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Australia Local Customs


Vegemite - Australia
Vegemite
by xuessium
Learn the local customs of Australia. Tips and photos posted by real travelers and Australia locals.
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AuSSie SLAnG- MaTe
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  • Amelei
  • Updated By Amelei on January 18, 2005
  • Australia Page by Amelei
  • Australia Local Customs
    by Amelei
    To be a real true blue aussie some of these phrases may help you out. hahahaha....

    Thongs- NOT a Gstring - refers to the rubber things on your feet.

    Backy
    Tobacco

    Bender
    Drinking binge - totally blind drunk.

    Buckley's chance
    Very little possibility of obtaining what you want.

    Chop chop
    Tobacco Can also mean to hurry up or get a move on.

    Cossie
    Swimming or bathing costume

    Daks
    Trousers

    Drop dead
    Person is really disgusted with what you are saying and wants you to go away. This does not mean that the person actually wants you to die.

    Fair Dinkum
    The truth.

    Flick
    To permanently stop engaging in some activity.
    For example "I don't like Justine any more so I gave her the flick."

    Give it a burl
    Give it a try.

    Little Vegemites
    Children

    Ocker
    Australian uncouth chauvinistic males, but can also apply to uncouth females.

    Off (one's) trolley
    Mad, irrational, completely over the top.

    On the blink
    Not working

    Out of wack
    Not working as it should. Something wrong.

    Rack off
    Go away - get lost - stop annoying me.

    Skite
    A person who brags constantly about themself and how good they are and how much money they have etc. Don't do this most Aussies hate it.

    Sprung
    Caught doing something that you shouldn't be doing. Like raiding a bank. Or a child caught taking some lollies when they have been told not to take any.

    The Big Smoke
    Mostly used by country people when referring to the capital cities of Australia. In Victoria for instance Melbourne would be considered to be the big smoke.

    The sticks
    Out in the country

    Top end
    Far north area of Australia. The inhabitants there call it "God's Country". Trouble and strife
    The wife

    Village bike
    Promiscuous woman.

    Walking papers
    Dismissal from work - the sack.

    Well turned out
    Well dressed

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    In an emergency
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  • tiabunna
  • By tiabunna on February 11, 2007
  • Australia Page by tiabunna
  • Dial 112 for emergencies in Australia - Australia
    Dial 112 for emergencies in
    Australia
    by tiabunna
    Emergencies can occur for many reasons, usually unexpectedly. In Australia, emergency assistance is reached by dialling 000 on any telephone. This will put you through to an emergency call centre.

    If you are using a mobile phone, you can dial 112 and, if any signal can be received from any mobile network (ie not necessarily from your provider), your call will be directed to the emergency call centre. Note, however, that although the telephone companies proudly say they provide coverage for something like 95% of the population, once you leave the main roads and coastal areas, much of Australia is out of reach of mobile phone services.

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    Urbanisation
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  • tiabunna
  • Updated By tiabunna on February 11, 2007
  • Australia Page by tiabunna
  • I mentioned in my introduction page that Australia is the most urbanised large country in the world. Given the size of the country, this may seem surprising, but the difficulty of farming in a generally difficult climate without the government subsidies handed out in some other countries has meant that smaller farms must struggle or find efficiencies, often by consolidating and reducing the workforce. In general, large farms need fewer workers (except in specific cases, such as casual seasonal labour for fruit picking) and the trend is to mechanisation. Then even smaller towns struggle, as there are fewer people to support them and those remaining find that shopping is not as good as in larger centres . So the young people move to the cities.

    As a comparison, here are some statistics I found on the percentage of urbanisation among larger countries:
    Australia - 88.6%
    United States of America – 81.4%
    France – 77.1%
    United Kingdom – 75.37%
    Germany – 75.3%
    Japan – 66.2%

    And that is why you will find many small half-empty villages in Australia, with substantial distances between major rural centres.

