Mateship.

The combine harvester, ute, black box flight recorder, the atomic absorption spectrophotometer, are just a few of the Great Australian Inventions.

But none of these can possibly hold a candle to the greatest of all Aussie inventions – mateship.

On this day, 15th of September, 1806, Sir Phillip J. Mate, (knighted 1823) working on a station in Bundarundararara with an acquaintance, decided he wished to have a deeper, more meaningful and personal relationship with his co-worker, but not in a homosexual way.

Up until this point in history, all human relationships were either sexual, marital, occassionally both, or consisted of (usually work-related) acquaintances or family. There were no other bonds, the concept of a friend, which seems quite natural now, simply had not been thought up.

Phillip’s first challenge was devising a way to develop an unspoken and unwritten rulebook for his device, and then how to communicate it with the co-worker. No records exist of this unwritten rulebook, which seems to have been passed down the ages from unspoken words of suggestion.

Initially, his colleague was reluctant to accept this new form of flirtation, which, in late December, resulted in fisticuffs. This incident was to provide the catalyst for the concept of mateship, when after the two bloodied men ceased their scrap, they looked each other in the eye.

Many consider this moment as being the exact instant in human history, that mateship was born. The two did not resume brawling, nor did they part, they burst out laughing, to the astonishment of onlookers. They patted each other of the back, spontaneously inventing the universal sign of mateship, purchased beers for one another, and provided critical yet jovial analysis of each others abilities noted from the punch-on.

Sir Phillip would later become friends with others, who termed the relationship as having “a mate”. The concept spread quickly around the world, soon everyone would have a mate, or several mates of their own. Some would even rank their mates, with the “best” friend being a coveted sign of personal affection.

So celebrate the 200th anniversary of this, the greatest Australian invention, mateship. Tip your hat to Mr Mate, and enjoy close relationships with others in a non-homosexual way.