Culture – Australia and New Zealand

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Geography

• Australia is situated south of Asia, between the Pacific and the Indian Oceans. Australia is a continent, a country and an island at the same time. Australia is located in the southern hemisphere

• The geography of the country is extremely diverse, ranging from the snow-capped mountains of the Australian Alps and Tasmania to large deserts, tropical and temperate forests

• Neighboring countries include Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and the French dependency of New Caledonia to the east, and New Zealand to the southeast

States and territories of Australia

• Australia consists of six states, two major mainland territories, and other minor territories.

• The states are New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia.

• The two major mainland territories are the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory.

• Western Australia is the largest state covering just under one third of the Australian landmass, followed by Queensland and New South Wales.

Australia's coat of arms – the official emblem of the Australian Government –was granted by George V in 1912. The arms consist of a shield containing the

badges of the six states. The supporters are native Australian fauna – a kangaroo

and an emu. A yellow-flowered native plant, wattle, also appears in the design.

The small Union Jack represents the historical link with Britain, the large

seven-pointed star represents the six States and Territories, and the small stars from the Southern Cross – a prominent feature of the southern

hemisphere night sky.

Flag

Weather and the seasons

• Like all countries in the southern hemisphere (the hemisphere south of the Equator), Australia's seasons follow the sequence:

▫ Summer: December to February

▫ Autumn: March to May

▫ Winter: June to August

▫ Spring: September to November

• Australia is generally a very dry place, so summers can get much hotter. The pattern of rainfall is also distinct -some places have abundant rain at one time of the year and almost none at other times.

People

• The current Australian population is estimated at 23,679,000 (22 July 2013).

• This does not include an estimated 1 million Australians living overseas, but it includes the estimated 24% of Australians born overseas (in various nations, but predominantly the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Italy, China, Vietnam, India, the Philippines, and Greece).

The Aborigines are the Australian natives that have been living there for thousands of years before the first Europeans came to Australia in the 1700s.

Food

•Australian cuisine has been derived from the tastes of immigrant settlers to Australia and the produce they have introduced to the continent.•Subsequent waves of multicultural immigration, with a majority drawn from Asia and the Mediterranean region, and the strong, sophisticated food cultures these ethnic communities have brought with them influenced the development of Australian cuisine

•Fresh produce is readily available and thus used extensively, and the trend (urged by long-term government health initiatives) is towards low-salt, low-fat healthy cookery incorporating lean meat and lightly cooked, colourful, steamed or stir-fried vegetables•With most of the Australian population residing in coastal areas, fish and seafood is popular

Sports

• Many Australians are passionate about sport, and it forms a major part of the country's culture in terms of watching and participation

• Sports that are popular include cricket, horseracing, American rules football and rugby

• The country has a large number of national teams in sports such as cricket, rugby union, rugby league, basketball, hockey, netball, soccer, softball, water polo and wheelchair rugby

• Sport is played by different populations in Australia including women, people with disabilities

Festivals and Holidays

• OFFITIAL NAME : Commonwealth of Australia

• CAPITAL: Canberra

• TOTAL AREA: 7,700,000 sq.km

• POPULATION: 20 million people

• HEAD OF STATE: Queen Elizabeth II represented by Governor-General

• FORM OF GVERNMENT: Constitutional monarchy

• PORTS: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane

• LONGEST RIVER: the Darling (2,740 km)

• HIGHEST POINT: Mount Kosciusko (2,230 m)

• NATURAL RESOURCES: coal, zink, nickel, gold, wool

• NATIONAL HOLIDAY: Australian Day , 16 January (1788)

• MONEY: basic unit – Australian dollar

• NATIONAL SYMBOLS: Kangaroo and Emu

• NATIONAL ANTHEM: “Waltzing Matilda”

Facts!!!

Geographical Location• New Zealand, about 1,250 mi (2,012 km) southeast of Australia,

consists of two main islands and a number of smaller outlying islands so scattered they range from the tropical to the Antarctic. The country is the size of Colorado. Capital: Wellington

• Largest Cities: Auckland, 369,000 (metro area)

359,000 (city proper); Christchurch, 334,100

• The highest mountain peak standing at 3,754m

(12,319 ft) is Aoraki/Mt. Cook.; longest river is

the Waikato River at 425km

Weather and the seasons

• Like Australia, New Zealand’s seasons follow the sequence:

▫ Summer: December to February

▫ Autumn: March to May

▫ Winter: June to August

▫ Spring: September to November

People

• Kiwi is the nickname used internationally for people from New Zealand, as well as being a relatively common self-reference. The name derives from the kiwi, a flightless bird, which is native to, and the national symbol of, New Zealand

• New Zealand has a population of over 4.405 Million

Food

•New Zealand cuisine is largely driven by local ingredients and seasonal variations. Occupying an island nation with a primarily agricultural economy, New Zealand yields produce from land and sea. Similar to the cuisine of Australia, the cuisine of New Zealand is a diverse British-based cuisine

•In New Zealand households, dinner (also known as "tea") is the main meal of the day, when families gather and share their evening together. Restaurants and takeaways provide an increasing proportion of the diet.

Festivals and Holidays

Name Date

1st January New Year's Day

2nd January Day after New Year's Day

6th February Waitangi Day

The Friday before Easter Sunday Good Friday

The day after Easter Sunday Easter Monday

25th April Anzac Day

The first Monday in June Queen's Birthday

The fourth Monday in October Labour Day

25th December Christmas Day

26th December Boxing Day

Traits- Australia and New Zealand

• They generally prefer to be treated as individuals.

• Many people do not represent themselves as a member of a specific class, religion, profession or group

• They are people of few words but they are open and direct

• They place a high value on relationships. They stand up for their mates (friends) and the disadvantaged (underdog)

• Being punctual is critical

• They respect opinions, and opinionated discussions are entertaining

Conversations- Australia and New Zealand

• Australians tend to be enthusiastic conversationalists and debaters. The best policy, however, is to wait for your Australian customers to bring up a subject; be prepared to hear very strong and often confrontational opinions

• Australians like to hear opinionated conversations so don’t hesitate to express your views if they are sincere and informed

• It is common for Australians to make provocative statements during conversation- you are expected to respond with humour

• Australians like to criticise themselves, but they are not receptive to criticism from others

• Australians are often informal but courteous and they are very humorous

A few commonly used words and phrases• Ace! : Excellent! Very good! • Bail out : depart, usually angrily • Mate: Friend• Reckon: Think• Cuppa: Tea• Full bottle: fully informed; knowledgeable• No worries: no problem• Belt up!: you are asked stop talking, be quite, in a

angry way• Don't get your knickers in a knot: Don't upset

yourself

Australian and New Zealand accent

• Australian accent is influenced by the British accent and grammar & spelling is similar to that of British English

• Has a non-rhotic accent and it is similar to the other Southern Hemisphere accents

▫ [ei] becomes [æi ] ex. Day,say

▫ [i: ] becomes [i∂ ] ex.he,me

▫ [ai ] becomes [⊃i] ex.nine,height

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