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    Opals
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  • darthmilmo
  • By darthmilmo on February 12, 2004
  • Australia Page by darthmilmo
  • Opal production in Coober Peddy - Australia
    Opal production in Coober
    Peddy
    by darthmilmo
    Defining an opal takes you through a journey of central Australia's geological past. Basically, billions of years ago, there used to be an inland ocean residing in Central Australia. Over the years, the ocean accumulated sediments, such as sand, dead animals and the like. Eventually, as Australia kept shifting, the ocean receded. Before the ocean receded, the silica in the sand made its way down into the remaining gaps of the compressed sandstone. Some took the shape of the dead animal others just took whatever gap they could find. After millions of years, the silica slowly converted into Opals. Australia is the only place on earth where fossilized opals abound. I've seen a beautiful specimen in the South Australia Museum at Adelaide. It also counts with some of the purest and more colorful opals. The more colors are given off by the opal, the more it is worth. Unlike the early days, when black opals were discarded, today the black opal fetches thousands of dollars more then its white counterpart. Why? The black opals are rarer.

    The opal is painstakingly found through several modern or traditional means as it can fetch hundreds or thousands of dollars once refined. The refining process undertaken to cut and polish an opal is no easy task. Today, diamonds are used to cut the opals. These are then polished for a finer finish.

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    Tipping
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  • tiabunna
  • By tiabunna on February 11, 2007
  • Australia Page by tiabunna
  • Tipping is not general or expected in Australia. We take the pragmatic view that laws setting minimum pay and working conditions ensure people are adequately paid for their work. You are expected only to pay for what you ordered.

    Having said that, it is common to ‘round up’ the amount paid in taxis, or to round restaurant bills to the nearest $5 or $10 if you have been particularly satisfied. But nobody will be fussed if you don’t.

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    Aboriginal people and their struggles
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  • darthmilmo
  • By darthmilmo on February 12, 2004
  • Australia Page by darthmilmo
  • Canoeing at Nitmiluk (Katherine Gorge) - Australia
    Canoeing at Nitmiluk
    (Katherine Gorge)
    by darthmilmo
    Before you take in the wonders around the many Aboriginal lands or soon after, make sure you visit the many interesting and informational cultural centers. One of my favorite ones is the one in Nitmiluk (Katherine Gorge) National Park, which offers an interesting insight into the Jawoyon Aboriginals, the local owners. They had a long struggle to reclaim their land. When the English arrived, they assume Australia was no-men’s-land and so took the liberty of displacing all of the Aboriginal communities from their ancestral lands. The Jawoyon, who used to live in and around Nitmiluk Gorge where displaced until 1989, when a favorable court order gave them their land back. They now lease the land to the National Park and by doing so co-manage the park. It's really nice to see such a promising future, not only for this tribe, but also for the traditional owners of Kakadu, Uluru, Kata Tjuta, and other regions.

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    Australia: Outback / "Top End" People Pt. 2
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  • Intrepidduck
  • Updated By Intrepidduck on February 2, 2006
  • Australia Page by Intrepidduck
  • Top End Truck Driver, NT - Australia
    Top End Truck Driver, NT
    by Intrepidduck
    Humour and Hospitality.

    The Outback will toughen the individual person - man or woman alike. This "Top End" ("northern" Northern Territory) truck driver had a definate sense of humour. As you can see he runs a road painting business, for redrawing the lines. On the back of his truck were two large paint containers which he has hand painted to appear as giant tinnies (beer cans) of a particular leading Melbourne based brewer. People take a beer seriously out here.

    As well as the sense of humor the hospitality is strong in the Outback. When I broke my bicycle carry rack out of Barrow Creek I had to hitch, bike and all, to Tennant Creek. I was surprised that a lone women driver with her identical twin child boys stoped to pick me up and took me to where I needed to get to. Not far up the road we ran out of gas, it wasn't long before a couple of passing motorists stopped for our assistance. We were on the road again in no time and even made a short visit to the Devils Marbles. I had to return my favour without much fuss so bought my driver a coffee and soft drinks for the twins.

