Australian Stories matching your query...

Humour is seen in the Australian use of slang, and across media from cartoons in print, as sketches on radio, as comedy series on television, in films and with witty observations of life in Australian literature. Mocking the wowser is another common elem...

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...

And nowhere is this more apparent than in the actions of our front-line troops—soldiers or nurses—whether in the trenches, as prisoners of war or on leave. The significance of sport for Australian soldiers, from the First World War through to...

Australia experiences a range of 'natural disasters' including bushfires, floods, severe storms, earthquakes and landslides. Fire can often follow drought, and drought can be followed by flood. I love a sunburnt country, a land of sweeping plains, Of ra...

Modern Australian poetry seeks to tell Australian stories and truths with a poetic significance so that 'they sear into the soul and can never be untold' (Dorothy Porter). The Jindyworobaks encouraged Australian writers to express themselves in language ...

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,...

Barry Humphries is first and foremost a comedian and satirist - one of the funniest and most loved performers Australia has produced. Greg Gorman, Dame Edna Everage. His most famous and enduring creation was Melbourne housewife, Dame Edna Everage. ...

Australia has a strong and vibrant history of political cartooning. Since the 1830s, when political cartoons were first featured in Australian newspapers, they have provided satirical, witty or humorous comment on political and public affairs, social cus...

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. Judith Lanigan trained with a small modern cir...

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...

Australian swimming successes at the Melbourne (1956), Rome (1960) and Tokyo (1964) Olympics fuelled enthusiasm for competitive swimming in pools. Swimming pools came to be seen as a standard local government community facility that was available to all ...

Ah Xian, winner of 2009 Clemenger Contemporary Art Award Triennial. Image courtesy of the artist and National Gallery of Victoria. The practice of current contemporary artists is supported by a solid foundation of established artist-run contemporary art ...

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...

Indigenous film either portrays Indigenous people, issues and stories or is film made by Indigenous Australians. The portrayal of Indigenous issues and people in film provides a unique insight into Australia's relationship with its Indigenous peoples and...

Portrait of Henry Lawson by Sir John Longstaff. Colin Roderick , who published a biography of Lawson called Henry Lawson: a life, suggests that Lawson suffered from manic depression and sought refuge from his mood swings in alcohol. Much of Lawson's work...

Australian novels are an impressive collection of written works, and represent a dynamic body of excellent writers, some with significant international awards to their credit. The Australian poet Alec Hope said that, 'The Bunyip of Australian literature ...

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...

Since then, Australian television has grown to include: five national free-to-air stations; regional stations; community stations; and countless cable stations. The government-owned Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) also expanded its radio broadca...

Street decorations in George Street during the visit to Sydney of H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, June - July 1920, photograph: b&w. The 1867-68 visit of the little-known Prince Alfred to Australia was the very first by a member of the British Royal family. ...