Culture of Australia
The modern culture of Australia is a Western culture and draws from many sources, primarily from the Anglo-Celtic cultures, but also from Aboriginal cultures, the multi-ethnic immigration associated with the Australian gold rushes of the 1850s, and post-World War II immigrants from all over the world. Mainstream Australian culture has been strongly influenced by British culture and European culture and more recently the culture of the United States of America. There are, however, distinctive influences from the Australian natural environment, the country's settler history, indigenous Australians, geographical isolation from other Western nations and proximity to Asia.
The demographics of Australia show it to be one of the most urbanised populations in the world; the majority of Australians live on the coast with the outback being sparsely populated. Australia's cities are melting pots of different cultures and the influence of the longer-established southern European communities in particular has been pervasive. The great post-World War II influx of both English and non English-speaking migrants from England, Scotland, Ireland, Italy, Greece, Germany, Former Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Malta, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, East Asia and South-East Asia has had a significant impact. Lesser numbers of immigrants have come from the African and American continents.
Indigenous Australian culture
Indigenous Australian culture before British settlement of Australia is evidenced in the oral traditions and lore of their descendants and the range of material artifacts, however precise detail in the western academic sense is not accessible. Cultural continuity over 53,000 (or more) years of human habitation of the continent cannot be assumed. The culture of modern Indigenous Australians is rich and diverse, although severely impacted by European colonization.
Arts in Australia
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The vigour and originality of the arts in Australia — film, music, painting, theatre, dance and crafts — has achieved international recognition. In practice, it is difficult to discern much about Australian culture by examining the isolated peaks of music, dance or literature.
Traditional "high culture" gains small attention from much of the population, in contrast to popular culture. High culture thrives with excellent galleries (even in small towns); a rich tradition in ballet, enlivened by the legacy of Dame Margot Fonteyn and Sir Robert Helpmann, and continuing with Graeme Murphy; a strong national opera company based in Sydney; and excellent symphony orchestras in all capital cities, particularly the Melbourne and Sydney symphony orchestras.
Architecture
Contemporary Australian architecture includes a number of iconic structures, including the Sydney Opera House (the original design being by Jorn Utzon), the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne and Parliament House, Canberra. Significant architects include Harry Seidler and Francis Greenway.
In the period before European settlement of Australia in 1788, evidence of permanent structures built by indigenous Australians in Australia is limited. Much of what they built was temporary for housing and other needs. As a British colony, the first European buildings were derivative of the European fashions of the time. Tents and wattle and daub huts preceded more substantial structures. Georgian architecture is seen in early government buildings of Sydney and Tasmania and the homes of the wealthy. While the major Australian cities enjoyed the boom of the Victorian Era, the Australian gold rushes of the mid-19th century brought major construction works and exuberant Victorian architecture to the major cities, particularly Melbourne, and major provincials such as Ballarat and Bendigo. Other significant architectural movements in Australian architecture include the Federation style of the turn of the 20th century and the modern styles of the late 20th century which also saw many older buildings demolished.
Significant concern was raised during the 1960s, with green bans and heritage concerns responding to the destruction of earlier buildings and the skyscraper boom particularly in Sydney. Green bans helped to protect historic eighteenth century buildings in The Rocks from being demolished to make way for office towers, and prevented the Royal Botanic Gardens from being turned into a car park for the Sydney Opera House.
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, Pro Hart and Ken Done — not to mention the prized work of many indigenous artists such as Emily Kame Kngwarreye.
Literature
Writers who have achieved world recognition include Nobel Prize winner Patrick White, double Booker Prize winner Peter Carey, Thomas Keneally, Les Murray, Colleen McCullough, Nevil Shute, Morris West, David Malouf and Jill Ker Conway. Noted expatriate writers include Germaine Greer and Clive James, who are sometimes better known in the United Kingdom than they are in Australia, and the art critic Robert Hughes.
