Australian Culture

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Australian Culture
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Australian Culture

• What is culture?

-system of shared beliefs, values, and behaviors
that members of society use to live with in their
world and with one another
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Symbols

• Australian Flag
• -has the British flag in the upper left corner
• -7 pointed star represents 6 states and the
  last point is for the 2 territories

-small stars stand for the southern cross a
group of stars you can see when you are south of
the equator
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Symbols

• Coat of Arms
• -the official symbol of Australia
• -used by the Australian government to make sure
  something is real

Consists of -shield -seven-pointed star -wreath
of Golden Wattle -kangaroo and emu
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Monuments

• Uluru
• -also known as Ayers Rock
• -located in central Australia
• -what was left after a slow
• erosion of an original
• mountain range
• -known for changing color
• depending on how the light
• strikes it during different
• times of the day and year
• -is sacred to the Aboriginal
• people of that area

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Monuments

• Sydney Opera House
• -located in New South Wales
• -a major tourist attraction in Australia
• -one of the most famous performing arts centers
  in the world

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Language

• English is the official language
• 2. There used to be several hundred aboriginal
  languages
• -there are only about 20 spoken today
• -some older Aboriginal natives are asked to come
  to school to teach children their language so
  they do not die with the people who know them

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Language

• People in Australia often use different words for
  everyday things than people in the United States
  do.
• Examples-hello ---gt gday
• -friend ---gt mate
• -man ---gt bloke
• -woman--gt sheila
• -food ---gt tucker

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Celebrations/Holidays

• 1. Anzac Day April 25

-honors people who have fought in wars for their
countries -celebrated in Australia and
neighboring country of New Zealand -stands for
Australian And New Zealand Army Corps
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Celebrations/Holidays

• 2. Australia Day January 26

-remembers the landing of the first
British settlers in Australia -special
ceremonies, parades, and firework shows take
place on this day -many newcomers to
Australia become citizens in special ceremonies
across the country
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Celebrations/Holidays
3. Queens Birthday June
-celebrates the birthday of Queen Elizabeth
II -Queen of the United Kingdom, Australia and
New Zealand -celebrated on the second Monday in
June
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Celebrations/Holidays

• 4. Boxing Day December 26

-celebrated the day after Christmas -used as a
day to relax and give gifts to those who work for
you (in boxes of course) -some exciting sport
matches take place on this day (Boxing Day
Cricket Test Sydney-to-Hobart Yacht Race)
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Celebrations/Holidays

• 5. Melbourne Cup November

-celebrated on the first Tuesday in
November -traditional horse race since
1861 -everyone in Australia stops what they are
doing to either listen to the race results on
the radio or watch the race on t.v.
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Celebrations/Holidays

• Christmas, Easter, and New Years Day are also
  celebrated as they are in many countries around
  the world

Christmas in Australia is in the summer, so
Santa is sometimes seen on the beach, swimming,
surfing, or riding on a boat.
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Education

• 1. Children from ages 5-16
• are required to attend school
• 2. Both public and private schools
• require children to wear uniforms
• 3. Many students go on to colleges or
• trade schools
• 4. Since Australias seasons are opposite
• of ours
• -summer vacation is from mid-December to January
• -school year begins in February
• -other vacations are 2-3 weeks several times
  during the rest of the year

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Education

• 1. School of Air
• -In the Outback, children do not live close
  enough to attend public/private schools
• -these children attend the
• School of Air
• -use computers to do their school work
• -send tests and homework
• through the mail
• -listen to their teachers over the radio

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Food

• Most Aussies eat a lot of fruits and vegetables
  because they are grown in nearby cities and
  readily available.
• -Australia grows its own bananas, pineapples,
  papayas, mangoes, passion fruit, quandong (a type
  of peach from the outback)

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Food

• Meat is a big part of the Aussies meals.
• -lamb, emu, and kangaroo
• -these animals are not fed specific man made
  foods to fatten them up
• -therefore, they are much healthier to eat than
  the meat we eat here in the U.S.

