A Guide to Australia

Australia’s geographic isolation gives rise to its own distinct flora and fauna, such as eucalyptus trees and dingoes, kangaroos and kookaburras. “Aussie” refers to people of British ancestry; however, in a nation founded upon waves of immigration it can often be interpreted as Eurocentric and anachronistic.

Sport is a central feature of Australian culture; people enjoy watching rugby matches, cricket games and Aussie Rules football at pubs before taking to the beaches for casual sporting activities.

Geography

Australia, one of the world’s largest countries, features an immense diversity in landscape and climate. Arid desert regions in its center support few people or crops while tropical tree-covered rainforests in its northeast are abundant with minerals that attract visitors in search of wildlife.

Australian landscape is very varied due to its geographical isolation, which has enabled unique plants and animals such as marsupials such as kangaroos and koalas to evolve within it.

Only 6 percent of Australia is above 2,000 feet (600 meters), with Mount Kosciuszko rising 2,228 meters to be the highest point. Sitting on a major fault line and susceptible to frequent earthquakes – many not severe – Australia also boasts the largest interannual rainfall variability worldwide.

Climate

Australia’s climate varies across its continent and islands, and even between regions within a continent or island itself. Southern areas – known as temperate zones – tend to be warmer than equatorial regions, featuring four seasons similar to Europe or North America.

Australia’s isolation from polar regions provides it with protection from extreme temperature swings that cause winter snowfall in northern regions of the globe, creating mild summers and cool winters in its interior regions.

Tropical areas typically experience a wet season from October to April, when humidity levels are at their peak. Sometimes tropical cyclones bring heavy rainfall which may cause flooding; on land however, sclerophyll woodlands and deserts of Australia experience frosts during winter.

Culture

Australians are known for their welcoming and laid-back demeanor, placing great importance on fairness and equality regardless of social standing. Australia’s unique ecosystem of flora and fauna (such as platypus, koala and kangaroo) and 516 national parks help foster an Australian sense of nationhood while its history of immigration and racial relations has contributed significantly to creating its distinctive national culture.

The relatively warm and sunny climate encourages an outdoor beach-going lifestyle; iconic Aussie surfers have become an icon. Food reflects this outdoor vibe as barbequing (the “barbie”) has become popular, often serving exotic meats (crocodile, kangaroo and wombat being among those featured on menus. Lamingtons and pavlova desserts can also be found. Australian literature has grown around this mythic concept of bush as an environmental concept.

Languages

Australians overwhelmingly speak English at home; however, 22% speak other languages at home as well. Aboriginal communities typically boast individuals fluent in four or more languages at once while in high diversity areas like Western Arnhem adults may possess knowledge of three distinct yet related tongues – similar to how English and Russian might differ.

Australian languages differ significantly from many others in that there are only two phonemic vowels (i and a), no voicing contrast, so sounds such as /q/ do not exist, and there are no uvular or glottal consonants; instead they have fricative consonants which have been reduced through lenition rather than lost altogether.

Australians tend to speak English most commonly, followed by Indonesian and German. Hindi has also seen rapid growth due to an influx of immigrants and students from India.

People

Australia has an increasingly diverse population since the 19th century. Since that time, large numbers of immigrants from Asia have come to Australia bringing with them unique cultural influences that give it its unique multicultural identity.

Australia does not have an official language, yet English remains the dominant one spoken throughout. With various local accents and grammatical features that distinguish Australian English from other varieties, Australia boasts its own distinct idiom known as Australian English.

Indigenous Australians have successfully preserved certain aspects of their culture despite widespread European settlement, with notable figures like Bennelong and Yagan serving as warriors and Albert Namatjira and David Gulpilil as artists preserving traditional music while adding pop and rock styles such as Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu combining these styles in his music.