Australian Circus People

Throughout history, humans have often wanted to find out about one another. Explorers, antrhopologists, historians, educators and others have been inspired by this curiosity. Some groups are interesting because they have been inspired by this curiosity. Some groups are interesting because they have made conscious decisions to resist change and have become enclosed communities, disconnected from the outside world. Other groups have made conscious decisions to maintain their distinctive ways of life while needing to interact successfully with, and respond to changes to, the outside world in order to preserve their distinctive lifestyles. Either way, this juxtaposition between two worlds is a fascinating point at which to examine how change in one world may effect change in the other.The focus of this chapter is on Australian circuses. I argue that Australian circus communities have long traditions of survival as travelling entertainment troupes because they have perfected the art and science of living cooperatively and because they have made a conscious decision to respond to changes that have occurred in the outside world. An enduring problem for Australian circus people, however, is the challenge that their particular type of mobility presents in their gaining access to formal education for their children and for adult members of their community.