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Food

• Aussies eat a big breakfast (brekkie).
• -cereal, eggs and sometimes meat
• -toast with baked beans, spaghetti, or vegemite
  (a thick, salty, black spread
• -farmers sometimes eat snags or bangers
  (types of sausages) to give them energy for the
  day

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Food

• For lunch, Australians eat sangers
  (sandwiches), fish and chips, meat pies, and
  sausage rolls.
• -Australians put vinegar on their chips (french
  fries)
• -ketchup is called tomato sauce

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Food

• Dinner commonly includes potatoes, beef, lamb, or
  chook (what Australians call chicken)
• -people in Australia grill almost everything
• - barbie (barbeque)
• -cook using wood chips, instead of charcoal,
  which gives their food a smoky flavor
• -some restaurants have outside barbies where
  Australians will prepare their own foods

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Food

• Foods native to Australia
• Vegemite
• -a dark brown food paste
• -texture is smooth and sticky (similar to peanut
  butter)
• -taste may described as salty and slightly
  bitter
• -used as a spread on sandwiches and toast
• -used as a filling in pastries
• Mutton
• -older, mature sheep (lamb is young sheep)
• -cooked slowly for a long time
• -usually served for dinner
• Billy tea
• -a popular tea in Australia
• -to learn how billy tea is made click below
• billy tea
• Pavlova
• -a meringue dessert
• -crispy on the outside, light and fluffy on the
  inside
• -typically eaten during holiday meals, such as
  Christmas

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Foods native to Australia continued

• E Lamingtons
• -sponge cake in the shape of a cube
• -traditionally coated in chocolate icing and
  coconut
• F Anzac Biscuits
• -a sweet biscuit made from mainly rolled oats,
  flour, coconut and sugar
• -these ingredients do not spoil easily so they
  were commonly sent to soldiers from their loved
  ones
• -today, hikers often pack Anzac biscuits to use
  as a last resort for nourishment
• G Damper
• -a traditional Australian soda bread
• -cooked over an open flame
• -used by those who would travel for long periods
  at a time (because the ingredients were
  basic-flour, water, salt and sometimes milk)
• -today, children throughout Australia eat damper
  during camping trips and as a special treat

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Food

• Sweet Treats
• -children in Australia eat many types of candy
  and sweets
• -candies and lollipops are called lollies
• -popsicles are called icy poles
• -Big M is a brand of milk that is flavored to
  taste like all sorts of things, including
  chocolate, mint, and oranges

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Sports

• Rugby
• -similar to football
• -Australians play rugby union and rugby league
  (each game has a different set of rules)
• -one of Australias most popular sports is
  called Australian Rules Football (footie)
• Netball
• -a non-contact team sport that is similar to
  basketball
• -players can pass but not dribble
• -they score by shooting a ball through a hoop
  without a backboard
• -is now prominently a womens team sport in
  Australia

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Sports

• 3. Cricket
• -a bat-and-ball team sport
• -two teams of 11 players each
• -one team bats trying to score as many runs as
  possible
• -other team bowls and fields trying to stop the
  other team from scoring runs
• -there are many different kinds of cricket games
  (different rules)
• -some cricket games can last for 5 days

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Animals

• Australia has been isolated from the other
  continents for millions of years. Its animals
  have adapted to island life and are quite
  different from animals in other parts of the
  world.
• -What does the word adapt mean?

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Animals

• Monotremes mammals that lay eggs instead of
  giving birth to live young
• A. platypus egg-laying, duck-billed,
  beaver-tailed, otter-footed mammal
• -one of the few venomous mammals the male has a
  spur on his hind foot that delivers venom that is
  extremely harmful to humans
• B. Echidna small mammals that are covered with
  coarse hair and spines
• -resemble an anteater or porcupine
• -have snouts that function as a nose and mouth

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Animals

• Marsupial a mammal characterized by its
  distinctive pouch in which mothers carry their
  young in
• A. Kangaroo
• -a national symbol of Australia
• -its emblem is used on the Coat of Arms
• -male kangaroos are called jacks, female
  kangaroos are called jills, and young kangaroos
  are called joeys
• B. Koala
• -found in coastal regions in eastern/southern
  Australia
• -have sharp claws to help them climb
• -herbivore (eat mostly eucalyptus leaves)
• -rest up to 18 hours a day (spend most of that
  time sleeping)
• C. Wombat
• -short-legged marsupial with a very short tail
• -found in forested areas in south-eastern
  Australia and Tasmania
• -herbivores

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Animals

• Dingo
• -once a domestic dog that has returned to living
  in the wild
• -today, most dingoes live independent of humans
• -have features in common with a wolf and modern
  dogs
• -may be found in Southeast Asia

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Animals

• Birds
• A. Laughing Kookaburra
• -an Australian carnivore
• -well-known for its laughing call (which is used
  to greet its mate after long periods of absences
• -found throughout eastern Australia
• Emu
• -largest bird native to Australia
• -long neck and legs
• -eat plants and insects (including grasshoppers,
  ladybugs and crickets)