Australiana
Encyclopedia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n origins. Australiana often borrows from Australian Aboriginal
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
culture, or the stereotypical Australian culture of the early 1900s.
The objects can be Australiana in their own right, such as boomerang
Boomerang
A boomerang is a flying tool with a curved shape used as a weapon or for sport.-Description:A boomerang is usually thought of as a wooden device, although historically boomerang-like devices have also been made from bones. Modern boomerangs used for sport are often made from carbon fibre-reinforced...
s, Akubra
Akubra
Akubra is an Australian brand of bush hat, whose wide-brimmed styles are a distinctive part of Australian culture, especially in rural areas. The name is believed to be derived from an Aboriginal word for head covering....
hats, didgeridoo
Didgeridoo
The didgeridoo is a wind instrument developed by Indigenous Australians of northern Australia around 1,500 years ago and still in widespread usage today both in Australia and around the world. It is sometimes described as a natural wooden trumpet or "drone pipe"...
s, or can be common objects with Australian cultural images displayed on them. Such items could include two-man saw
Two-man saw
A two-man saw is a saw designed for use by two sawyers. While some modern chainsaws are so large that they require two persons to control, two-man crosscut saws were primarily important when human power was used. Such a saw would typically be 4 to 12 feet long , and sometimes up to 16 feet , with...
s, snow globes or tea towels with Australian scenery or icons imprinted on them in the national colours of Australia.
Australiana can also refer to art with an Australian style or subject. Paintings, ceramics, crafts and coins that depict Australian imagery would fall under this category.
These images are often well-known Australian animals and birds, such as kangaroo
Kangaroo
A kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of the genus Macropus, Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo and Western Grey Kangaroo. Kangaroos are endemic to the country...
s, koala
Koala
The koala is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia, and the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae....
s, the platypus
Platypus
The platypus is a semi-aquatic mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young...
, echidna
Echidna
Echidnas , also known as spiny anteaters, belong to the family Tachyglossidae in the monotreme order of egg-laying mammals. There are four extant species, which, together with the platypus, are the only surviving members of that order and are the only extant mammals that lay eggs...
s and budgerigars.
People are sometimes depicted in the artwork, such as Australian explorers, drover
Drover (Australian)
A drover in Australia is a person, typically an experienced stockman, who moves livestock, usually sheep or cattle, "on the hoof" over long distances. Reasons for droving may include: delivering animals to a new owner's property, taking animals to market, or moving animals during a drought in...
s, bushmen
Outback
The Outback is the vast, remote, arid area of Australia, term colloquially can refer to any lands outside the main urban areas. The term "the outback" is generally used to refer to locations that are comparatively more remote than those areas named "the bush".-Overview:The outback is home to a...
, swagmen
Swagman
A swagman is an old Australian and New Zealand term describing an underclass of transient temporary workers, who travelled by foot from farm to farm carrying the traditional swag...
, Australian Aborigines
Australian Aborigines
Australian Aborigines , also called Aboriginal Australians, from the latin ab originem , are people who are indigenous to most of the Australian continentthat is, to mainland Australia and the island of Tasmania...
, diggers
Digger (soldier)
Digger is an Australian and New Zealand military slang term for soldiers from Australia and New Zealand. It originated during World War I.- Origin :...
and the like.
Being on the beach in summer is also generally made out to be part of Australian, as well as Surf Life Savers
Surf Life Saving Australia
Surf lifesaving is a multifaceted movement that comprises key aspects of voluntary lifeguard services and competitive surf sport. Originating in early 20th century Australia, the movement has expanded globally to other countries including New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa, and the United States...
, as Australia is a coastal culture, because of the nature of inland Australia (dry, harsh desert).
Some commercial brands have become part of Australiana due to their perceived "Australianness". Advertisements and posters depicting these brands often become part of Australiana as well. These include:
- AC/DCAC/DCAC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
- Hills HoistHills HoistA Hills Hoist is a height-adjustable rotary clothes line, manufactured in Adelaide, South Australia by Lance Hill since 1945. The Hills Hoist and similar rotary clothes hoists remain a common fixture in many backyards in Australia and New Zealand...
- Victa lawn mowerVicta lawn mowerThe Victa lawn mower was invented in 1952, in Concord a suburb of Sydney, Australia, by Mervyn Victor Richardson.In 1951, Mervyn's son Garry mowed lawns to earn money in university holidays. Garry borrowed Mervyn's cylinder-based power mower which was heavy to transport and to operate. Mervyn...
- VegemiteVegemiteVegemite is a dark brown Australian food paste made from yeast extract. It is a spread for sandwiches, toast, crumpets and cracker biscuits, and filling for pastries...
