Culture of Australia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The demographics of Australia show it to be one of the most urbanized populations in the
world, with the majority of Australians living in cities on the coast. Australia's cities are melting
pots of different cultures. The indigenous Aboriginal culture has survived the first influx of
immigrants from Anglo-Irish communities, who are now the most pervasive cultural group. The
great post-World War II influx of both English and non English-speaking migrants from Britain,
Ireland, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, Malta, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, East and South-
East Asia, and the Indian subcontinent have been significant additions. Lesser numbers of
immigrants have come from the African and American continents.
Language
Although Australia has no official language, it is largely monolingual with English being
the "de facto" national language. Australian English has its own distinctive accent and
vocabulary. According to the 2001 census, English is the only language spoken in the home for
around 80% of the population. The next most common languages spoken at home are Chinese
(2.1%), Italian (1.9%), and Greek (1.4%). A considerable proportion of first- and second-
generation migrants are bilingual. Australia has a sign language known as Auslan, which is the
main language of about 6,500 deaf people.

It is believed that there were between 200 and 300 Australian Aboriginal languages at the
time of first European contact, but only about 70 of these languages have survived and all but 20
of these are now endangered. An indigenous language remains the main language for about
50,000 (0.25%) people.

Arts in Australia
The arts in Australia – film, music, painting, theatre, dance and crafts — have achieved
international recognition. However, in practice, it has often been difficult for observers to discern
anything distinctly Australian by looking at much of its artistic output in music, dance, film or
literature.

Traditional "high culture" gains small attention from much of the population, in contrast
to popular culture. High culture thrives in the form with a few key art galleries, a rich tradition in
ballet, enlivened by the legacy of Edouard Borovansky and Sir Robert Helpmann, and continuing
with the national ballet company The Australian Ballet, and outstanding choreographer/dancers
such as Graeme Murphy and Meryl Tankard; a strong national opera company based in Sydney;
and excellent symphony orchestras in all capital cities, particularly the Melbourne and Sydney
symphony orchestras. However, outside of the main centers artists struggle and high culture is
virtually non-existent.

Architecture
Contemporary Australian architecture includes a number of iconic structures, including
the Sydney Opera House, the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne and Parliament House,
Canberra. Significant architects include Harry Seidler and Francis Greenway.
Art: Painting and sculpture
Australia has had a significant school of painting since the early days of European
settlement and Australians with international reputations include Sir Sidney Nolan, Sir Russell
Drysdale, Arthur Boyd, Brett Whiteley, Ian Burn, Pro Hart — not to mention the prized work of
many indigenous artists such as Emily Kame Kngwarreye.

Clothing and Apparel

Australia has no officially designated national dress. However, two unique examples of
Australian local dress are bush wear and surf wear. Major examples of clothing brands associated
with bush wear are Akubra and R.M. Williams whilst surf wear labels including Billabong and
Rip Curl are sold and recognized around the world. Recent examples of Australian 'national
dress' being promoted on a world stage were at the 2007 APEC Summit in Sydney and the 2009
Pacific Islands Forum in Cairns. At both conferences the gathered leaders were clothed in
Drizabone and R.M. Williams respectively.

Other iconic Australian clothing and apparel labels include Blundstone Footwear, Bonds,
Country Road, Driza-Bone, Mambo and Quiksilver.

Cuisine
Australian food traditions have been influenced by those that have settled in Australia.
There are a few foods which can be considered uniquely Australian. Macadamia nuts are an
Australian food that has become popular worldwide, and more recently kangaroo meat has
become more mainstream. Local beers and wines are popular and internationally renowned.
Vegemite is a well-known spread originating from Australia. It is not popular among immigrants,
but is exported to many foreign countries. Desserts well known for their Australian origins
include lamingtons and Tim Tams.

Attitudes, beliefs and stereotypes

Australians have very strong attitudes and beliefs which are reinforced by the tenets of
the country's society.

The Australian national character has been forged by the difficulty of subduing the land.
Unlike other cultures based on a nurturing landscape that they seek to protect from others,
Australian settlers experienced great hardship and had to support each other in order to survive.
The battle against the elements led to the nickname of a member of Australia's working class
being the 'Aussie battler.'

The need to laugh in the face of danger while battling the landscape has provoked a
strange view of the world, with a distinctive upside-down sense of humor. Times of hardship or
even disaster are ridiculed, and this extends to the Australian delight in dubbing a tall man
"Shorty," a quiet one "Rowdy," a bald man "Curly" and a redhead "Bluey".

Mateship
"Mateship", or loyal fraternity, has been a central tenet of survival in the harsh landscape.
Mateship can be defined as the code of conduct, particularly between men, although more
recently also between men and women, stressing equality and friendship. Mateship is seen as an
important element of the qualities that the Australian Defence Force values in its troops. The
glorification of Australia's early soldiers in the Boer War and World War I reinforces these
values. This may also explain why sport plays such a central role in Australian culture.

One result of the prevalence of the 'mateship' culture is that Australian society is
stringently anti-hierarchical. Australians are expected to behave with humility and not think of
themselves as better than their peers. Any disloyalty to their 'mates' is treated harshly, and is
known as the tall poppy syndrome, where people who grow greater than their peers are harshly
criticized as being 'up themselves.' Even the most successful and beautiful Australians are eager
to proclaim how ordinary they are.

Folklore
Australian stories and legends have a cultural significance quite independent of their
empirical truth or falsehood. This can be seen in the national obsession with the almost
mythological portrayal of bushranger Ned Kelly as a mixture of the underdog and Robin Hood.

Australian history glorifies its sportsmen and its soldiers. Yet like many legends, truths do
stem from it.

Australian war culture is somewhat different than most other western cultures. It
generally consists of sombre reflection and commemoration of all who have died in wartime and
honouring those who lived. It focusses on noble sacrifice rather than glory. An annual national
holiday, Anzac Day exists for this purpose.