Cinema
Australia has a long history of film production — in fact, it is claimed that the first feature-length film was the Australian production The Story of the Kelly Gang. However, the purchase of virtually all cinemas by American distribution companies saw an almost total disappearance of Australian films from the screens. A notable exception was Charles Chauvel's classic Jedda (1955). During the late 1960s and 1970s an influx of government funding saw the development of a new generation of directors and actors telling distinctively Australian stories. Films such as Picnic at Hanging Rock and Sunday Too Far Away had an immediate international impact. The 1980s is regarded as perhaps a golden age of Australian cinema, with many very successful films, from the dark science fiction of Mad Max to the comedy of Crocodile Dundee, a film that defined Australia in the eyes of many foreigners despite having remarkably little to do with the lifestyle of most Australians. The 1990s saw a run of successful comedies such as Muriel's Wedding, The Castle and Strictly Ballroom, which helped launch the careers of Toni Collette, P. J. Hogan and Baz Luhrmann. The indigenous film industry continues to produce a reasonable number of films each year; also, many US producers have moved productions to Australia following the decision by Fox head Rupert Murdoch (a former Australian, now an American) to move the new studios to Sydney where filming could be effectively completed well below US costs. Notable productions include The Matrix and the Star Wars Episode II and III.
Cuisine
Originally, traditional Australian cuisine was based on English cooking brought to the country by the British settlers. This cuisine generally consisted of Sunday roasts, grilled chops and other forms of meat and was generally accompanied by vegetables (often known colloquially as "meat & three veg") such as mashed potatoes, beans, peas and carrots. The barbecue remains an important part of Australian life. The 'barbie', an icon of Australian cuisine and culture, has developed and grown as a party/gathering tradition. Another culturally significant item of cuisine is the Australian meat pie.
The range of cuisines available in the multicultural cities of Australia has developed greatly due to a high level of immigration. Italian, Chinese, Thai, Greek, Arab, Indian, Turkish, Vietnamese and Mexican foods are very popular and are maintained at an accomplished level of authentic quality by a thriving restaurant trade in many cities for the enjoyment of Australians of all backgrounds. The influx of immigrants living in Australia has brought many new dishes to the country and it is becoming a feature of Australian cuisine to take standard meals and add elements sourced from different cultures.
South Australia has a strong culture of appreciation of South Australian food and drink. This has resulted from a combination of factors, including a strong local produce industry and influence from immigrants.
Consumables
Alcohol - beer and Australian wine in particular - is an important part of Australian culture. In fact 32 of Australia’s top 50 beverage brands are alcoholic and most of these favour local brands. [1]
Australia produces some of the world's finest wines, including Penfolds Grange.
Music
Indigenous Australian music
Aboriginal song was and remains an integral part of Aboriginal culture. The most famous feature of their music is the didgeridoo. This wooden instrument, used amongst the Aboriginal clans of northern Australia, makes a distinctive droning sound and its use has been adopted by a wide variety of non-Aboriginal performers.
Aboriginal musicians have turned their hand to Western popular musical forms, often to considerable commercial success. Some notable examples include Archie Roach, the Warumpi Band, NoKTuRNL and Yothu Yindi.
Pop and rock
Australia has produced a wide variety of popular music. Some notable examples include the 1960s successes of The Easybeats and the folk-pop group The Seekers, through the heavy rock of AC/DC, Cold Chisel the slick pop of INXS, to Kylie Minogue, Silverchair and more recently Jet, Wolfmother, Eskimo Joe, Grinspoon, The Vines, and are currently enjoying enormous success internationally.
The arrival of the 1961 underground movement into the mainstream in the early 1970s changed Australian music permanently: Skyhooks were far from the first people to write songs in Australia by Australians about Australia, but they were the first ones to make good money doing it. The two best-selling Australian albums ever made (at that time) put Australian music on the map. Within a few years, the novelty had worn off and it became commonplace to hear distinctively Australian lyrics and sometimes sounds side-by-side with imports.
The national expansion of ABC youth radio station Triple J during the 1990s has greatly increased the visibility and availability of home-grown talent to listeners nationwide. Since the mid 1990s a string of successful alternative Australian acts have emerged - artists to achieve both underground (critical) and mainstream (commercial) success include You Am I, Grinspoon, Powderfinger and Jet.
