Final project: Australian multiculturalism
Introduction
Multiculturalism is many different cultures mixed together in a certain region. The multicultural society is one where people of different cultural backgrounds live and work together. In this report we are going to study the Australian culture, showing the cultural diversity of the country.
Demographics and ethnicities in Australia
Australia is an island lying between Antarctica and Asia. The area of the continent is 7.69 million square kilometers. It has six states (Western Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, New South Wales, Queensland, the North Territory and Australian Capital Territory. The capital city Canberra is located in the Australian Capital Territory. 50 years ago the population in Australia was about 7 million, and most of them were Anglo-Celtic. Since then, more than 6.5 million migrants, including 675,000 refugees have settled in Australia.
The first inhabitants of Australia were the Aborigines, the indigenous people, 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.
Dutch, Portuguese, and Spanish ships sighted Australia in the 17th century. In 1616 the territory became known as New Holland. 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.
After the invasion in 1788 by British colonists, the indigenous population was dominated by force. Aboriginal societies across the continent experienced violence and disease. After colonization a general history of discrimination and racism was mixed with a range of more benevolent policies. Of lasting effect was the policy of assimilating Aboriginal people into the mainstream culture. Free settlers especially Chinese began to be attracted to Australia over the next decades, but it was the discovery of gold in the 1850s that permanently changed the colony. The huge influx of migrants and several large gold finds boosted the economy and changed the colonial social structures. Aborigines were ruthlessly pushed off their tribal lands as new settlers took up land for farming or mining.
Australia became a nation when federation of its separate colonies took place on 1 January 1901. immigration over the last two centuries has created a nation that is among the most culturally diverse in the world. People from Italy, Greece , Malta, India, Theiland, Vitnam and Arabic countries immigrated to Australia.
Religious present
Australia is a predominantly Christian country, with around 64 per cent of all Australians identifying as Christians. However, most other major religious faiths are also practised, reflecting Australia’s culturally diverse society.
Australia’s earliest religions or spiritual beliefs date back to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, who have inhabited Australia for between 40,000 and 60,000 years. Indigenous Australians have their own unique religious traditions and spiritual values.
Australia has no official state religion and people are free to practise any religion they choose, as long as they obey the law. Australians are also free not to have a religion.
Languages
The official language in Australia is Australian English. However there were around 250 languages spoken in Australia before the European invasion. Perhaps ninety of these languages are still spoken. This decline in the number of languages was because of the colonization. Twelve major languages are spoken at home by at least fifty thousand speakers. These are Italian, Greek, Chinese, Serbo-Croation, Arabic, German, Vietnamese, Spanish, polish, Macedonian, Filipino, Maltese. Melbourne is the most multilingual city. Migrant groups want their languages to be maintained through government policies.
Traditional dress
Australia does not have an official national dress. The types of clothing that people wear reflect the diversity in Australian society and the variations in climate. There are no laws or rules on clothing, but Australians are expected to wear certain clothing in work situations—most workplaces have dress standards.
Outside the work situation, clothing is a personal choice—people dress for comfort, the social situation or the weather. Clubs, movie theatres and other places require people to dress in neat, clean clothes and wear appropriate footwear.
Traditional food
Australia has one of the most diverse cuisines in the world but has no national dish. Australians enjoy a huge range of food in restaurants and homes, reflecting the country’s cultural diversity. Southern Europe has combined with Asia and the Pacific for new flavours and tastes. Italian, Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese, Greek, Thai, Malay, French and Vietnamese restaurants are common, particularly in the capital cities. Middle Eastern flavours are also rapidly emerging, with Moroccan and Lebanese flavours being used with local ingredients in mainstream cooking with notable success.
Holidays
Most workers in Australia have around 12 national and state public holidays throughout the year, in addition to their annual holidays. These include:
-New Year’s Day.
-Christmas and Easter, two of the most important dates in the Christian calendar.
-Boxing Day, the day after Christmas Day, is also a public holiday.
-Australia Day, on 26 January, is the day Australians celebrate the founding of the first European settlement in Australia in 1788.
-Anzac Day, on 25 April, is the day the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (Anzac) landed at Gallipoli in Turkey in 1915 during World War I.
-Christmas and Easter, two of the most important dates in the Christian calendar.
-Boxing Day, the day after Christmas Day, is also a public holiday.
-Australia Day, on 26 January, is the day Australians celebrate the founding of the first European settlement in Australia in 1788.
-Anzac Day, on 25 April, is the day the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (Anzac) landed at Gallipoli in Turkey in 1915 during World War I.
Resources
http://www.immigration-2-australia.com/about-australia/australian-culture