Culture of Australia

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Australian culture is of primarily Western origins, and is derived from its British, Indigenous and migrant components.

Indigenous peoples arrived as early as 60,000 years ago, and evidence of Aboriginal art in Australia dates back at least 30,000 years.^[1] The British colonisation of Australia began in 1788 and waves of multi-ethnic (primarily Anglo-Celtic) migration followed shortly thereafter. Several states and territories had their origins as penal colonies, with this convict heritage having an enduring effect on Australian music, cinema and literature.^[2]

Manifestations of British colonial heritage in Australia include the primacy of the English language and Western Christianity, the institution of constitutional monarchy, a Westminster-style system of democratic parliamentary government, and Australia's inclusion within the Commonwealth of Nations. The American political ideals of constitutionalism and federalism have also played a role in shaping Australia's distinctive political identity.

The Australian gold rushes from the 1850s resulted in exponential population and economic growth, as well as racial tensions and the introduction of novel political ideas;^[3] the growing disparity between the prospectors and the established colonial governments culminated in the Eureka Stockade rebellion and the shifting political climate ushered in significant electoral reform, the labour movement, and women's rights ahead of any such changes in other Western countries.^[4]

Federation occurred in 1901 as the result of a burgeoning sense of national unity and identity that had developed over the latter half of the 19th century, hitherto demonstrated in the works of Heidelberg School artists and authors like Banjo Paterson, Henry Lawson, and Dorothea Mackellar. World War I and World War II profoundly impacted Australia, ushering in the heroic ANZAC legend of the former and the geopolitical reorientation in which the United States became Australia's foremost military ally after the latter. After the Second World War, 6.5 million people settled in Australia from 200 nations, further enriching Australian culture in the process. Over time, as immigrant populations gradually assimilated into Australian life, their cultural and culinary practices became part of mainstream Australian culture.^[5][6]