The legend of Australians being great soldiers has its roots in the AIF being used during
the latter part of the war as the shock troops of the British Empire forces. The Battle of Amiens,
known as the "Black Day of the German Army" during the First World War, was a campaign in
which Australian soldiers played a crucial role. Australians were considered to be remarkably
determined, united and hard-working individuals. The majority of Australians knew how to ride
and shoot prior to enlistment, making them good soldiers. However, Australians also had a lax
attitude towards discipline, a notoriety which the Australian soldiers revelled in. From this the
notion of the larrikin Digger emerged, an important part of contemporary Australian identity.

Poetry and song

Many of Australia's stories and legends originate in the Outback, in the drovers and
squatters and people of the barren, dusty plains. International bawdy classics such as Eskimo
Nell and Charlotte the Harlot can be heard at male gatherings around the country.

Only a small proportion of Australians live in the Outback, or even in the milder
countryside up to an hour or two's drive from the cities. This was true even of the Australia of a
century ago - since the gold rush of the 1850s, most Australians have been city-bound, Australia
today being one of the most urbanised countries in the world. Nevertheless, after a century or
more spent absorbing the bush yarns of Henry Lawson and the poetry of Banjo Paterson from the
comfort of armchairs in the suburbs, the legends are real and fairly odd.
Customs

Friendly Rivalry
Australians and New Zealanders have a rivalry, especially in certain sports such as rugby
union. The rivalry is often compared to brothers in the same family competing against each other.
During the First World War the Australian Soldiers and the New Zealand Soldiers joined forces
to become the ANZACs, otherwise known as the Australian New Zealand Army Corps.

The biggest sporting rivalry exists between Australia and England. As Australians see
New Zealanders as their little brother they see the English as big brother, with more people,
history and money. The sporting paddock was a place where Australians could shine.

The Australian Dream

The Australian Dream of home ownership underpins suburban Australia. However, this
has been challenged by the low affordability of housing in Australia.

"Underdog" Identity
As well as the prevalence of the tall poppy syndrome bringing back to Earth the high
fliers, there is the traditional Australian support for the "underdog." Australians will support
those who appear to be at a disadvantage unless the underdog is against fellow Australians.

This underdog attitude is most evident in sport, as sport is also a large part of Australian
culture. Should an Australian be asked to choose between two unknown competitors, very often
they will choose the one least likely to win. The success of Steven Bradbury in the 2002 Winter
Olympics who won a skating gold medal after all his competitors crashed has coined the
expression 'doing a Bradbury' which underpins the spirit of the underdog, positive thinking and
never giving up. During the 2003 Rugby World Cup, where the Georgian Rugby Team arrived in
Perth with a crowd of Perth residents welcoming them with colourful support, and support for
Eric the Eel during the 2000 Olympics. A similar occurrence was noted in Townsville,
Queensland where the Japanese Rugby Team was preferred to that of the French [14].

A "Fair Go"
The belief in a "Fair Go" is a key part of Australian culture and Australian society, related
to the support for the underdog. This can be seen in the existence of strong public health and
education systems in Australia and equal opportunity legislation to ensure people are not shut out
of good jobs or positions based on race or gender. It is an idea which involves everyone having
an equal chance to achieve their goals.

Cultural Cringe
The idea of cultural cringe was defined by Australian sociologists Brian Head and James
Walter as the belief that one's own country occupies a "subordinate cultural place on the
periphery", and that "intellectual standards are set and innovations occur elsewhere". As a
consequence, a person who holds this belief is inclined to devalue their own country's cultural,
academic and artistic life, and to venerate the "superior" culture of another country.
Government
Democracy. Symbolic executive power is vested in the British monarch, who is
represented throughout Australia by the governor-general.

History
The first inhabitants of Australia were the Aborigines, who migrated there at least 40,000
years ago from Southeast Asia. There may have been between a half million to a full million
Aborigines at the time of European settlement; today about 350,000 live in Australia.

Dutch, Portuguese, and Spanish ships sighted Australia in the 17th century; the Dutch
landed at the Gulf of Carpentaria in 1606. The British arrived in 1688, but it was not until
Captain James Cook's voyage in 1770 that Great Britain claimed possession of the vast island,
calling it New South Wales. A British penal colony was set up at Port Jackson (what is now
Sydney) in 1788, and about 161,000 transported English convicts were settled there until the
system was suspended in 1839.

Free settlers and former prisoners established six colonies: New South Wales (1786),
Tasmania (then Van Diemen's Land) (1825), Western Australia (1829), South Australia (1834),
Victoria (1851), and Queensland (1859). The six colonies became states and in 1901 federated
into the Commonwealth of Australia with a constitution that incorporated British parliamentary
and U.S. federal traditions. Australia became known for its liberal legislation: free compulsory
education, protected trade unionism with industrial conciliation and arbitration, the secret ballot,
women's suffrage, maternity allowances, and sickness and old-age pensions.

Facts & Figures

Sovereign: Queen Elizabeth II (1952)

Governor-General: Michael Jeffery (2003)
Prime Minister: Kevin Rudd (2007)
Land area: 2,941,283 sq mi (7,617,931 sq km); total area: 2,967,893 sq mi (7,686,850 sq km)
Population (2009 est.): 21,262,641 (growth rate: 1.2%); birth rate: 12.4/1000; infant mortality
rate: 4.75/1000; life expectancy: 81.6; density per sq mi: 7
Capital (2003 est.): Canberra, 327,700
Largest cities: Sydney, 4,250,100; Melbourne, 3,610,800; Brisbane, 1,545,700; Perth,
1,375,200; Adelaide, 1,087,600
Monetary unit: Australian dollar.