Depending on who you ask, the hallmarks of the garden variety bogan may include a mullet, a broad Strayan accent, a disregard for the conventions of the English language, a taste for singlets and polarised wraparound sunglasses and a less than worldly world view.

Some see it as a slur, others a badge of honour. But how did it come about? The Eastern Melburnian searched through the archives to learn more about its complex history.