| Submitted by: David StybrUnited States |
| Submission Date: 14 February 2005 |
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The Aborigines developed a rich culture but they had no written language and so kept no history of their background. They refer to their distant past as 'Dreamtime', when the world was created. In 1788, when the first British settlements were established, about 300,000 Aborigines lived in Australia. They spoke about 250 different languages, many of which were almost completely unrelated. Tribes on opposite sides of what is now Sydney Harbour, for example, spoke mutually unintelligible languages. Aboriginal societies, therefore, were not able to react as a single force when British colonisation began.
In 1770 British explorer Captain James Cook systematically explored the east coast of Australia and claimed it for the United Kingdom. Cook noted the similarity of the land to southern Wales, and he named it New South Wales. After the American Revolution closed the United States to the deportation or transportation of British criminals, Australia seemed to be a suitable substitute. British settlement began in 1788 when about 700 convicts landed near the present site of Sydney. Most of the convicts transported were political prisoners, petty criminals and debtors. These were later followed and eventually outnumbered by free settlers.
The first settlements were confined to a relatively narrow strip of land on the east coast between the Great Dividing Range and the Pacific Ocean. During the next 50 years much of the continent was explored and separate colonies were established which eventually became states. In 1813 a group of explorers led by William C. Wentworth finally found passages through the Great Dividing Range west of Sydney and discovered great fertile plains farther west. These plains eventually became deserts in the vast central and western sections of the continent. The isolated regions in the centre of Australia became known as the Outback.
Australia remained a penal settlement until about 1850, and British colonies were established around the continent to dissuade other European powers. Hobart, Tasmania became a penal colony for the worst criminals and repeat offenders in 1803. Brisbane, Queensland was established as a penal colony at Moreton Bay in 1824. However, other colonies were founded by free settlers. Perth, Western Australia was founded by free settlers in 1829, and Melbourne, Victoria was founded by John Batman in 1835. Adelaide, South Australia was laid out with considerable precision and vision in 1838 by Colonel John Light. Darwin, Northern Territory was founded in 1869 to establish a British presence on the north coast. Most Aborigines were displaced, killed or succumbed to European diseases, and in Tasmania they were completely exterminated. British colonisation continued at a slow but steady rate. The population in 1820 was 20,000, and by 1850 it reached about 400,000. Merino sheep were introduced and established an important wool industry in Australia.
The first important gold field was discovered in 1851 near Bathurst, New South Wales. Edward H. Hargraves grew up in Bathurst, and he went to California in the great gold rush of 1849. He found little gold in California, but he noticed that the California gold country resembled his home region in New South Wales. He returned to Australia in 1851 and panned gold at Summerhill Creek near Bathurst on his first try. Later that year gold was also found near Ballarat, Victoria. Thousands of people flocked into Australia to seek their fortunes, and within 8 years the population more than doubled. Convict transportation to Australia was immediately halted. Even larger gold fields were found in 1892 in Western Australia at Coolgardie and the next year in Kalgoorlie. Kalgoorlie became one of the greatest gold fields in the world. In addition to the great influx of settlers, the gold fields helped shape the character of the population as rugged, colourful but friendly individualists. By 1900, the 3 main products of the economy had diversified to include livestock (primarily cattle and sheep), mining and wheat.
On 1 January 1901, the several British colonies in Australia were federated into a commonwealth, except for the Northern Territory which was added in 1911. Canberra was founded as the federal capital in 1913 as a compromise between Sydney and Melbourne. The national and state governments established comprehensive social programs shortly after confederation. The population is highly educated, urban and has a generally high standard of living. However, most Aborigines live in great poverty on tribal reserves. Australian soldiers fought with distinction in both World Wars. Japan conducted air raids on Darwin and other cities in northern Australia but never landed on Australian soil. The most important battle by Australia was the World War II naval Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942.
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Food in Australia can be excellent, due in large part to the immigrants from around the world who have brought their myriad ethnic cuisines with them. Ingredients are mostly high quality and fresh because almost everything is grown locally. Prices were generally higher than back at home, but this may be simply because we often dined at the better restaurants in the city centres. Most restaurants pay their staffs decent wages so tips are not required or expected, but of course nobody will refuse the extra money.
