So with the big mix of nationalities, sunny weather, and endless
beaches instead of land borders around the country, what sort of
people are Australians?
Australian Culture - Australian Nationality
Australia has changed incredibly since the days of the old British
colony.
With the discovery of gold in the 1850s, Scotch and Irish, Americans
and
Chinese started to arrive. After the Second World War when Australia
was attacked by Japan, more than 800,000 Europeans were encouraged to
move to Australia.
Australia Day. Photo: Kate Callas, Australian Capital
Tourism
All of a sudden many European cultures
were mixed
and Australians started making wine and growing olives, drinking coffee
and eating home-made cheeses. Many Asians have also arrived since to start a new life in Australia
and
today our big cities have a Chinatown, a Little Italy,
communities of Greeks and Vietnamese. In Spanish Australian
restaurants you’re
served by Spaniards, in Indian restaurants by Indians and in South
African restaurants by South Africans. Top it off with Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander people, and
you get a colourful mix where everyone feels at home.
The country continues to
attract many
people from around the world.
Here is where you can find more information about life in Australia
and how to start it here from
scratch.
Darwin Festival. Courtesy of Tourism Northern Territory
Australian Culture - Typical
Australian Food
From all these different cultures, Australia has developed its own
variable cuisine, made from local products in a climate where fruit and
vegies grow
all year around. Every state celebrates its food festivals with
cuisines
mixed from Europe, Asia and Middle East.
Every state has also its
specialities (although it doesn’t mean it’s the only place you can get
them), like oysters and honey from New
South Wales, tropical fruits from Queensland,
dairy products from Victoria,
salmon from Tasmania,
olive oil from South Australia, cheese
from Western
Australia. All that said, the average
Aussie loves a simple steak on a backyard barbeque. And there is plenty
of beef in both city and ouback
restaurants.
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Australian Culture - Australian
Wine Regions
With the perfect climate for grapes to grow, and a lot of Italian
immigrants, it is not to wonder that Australia developed an excellent
wine culture. Every southern state has their wine districts: Hunter
Valley in New South Wales, Barossa
Valley in South Australia, Yarra Valley in
Victoria, Swan River and Margaret
River in Western Australia, only to name a few.
Queensland does
have the Granite Belt
in the very south of the state, but in most of Queensland, the climate
is too hot for the grapes to grow. But what grows better in north
Queensland? Well,
tropical fruits. Today Queensland’s
tropical fruit wineries
produce wine from lychees, pineapples, passionfruit and pawpaws, with
some appropriate names like – forget about Shiraz and Sauvignon –
Paradise Gold and Rainforest Red.
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Australian
Beer Is Not Only
Fosters
But when it comes to the amount of consumers, the winner in Australia
is –
beer.
Every state has its breweries: Toohey’s
in New South Wales, XXXX (pronounced “Four X”) in
Queensland, VB (Victoria Bitter) in Victoria, Cascade in
Tasmania, Cooper’s in South
Australia
and Emu Bitter in Western Australia.
Australian beer. by Terrazzo via Flickr.com
Australian Beaches and Beach Culture
Beer goes hand-in-hand with beach, and Australia has no shortage of
either. With miles of beaches to every side of the continent and plenty
of sunny days, even the Christmas
is often celebrated on a beach. The majority of
Australians live less than 50km from a beach, and many are
blessed with a beach almost on their doorstep. Cities have at least one
famous beach: Bondi and Manly
in Sydney,
St Kilda in Melbourne,
Glenelg
in Adelaide
and Cottesloe and Scarborough in Perth.
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Beaches and Australian Culture
It used to be that Australians spent the whole day sunbaking on the
beaches, but with the growing awareness about how dangerous the sun is
Down Under, Australian
beaches
are now more commonly used for enjoying watersports, playing a game of
cricket
or beach-volleyball, or just sitting back in the shade with an esky and
having a picnic and a few beers. Australian culture is all about having
fun – Australia is a lucky country, and we Aussies
know
it.
Note:
This site uses
British English, which is the English we use in Australia. You will
find words like "traveller", "harbour" and "realise", and they are all
correct in the language used in Australia.
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that all the information on this site is correct,
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