Classical music
The first Australian musician of any sort to achieve international fame was operatic soprano Dame Nellie Melba, in the late 19th century. Well-known sopranos Dame Joan Sutherland, Joan Carden, Yvonne Kenny and Emma Matthews are also from Australia.
Australia has a considerable history of classical performance, with symphony orchestras established around the state capitals in the early 20th century, as well as opera companies and other musical ensembles. However, relatively few Australian classical compositions have achieved lasting recognition.
Classical instrumentalists who have achieved world-wide fame include pianists Roger Woodward and Leslie Howard, guitarist John Williams, and horn player Barry Tuckwell.
Television and media
While Australia has ubiquitous media coverage, the longest established part of that media is the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), the Federal Government funded organisation offering national TV and radio coverage. The ABC, like the BBC in Britain, is a non-commercial public service broadcaster, showing many BBC or ITV productions from Britain.
Commercial channels include Channel Seven, Channel Nine, Channel Ten along with the channels on Foxtel Australia's largest pay TV provider[citation needed]. It is owned by News Corporation, Publishing and Broadcasting Limited and Telstra.
The publicly funded Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) has a multicultural focus, broadcasting TV and radio programmes in a variety of languages, as well as world news and documentary programming in English. It is seen as less highbrow than the ABC but is willing to air more controversial programs such as South Park, Queer as Folk, and Oz that would not be shown on Australian free-to-air TV otherwise. Less mainstream sports such as Soccer and Cycling receive coverage.
In the 1990s and 2000s, Australia's two publicly-funded national networks, ABC and SBS, have received an increasing share of market ratings, although as of 2005 they only accounted for 15.7% and 6.1% of the national ratings, respectively.[2].
The ABC has made an impressive contribution to television drama with popular series like Brides of Christ and in comedy, with the 1970's hits Aunty Jack and The Norman Gunston Show and more recently Kath & Kim and The Chaser's War On Everything. Debate about the role of the ABC continues, as many assign it a marginal role as commercial TV and radio stations are far more popular choices. Critics claim that Australian children view television programs imported largely from the USA, however, the Australian Content Standard[3] requires all free-to-air commercial networks to broadcast an annual minimum of 55% Australian content (between 6am and midnight).
There have been many Australian television shows that have been successful, such as Homicide and Division 4 in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Skippy the Bush Kangaroo in the late 1960s, Number 96 and The Box in the 1970s, Prisoner in the 1980s and Neighbours and Home and Away in the 1980s and 1990s, and, the most successful of them all, A Country Practice (1980 - 1993). Many of the shows from the mid 1980s onwards have been exported and have sometimes been even more successful abroad, such as Steve Irwin's The Crocodile Hunter, The Crocodile Hunter Diaries, and New Breed Vets in which Irwin exemplifies the fun and passionate, yet masculine and fearless male stereotype with which Australia has been previously associated, and which have been aired regularly since the late 1990s in over 120 countries around the world.
Sport
Australians are passionate about sport and it forms a major part of the country's culture, particularly in terms of spectating, but also in terms of participation. Most of Australia's patriotism is expressed through sport and thus it is taken quite seriously, especially seen during major international events such as the Olympic Games.
Australian rules football
Australian rules football (more usually called Aussie Rules, or AFL) is the most popular winter sport in Victoria, Western Australia, Northern Territory, South Australia and Tasmania. As the only sport invented by Australians, Australian rules football holds a special place in Australian culture. It is played in all states and is the most popular football code in the nation.[4] It is also the best attended of sporting league in Australia. It also heavily influences other Australian pastimes which include kick-to-kick and footy tipping.
For many years, the game of Australian rules football captured the imagination of Australian film, music, television and literature. A number of songs inspired by the game have become anthems of the game, none more so than the 1979 hit Up There Cazaly, by Mike Brady and One Day in September which have both become sporting anthems.
It also has strong local competitions in most states, with state leagues such as the SANFL in South Australia, the QAFL in Queensland, the WAFL in Western Australia and the VFL in Victoria, and numerous local leagues around the country, most notably in Victoria.
