Connecting you with Australian culture online
Australian weather and the seasons European discovery and the colonisation of Australia Great Barrier Reef The Australian Gold Rush Australian Indigenous cultural heritage Melbourne Cup Convicts and the British colonies in Australia Australian food and drink Sydney Opera House The Great Depression
On 25 April every year, Australians commemorate ANZAC Day. During the Second World War, ANZAC Day became a day on which the lives of all Australians lost in war time were remembered. Commemorative services are held at dawn on 25 April, the time of the o...
The bush has an iconic status in Australian life and features strongly in any debate about national identity, especially as expressed in Australian literature, painting, popular music, films and foods. The bush was revered as a source of national ideals b...
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...
Australian folklore, its traditions, customs and beliefs are based on both Indigenous and also non-Indigenous people's knowledge and experience of history in Australia. Some of Australia's folklore remembers the relationship between Europeans and Aborigi...
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...
The songs and music that has come from people's experiences of living and surviving in the Australian bush has become known in Australia as 'bush music'. The convict songs of the early days of the Australian colonies became the foundation of Australia's ...
Peter Dodds McCormick's Advance Australia Fair was officially declared Australia's national anthem by the Governor-General on 19 April 1984, close to 160 years after the first alternative anthems were put forward. South Australian Carl Linger wrote Song ...
Section of a glossary of Australian terms, 1936, Allan & Co. Image courtesy of National Library of Australia. Linguists and other cultural theorists value the study of Australian colloquialisms as a way of observing how the Australian character has develo...
But Australia has a significant and untameable high country where another set of Australian myths and traditions of Australian identity were born - the high country of the Snowy Mountains. The Man from Snowy River is one of Australia's most famous poems ...
Patriotic music written in wartime has been used to express national pride, spread propaganda, encourage enlistment and motivate troops serving in Australia and on overseas duty. Until the First World War, patriotic music written for wars tended to dwell...
Songs in wartime reflect attitudes about Australia's participation in conflict and war—from the Sudan War in 1885 to the First Gulf War (1990–1991). Some of the most well-known and colourful examples of wartime songs lauding heroes come from ...
Who'll Come A Waltzing Matilda With Me (more info)
This site aims to reveal some of the important primary and secondary sources that have informed the stories, myths and interpretations behind the song 'Waltzing Matilda', AustraliaÆs best known and much loved national song.
The Home Page of Australian Folk Singer, Eric Bogle, includes info about his music and discography, songbooks and videos, tour dates and concerts, awards and other info about Eric and his band. One of his best known songs is 'And the Band played Waltzing
The Works of Banjo Paterson (more info)
A website providing information about one of Australia's best known poets and writers, Banjo Paterson, author of The Man from Snowy River and Waltzing Matilda. Includes his life, works, and links to other Paterson sites.
Papers relating to the song "Waltzing Matilda" [c.1900-1986] [manuscript]. Original music and lyrics for "Waltzing Matilda", in the handwriting of Christina Macpherson, together with related papers. Item 3: Original manuscript of "Waltzing Matilda" musi...
Waltzing Matilda [music] : an Australian song / arranged for S. & C. by Thomas Wood ; words by A.B. Paterson ; music by Marie Cowan. "To E.R.B. Jordan, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia". Use or borrow this resource from a library, archive or organisation...
The story of Waltzing Matilda / by Sydney May. Brisbane : W.R. Smith & Paterson Pty. Use or borrow this resource from a library, archive or organisation near you or ask your local library to arrange an interlibrary loan on your behalf (most libraries ch...
WALTZING MATILDA : [PERFORMED BY PETER DAWSON] [sound recording]. Dawson, Peter, 1882-1961, (vocalist. Use or borrow this resource from a library, archive or organisation near you or ask your local library to arrange an interlibrary loan on your behalf ...
The "Waltzing Matilda" debate : a critique of Harry Pearce's " on the origins of "Waltzing Matilda" / by Richard Magoffin. Waltzing Matilda -- Criticism and interpretation. Pearce, Harry -- Criticism and interpretation. ...
Waltzing Matilda [videorecording] : the song that shaped the nation. Avalon Beach, N.S.W. : Waltzing Matilda Enterprises, 1995. The real story behind the song of Waltzing Matilda. ...
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