Foxy,
Did it ever work: "hey, I do feel Australian (you moron in the look) and I don't feel like talking about personal matters such as my heritage. May be you do, but I don't. Now can we move on?"

Accent: "why are you so preoccupied about accent? Can't you understand (you moron in the look again) what I say? Please understand I am sensitive about the issue of how I speak. Ok?"

Have you ever tried to politely bite back and not feel a victim?
Just curious.
Offenders are often just ignorant, but claw back if you put it in their terms.

Leddie, it is not about being a 'victim'. Biting back every time this comes up would make you look like you have a chip on your shoulder. There is just so much biting back anybody wants to do. And also, the majority of people ask out of interest. This still is a constant reminder of your perceived 'otherness'.

It is probably a difficult concept to get your head around if it never happens to you. For a week put a dark tanning lotion on your face and speak with an accent and walk a mile in somebody else's shoes.

But you do have a point. We don't always have to be polite, though that can get rudeness in return (why don't you go back where you came from-you should be grateful we allow you in.) Nevertheless, my reply often is: 'From Melbourne'. This being my city of arrival in Australia. The blank looks I get are hilarious.

I don't think of myself as a 'victim.' It's simply a fact of life - that certain people will look at you and see you in a different light to how you see yourself...
I remember being in a hospital waiting room and the nurse who approached me took one look at my surname and rather loudly asked,
"Do you need an interpreter?"

To which I calmly replied, "Why, doesn't the doctor speak English?"

leddie, Yvonne, it's easy to 'bite back without causig aggro.

When someone with a strong Aussie accent tells me to 'speak English', I usually say that I will when he/she does.

Jack the lad, Ha, ha, ha! I'm going to remember that one.

Foxy, yours too!

Great stuff. It appears that our "Australian Identity" thread has become distinctly 'multicultural'.

As it inevitably would :)