Australia and Lebanon are inextricably linked, writes SBS' Yaara Bou Melhem, just stroll down Beirut's Parramatta Road or drop in at Bondi Beach and you'll feel the Aussie vibe.
We're driving around Beirut, Lebanon in the up market Corniche Raouche area, trying to find Australia Street.
After stopping to ask for directions about four or five times we come to what we think is our destination. But there are no signs only hotels adorned with flags from across the globe.
"Where is Australia Street?" We ask a shop owner through our car window.
"This is Australia Street." He says stretching out his arms either side.
"But where's the street sign?" We had driven up and down the street and hadn't seen a sign yet.
"What? Do you think I'm joking?" He says, feigning offence. "There are no signs here but everyone knows this is Australia Street. Berlin Street is the next one over."
Although Rue 55 in Beirut's Rauouche suburb is known as Australia St, an Australian flag cannot be spotted among the two dozen or so others that front that line the glitzy street.
Parramatta Road
Australia and Lebanon have become inextricably connected due to the amount of Lebanese who have moved down under. According to the 2006 census, approximately 250,000 Australians hail from Lebanon.
Take for example the northern mountainous Lebanon village of Kfarsghab.
It was from this tiny hamlet that the first Lebanese people migrated to Australia in the 1880's.
The Lebanese who hail from Kfarsghab have such a strong historical link with Australia, that many other Australian-Lebanese dismiss their connection with Lebanon as too loose and distant. They've even been given their own name. It's a running joke to call people who are Kfarsghabi (from Kfarsghab) and Australian (Aussie) as Frozzies (fusion of Kfarsghabi and Aussie).
The population of Kfarsghab proper in Lebanon is less than a thousand. But about 18,000 people who herald from Kfarsghab are in Australia. More than half of which reside in the suburb of Parramatta.
The late Parramatta City councilor Joe Barakat wanted to recognise the special relationship that existed between the two communities. It was at his instigation that the main road in Kfarsghab was renamed Parramatta Rd. Suffice to say that the Parramatta Rd in the scenic village is a far cry from the congested and potholed stretch of concrete that runs through Sydney.
There are two Parramatta Road signs on the one post. One of the signs looks like any other street sign in Lebanon and the other is identical to the street you will find in Parramatta City Council. It almost looks as though someone had plucked a Parramatta Road sign from Sydney, placed it in their suitcase and brought it over to the northern village to put it on the sign post. That was the rumour anyway.
"No! Nobody stole it.” The Mayor of Kfarsghab, Claudette Abboud insists.
“A minister from Australia came over to open the street. It was official, we had a big celebration and a formal dinner."
Indeed. Parramatta Road, Kfarsghab was officially opened on July 16, 1995 in a ceremony that also marked the reopening of the Australian Embassy in Beirut.
Bondi Rescue
But there was no such official opening for Bondi Beach in Jieh, a southern seaside village in Hezbollah territory 22km south of Beirut.
Like many beaches in Lebanon, Bondi is private and exclusive but not in the way most Australians might expect. It's a women's only beach.
"Lebanese-Australians originating from Jieh returned here and built a house and a swimming area in front of the water. They called it Bondi Beach and put signs around the town." Mayor George Kazzi explained.
The population of Jieh rests at about 1,700 people. More than 5,000 people from the community have migrated to Australia.
Jieh's Bondi Beach is nothing like the Bondi Beach that Sydney is famous for. If it was to be the set for any show it wouldn't be for Channel 10's 'Bondi Rescue' but 'Bondi Needs Rescuing'. This beach has no sand, its pools are unfilled, and construction material was scattered all over the place. But to be fair, the semi-built bath house is usually deserted and neglected in the winter months and may well perk up for summer.
During Lebanon's summer, the village reaches near full capacity as Australians return to their beach-side homes.
Mayor Kazzi's own sons live in south-west Sydney. He says the Australian-Lebanese from Jieh send back money to the community and are funding the construction of the village's church. The church sits on Australia St, in honour of the Australian community's contribution to the village.