Mention should be made of the traditional meat pie, as beloved to Australians as the hot dog is to Americans. Meat pies are often enjoyed topped with tomato sauce. South Australia has a further variant called the pie floater, which is a meat pie afloat in a bowl of pea soup and topped with tomato sauce. I also wanted to add cheese, but this might have caused the whole mass to detonate. Meat pies aren't haute cuisine, but they are simple hearty meals.
Vegemite is something only an Australian could love. It is a concentrated yeast extract that looks, behaves and smells like a mixture of thick tar, gelatinous beer and viscous bouillon. Australians spread Vegemite thinly on bread, or use it as seasoning in recipes. Australians love it, but most other people can't stand its incredibly strong flavour, which may grow hair on one's tongue. Vegemite is so popular that Australians around the world usually have a jar close at hand. It's so bad it's good.
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Roads are generally of good quality. Australia has motorways or expressways in metropolitan areas. However, they are not nearly as extensive elsewhere in Australia as in North American or Europe because the relatively small population in such a huge country cannot support extensive networks. Many of these motorways are quite new, and are therefore in excellent condition. Otherwise the roads seem to be primarily good standard 2-lane highways, many of which are also being widened and resurfaced.
Driving in Australia holds few surprises. Australians drive on the left-hand side of the road as in the United Kingdom, Japan and many countries of southeast Asia, the south Pacific and the Caribbean Sea. It really isn't difficult to drive on the left side as the natural flow of traffic is there anyway. Just remember: the left side is the right side and the right side is the wrong side.
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Australia derives much of its character from its sheer vastness, the harsh climate of the desert interior, and its isolation from much of the rest of the world. It is also derived from the friction between the ancient Aboriginal culture, the European culture imposed upon it and recent additions of Asian immigrant cultures.
One great advantage of travel in Australia is of course that they speak English, at least most of the time. Australians are famous for their colourful and inventive phrases, but we found little confusion. About the only difficulties we encountered were with some occasional strong Australian accents in Tasmania.
Much has been written about the differences between British English and American English. French French and Québec French have a similar relationship. However, nothing matches Australian English for lively colourful phrases. Some words and expressions are naturally taken from British slang. Some words have completely different meanings in Australia than in Anglophone countries north of the Equator. A number of commonly-used words have been shortened considerably. Other words are indigenous to Australia and derived from Aboriginal terms, such as 'boomerang' and 'kangaroo'. In general, however, the wonderful slang of Australian English is primarily because Australians regard English as a game, and love to have fun with it. Some of the words and expressions are readily understandable but others can be incredibly obscure in their meanings and derivations. One of my favourite phrases in Australia referred to expected good weather: 'It should fine up today.' Australian English was also fun to compare with Québec French, which has even greater differences with the mother language.
However, many colourful Australian phrases have become discarded due to the overwhelming influence of television, movies and music from the United States. Even though Australia is practically on the other side of the planet from the United States, American spellings and phrases are increasingly common in Australia. By contrast, Canada retains most of their British spellings, even though they share a long border with the United States.
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One of my major hobbies is classical music, which is an excellent window to many facets of other cultures. Naturally my travels in Europe let me absorb plenty of French, German and British music. Travel is a good pretext to add 40 or 50 CDs to my collection. Australia has a large number of fine composers, and their music has helped me better understand the true essence of the country. Best known is probably Percy Grainger (1882-1961) of Melbourne, Victoria. Other major composers in Australia include Roy Agnew, George Dreyfus, Ross Edwards, Peggy Glanville-Hicks, Alfred Hill, Miriam Hyde, Graeme Koehne, Richard Meale, Peter Sculthorpe, Margaret Sutherland, Carl Vine, Malcolm Williamson etc.
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J. Observations by Charles Darwin and Mark Twain.
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| The Voyage of the Beagle by the British naturalist Charles Darwin (1809-1882) recounts his famous voyage around the world on the British ship HMS Beagle from December 1831 to October 1836. |
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| Copyright © - "David Stybr" |
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