Why did bush workers become symbols of the Australian national identity in literature?

In the late 19th century, bush workers emerged as central symbols of Australian national identity primarily due to the influence of the Bulletin magazine, which championed a distinctively nationalist and populist agenda.12

As Australia moved toward federation, the Bulletin urged writers to "write Australian" and celebrate the virtues of the bush worker, who was portrayed as the "true Australian"—tough, laconic, self-reliant, and defined by the egalitarian myth of "mateship". This literary movement favored themes of rural life and the struggles of the "battler" against the odds, providing a cultural counterpoint to urban or colonial British influences.12

Writers such as Henry Lawson and A.B. ("Banjo") Paterson were instrumental in codifying this identity through their short stories and bush ballads. Their work, along with that of Joseph Furphy, solidified the Outback as the spiritual home of the national character. This bush-centric identity became so ingrained that later historians and writers, such as C.E.W. Bean, argued that the resourcefulness of the Australian soldier—the "digger"—was a direct manifestation of the essential character of the bushman.12