 Ranking behind America and Ireland, a recent study has concluded that Australia is one of the world's kindest nations. Results were based on whether the country's citizens were willing to help a stranger out by carrying their shopping or giving them directions. So we set that's life! reader Chantelle a series of tasks to see how true it really is.
Read Chantelle's conclusion So why are we so helpful? The lost keys testScrabbling around on my hands and knees on the beach, I hope a nearby family have noticed me.
'My keys must have fallen out of my pocket,' I sigh.
I know I'm pushing my luck. You'd have a better chance of finding a needle in a haystack than a set of keys on a beach.
But before I even have chance to think, the lady has handed her baby to her husband and is helping me look.
Kylie, 38 from Cronulla, NSW, says, 'If I dropped my keys, I hope someone would offer to help. I think most people in Australia would do the same.' 
Dropped sunnies testAs I walk down the esplanade, I see a lady come towards me. It's now or never, I think as I purposefully drop my sunglasses onto the concrete, pretending not to notice.
What if she didn't see? I fret as I walk on. What if I made it look too obvious?
But then I feel a tap on my shoulder. I spin around to see the lady I've just passed - and she's holding my glasses!
'You dropped these,' Jill says.
Jill, 45, from Sydney, NSW, says, 'It was just an automatic response. It's nice to be nice.'
  Lend a phone test
Having to ask a complete stranger to borrow their mobile phone is a daunting task. My cover story is that my phone battery has died, and I need to call a friend to tell them I'm running late to meet them.
But would anyone believe it? Or would they think I'm trying to scam them so that I can make an expensive call - or worse,
steal their phone?
There's just one way to find out, so I ask the first person I see. To my amazement, he agrees!
Yahn, 18, from Caringbah, NSW, says, 'Why wouldn't I help?' Bag a friend out Dragging my bag up a busy street, I wonder how this test is going to work out. I'm young and healthy, so will passers-by avoid offering assistance for fear of offending me?
After about half an hour of heaving my bag about, no-one has come to my rescue.
I decide to be a bit more proactive and actually ask for someone's assistance.
I shout over to a young man nearby, asking if he can give me a hand getting my bag up the stairs. My knight in shining armour, Daniel, lifts my bag with ease.
Daniel, 21, from Cronulla, NSW, says, 'If someone needs help, I'll always lend a hand if I can.'
Car troubles testLifting up my car bonnet, I fix an anxious look on my face and poke around the engine. Would it be enough to convince my fellow countrymen I'm a real-life damsel in distress?
As a proud Aussie, I'm sure someone will offer assistance. I just don't know how long I'll have to keep up my act until they're spurred into action.
I haven't even been there for two minutes when I see a friendly face coming towards me. 'Do you need any help?' the man, Kevin, asks.
Kevin, 40, from Sydney, NSW says, 'I know what it's like to break down and be left stranded so I didn't think twice about offering to help.'
 Why are we so HELPFUL?
'Modern Australia started by being a challenging place to live and work for new settlers. The only way to survive and prosper was by helping one another. This forged the unwritten rule that Australians always help others. It's so natural for us now, it's regarded as normal in the Australian way of life,' says Carl Holden, Lead Ambassador from the Australian Kindness Movement. Chantelle's CONCLUSION
I think the survey was wrong. After doing my experiment, I’ve realised that Australia's not one of the kindest nations - surely it's the kindest! Go back to top to read how our Aussie kindness test fared. As told to Keeley Henderson
Photos: Andrew Shaw |
