Tim Winton’s anthology of short stories explore the themes and values of mateship, the fragile nature of friendship, childhood and also abuse and corruption. Winton’s short stories ‘Big World’ and ‘Aquifer’ have these notions deeply embedded within them, helping them convey the Australian identity. Conversely, A.D Hope’s poem, ‘Australia’, expresses the Australian identity through the prospects of Australian setting. In the short story, ‘Big World’, Tim Winton highlights the strong sense of mateship. The notion of mateship is evident throughout the text. The repetition of the phrase, “Biggie and me”, highlights the strong bond between the two protagonists and emphasises on the theme of mateship which lurks in the story. The persona goes on to state that “Biggie’s not the brightest crayon in the box but he’s the most loyal person I know." This shows the respect and love the persona has for his best friend. However, although there is a strong sense of mateship, the fragile nature of friendship is also embedded within the story, as shown through the informal phrase, “To be honest, he’s not my sort of bloke at all, but somehow he’s my best mate”. This goes to reveal that although the persona and Biggie are friends, their friendship is based on the persona “feeling somehow senior and secure in himself”. This ironically points out to the readers that Biggie and the persona aren’t that close although they are best friends. ‘Big World’ demonstrates the Australian identity is derived from the notion of friendships. This idea is manifest today with the emergence of today’s youth whom are friends with many but ironically aren’t close with any. Similarly, the sense of an Australian identity is present in the short story, ‘Aquifer’, in which the effects of childhood plays a detrimental effect on the character and is a predominant theme. The persona as a child grew up in a typically Australia