Australian Studies – Cultural features of your country

Culture is defined as all the knowledge and values shared by a society. It plays a
major role in determining your position in society with various factors which
influence your morals and ethics.

Since I am an Australian born Chinese, I do not know a large amount of history of

my hometown Shanghai. My decision concludes to talk about the cultural
features of Australia as I have been a citizen for 17 years.

As we all know, Australia is a multi-cultural country. This means that Australia is

mainly about acceptance of all cultures which integrates all nationalities together;
this allows citizens to reflect on other nationalities traditions to understand the
community. This also provides flexibility into the community with different
choices like food and clothes. It allows knowledge of other cultures behaviors and
values.

Monuments are vital in participating in the topic of culture. Different monuments

explore the uniqueness and individualism of a country and convey messages on
past history. In Australia our famous Opera house and Sydney Harbor Bridge
demonstrate this where these spectacular buildings elaborate on Australia’s
beauty. The opera house is one of the 20th century's most distinctive buildings
and one of the most famous performing arts centres in the world. It [was built by a
Danish Architect which further emphasizes the multiculturalism of Australia

The definition of Australian culture ranges from the history of Aboriginals to the
stereotyped meat pies and surfing, but the truth is we do not have a specific
culture. We share a culture which is mixed of various nations which integrates all
these cultures to make one.

There are some main influences like Britain where many immigrated to Australia.
Australian Culture can be seen different respective of the individual’s perspective,
for example an Aboriginal may see Australia belongs to them, contrasted to a
British who believes they own the land.
While there are factors such as the dominance of the English language, the
existence of a British system of government, the popularity of sports such as
cricket and rugby as well as the predominance of Christianity, Australia today
hosts a great diversity of cultural practices and pursuits. As an Australian from a
Chinese background, I believe Australian culture is intertwined with many nations’
cultures which unite and create one culture, Australian culture.

By Byron Yao
Media

Q1.

1. Television
2. Newspaper
3. Internet
4. Radio
5. Magazine

Q2.

Technology advancements had allowed easier access to present media information like the internet,
radio or the television. Before these were invented the main source of information was mainly in written
forms like newspapers. Nowadays information about issues can be easily obtained in all different types
of formats.

Q3.

In my opinion, the main media influence is television. This is because it provides visuals rather than
reading, it reinforces the arguments where issues are depicted showing the current circumstances.