INTRODUCTION

Australia is a unique and diverse country in every way - in culture, population, climate,
geography, and history. It is a migrant country and to put it boldly there would not be
contemporary Australia without mass migration. Every person who LIVES IN AUSTRALIA
with the exception of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians is either a migrant or a
descendent of a migrant. Having said this, it must be acknowledged that since the very early days
Australians have developed a strong national identity, separate from their British nationality and
on the Australian way of life.
Australian culture is as broad and varied as the country's landscape. Australia is
multicultural and multiracial and this is reflected in the country's food, lifestyle and cultural
practices and experience.
This diversity of influences creates a cultural environment in Australia that is lively,
energised, innovative and outward looking.

CHAPTER 1 HISTORY
I.1. IMMIGRATION TO AUSTRALIA
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It is estimated that humans first arrived in Australia approximately 51,000 years

ago when ancestors ofAustralian Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders arrived on the
continent via the islands of Maritime Southeast Asia and New Guinea.
Contact between aboriginal Australians and south Asian people, over the last 5000 years,
led to interbreeding, and probably contributed to cultural change. Europeans first landed in
the 17th and 18th centuries, and colonisation by the British commenced in 1788.Since 1945,
more than 7 million people have come to Australia as new settlers. The trigger for a largescale migration program was the end of World War II. Agreements were reached with Britain,
some European countries and with the International Refugee Organization to encourage
migration, including people displacedby the war in Europe.
Approximately 1.6 million migrants arrived between October 1945 and 30 June 1960,
about 1.3 million in the 1960s, about 960,000 in the 1970s, about 1.1 million in the 1980s,
over 900,000 in the 1990s and over 900,000 since the year 2000.Australias migrant
population has historically been largely from a European background.
The 2011 Census reported that over one in four of Australia's 22 million people were born
overseas. The number of settlers arriving in Australia from more than 200 countries between
July 2008 and June 2009 totalled 158,021. Most were born in New Zealand (16.2 per cent),
the United Kingdom (13.6 per cent), India (10.9 per cent), China (10.0 per cent) and South
Africa (4.6 per cent).

A 2014 sociological study concluded that: "Australia and Canada are the most receptive to
immigration among western nations".

I.2. Gold Rush and Population Growth

The Gold rush era, beginning in 1851, led to an enormous expansion in population,
including large numbers of British and Irish settlers, followed by smaller numbers of
Germans and other Europeans, and Chinese.
This latter group were subject to increasing restrictions and discrimination, making it
impossible for many to remain in the country. With the Federation of the Australian colonies
into a single nation, one of the first acts of the new Commonwealth Government was
the Immigration Restriction Act 1901, otherwise known as the White Australia policy, which
was a strengthening and unification of disparate colonial policies designed to restrict nonWhite settlement.

Because of opposition from the British government, an explicit racial policy was avoided
in the legislation, with the control mechanism being a dictation test in a European language
selected by the immigration officer. This was selected to be one the immigrant did not know;
the last time an immigrant passed a test was in 1909. Perhaps the most celebrated case
was Egon Erwin Kisch, a left-wing Czechoslovakian journalist, who could speak five
languages, who was failed in a test in Scottish Gaelic, and deported as illiterate.

I.3. Post-war Immigration to Australia

After World War II Australia launched a massive immigration program, believing that
having narrowly avoided a Japanese invasion, Australia must "populate or perish". Hundreds
of thousands of displaced Europeans migrated to Australia and over 1,000,000 British
subjects immigrated under the Assisted Passage Migration Scheme, colloquially becoming
known as Ten Pound Poms.The scheme initially targeted citizens of all Commonwealth
countries; after the war it gradually extended to other countries such as the Netherlands and
Italy.

The qualifications were straightforward: migrants needed to be in sound health and under
the age of 45 years. There were initially no skill restrictions, although under the White
Australia Policy, people from mixed-race backgrounds found it very difficult to take
advantage of the scheme.