Rugby league
Rugby league is the most popular winter sport in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, and Queensland. The NRL and AFL grew out of state leagues in New South Wales and Victoria respectively, and are polarised between the two biggest cities, Sydney and Melbourne. While most of the teams in the NRL are based in Sydney, most AFL teams have links to Melbourne.
Rugby league is played in Australia at club level by teams from cities around the nation, as well as at representative level between Queensland and New South Wales in the national State of Origin series, one of Australia's major sporting events. In addition the Australian Kangaroos represent the country in international matches.
Other sports
Besides Australian Football and Rugby League, soccer is the most popular international sport in Australia, the national teams' recent success in the 2006 FIFA World Cup giving the team huge popularity. Rugby union is also one of the most popular sports within Australia (especially in the Australian Capital Territory), with teams competing in the Super 14, alongside South Africa and New Zealand. In 2003 Australia hosted the 2003 Rugby World Cup, which saw the national side, Wallabies, defeated by England in the final at Telstra Stadium.
Until recently, the most prominent soccer clubs were based around ethnic loyalties. Now with the new A-League, which started its first season in September of 2005, Australia has a national competition with one team in each mainland state, plus one team in New Zealand and two regionally-based teams (both in NSW).
Australia's premier summer sport is cricket. Australians also enjoy many other sports, such as tennis, netball, soccer, golf, basketball and motorsport. Gambling is a pastime of many, and horse racing and greyhound racing are popular sports for this reason.
Several non-mainstream sports in Australia still attract a high standard from Australian teams due the sporting culture. For example, in field hockey Australia's teams are considered among the best in the world. Australian cyclists have recently been quite successful in the Tour de France and other international cycling competitions, notably Cadel Evans' second placing in the 2007 race and overall win of the 2007 UCI ProTour. From 2008, Australia's only major international cycling race, the Tour Down Under centred on Adelaide, will become the first UCI ProTour cycling race to be held outside of Europe.
As with most nations, women's sport is given less attention than men's, in both media coverage and funding, although the gap is closing slowly.
Attitudes, beliefs and stereotype
 | This article possibly contains original research. (December 2007) |
 | This article is written like a personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay that states a Wikipedia editor's personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic. (December 2007) |
Australians have very strong attitudes and beliefs which are reinforced by the tenets of the country's society.
Traditionally, Australians have viewed themselves as an egalitarian society, with a distrust of the rich and powerful; this is reflected by the status of the Eureka Stockade and bushrangers within the Australian psyche. Today this belief continues in the form of the tall poppy syndrome.
The Australian culture has been forged on the hardship of early settlers and later on the heroism of the Australian soldiers. "Mateship", or loyal fraternity, has been a central tenet. This may also explain why the more aggressive forms of sport (Rugby and Australian rules football, for example) are particularly popular in Australia. Australians have a propensity for diminutive forms of names (e.g. Hargrave -> Hargie; Wilkinson -> Wilko; John -> Johnno; Hogan -> Hoges; Lombard -> Lombardy; Fox -> Foxy; James -> Jimmy).
The phrase, "the lucky country", coined by Donald Horne, is a sobriquet used to describe Australia in terms of weather, lifestyle and history.[5] Ironically, Horne was actually using the term to criticise Australian society of the early 1960's.[6]
Mateship
Mateship can be defined as the code of contact, particularly between men, although more recently also between men and women, stressing egalitarianism, equality and friendship. Mateship is seen as an important element of the qualities that the Australian Defence Force values in its soldiers and personnel.
The Australian Dream
The Australian Dream of home ownership underpins suburban Australia.
"Underdog" attitude
Australians have traditionally had a very strong "underdog" attitude, that they will support those who appear to be at a disadvantage unless Australia is in direct competition with another nation. This can be seen greatly from occurrences 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. A similar occurrence was noted in Townsville, Queensland where the Japanese Rugby Team was preferred to that of the French [7].
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 has coined the expression 'doing a Bradbury' which underpins the very spirit of the underdog and a fine example positive thinking and never giving up.
