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The far north, close to the equator, is of course tropical: with plenty of "weather" to keep you diverted: from hot, wet summers and cyclones, to gloriously warm winters. The far south, Tasmania, is more like "English" climate, and indeed, being one of the oldest settlements, has many echoes of English history, such as Georgian architecture. In between, there is everything from huge tracts of desert, to snow-topped mountains for winter skiing. So as well as having a diverse range of towns and physical environments to choose from as "home," you can travel within Australia to many different colours and textures, as you might if traveling through Europe. However, distances between destinations are far greater than you might be accustomed to, and almost wherever you gravitate within the country, the social fabric will generally be "Australian!" And, in contrast to travel in, say, Europe, the greatest cultural diversity is within the capital cities themselves, rather than between the towns and cities separated by distance. Australia was, until a mere 200 years ago, inhabited by Aboriginal tribes, who rarely changed their physical landscape generally they didn't farm, or herd so until then, the continent was evolved more by the expedients of time and nature rather than the manipulations of mankind. Many unique
animals and flora evolved in isolation to other continents. This means
that almost every change to the landscape has been instigated in very recent
history.
Culture
The joy of this is that Australia is truly a "multicultural" society, and many of the infusions are quite subtle. Further, unlike many territorial demarcations elsewhere, these diverse groups have never fought over land and culture within Australia, so there are no deep-seated, long running historical divides that scar and divide many older world trouble spots. The influences of imported culture can be from the seemingly invisible a good cup of espresso coffee virtually unknown until post war migration to the highly visible, where ethnic groups proudly display their heritage via festivals, shops, places of worship, clothing, etc. There is an expectation, though, that migrants will make efforts to integrate, certainly not speaking English will be a virtually insurmountable obstacle, and perhaps allegiance to one football club or another will be pressed upon you!
However, clearly, the integration and dilution of cultures makes them less prominent, and indeed, many migrant populations that now reach to successive generations, are just other "Australian" families, with perhaps only something like "Asian" physical features making any claim towards diversity. In the post 1960's, there was quite a distinct breakaway from the conservatism of the post war years, and with many material aspirations met, Australians pushed further into more liberal politics. Beware, though, the "Liberal" political party in Australia is the conservative right and the "Labor" party traditionally more towards the left! Matters such as Aboriginal land rights, women's equality, free education, and anti Vietnam war sentiment paralleled much of the American experience. Now is perhaps the time to point out that despite the physical distances, starting in the days of satellite communications, and reaching the present web-age, connectivity between Australia and the rest of the world is fast and all encompassing. The trend towards "Americanising" Australia is one of the parallels of the communications behemoth, with MacDonalds and KFC starting up in the early 1970's, and a proliferation of television and other media influences quickly overcoming the more "traditional" English cultural imports that had prior sway since initial British colonisation. Interestingly, though, part of the
"schizophrenia" is that the conservative parties, and indeed the prime
minister, cling to the Queen and monarchy of England ("no republic of Australia!")
whilst swearing an almost cycloptic allegiance to the USA and its policies.
Beach Culture
But it does go a little deeper. Firstly, think
of an "archetypical" abbots head! A bald pate fringed with a ring of lax
hair.
On the east coast, this tract is a mere hundred or so kilometres wide, less or more depending on where you are until you meet the great Dividing Range an ancient, reasonably low mountainous strip that delineates where the fun starts and the deprivation commences! This is not strictly true, with hundreds of thousands of acres of grazing land to the west of the divide. Personally, unless someone can convince me otherwise (start a sheep farm?) I choose to live no further than 5 minutes form a beach. So why is this more than superficial? Well, for one, there is the issue of climate. As you move into a desert environment, you get the extremes of scorching, stultifying daytime heat, and icy nights. On most of the coast, this undulation is evened out: the "nor-easterly" breeze on most summer days cools the brain and the body, and night temperatures do not swing into frozen depths. Even within a few kilometres of the coast, these swings are more far reaching. Then, "beach culture" is echoed in many ways: from eating at an alfresco café, hopefully with a water view, to choosing clothing that lets your skin touch the weather. Water sports, swimming, surfing, sailing, diving, etc is one prime way of exercising without the imposed discipline or monotony of a gym. Camaraderie on the beach such as surf life-saving clubs or the winter-swimming stalwarts rain or shine, in the brine sees a social leveling from affluent to struggling, from new-born to geriatric. There is an inherent freedom, too, in many water activities. I recall at one skiing sojourn the craziness of driving for an hour to the snow-fields, trekking to the ski lift with paraphernalia, mummified by the requisite clothing, gloves, scarves and hat...walking in that stiff-legged frog march dictated by ski-boots, only to turn back because of poor weather and yes, you forfeit payment of a day's worth of lift tickets. Compare and contrast: into the water with nothing but your "cozzies" "Speedo’s" "budgie-smugglers" or whatever your preferred swim attire, or even select locations where such coverings are irrelevant and legally superfluous. The cost? Generally free, in a world where "free" is a rare commodity! Many a day I have gazed at the pageant of a summer's day and thought about what sort of monetary value a traveler must forgo to substitute this scene for their familiar trappings of home. Downside
Sydney tends to offer a more diluted dose of these activities. But few international cities can boast world class beaches that are just another part of the suburban environment. In the middle ground, though, sporting activities such as golf, lawn bowls, can be found Australia wide, plus many more extreme sports (jumping out of a plane, abseiling, trekking, white water rafting.) just about anywhere you go. Whilst the smaller towns tend to fade with offerings of art, museums, cinema (other than mainstream) most take pride in some regional feature, be it the Stockman's Hall of Fame or the outdoor picture-theatre (cinema) but you will probably turn to the "www" for anything more intellectually challenging. Also, with a small population (some 20 million) you won't find the "depth" of resources offered in other countries, so for an interest group with "0.1% of the population" following, you might only find a handful of others who share your passion. .
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