In praise of the public barbecue...

Fortunately, there's a barbecue just to the left
(photo www.weekendnotes.com)

It's well known that many Australians are constantly on the lookout for the next excuse to burn meat outdoors.  And why wouldn't they be, given the quality of both the produce and the weather?

However, at some point, in the struggle to tame this rugged country, the pioneers were faced with a dilemma.  What do you do if you're off exploring and you feel hungry?  Either you need to have remembered to bring a load of heavy barbecue kit or, even worse, you might have to eat something that you didn't grill yourself.

Fortunately, the Aussies were willing to do whatever was necessary to solve the problem.  The answer was to place public barbecues in parks, beauty spots and beside beaches around the country.  

They are powered by electricity or gas (best not to encourage people to light fires in one of the most fire-prone places on earth) and, in Victoria at least, are generally free.  They consist of a simple hotplate, and whilst you probably won't be cooking anything fancy on them (there's only one heat setting) they're perfectly adequate for most things.

So, if you fancy staying on a bit later at the beach to see the sunset, you needn't worry about getting cold and hungry.  Pack a few sausages or burgers and some tongs and the family can all enjoy some hot food.

When you consider the time and cost of building and maintaining all of these excellent facilities so that anyone can use them for free, the level of Australian dedication to the cause of outdoor cookery becomes clear.  The only drawback - and in most people's view it's a minor one - is the issue of cleanliness.  There's no guarantee that the people who used your barbecue last will have left the hotplate in the condition you'd like, although in busy areas the local government tends to be pretty good about cleaning them regularly.  

Some people scrub the barbecue fastidiously first, with a cleaning kit that they carry around for the purpose.  Most just heat them up properly and then give the plate a bit of a scrape, excusing themselves to their friends with the consolation that it all adds to the flavour.  I've yet to hear of anyone who claims to have suffered illness as a result of an inadequately sterilised barbecue, though if anyone out there has done, please let me know and I'll consider modifying my behaviour.  But I'll probably just chance it.