Comedian Cal Wilson migrated from New Zealand over two decades ago and while she calls Australia home, her “heart is still in two places.”
Now, she is hosting an episode of Who The Bloody Hell Are We?, a three-part docuseries — which premieres Wednesday, July 19 on SBS and SBS On Demand, alongside John Safran and former MasterChef Australia contestant, Adam Liaw. The trio embark on a journey into Australia’s multicultural past through interview, clever skits and archival footage.
And dor Cal, it was “full of revelations”.
“It’s looking at different migrant groups to Australia and seeing what contribution they’ve made to modern Australia,” Cal said during an interview with Chattr and Mediaweek’s The Entertainment Hotline podcast. “I spent my time just going ‘Wow, wow, I had no idea’.
Cal Wilson. SBS
The series will cover three different immigrant groups from the perspective of Safran, Liaw and Wilson; to which she said: “I was blown away by how much history I didn’t know.”
One particular revelation (which we won’t give away) was absolutely mind-blowing and is revealed during the second episode hosted by the comedian. The instalment features Australia’s history with New Zealand and puts a spotlight on a well-known Aussie kid’s book which was actually written by a New Zealander.
“That blew my mind,” she said. “This was the one where it’s like, ‘Oh my god, they’re gonna hate this. They’re gonna hate this, so hard’. But it’s amazing. It was a real shock. That’s going to be the bombshell of the episode. How could something so Australian be created by a New Zealander? Because it’s such a quintessential Australian character.”
Cal Wilson on the concept of “home”
For Wilson, both countries are dear to her, and the concept of home has taken on a very different meaning.
“When I talk about home, it could be one of two places,” she said. “So, Australia is home but New Zealand is also home. And wherever you are, someone you love is in a different place. So, my life is here with my family, my husband and my son and all my friends and everything, but my heart is also at home with all of my family in New Zealand. That was something that became really clear to me over lockdown when suddenly I couldn’t just fly back if I needed to.”
She added: “It’s this feeling of no matter where you are, part of you is somewhere else.”
SBS
As for her experience of moving here, the mother-of-one admitted that while we’re similar in a lot of ways, she noticed the contrasts, especially when she first arrived.
“I most noticed the difference on stage with audiences especially going around to regional areas,” she said. “That you’d have to acknowledge that you’re in New Zealand just to get that out of the way so that we could all move on from the fact that everyone’s desperate to tell me a sheep joke.
“And now I feel like I’m a bit more part of the fabric.”
Wilson also reflected on the fact that even after 20 years, she still gets billed as a New Zealand comedian at Comedy Festivals.
“I’m kind of like, well, sort of, but also, no. You cannot claim me as an international when I live here…and I feel like I am an Australian. This is where my life is…”
SBS
Luckily, the documentary has helped cement her place here, learning that Australia — especially Sydney — has a deep connection with our “cousin” across the water.
“To discover that New Zealanders have been here for so long, since the beginning of Sydney, that really blew me away,” she said. “It really left me feeling like I have much more of a place here because people from New Zealand have contributed so much to Australia, modern Australia in a way that we just haven’t thought about before.”
Listen to the full interview with Cal Wilson on The Entertainment Hotline podcast here.
Watch Who The BloodyHell Are We? on SBS and SBS On Demand from Wednesday, July 19.