- Arnott's BiscuitsArnott's Biscuits HoldingsArnott's Biscuits Holdings , is a subsidiary of the Campbell Soup Company of the United States.In Australia Arnott's is the largest producer of biscuits and the second-largest supplier of snack food.-History:...
- MintiesMintiesMinties™ is a brand of confectionery originating in Australia. They are a hard, white and chewy, square mint-flavoured lolly. They were originally packaged in 5lb bulk tins or 3oz cardboard boxes, but now come in packs ranging from 150g - 1 kg...
- "Khe SanhKhe Sanh (song)"Khe Sanh" is an Australian song, released as a 45 rpm single in May 1978, and named after the Battle of Khe Sanh during the Vietnam War. The song, performed by Cold Chisel, having been written by pianist Don Walker and featuring the vocals of Jimmy Barnes, is about an Australian Vietnam veteran...
" and Cold ChiselCold ChiselCold Chisel is a rock band that originated in Adelaide, Australia. It is one of the most acclaimed Australian rock bands of all time, with a string of hits throughout the 1970s and 1980s and huge sales that continue to this day, although its success and acclaim was almost completely restricted to... - XXXXXXXXXXXX is a brand of Australian beer brewed in Milton, Brisbane by Queensland brewers, Castlemaine Perkins. It enjoys wide popularity in the state of Queensland, where it is commonly found on-tap in pubs and bars....
beer - MorteinMorteinMortein is an Australian brand of household insecticide. Together with its sister product Aerogard, a popular insect repellent, Mortein has become something of a household name in Australia, owing much in this regard to its cartoon antagonist, Louie the Fly. Louie was drawn and animated by Geoffry...
- R. M. WilliamsR. M. WilliamsReginald Murray Williams AO, CMG was an Australian bushman and entrepreneur who rose from a swagman, to a millionaire. Widely known as just 'R.M.', he was born at Belalie North near Jamestown in the Mid North, 200 kilometres north of Adelaide, into a pioneering settler family working and training...
boots - Four'N Twenty PieFour'N Twenty PieThe Four'N Twenty Meat Pie was invented in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia by LT. McClure in 1947. The meat pie is a very popular food product in Australia as strong demand for the pie saw production grow from 50 pies per day to 50,000 pies per hour in between the years of 1948 to 1998.McClure took a...
s - Peters Ice CreamPeters Ice CreamPeters Ice Cream is an Australian ice cream brand developed by American expatriate Fred Peters in 1907, using his mother's recipe. The company was established in Redfern, Sydney as the Peters' American Delicacy Company...
- RosellaRosellaA rosella is one of five to eight species of colorful Australian parrots in the genus Platycercus. Platycercus means "broad-tailed" or "flat-tailed", reflecting a feature common to the rosellas and other members of the broad-tailed parrot tribe...
soup - Driza-BoneDriza-BoneDriza-Bone, originating from the phrase "dry as a bone", is a trade name for the company making full-length waterproof riding coats and apparel. The company was established in 1898 and is currently Australian owned and manufactures its products in Australia...
coats - AkubraAkubraAkubra is an Australian brand of bush hat, whose wide-brimmed styles are a distinctive part of Australian culture, especially in rural areas. The name is believed to be derived from an Aboriginal word for head covering....
hats - BillabongBillabong (clothing)Billabong International is a clothing company traded on the Australian Securities Exchange since 11 August 2000. Billabong was founded in 1973 by Gordon and Rena Merchant....
- KangarooKangarooA kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of the genus Macropus, Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo and Western Grey Kangaroo. Kangaroos are endemic to the country...
Australiana has also been called a style of kitsch
Kitsch
Kitsch is a form of art that is considered an inferior, tasteless copy of an extant style of art or a worthless imitation of art of recognized value. The concept is associated with the deliberate use of elements that may be thought of as cultural icons while making cheap mass-produced objects that...
art.
See also
- Culture of AustraliaCulture of AustraliaThe culture of Australia is essentially a Western culture influenced by the unique geography of the Australian continent and by the diverse input of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and various waves of multi-ethnic migration which followed the British colonisation of Australia...
- CanadianaCanadianaCanadiana is a term referring to things related to the country of Canada. It is most often used to refer to a class of books somewhat wider than Canadian Literature because it also includes books about Canada as well as Canadian non-fiction works....
— a similar concept in CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... - AmericanaAmericanaAmericana refers to artifacts, or a collection of artifacts, related to the history, geography, folklore and cultural heritage of the United States. Many kinds of material fall within the definition of Americana: paintings, prints and drawings; license plates or entire vehicles, household objects,...
— a similar concept in the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... - KiwianaKiwianaKiwiana are certain items and icons from New Zealand's heritage, especially from around the middle of the 20th century that are seen as representing iconic Kiwi elements...
— a similar concept in New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...