CHAPTER 2 CURRENT GOVERNMENT IMMIMGRATION

PROGRAM

II.1. Migration program

There are a number of different types of Australian immigration, classed under different
categories of visa:
a) Employment visas
Australian working visas are most commonly granted to highly skilled workers. Candidates
are assessed against a points-based system, granting points for certain standards of education.
These types of visas are often sponsored by individual states, which recruit workers
according to specific needs. Visas may also be granted to applicants sponsored by an Australian
business. The most popular form of sponsored working visa is the 457 visa.
b) Student visas
Foreign students are actively encouraged to study in Australia by the Australian Government.
There are a number of categories of student visa, most of which require a confirmed offer from
an educational institution.
c) Family visas
Visas are often granted on the basis of family ties in Australia. There are a number of different
types of Australian family visas, including Contributory Parent visas and Spouse visas.

II.2. Humanitarian program

a) Refugee
For people who are subject to persecution in their home country, who are typically
outside their home country, and are in need of resettlement. The majority of applicants who are
considered under this category are identified and referred by UNHCR to Australia for
resettlement. The Refugee category includes the Refugee, In-country Special Humanitarian,
Emergency Rescue and Woman at Risk visa subclasses.
b) Special Humanitarian Program (SHP)
For people outside their home country who are subject to substantial discrimination
amounting to gross violation of human rights in their home country, and immediate family of
persons who have been granted protection in Australia. Applications for entry under the SHP
must be supported by a proposer who is an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible
New Zealand citizen, or an organisation that is based in Australia.
The Humanitarian program for 201213 is set at 20,000 places, an increase of 6,250 from the
previous year. This category includes a 12 per cent target for Woman at Risk visas. This
allocation also includes Onshore Protection visas granted to people who apply for protection in
Australia and are found to be refugees. In 201011, a total of 13,799 visas were granted under
the Humanitarian Program. A total of 5,998 visas were granted under the offshore component,
including 759 Woman at Risk visas. In addition, 2,973 Special Humanitarian Program visas were
granted to people outside Australia. A total of 4,828 visas were granted to people in Australia.

CHAPTER 3- Cultural Diversity in Australia

III.1. General Considerations
The culture of Australia is essentially a Western culture influenced by the unique
geography of the Australian continent, the diverse input of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander peoples, the British colonisation of Australia that began in 1788, and the various waves
of multi-ethnic migration that followed.
The predominance of the English language, the existence of a democratic system of
government drawing upon the British traditions of Westminster Government,Parliamentarianism
and constitutional monarchy, American constitutionalist and federalist traditions, Christianity as
the dominant religion, and the popularity of sports originating in (or influenced by) the British
Isles, are all evidence of a significant Anglo-Celtic heritage. Australian culture has diverged
significantly since British settlement in 1788.

III.2. Arts
The arts in Australiafilm, music, painting, theatre, dance and craftshave achieved
international recognition. While much of Australia's cultural output has traditionally tended to fit
with general trends and styles in Western arts, the arts as practiced by indigenous
Australians represent a unique Australian cultural tradition, and Australia's landscape and history
have contributed to some unique variations in the styles inherited by Australia's various migrant
communities.
III.2.1. Literature
As the convict era passedcaptured most famously in Marcus Clarke's For the Term of
His Natural Life (1874), a seminal work of Tasmanian Gothicthe bush and Australian daily life
assumed primacy as subjects. Charles Harpur, Henry Kendall and Adam Lindsay Gordon won
fame in the mid-19th century for their lyric nature poems and patriotic verse. Gordon drew on
Australian colloquy and idiom; Clarke assessed his work as "the beginnings of a national school
of Australian poetry".First published in serial form in 1882, Rolf Boldrewood's Robbery Under
Arms is regarded as the classic bushranging novel.DavidUnaipon is known as the first
indigenous author. OodgerooNoonuccal was the first Aboriginal Australian to publish a book of
verse.

