Essay On Australian Identity

Introduction:

Australia is a widely diverse and unique nation. From extensive exposed spaces in boiling arid conditions to the dense urban population of the capital cities, our nation has grown into a unique and multicultural country. There are countless features that create Australian culture and identity.

The Australian Identity:

Through history, Australia has created an identity of being the “lucky country”. Horne argues that Australians are often taken by surprise by these events and successes of other Australians. Horne would also argue that Australia’s wealth and prosperity is often based off luck and not off the people themselves. Much of Australia’s prospects are often based off ‘luck’ such as the geographical isolation, rich resources,

unique fauna and flora etc. These features have made many immigrants migrate to Australia for a chance in ‘lucky’ country,
Since the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, Australia has been a multicultural nation. Mass migrations of different cultures have occurred such as in events such like the Ballarat Gold Rush. In the 2011 census, it was shown that 1 in 4 Australians are born overseas which displays the high amount of immigrants that have become Australian. In fact, 25% of participants within the focus group were born overseas which is consistent with the census results. This statistic also shows that Australia has a prominent multicultural feature in its identity.
The Australian identity has also formed through the environment. Due to only six percent of Australia’s landmass being arable, Australians has had to become self-sufficient to survive. Australians have picked up a “tough and resilient” persona through having to live in these conditions.
Within the questionnaire, phrases such as, “Beer loving”, “Bogan” and “Sport loving” came up quite often when participants were asked to describe the stereotypical Australian. Within the questionnaire this view coincided when survey responders were asked “Which film typifies the average Australian?” which the highest amount of responses were ‘The Castle’ . ‘The Castle’ was known to reflect the “bogan” aspect of Australian identity. Responders had identified with certain characteristics the characters have and allowed them to come to conclusion that these reflect Australian identity.
82% of people within the survey disagreed that these stereotypical attributes reflect the “real 21st typical Australian” . Most agreed this was due to Australia’s multicultural identity of the people and also how different countries have now interweaved itself into the Australian people.
Australian Customs and Traditions
Due to Australia’s Anglo-Saxon heritage, many customs/traditions and rituals are constructed off English practices.
Christmas and Easter have progressed from humble beginnings to being one of the nationally celebrated events of Australia. This may be because of Australia’s religious preferences or its historical ties with its English heritage. However, most people disregard these as Australia’s most important holidays when in competition with celebrations such as New Year’s Eve or Australia Day.
Traditions such as Anzac Day and Remembrance Day parades also are highly celebrated throughout Australian society. As described on the War Memorial website, Anzac day is known for, “It became known as the “Anzac legend”, became an important part of the identity of both nations, shaping the ways in which they viewed both their past and their future”. Many of Australian values were personified through this such as ‘mateship’ and ‘loyalty’. This point is consistent with the survey conducted as 59% of responders put ANZAC Day to be Australia’s most important celebration.
Australia Day arguably is one of the most important national events Australia celebrates. However, there is much division in society about this event.
“Australia Day is arguably the most unique national day in the world because, rather than unite, it seems to divide Australians into different viewpoints.” As stated in the quote, this division of unity is due to the traditional custodians of Australia viewing Australia Day as “Invasion Day.” Australia Day memorialises the anniversary, where the Aboriginals of the land, lost their rights and freedoms until the 21st century which demonstrates the deep resentment of Australia Day to the Indigenous Population.
For those who celebrate the event, Australia Day is very important. Josborne argues that “it is the beginning of a great nation” and Australians should be able to celebrate it without the prejudice of the past. Also the ABC news describes the day as “On Australia Day we come together as a nation to celebrate what's great about Australia and being Australian. It's the day to reflect on what we have achieved and what we can be proud of in our great nation. It's the day for us to re-commit to making Australia an even better place for the future.”
These two examples display the importance of Australia Day has and how much Australians do take pride in celebrating it.
Less celebrated traditions but still widely regarded such as Chinese New Year’s and the Melbourne Cup demonstrates the diverse celebrations Australia has.
Australian Beliefs and Values
Australia is a nation with 61.14% of citizens who identify themselves as Christian according to the 2011 census. Many of Australia’s belief and values are based on European culture and values. From Australia’s political system with a constitutional monarchy, to our law system with known as common law or the adversarial system, Australia has founded several of its systems on English society.
Within the survey conducted, 56% of responders said that other religions and beliefs are at least tolerated within Australia society, while only 25% of responders believed that other cultures are not accepted at all. This statistic is consistent with the University of Western Sydney’s findings of their Anti-Racism project. These findings found that, “Australians are largely tolerant people who are accepting and welcoming of other cultures.”
Australian values have a unique taste compared to other nations of the world. Values such mateship, egalitarianism and respect are deeply entrenched into the roots that make up Australian society. Many of the responders tended to agree on his fact. The Australian value of mateship was considered personified through the memory of the ANZACS, and it is one of the more defining values that make Australia unique. “Equality”, “Freedom of Religion”, “Spirit of egalitarianism” and “Mutual Respect” are words that even appear on the Australian Values Statement that all who wish to obtain a Visa here. This further develops the feature of values within the Australian identity.
Australian Social Structure
There is a clear class system within Australian society. This class structure also as apparent problems relating to people within the lower socio-economic class.
The SBS One documentary, ‘Struggle Street’ highlights the extreme poverty Australian families face in lower economic suburbs such as Mount Druitt, on a regular basis face. Most Australians from middle to wealthier class suburbs gave the impression that they disbelieved or were outraged by the “poverty porn”. As seen in ABC news, local residents protested for the documentary to be removed during broadcast as it painted a negative light on Mount Druitt.
However, the responder from the interview had a distinct viewpoint on the programme due to their upbringing in the disadvantaged socio economic background on which ‘Struggle Street’ was documenting. They expressed their deep concern that many Australians had written off the show as a public skit, as it does display many troubles real Australian do confront in communities such as that.
In numerous parts of the documentary, the responder could recollect memories of places within ‘Struggle Street’ that they had been to as a child such the bushland area within Mount Druitt the homeless man lived . The interviewer spoke of periods in their childhood, where they said, “The only thing I had was clothes on my back, a roof over my head and sometimes food in my stomach. In winter, we froze because no one had enough money to buy blankets.”
This firsthand account supports the difficulties of the lower- socio economic class of Australia.
In the survey conducted, it was evenly divided on whether Australians consider our country is an egalitarian nation. This emphasizes the division within Australian society has with issues of socio-economics and equal opportunities. However, it was a general consensus among the survey and the focus group conducted that Australia requires a change before this outcome can be achieved.

Gender Status in Australia
Historically, Australian women were regarded as inferior to men.

This is due to the sexism of the past. Through women’s right movements such as the Suffragettes and the feminist right movements of the 60s-70s, Australian women have now more power and authority within society.

However, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2012, only 65.3% of women were in the labour force compared to their male counterpart at 79.7% . This emphasizes the lack of respect towards women to be seen as equal to their male counterparts. This also emphasizes that more men are being employed than women in the work force.

That statistic is consistent with the question, 53% of people opposed in the questionnaire that Australian women are provided a “fair go”. This is reliable to the amount of people in the Focus group that were evenly divided about the issue also.

Yet, it was generally established that women are proceeding to develop an equivalent opportunity to their male counterparts, such as the example of Australia’s first female prime minister in 2010. This case displays the mounting support towards women within Australian society. With further emphasis of women in society, Australian women may soon become equal to their male counterparts, and then allowing equal power among the

sexes.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Australia’s culture and identity are based off many factors. These features such as geographical isolation, celebrations and our many stereotypes help form our identity. Through this, Australia has created a unique persona within the global community and a nation as a whole.