Admittedly you will see scant evidence of it on the cricket pitch, near the rugby field, in the pool or anywhere even remotely connected to an OlymAnd no where is this more obvious than when fellow beings are suffering as witnessed during the traumatic 2002 Bali bombings where 202 lives were lost and the devastating 2004 Southeast Asian earthquake and subsequent Tsunami where more than 225,000 perished.
Sadly we can now add the recent Victorian bush fires to that macabre list with at least 200 Australians confirmed dead at the time of writing and several dozen still listed as missing.
To attempt to capture the living hell these people have been through in words is an impossible task and one I won't even attempt.
But if there is one positive to come out of all this, it is the amazing endurance of the human spirit, the selflessness of the everyday Australian and the generosity of the broader business community.
Coming as the fires did atop one of the toughest economic periods experienced by many in the corporate sector, it was reasonable to expect businesses would have few additional resources to offer to those in need.
But just as at the time of the bombings and again during the Tsunami, it dug deep to help the thousands affected. And proudly it was businesses in the textile, clothing and footwear sector leading the charge.
Department stores Myer, David Jones and Kmart each gave generously with vouchers, cash donations and product. Westfield, Pac Brands and Jeanswest did similarly while smaller players such as Niche Fashion Technology got a little more creative, staging an auction with 100 per cent of the proceeds being donated to the bushfire fund. Even at the recent Australian Shoe Fair several brands posted notices stating varying percentages of sales would be offered to the relief fund.
Victorian boot manufacturer Taipan Footwear also went above and beyond.
The company, which holds contracts with 85 per cent of Australia's emergency services, has been working around the clock to supply boots to fire fighters who at the time of press were continuing to battle uncontained fires across regional Victoria.
As a company it also donated $50,000 worth of footwear to those who had lost everything.
But it didn't end there.
On the morning of Monday February 9, Victorian headquartered men's fashion house Gaz Man put its plan into action by heading to its distribution warehouse to source product. Its truck left for Whittlesea on Tuesday morning to begin delivering stock to victims with a larger truck hired that same afternoon to continue distribution of the stock. This continued for the remainder of the week. On top of this the label also donated a further $20,000 in cash to the Red Cross via the Channel 9 Bushfire Appeal Telethon. It donated an additional $100,000 in product including pants, shirts, jackets, knitwear, T-shirts and underwear to families in the worst affected areas of Whittlesea, King Lake, Bendigo and Alexandra.
I am sure there are many others who have contributed to the appeal but whom I have not acknowledged.
But while the televised telethon revealed that some in corporate Australia would go to any lengths to use the exercise to garner publicity for their firms, not all think along those lines.
In the case of Gaz Man at least there was no press release touting its charity, no public relations firm engaged to trumpet its generosity.
I know only because I asked.