A significant contemporary account of the experiences of Indigenous Australia can be

found in Sally Morgan's My Place. Contemporary academics and activists including Marcia
Langton and Noel Pearsonare prominent essayists and authors on Aboriginal issues.
III.2.2. Music
Music is an integral part of Aboriginal culture. The most famous feature of their music is
the didgeridoo. This wooden instrument, used amongst the Aboriginal tribes of northern
Australia, makes a distinctive droning sound and it has been adopted by a wide variety of nonAboriginal performers.Aboriginal musicians have turned their hand to Western popular musical
forms, often to considerable commercial success.
Pioneers include Lionel Rose and Jimmy Little, while notable contemporary examples
include Archie

Roach, KevCarmody,

the Warumpi

Band, Troy

Cassar-

Daley and YothuYindi. Geoffrey GurrumulYunupingu (formerly of YothuYindi) has attained

international success singing contemporary music in English and in the language of
the Yolngu. Christine Anu is a successful Torres Strait Islander singer. Amongst young Australian
aborigines, African-American and Aboriginal hip hop music and clothing is popular.

III.2.3.Dance
Dance in Australia includes a very broad variety of styles, from Indigenous Australian to
the

traditional

Australian bush

dance and

from classical

ballet,

and ballroom

dancing to contemporary dance and multicultural dance traditions from the 200 national
backgrounds represented in Australia.
Traditional Indigenous Australian dance was closely associated with song and was
understood and experienced as making present the reality of the Dream time. In some instances,
they would imitate the actions of a particular animal in the process of telling a story. For the
people in their own country it defined to roles, responsibilities and the place itself. These ritual
performances gave them an understanding of themselves in the interplay of social, geographical
and environmental forces.
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The performances were associated with specific places and dance grounds were often
sacred places. Body decoration and specific gestures related to kin and other relationships (such
as to Dream time beings with which individuals and groups). For a number of Indigenous
Australian groups their dances were secret and or sacred, gender could also be an important
factor in some ceremonies with men and women having separate ceremonial traditions.

Other Varieties of Dance

Bush dance has developed in Australia as a form of traditional dance, it draws on
traditions from English, Irish, Scottish and other European dance. Favourite dances in the
community include dances of European descent, such as the Irish Cilidh "Pride of Erin" and
the quadrille "The Lancers". Locally originated dances include the "Waves of Bondi",
the Melbourne Shuffle and New Vogue.
Many immigrant communities continue their own dance traditions on a professional or
amateur basis. Traditional dances from a large number of ethnic backgrounds are danced in
Australia, helped by the presence of enthusiastic immigrants and their Australian-born families.
It is quite common to see dances from the Baltic region, as well as Scottish, Irish, Indian,
Indonesian or African dance being taught at community centres and dance schools in Australia
III.2.4.Theatre
The ceremonial dances of Indigenous Australians recount stories of the Dreamtime and have
been performed for thousands of years. European traditions came to Australia with the First
Fleet in 1788, with the first production being performed in 1789 by convicts.In 1988, the year
of Australia's bicentenary, the circumstances of the foundations of Australian theatre were
recounted in Timberlake Wertenbaker's play Our Country's Good.Hobart's Theatre Royal opened
in 1837 and is Australia's oldest continuously operating theatre. Inaugurated in 1839,
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the Melbourne

Athenaeum is

one

of

Melbourne's

oldest

cultural

institutions,

and

Adelaide's Queen's Theatre, established in 1841, is today the oldest purpose-built theatre on the
mainland. The mid-19th century gold rushes provided funds for the construction of grand
theatres in the Victorian style, such as the Princess Theatre in Melbourne, established in
1854.Founded in Sydney 1958, the National Institute of Dramatic Art boasts famous alumni
including Cate Blanchett, Mel Gibson and Hugo Weaving. Construction of the Adelaide Festival
Centre began in 1970 and South Australia's Sir Robert Helpmann became director of the
Adelaide Festival of Arts. The new wave of Australian theatre debuted in the 1970s. The Belvoir
St Theatre presented works by Nick Enright and David Williamson. The Sydney Opera House,
inaugurated in 1973, is the home ofOpera Australia and the Sydney Theatre Company.

