CultureShock! A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette Australia Ilsa Sharp cs! australia.indd 1 6/23/09 9:56:34 AM CultureShock! A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette Australia Ilsa Sharp CS-00-Australia.indd i 6/22/09 2:01:17 PM This 7th edition published in 2009 by: Marshall Cavendish Corporation 99 White Plains Road Tarrytown NY 10591-9001 www.marshallcavendish.us First published in 1992 by Times Editions Pte Ltd, reprinted 1993; 2nd edition published in 1994, reprinted 1995 (thrice), 1996; 3rd edition published in 1997, reprinted 1997, 1998, 1999 (twice); 4th edition published in 2000, reprinted 2000; 5th edition published in 2001, reprinted 2002, 2003 (twice), 2004; 6th edition published in 2005. © 2009 Ilsa Sharp All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Request for permission should be addressed to the Publisher, Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Private Limited, 1 New Industrial Road, Singapore 536196. Tel: (65) 6213 9300, fax: (65) 6285 4871. E-mail: [email protected] The publisher makes no representation or warranties with respect to the contents of this book, and specifi cally disclaims any implied warranties or merchantability or fi tness for any particular purpose, and shall in no events be liable for any loss of profi t or any other commercial damage, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. Other Marshall Cavendish Offi ces: Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Pte Ltd. 1 New Industrial Road, Singapore 536196 Q Marshall Cavendish Ltd. 5th Floor, 32-38 Saffron Hill, London EC1N 8FH, UK Q Marshall Cavendish International (Thailand) Co Ltd. 253 Asoke, 12th Flr, Sukhumvit 21 Road, Klongtoey Nua, Wattana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand Q Marshall Cavendish (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Times Subang, Lot 46, Subang Hi-Tech Industrial Park, Batu Tiga, 40000 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia Marshall Cavendish is a trademark of Times Publishing Limited ISBN: 978-0-7614-5472-4 Please contact the publisher for the Library of Congress catalogue number Printed in Singapore by Times Printers Pte Ltd Photo Credits: All black and white photos from the author except pages 3, 32, 41, 59, 95, 247, 293 (Brian Balen), pages 20, 46, 75, 93, 225, 263, 286, 320 (Siva Choy), page 223 (City of Canning), pages 16, 24, 26, 201, 252, 298 (John Halliwell), page 308 (courtesy of John Timbers Studio, London), page 256 (Philip Little), page 273 (Richard Simpson, courtesy of Daily News, Western Australia), page 22 (Jan Weller) and pages 21, 47, 124, 242, 243, 321 (Frank Weller). All colour images from Photolibrary except page p (Matt King/Getty Images). Q Cover photo: Art Directors & Trip All illustrations by TRIGG CS-00-Australia.indd ii 6/22/09 2:01:17 PM ABOUT THE SERIES Culture shock is a state of disorientation that can come over anyone who has been thrust into unknown surroundings, away from one’s comfort zone. CultureShock! is a series of trusted and reputed guides which has, for decades, been helping expatriates and long-term visitors to cushion the impact of culture shock whenever they move to a new country. Written by people who have lived in the country and experienced culture shock themselves, the authors share all the information necessary for anyone to cope with these feelings of disorientation more effectively. The guides are written in a style that is easy to read and covers a range of topics that will arm readers with enough advice, hints and tips to make their lives as normal as possible again. Each book is structured in the same manner. It begins with the fi rst impressions that visitors will have of that city or country. To understand a culture, one must fi rst understand the people—where they came from, who they are, the values and traditions they live by, as well as their customs and etiquette. This is covered in the fi rst half of the book Then on with the practical aspects—how to settle in with the greatest of ease. Authors walk readers through how to fi nd accommodation, get the utilities and telecommunications up and running, enrol the children in school and keep in the pink of health. But that’s not all. Once the essentials are out of the way, venture out and try the food, enjoy more of the culture and travel to other areas. Then be immersed in the language of the country before discovering more about the business side of things. To round off, snippets of basic information are offered before readers are ‘tested’ on customs and etiquette of the country. Useful words and phrases, a comprehensive resource guide and list of books for further research are also included for