."

    Twitter: @Kidcowboy2

    —u/do_the_r0ar

    10. "Steve Irwin."

    Discovery Channel

    —u/DJ_EMOV

    11. "The phrase 'Avagoodweekend!'"

    —u/LilyLupa

    12. "The kids' TV game show A*Mazing."

    Seven Network / Via youtube.com

    —u/dappled63

    "I fucking loved the show. Especially when they played Donkey Kong."

    —u/Yakosaurus

    13. "Gatorade saxophone."

    Twitter: @slugn0id

    —u/adambone

    "Keeping people in the dark as to why their garden hose keeps getting shorter."

    —u/redditorssuckarse

    14. "Bin chickens."

    Twitter: @fleur_de_LA

    —u/ImjustA_Islandboy

    15. "Mr Squiggle."

    ABC

    —u/Mystyler

    16. "Shower beers."

    Buck In Ears @BuckInEars

    #SuperVillainSelfCare Shower Beers 🍺

    Reply Retweet Favorite
    Twitter: @BuckInEars

    —u/P3ngu1nR4ge

    17. "The creepy-looking lady dog owner in the Schmackos commercials."

    SchmackosAU / Via youtube.com

    —u/ButterscotchSharp240

    18. "Lube Mobile will come to you, call furteen-furty-furty-two."

    youtube.com

    —u/Hutchoman87

    "That’s furteeen-furty-furty-two."

    —u/frightenedscared

    19. "Harold the giraffe from the van."

    reddit.com

    —u/frightenedscared

    20. "The sunnies bloke, Corey Worthington."

    Nine Network

    —u/One_Language_8259

    21. "Cheez TV reminded me of the TV show Rollercoaster. 'It's goodbye for now, not forever'."

    triplem.com.au, ABC

    —u/Bendadil

    "That was with that Elliott guy, right? Always thought he would go on to be somewhat more popular."

    —u/redditorssuckarse

    "Dude is, like, the head of TV now or some shit. Pretty sure I read a thing that he’s behind most of the reality TV on at the moment."

    —u/knapfantastico

    22. "Sunnyboys."

    Twitter: @pangasT

    —u/Mon69ster

    23. "Alf Stewart."

    Seven Network

    —u/[deleted]

    24. "Bush doofs."

    Flickr: francescovicenzi_photography, Flickr: francescovicenzi_photography, Flickr: francescovicenzi_photography

    —u/brahlicious

    25. "The Castle, Four 'N' Twenty Pies, Toobs, Dame Edna."

    Working Dog Productions

    —u/No_Ninja_4173

    26. "The mate pulling into the servo to grab some durries."

    —u/Dangerman1967

    27. "Oh ploise! How has no one mentioned Kath & Kim!? You lot are a pack of chunts."

    ABC

    —u/nhilistic_daydreamer

    28. "Mid-2000s Commodores."

    Flickr: 51811543@N08

    —u/0000100110010100

    But seriously, didn't everyone know somebody with this car? 

    29. And finally, "The funny-lookin' Olympic mascots that helped make history".

    Twitter: @JoshTheGameDev

    —u/[deleted]

    What niche Aussie icons, phrases, and moments do you remember? Tell us in the comments below!

    Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.