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III.3. Festivals in Australia

III.3.1. National Multicultural Festival, Canberra (February)
The National Multicultural Festival is held over four days and features the very best in
local, national and international music, dance, food and creative arts. Festival favourites include
the Food and Dance Spectacular, the Greek Glendi, Carnivale, the International Concert and the
Pacific Islander Showcase. The Festival Fringe complements the mainstream festival, and
provides a place for artists who break traditional barriers to bring their work to a wider audience.

III.3.3. Chinese New Year (February)

Many Australians celebrate Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival
or the Lunar New Year. It marks the first day of the New Year in the Chinese calendar

What do people do?

Like in many countries around the world, Chinese New Year celebrations in
Australia include the following events and activities:

Street festivals featuring arts, entertainment and childrens activities.

Chinese New Year markets showcasing arts, crafts and food stalls.

Dancing, music and people wearing colorful costumes to welcome the Chinese New Year.

Vibrant displays of Chinese lanterns, firecrackers and fireworks.

Many Chinese Australian families spend Chinese New Year by gathering together

for a festive meal. Children often receive red envelopes with money (Hong Bao, AngPao, or Lai
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See). The Chinese New Year celebrations can last for about 15 days. It is usually a busy time
filled with festive programs across different communities in Australia.
Chinese New Year has various symbols and traditions. For example, flowers are an
important part of New Year decorations. Writings that refer to good luck are often seen in homes
and business environments. They are usually written by brush on a diamond-shaped piece of red
paper. Tangerines and oranges are also displayed in many homes and stores as a sign of luck and
wealth.

III.4. The Food of the Australians

Australia has a rich variety of foods and drinks, adopted and adapted since colonisation
and developed as part of a multi-cultural society. What was once new and foreign has been
transformed with new ingredients and styles into distinctly Australian food.The end of World
War II brought about significant change in Australian cuisine. People from Europe and Asia
brought new crops, seasonings, and cooking methods with them.Wheat, rice, oranges, bananas,
and grapes are just a few of the crops that grow in abundance throughout the country. Meat has
always been a large part of the Australian diet, although Australians (like others around the
world) began to be concerned about controlling cholesterol and fat in their diet, and decreased
their consumption of meat slightly toward the end of the twentieth century. Kangaroo, though
once a popular meat in Australia's early history, is no longer widely consumed; beef, lamb, pork,
poultry, and seafood are more common in twenty-first century Australia.

CONCLUSIONS
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Australia is one of the most multi-faith, multi-lingual, and multi-cultural countries in the
world. This multiplicity of cultures brings with it diversity and differences: religious beliefs form
one, but arguably an increasingly important, point of distinction within Australian society today.
Recent and current events local and global emphasise the importance of maintaining
adequate means of mediating between different and divergent interests in matters of religion and
faith.
The history of multiculturalism in Australia reflects a long journey. The aim of
contemporary multiculturalism in Australia is for all to participate on equal terms, to access
opportunities and focus on nation building without need for ethnic ghettos or separateness from
the community at large.
In other words, contemporary Australian multiculturalism must be seen as a compact or
two way street between the Australian society and newcomers that requires both give and take.
As recently the Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, introducing the Australian
Multicultural Council Lecture at Parliament House, stated: Multiculturalism is not only just the
ability to maintain our diverse backgrounds and cultures. It is the meeting place of rights and
responsibilities. Where the right to maintain ones customs, language and religion is balanced by
an equal responsibility to learn English, find work, respect our culture and heritage.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Books:
Kenneally ,Thomas;A Commonwealth of Thieves: The Improbable Birth of
Australia, Sydney, Kindle Edition, 2002;
Tapplin, George;The folklore, manners, customs, and languages of the South
Australian aborigines: gathered from inquiries made by authority of South
Australian government,New Zeeland,William Brooks & Company,2005;
Macinnis, Peter ;The Big Book of Australian History,Sydney,First
Edition,2013.

Websites:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Australia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiculturalism_in_Australia
http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/our-country
https://www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/settlement-andmulticultural-affairs/programs-policy/a-multicultural-australia

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