The History and Culture of Australia - Essay Example

History of Australia Composition Outline THESIS: Australia has one of the most bustling and interesting cultures in theworld. Yet the history and culture of Australia is not well known to the world that is why this paper aims to introduce Australia to a generation of people who otherwise would not know anything about the rich heritage of the country and its people. I. The History of Australia A. The aboriginals were the first settlers in Australia B. England colonized Australia and turned it into a penal colony II. Meet the Australians A. The aboriginal culture is rich and timeless in tradition B. Australias Egalitarian society III. Speaking of Australia A. What is strine? B. Speaking English? C. Any other languages? IV. Conclusion History of Australia Just like the United States, the White skinned inhabitants of Australia who are the posted people for who an Australian is are not the original settlers in the land. While the Americans had to deal with the Native Americans when they first landed on Plymouth Rock, Australia was long inhabited by the Aboriginal people for at least 50,000 years. They were thought to have arrived here from the South East Asia during the last ice age. The belief is that the aboriginals numbered at least one million and scatter across 300 clans with at least 250 languages and 700 dialects between them. Due to the relatively dry environment of the country, the aboriginals were forced to become nomadic tribes traveling on a quest of trade, finding water, and food. Australia was founded in unforgiving territory. Stemming from the outback desserts, tropical rain forests, and snow capped mountains, the early aboriginals believe in the myth that the totemic spirits ancestors are all connected to nature, the past, present, and future (“Australias History”). This was the state of Australia before the British colonized the land for their own means. It was Captain James Cook who in the 17th century chartered the east coast in the name of Britain. When he first landed on Australian soil, the continent was recognized by most sailors as New Holland. Britain was more than happy to claim the land because its location made it perfect to use as a penal colony. As a new outpost, the penal colony came into being on January 26 1788 with the first British inhabitants alighting in Australia. A fleet of 11 ships carried 1.500 people with more than half of them being convicts. By 1868 it is believed that at least 160,000 men and women had settled in Australia as convicts being punished or banished by Britain. Of course life was different for the free settlers who came in during the 1790s. The convicts were constant under threat of losing their lives in the harsh conditions and even harsher treatment from the officers of the colony. Suffering alongside the convicts were the aboriginals who were displaced, their lands, stolen, and their traditional lifestyle and practices no longer fitting into the new world of Australia as envisioned by the British (“Australias History”) . The economy of Australia found itself briskly developing after gold was discovered in New South Wales and central Victoria in 1851. Which created a gold rush in the country that was mostly represented by immigrants from other colonies who were out to try their luck in Australia. Even the Chinese tried to get in on the act, as the gold rush got crazier, violence began to erupt, which culminated in the the bloody anti-authoritarian struggle of the Eureka stockade in 1854. Regardless of the violence though, Australia continued to flourish as country and was considered to be highly modern by the 1880s (“Australias History”). Just like the other British colonies, Australia also tried to vie for its independence from its mother country. Having 6 states under the same country, Australia was granted a single constitution on January 1, 1901 but not total independence from the crown. However the autonomy that the country was granted in the running of its own government and political affairs led to a more stable society which allowed the country to open up Australia to more immigrants from over 200 countries. Yet even with the severe living conditions they were subjected to, the aboriginal culture lived on in the form ot Rick Art, craft, and bark painting based upon the aboriginal belief in Dreamtime which is their sacred belief in the time before time of the worlds creation. The artwork revealed their stories, history, and songs of Dreamtime journeys. Even though the aboriginals were displaced, they were still accorded the same respect as the White inhabitants of the land. That is why they share the same cultural values of; respect for equal worth, dignity and freedom of the individual freedom of speech and association freedom of religion and a secular government support for parliamentary democracy and the rule of law equality under the law equality of men and women equality of opportunity peacefulness a spirit of egalitarianism that embraces tolerance, mutual respect, and compassion for those in need. Australia also holds firmly to the belief that no one should be disadvantaged on the basis of their country of birth, cultural heritage, language, gender or religious belief (“People, Culture, and Lifestyle”). As an egalitarian society, not all Australians are assured of equal wealth or property. However, there are no class distinctions in Australian society. People work hard in order to realize their ambitions. Which is the reason why the unemployment rate in Australai was, as of December 2007 only at 4.3 percent with a gross per capita income of $39,000. Under the law, all Australians will be treated equally and have the right to be treated respectfully and in a fair manner (“People, Culture, and Lifestyle”). Being a member of the British Commonwealth Republics, Australias official language has and will always be British English. However, Australia has a vastly diverse language population existing on its shores which makes for an interesting study in relation to the culture, values, and traditions of the Australians. Just like all other variations of the English language, there is an Australian version of English slang known as “Stine”, a uniquely colloquial language whose name was given by the linguist Alastair Morrison in 1966. Stine is said to be a combination of cockney and Irish saying of the early convicts with words from aboriginal languages which resulted in flattened vowels and end sentences with a slightly upward inflection (“Australias Culture”). Aside from British / Australian English and Stine, there are also other languages that are thriving in Australia thanks to its immigrant population. While 77% of Australians have a tendency to speak only English (Population Composition: Languages Spoken in Australia”), the 2011 census of dominant languages in Australia produced the following results: Collectively, Australians speak over 200 languages. Of these, about 50 are Australian Indigenous languages. About 18% of Australians speak a language other than English. Australian Indigenous languages are spoken by about 0.3% of the total population. The most common languages other than English are: Italian, Greek, Cantonese, Arabic, Mandarin and Vietnamese. Collectively, Chinese languages (including Cantonese, Mandarin and other Chinese languages) have the greatest number of speakers after English, accounting for approximately 3% of the total population. The languages other than English spoken at home vary between the states (“Australias Cultural Diversity”). Now that information has been shared pertaining to the background and history of Australia, it has become quite evident that this is one country that still holds a lot of interesting secrets just waiting to be explored and shared with the world. Works Cited About Racism. “Australias Cultural Diversity”. racismnoway.com.au. racismnoway.com.au. n.d. Web. 20. Apr. 2014. Australian Bureau of Statistics. “Population Composition: Languages Spoken in Australia”. abs.gov.au. abs.gov.au. 30 Mar. 2006. Web. 20 Apr. 2014. Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. “People, Culture, and Lifestyle”. dfat.gov.au. dfat.gov.au. n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2014. Tourism Australia. “Australias Culture”. australia.com.australia.com. 2014. Web. 20 Apr. 2014. Tourism Australia. “Australias History”. australia.com. australia.com. 2014. Web. 20 Apr. 2014. Read More