easy reference. CS-00-Australia.indd iii 6/22/09 2:01:17 PM CONTENTS Preface vi Chapter 4 Acknowledgements vii How Australian Dedication xi Society Works 139 Map of Australia xii Structure and Form 140 Dissecting Democracy 141 Chapter 1 The Fourth Estate 143 First Impressions 1 Mind My Space 148 Geography: Land and Light 2 How They Think of People: Straight-talking, Themselves 150 Easy-going, Apparel-challenged 4 Joining the Crowd 150 Language 5 Freedom and Democracy 167 Accent 7 Social Do’s and Don’ts 175 Customs 8 Upside-down Land: Nature Chapter 5 and Environment 10 Settling In 178 Being a Migrant 179 Chapter 2 The Basics 13 A Migrant Nation 190 Multiculturalism— The Land of Australia 14 Handle With Care 191 The Countryside 17 Transportation 200 Survival Sense 38 More Bummers 206 A Sense of Nation 42 The Dollar 208 Historical Milestones 44 Keeping in Touch 209 A Jigsaw Nation 52 Health 210 The Spiritual Aussie 53 Shopping Around 211 How Aussies See Some Awful Things That of ‘The Others’ 55 Could Happen 213 Earning a Crust 72 Children Change 214 The Tax Man Cometh... 84 On the Positive Side 221 Homes and Gardens 223 Chapter 3 Getting Started 232 The People 88 Handyman Mania 235 The Typical Australian 89 Garden Gnomes 241 Self-image 96 The Family Dog 244 The Colonial Past 98 Front-room Formality 245 The Convict Heritage 99 Loo Lore 246 The Skeleton in the Cupboard 105 The Barbie 246 Dreamtime Australia: Visiting 248 The Aboriginals 106 Troubleshooting The Mabo/Wik Mess 130 Checklist 248 The Intervention 132 Turning of the Tide 135 CS-00-Australia.indd iv 6/22/09 2:01:17 PM Chapter 6 Mis-Speak 339 Tucker 260 Spelling Bee Damned? 341 Joke for Democracy 342 The Asian Invasion 262 Your Verbal Camoufl age 343 Cookbooks to Conjure With 267 Body Language 344 Cutlery 268 Quick Fix 269 Chapter 9 The Australian Shopping Basket 271 Doing Business in 345 Fruit 275 Australia Dining Out 276 The Leisure Ethic 346 Shouts and Splits 276 Service, Civility and Servility 357 Traditional Fare 278 Everybody Out! 358 Christmas 280 Handout Heartbreak 360 About Tea 281 Your Partner in Business 363 Bush Tucker 281 Keeping Up Appearances 364 Gourmet Surprises 284 After Hours 366 Grog 285 The Grapevine 287 Chapter 10 DIY Australia, A to Z 372 Chapter 7 Name-dropping 380 The Philistine Inventors & Innovators 389 290 Slander Selected Acronyms 391 Still Pictures 294 Moving Pictures 299 Culture Quiz 393 Thespian Things 304 Do’s and Don’ts 396 The Box 305 Glossary 400 Cabaret and Comedy 307 Resource Guide 412 Fancy Footwork 310 Further Reading 423 Music 311 About the Author 433 The Literary Tradition 316 Index 434 Bricks and Mortar 320 Street-wise Culture 323 The Art of Leisure 324 Chapter 8 Speaking Strine 327 An English-Speaking Country? 328 The Art of Abuse 336 CS-00-Australia.indd v 6/22/09 2:01:17 PM vi PREFACE I would like to think that this book may help explain Australia to newcomers and visitors and thus bridge any ‘culture gaps’, improving the chances of mutual empathy and friendship. It is my particular, personal wish that Australia and Asia should draw closer together. I hope, too, that the book will help Australians understand themselves and what it is that makes their culture unique, by holding a mirror up to them and asking them to see themselves through outsiders’ eyes. Finally, I must beg Australia’s pardon if any of my interpretations have been skewed somewhat by my own ‘Sandgroper’ bias, due to being located at Perth, despite my best efforts to avoid such imbalance, and for any other inadvertent ‘greenhorn’ errors. CS-00-Australia.indd vi 6/22/09 2:01:17 PM ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vii This book would not have been possible without the help of the Australian people in general, or of many published writers already well established in the fi eld of ‘Australia- watching’, besides numerous friends and acquaintances. If I have inadvertently omitted anyone’s name, my sincere apologies. I particularly want to acknowledge my debt to several reference works (for details of publishers, etc., refer to ‘Further Reading’ at the back of the book): The Penguin Australian Encyclopaedia The Little Aussie Fact Book, Margaret Nicholson A Dictionary of Australian Colloquialisms, G A Wilkes The Macquarie Dictionary of Australian Quotations The Macquarie Book of Events The Lucky Country, Donald Horne Permissions The Daily News, Western Australia—Barry Thornton, Deputy Editor, for the meat pies picture. John Timbers of John Timbers Studio, London, for his photograph of Dame Edna Everage. Quotations from the Macquarie Dictionary of Australian Quotations, reprinted with permission of the publisher, The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd.