Cultures & Traditions of Australia

The Locals' Attitude

Australians are modest and down-to-earth people who value those who are sincere, modest and humble. They especially like someone with a sense of humour and dislikes those who are pretentious. They do not draw attention to their academic achievements and hence do not like people who are boastful. Australians try not to give the impression that they think they are better than others hence downplaying their own success making them seem less achievement-oriented.

Australia- multi-cultural society with strong friendships built

Having a relatively small population, Australians feel that it is important to get along well with everyone therefore they look forward to creating a good relationship with others. My Singaporean friend who migrated to Australia said, “The people in Australia are really friendly”. This just further enforces the point that Australians are keen in building a good rapport with whoever who comes by.

Conversation Taboos

The Australians are very sensitive with regards to the country’s past history and their multi-cultural society. Therefore when speaking to a local, do avoid topics such as:

• Racism
• Treatment of Aborigines
• The country’s convict past
• Immigration
• Refugees
• Religion

Meals

Left: traditional breakfast; Right: pie

Australians' eating habits reflect their British heritage. They eat three meals a day, breakfast (also known as 'brekkie'), lunch and dinner.

Breakfast is usually eaten at home although it is becoming more common to see the locals eating breakfat in cafes. A traditional brekkie may include fresh or tinned fruit, fruit juice, cereal or porridge, eggs, bacon and sausages with tea or coffee.Toast may be spread with marmalade, Nutella, or Vegemite, a concentrated yeast extract. In some rural areas, men may include steak and chops in their breakfast as well! Nowadays, Australians eat a light 'Continental' breakfast consisting of croissants or toast with coffee or tea.

Lunch is usually eaten between noon and 2pm and it is usually a light midday meal. Most locals would eat sandwiches or rolls, meat pies, hamburgers or fried chicken and it is usually accompanied with chips and smothered in tomato sauce.

Many Australians have an afternoon snack (tea) which consist of a cup of coffee or tea with a biscuit. On a more formal occasion, afternoon tea may compromise of sandwiches, cakes, or pikelets (small pancakes) which are normally spread with butter and jam.

Dinner is the main meal of the day for the Australians, usually consisting of two courses and dessert in a restaurant. A typical main course is meat or fish with potatoes and vegetables accompanied by beer or wine. Dinner is usually eaten between 7 and 8pm, but in rural areas, dinner may be served as early as 6pm.

In an informal dining setting, most people would eat their food at home on a tray in front of the television and children may eat in their rooms instead of sitting down together as a family.

Australians love barbecue, commonly known as 'barbie' to the locals. When invited to a barbie, you might be asked to 'bring a plate' but it doesn't mean that the host does not have sufficient crockery, it just means that you should bring a plate of food. Also there are barbecue acronyms such as BYO which stands for 'bring your own' or BYOG ('bring your own grog) which means that you are expected to bring drinks such as beer, wine or soft drinks. There is also another acronym BYOGM which represents 'bring your own grog and meat'. At a barbecue, you always serve yourself and you should not stack your plate with plenty of food at one go.

Table Manners

1) It is impolite to use salt and pepper before tasting food as it implies that the host doesn't know how to season correctly.

2) When eating with your hands, an individual bowl would be served with a slice of lemon to each guest and you are expected to dip your fingers in the bowl during and after your meal and dry them on your serviette.

3) Some households say grace before a meal although it is rare nowadays. But if grace is said, you should bow your head until it is finished.

4) Coughing and blowing your nose loudly is considered rude at the table. Burping is also deemed as rude. If you cannot hold in a loud noise, say 'pardon' quietly and pretend as though nothing happened.

5) It is polite to wait until everyone is served before starting to eat.

Aboriginal Culture

Lastly, not forgetting the Aboriginal culture that makes Australia who she is today. In my next post, I will be talking more about the Aboriginal culture, dances, arts, way of life and their past. Do tune in for the next post!