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    Australia: Outback People Pt. 1
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  • Intrepidduck
  • Updated By Intrepidduck on February 2, 2006
  • Australia Page by Intrepidduck
  • Dog and Man. - Australia
    Dog and Man.
    by Intrepidduck
    Outback Characters.

    While bicycling the Australian Outback I was constantly meeting the numerous locals or people who have made this part of the world their new home. Its a hardy or eclectic type of person who will make the choice between the Outback as their home from the city. It can be a lonely place out their in the Outback for some, but for many it is a place that recharges the individual's soul and shapes the character in all.

    The man pictured here is one such person who had made the Outback his home. His Dingo-cross dog was as much a character as he was, it was a warm and welcome feeling to meet these two, while bicycling with my cycling companion Carsten north of Coober Pedy. It was taken right at the 9600Km long "Dingo fence", this dog pictured had the rights of way.

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    Australia: Uluru's Sacred Importance
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  • Intrepidduck
  • Updated By Intrepidduck on April 7, 2006
  • Australia Page by Intrepidduck
  • Red Rock Blue Sky - Australia
    Red Rock Blue Sky
    by Intrepidduck
    The Anangu, whom are the traditional owners of Uluru (Ayers Rock) advise to visitors comming here to show their respect - particularly when concerning climbing the rock. It remains your decision if you would wish to do so or not, however please take into mind what this place represents to the Aboriginal people of Central Australia. Better still and most welcomed by the Anangu are a number of walks which can be taken in designated areas around the base of the rock. On most days there are even free guided walks - check Cultural Centre for this. The two more popular and important ones are either the Mala Walk and the Mutitjula Walk. By doing these self guided walks one gains a greater understanding of the cultural and spiritual significance of this worldly place. Also during hot or wet weather it is advisable not to attempt climbing the rock for your own personal saftey. In these conditions particularly the Mala Walk is not to be missed.

    A useful free fold out booklet, with maps, on these two walks is available at the Uluru Cultural Centre, located on your right just before reaching the base road. Bicycling from Yalara Resort is an easy task for most people and one can circle Uluru along the road only in under an hour, while it's about 16KM from Yalara to the Rock.

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    The Traditional Aboriginal Way of Life – part 2
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  • darthmilmo
  • Updated By darthmilmo on February 12, 2004
  • Australia Page by darthmilmo
  • Aboriginal Rock Art - Australia
    Aboriginal Rock Art
    by darthmilmo
    Interestingly enough, hundreds of Aboriginal communities or tribes evolved with their own language, art, culture, and traditions. These were influenced by were they lived. In the north by Kakadu, where food is plentiful, they were able to develop a really fine and detailed rock art to express themselves both artistically and for survival purposes. In Uluru, where the land is drier and the living is harder they developed a simpler rock art to describe where water and food is available. The Aboriginals never developed a written alphabet. Their oral languages are so diverse that neighbors often couldn't understand each other. They describe it as having a Dutch trying to communicate with an Italian. A bit harder than it sounds I’m sure. In any case, when the British arrived, they displaced many of these Aboriginals. It is estimated that over a million of them lived in Australia. Today, only a couple hundred thousand remain. Many of these have been permanently displaced and forced to live Anglo-Saxon lives. However, recent laws have made it possible for several communities to regain their old ancestral lands. Thus, the Aboriginal way of life is thriving once more. Often, these communities enforce their own ancestral laws. Sadly, many a tourist like me will never see a true aboriginal. All we see are the outcasts or displaced individuals in the cities. Some of these are the remnants of the English invasion. Others are more recent outcasts, people who have been banned from their communities from violating the law. Many of them succumb to the vices of the cities/towns, especially alcohol. Aboriginals lack the enzyme that brakes down alcohol so just a bit will get them drunk easily. If you come across one, just remember that they are not the best example of a thriving Aboriginal culture. As in any society, they are the poor outcasts. You have outcasts everywhere, even on your own home.

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