CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
South Sudanese-Australian, Marty Deng (27) is well aware how surprised people get when they notice that he sounds exactly the same as the 48-year-old leader of The National Party.
After moving to Sydney earlier this year for a new job, many of his new acquaintances had just assumed that he would have a broad African accent. Either that, or he’d have one of those Western Sydney hybrids.
But Marty isn’t from ‘The Area’ and he’s actually not from Africa.
He’s one of thousands of Sudanese-Australians that have spent every waking minute of their lives in the beautiful Queensland Darling Downs.
“It’s the food bowl of Australia, mate” says Marty, as he describes Toowoomba with the same level of stubborn enthusiasm as any other Queenslander does when talking about about their hometown.
“She gets a bit fresh in the winter, but it’s all worth it for the flowers. Have you seen them in full bloom?”
“Crikey they bung on a show in T-Bar”
In fact, prior to relocating south, Marty hadn’t ever travelled down the range to see the sights of Brisbane. This makes him a hick more than anything.
While the stereotypes peddled by the nation’s city-centric media outlets paints Australia’s South Sudanese population as an ‘urban community’ that only makes headlines for either crime or sport, Toowoomba residents know very well that the Dinka people can in fact be full-blown bushies.
Marty is one of these bush-drunk bungies. In fact, for his new workmates and friends in Sydney, the most foreign thing about him his extremely thick Western Queensland accent.
“I’ve only ever heard politicians sound like that” says a coworker in the big smoke.
“Like that Barnaby bloke, Or the one with the glasses. Littleproud”
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And much like the leader of Australia’s rural conservative political movement, Marty also shares an undying love for moleskin trousers and agriculture.
“Yeah I was planning on doing a year jackarooing up North but I got accepted into the honours of Ag Engineering at USQ”
“So I thought I better stay put and just pump that out. Local uni ya know. Absolute no-brainer”
“Problem is it’s meant I’ve hadta move down to Sydney to find work. I was ropeable about that I tell you what”
“Now they’ve got me out here taking a squiz at food processors in bumfuck Blacktown”
