Australian Culture

The modern culture of Australia is a Western culture and draws from many sources, primarily from the Anglo-Celtic cultures, but also from Aboriginal cultures, the multi-ethnic immigration associated with the Australian gold rushes of the 1850s, and post-World War II immigrants from all over the world. Mainstream Australian culture has been strongly influenced by British culture and European culture and more recently the culture of the United States of America. There are, however, distinctive influences from the Australian natural environment, the country's settler history, indigenous Australians, geographical isolation from other Western nations and proximity to Asia.
The demographics of Australia show it to be one of the most urbanised populations in the world; the majority of Australians live on the coast with the outback being sparsely populated. Australia's cities are melting pots of different cultures and the influence of the longer-established southern European communities in particular has been pervasive. The great post-World War II influx of both English and non English-speaking migrants from England, Scotland, Ireland, Italy, Greece, Germany, Former Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Malta, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, East Asia and South-East Asia has had a significant impact. Lesser numbers of immigrants have come from the African and American continents.