Australia's Culture

The culture of Australia is a western culture, fairly similar to Canada’s, but there are many different things that make Australia’s culture all its own.

St Mary's Cathedral, the largest Roman Catholic
church in Australia

Christianity is the main religion in Australia, primarily the Anglican and Roman Catholic faiths. But due to the extensive immigration in Australia, the country is one of the world’s most religiously diverse nations. There are a great number of Muslims, Buddhists, Jews and Hindus, but nearly all faiths are present as well.

Pavlova, such as this one, is usually topped
with whipped cream and fruit -
strawberries and kiwis here





Vegemite is most often spread on
toast... like a salty jam (it seems quite
unappetising to me!)


As far as food goes, Australian’s eat most of the same food we do in Canada. But like with their religion, Australian cuisine is quite diversified. All the immigrants have influenced the present-day food and cooking styles in Australia. Seafood is very popular in Australia, seeing as many people live by the ocean, and the seafood restaurants in Australia are some of the best in the world. Many different abundant crops grow throughout Australia, for example, bananas, oranges, rice, sugar cane, wheat, etc. Although Australians eat similar foods as us, they still have certain foods that are uniquely their own. Kangaroo meat was once very popular in Australia, but not so much anymore. Vegemite, a food spread made from yeast extract that is salty and slightly bitter, is a common food you would find in Australia. Another is pavlova, a meringue-based dessert with a crisp crust and soft inside. My grandma makes pavlova very often (ever since they discovered it during a trip to Australia) and it's actually one of my favourite desserts!

Surfing the waves, sporting some "surfwear"

Australians dress basically the same way as we do, however bushwear and surfwear are more commonly worn there. Billabong, Rip Curl and Quiksilver are among the famous surfwear brands people wear in Australia. Ugg boots were first developed in Australia as shoes for comfort, but have evolved into a fashion item, popular wordwide.

http://www.everyculture.com/A-Bo/Australia.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Australia#Clothing_and_apparel

http://www.foodbycountry.com/Algeria-to-France/Australia.html

Economy of Australia

Australian currency:
the Australian dollar is equivalent to $1.03 Canadian

Australia is now one of the fastest growing advanced economies in the world. It is the 13th largest economy in the world (according to nominal GDP). In the last 20 years or so, Australia has had a period of uninterrupted economic growth.

 

 The economy of Australia is made up of two major industries. The west is home to most of Australia's natural resources, (for example, gold, oil, natural gas, etc.) while the majority of the country's service and financial industries is located in the east.

China is Australia's largest export market as well as a main import source. Like Canada and the United States, many goods (furniture, toys, clothing, etc.) are imported from China. In addition to China, Australia also holds free trade agreements with many other countries (such as Japan and the US). Australia is currently ranked 19th in the world for both imports and exports.

http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/world/A0856772.html

http://www.economywatch.com/world_economy/australia/?page=full

History of Australia

The aboriginal people inhabited the island first.

Between 40,000 and 60,000 years ago, aboriginals immigrated to Australia by boat from Asia. There could’ve been between a half million to a million aboriginal immigrants back then, but now this population has reduced to only about 350,000. In the 17th century, European explorers sighted Australia, but it wasn’t until 1770 when Great Britain took possession of the island, naming it New South Wales. Life in Britain at this time was hard and people would steal to survive. People were constantly being arrested; prisons became overcrowded, so Britain sent the convicts away to Australia. During the late 18^thand 19^th centuries, the six colonies were created, and later in 1901, the colonies combined to form the country that we know today.

http://www.australianhistory.org/convicts

http://www.clickforaustralia.com/History.htm

http://www.hht.net.au/discover/highlights/kids_fact_sheets/why_were_convicts_transported_to_australia