"The nation that rode on a sheeps back" well, not quite, more likely the men and their families that persisted with blood sweat and tears. Little has changed, you can still find colorful rich romantic scenes as in earlier times, while rural folk battle with economic experiments plus the weather onlooker's can romance scenes that still look great. Duststorms and droughts, with floods now long overdue are still very much representative of today's "life on the land".