Australian Stories matching your query...

Like other art forms, Australian theatre has built on previous traditions and developed over time, shaped by local and international artistic movements, events and trends. Australian theatre history incorporates the stories of many actors, entrepreneurs,...

For example, for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders these ceremonies bring together all aspects of their culture - song, dance, body decoration, sculpture and painting. Anny Nungarrayi (centre) with other Warlpiri women perform a traditional dance dur...

Dance is a very dynamic part of Australian performing arts culture. In turn, Australian dance ventures such as Chunky Move, Buzz Dance Theatre and Australian Dance Theatre are bringing their work to the world through international tours. The mix include...

Don McMurdo, Fireworks over the Sydney Opera House, Japan Week, 1988, slide. William Lyster set up his own opera company in 1861, giving audiences their first full scale productions of European opera. Opera Australia was created through the merger of Th...

Hoopdive, The Flying Fruit Fly Circus. Troupes like the Flying Fruit Fly Circus and Circus Oz have spearheaded a new style of circus performance that features highly physical activities and no animal tricks. Nicole Brackertz, teacher of circus history at...

Each year the Sydney Festival offers a rich and diverse program spanning all art forms including dance, theatre, music, visual arts, film, forums and large scale free outdoor events. The National Multicultural Festival is held over two weeks and features...

Art forms such as dance, theatre, writing, music and the visual arts draw on the creativity and interests of Australians of many abilities. The Australia Council, Arts Access Australia, [formerly Disability in the Arts, Disadvantage in the Arts (DADAA)] ...

Comedy is central to Australian cultural identity. Comedy forms the basis of many forms of popular entertainment from live cabaret with stand up comedians to television sketch shows. Australia is a country of climatic and geographic extremes and Austral...

A number of organisations promote Australian music and assist Australian musicians and composers. This Fellowship acts on behalf of Australian composers in matters of copyright, composers' fees and the amount of Australian music broadcast on radio and te...

Australian language, letters and literature in Australia has been influenced by Aboriginal storytelling, convict tales and the desire by colonists to relate their experiences in a new country. Similarly, the bush ballads of Henry Lawson and Andrew 'Banjo...

As elsewhere in Australia, European settlement disrupted Aboriginal patterns of land use and movement across the country, and many Aborigines died from European-brought diseases like influenza, smallpox and tuberculosis. The Griffins, Walter Burley and Ma...

The Australian film industry got off to a flying start, producing what was probably the world's first full length feature film in 1906. The film was the Tait brothers production The Story of the Kelly Gang, a success in both Australian and British theatr...

Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, Bringing them Home report. The first National Sorry Day was held on 26 May 1998 - one year after the tabling of the report Bringing them Home, May 1997. Aborigines Welfare Board, children doing exercises at...

Indigenous music in Australia uses the environment itself to generate unique sounds and rhythms. Australian musicians performing across a range of genres, or styles, have achieved international recognition with a unique Australian approach. The opera sin...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science was established in 1927 and the Academy Awards or Oscars ceremonies commenced in 1929. Image courtesy of Latent Image Productions Pty Ltd and National Film & Sound Archive. Their Oscar Statuette is on displa...

Barry Humphries was born in suburban Melbourne in 1934. Greg Gorman, Dame Edna Everage. His most famous and enduring creation was Melbourne housewife, Dame Edna Everage. ...

Australian children's literature rests on the enthusiasm and talents of many individuals, including a great many more Australian writers, illustrators and books than can be listed in this article. The earliest books published for children were mostly ins...

Image courtesy of Craft ACT. There are a number of professions in Australia that contribute to a diverse design industry, including architects, interior designers, landscape architects, graphic designers, jewellers, industrial designers, fashion designers...

The Australian film industry got off to a flying start, producing what was probably the world's first full length feature film in 1906. South Australia banned the screening of bushranger films in 1911, Victoria followed in 1912. Colour production came t...

While working in Sydney, Fred became aware of the need for an Aboriginal health service and set about establishing the first Aboriginal Medical Service. This attitude helped him to inspire many doctors and other health professionals to volunteer their ti...