Latrobe: A Brave New World

Australia is a nation of immigrants. It has become a vibrant & diverse place where tolerance & equality are both accepted & expected by its people as part of their way of life. It is also considered as one of the world’s most culturally diverse countries. In fact, it was the egalitarian streak in Australia’s national character that facilitated the development of contemporary multiculturalism of Australia.

Australia is a very culturally diverse country, meaning that it consists of many cultures and ethnicities from around the world. This diversity is mostly due to immigration,

Australia has been shaped through war since soldiers set to the First World War right up until the now with the war in Afghanistan. Aspects that made it controversial ideas from being a colony of Britain and the politics that came with it, development of treaties with other countries, social groups, and family honour.

Australian National Identity was forged by multi cultural nationalities. Within our country we now celebrate all and various events as a Nation. Our Australian Laws and language is linked with Britain. World

As the original country to settle in Australia (excluding Aboriginals), British Culture has a strong influence in Australia. Australia was originally a colony of Britain, and therefore its national identity was very similar to

Australia is filled with many different aspects in which makes it the country it is today. I believe it is important to study texts that explore aspects of Australia by studying texts such as ‘The Club’, by David Williamson, a play written in 1977 about an Australian football club and movies such as “The Castle”, directed by Rob Stitch in 1997, about the daily life of an Australian family when their happiness is threatened when developers attempt to buy their house to expand the neighboring airport. Both these texts show us what Australian life was like in the past. By us looking at themes such as language, tradition and the mateship shown we are able to explore different aspects of Australia that make it what it is today.

There are numerous defining historical events that took place across the nineteenth and twentieth century that played a key role in shaping our nation The Aboriginal people were the first culture to inhabit Australia, however the first significant event that contributed to Australia’s multicultural society was the arrival of the British convicts on the first fleet in the late 1700’s. With the arrival of the British, came disease and discrimination towards the

The culture is essentially influenced by the unique geography of the Australian continent diverse input of Aboriginal and Tarres Strait Islanders peoples. The British colonist of Australia that began in 1788, the various waves followed. The predominance of the English language the existence of a demotic system of government drawing upon the British traditions of Westminster Government, Parliamentarian-ism and constitutional

A key component of Australian culture today is not only their diversity, but more importantly, the

Australia has never had a definable national identity prescribed by institutions or politicians; rather, most of the identities are tied to folklores and models (Hogue 2005). For over 150 years during colonization, Australia was widely identified as a British nation. Additionally, the Australian residents did not have valid citizenship until 1948. Before that period, all people born within the country were regarded as British citizens and were expected to uphold their values. At one time, authors described the residents as anonymous, nothing-men, and featureless. However, Australia had always had underlying national identities

Australia’s identity has always been a complicated one. Starting with Aboriginal genocide, 1800’s cowboys and villains, two world wars and a bunch of poems describing them, it makes it difficult to conclude on what being an ‘Aussie’ really is. Thankfully, the two thought-provoking poems Nobody Calls Me a Wog Anymore by Komninos Zervos, and My Country by Dorothea Mackellar both use their discerning selection of themes to reflect modern attitudes in some extent. Along with their themes, Nobody Calls Me a Wog Anymore and My Country both use their story to capture the attributes modern Australians possess to some degree.

History class in itself has a specific purpose which seems to be frequently forgotten. We learn about violent and horrible events in our past, as well as life- changing and positively impacting ones. From the negative events, we learn what went wrong and how to prevent similar tragedies from happening. From the positive, we gather knowledge and comprehension of the basis of our modern society. We are a self- repairing race, analyzing every flaw and figuring out what caused it. It's an ancient practice, trial and error is human nature.

It is thought by many that part of the Australian identity is being a very tolerant country that accepts and includes all cultures and people from all walks of life; however, after coming across the poems No More Boomerang by Oodgeroo Noonuccal and Be Good, Little Migrants by Uyen Loewald, the experiences felt by two Australians prove that this idea is... questionable.

History is the study of people and events from the past. However, history in high school is not being taught correctly. For example, Black history is not being taught the way it should be. My experience in high school with learning about black history was that it was not required to be taught. Teachers never really mentioned the important things that happened in black history. They only gave us quotes about black history and some of the people that were apart of black history. I never knew the true meaning of black history and what it was all about. Still today I am not sure what really happened during that period. But the truth behind history is beginning to come out with the removal of the confederate monument. We are now seeing that high

Australia has always been centered around diversity and change, specifically with the vast multiculturalism and migrant culture throughout the nation. The specifics of Identity hold an important role in shaping our identity as students and as a nation. Australians pride themselves on being a land of the free and full of diverse culture. This is specifically referred to in our national Anthem; “For those who've come across the seas, We've boundless plains to share; With courage let us all combine,”(McCormick, 1984). Displaying Australia’s open attitude towards immigrants and contributes to the diversity present within our society today. Even before this, much of Australia’s Identity was associated with caucasian culture (Originating from British Settlers). Which is the dominant perception of Australia through the media with australian representation being present through the stereotypes of Bogans, which was made popular through shows like Kath and Kim (ABC, 2007). Also, represented through the popular depiction of Australian people - the bushman made popular by movies like Crocodile Dundee (Faiman, 1986) and through famous real life bushman; Steve Irwin. An important aspect of Australian identity which is consistently neglected is the culture and representation of the initial owners of the land; the aboriginal people. Throughout history the constant mistreatment and neglect of the indigenous, has lead to a massive gap in privilege between the aboriginal people and our