There is however, another side to this underdog attitude in Australians. This is the phenomenon of "cutting down the tall poppy", which reveals itself in many typically Australian attitudes. As a result, Australians see themselves as being extremely critical of their political leaders and successful personalities, and always sympathetic to those who are 'being done wrong by' or in strife. This is evident when viewing Today Tonight and A Current Affair, Australia's two major tabloid television programs (which, themselves, have also been severely criticised for poor quality), or listening to "talkback" radio. Outsiders may note that Australians see themselves as holding high suspicions that powerful politicians and high-level income earners are 'ripping them off' or taking advantage of their power[citation needed].
It may be argued that a more sinister side to the tall poppy syndrome has shown itself in recent years through a tendency towards a culturally hegemonic attitude of some Australians as to what constitutes 'an Australian'.
A "Fair Go"
The belief in a "Fair Go" is a key part of Australian culture and often Australian Society[8]. The socialist ideals of Labour Governments have often used this saying to advocate. Unionism in Australia has also greatly benefited from this belief. The Fair go can also be associated with Tall Poppy Syndrome, as Australians seeing the elite as possessing an unfair advantage in life. This can be seen in the existence of strong public health and education systems in Australia.
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.
Tall Poppy Syndrome
Someone is said to be suffering from tall poppy syndrome when their assumption of a higher economic, social or political position attracts criticism, being perceived as presumptuous, attention seeking or without merit.
Stories and legends
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 Ned Kelly as a Robin Hood figure of sorts.
Australians, according to popular opinion, are relaxed, tolerant and easy-going and yet cling dearly to the fundamental importance of common-sense justice, or, to use the classic expression, a "fair go". Australians also have an apathetic, "she'll be right" attitude.
Australians, according to popular belief, make great sportsmen and superb soldiers. Yet like many legends, truths do stem from it. Australia has shown in the past and present, that for a country of just over 20 million people, it has achieved many extraordinary things on the sporting field, such as the 49 medals won at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. Militarily, Australians have served gallantly on in war, ranging from the Battle of Gallipoli, through to current regional security missions, such as East Timor.
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 (two annual national days exist for this purpose). Australians see Gallipoli as its baptism of fire, proving itself to Britain and the world. The Australian ideal of war is shaped strongly by the fact that Gallipoli was a defeat for Australia. Serving gallantly, and having respect for their Turkish adversaries (led by Atatürk), is seen as the Australian experience; nobility stemming not from the glory of victory or war, but from sacrifice and being noble in defeat. This experience of war was repeated and entrenched at battles on the Western Front, such as the Battle of Passchendaele.
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 blow in which Australian soldiers played a crucial role. This image was the result of Australians being generally of a larger build and more active soldiers, the result of coming from a rural background; 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. From this the notion of the larikin Digger emerged, an important part of contemporary Australian identity.
Australian language is contradictory too: it combines a mocking disrespect for established authority, particularly if it is pompous or out of touch with reality, with a distinctive upside-down sense of humour. For instance, Australians take delight in dubbing a tall man "Shorty", a silent one "Rowdy" a bald man "Curly" and a redhead is "Bluey". Politicians, or "pollies", be they at state or federal level, are generally disliked and distrusted.
Many of Australia's stories and legends originate in the outback, in the drovers and squatters and people of the barren, dusty plains, yet 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 urban 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.
Notes
- ^ http://au.acnielsen.com/news/20060703.shtml
- ^ http://www.afc.gov.au/gtp/wftvratingsnetwork.html
- ^ http://www.aba.gov.au/contentreg/codes/television/documents/ACS2004Fulltext.pdf
- ^ http://foxsports.news.com.au/story/0,8659,17792967-23211,00.html
- ^ http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/luckycountry/
- ^ http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/luckycountry/
- ^ http://www.abc.net.au/sport/content/s970387.htm
- ^ http://www.aad.org.au/advocacy/fairaward.php
External links
- The big debate Down Under BBC news magazine
- AustralianBeers.com Discussion of aspects of Australian culture