AUSTRALIA Dress
Generally you can't go wrong in Australia
unless you're overdressed or not dressed.
For women anything is generally acceptible
but topless or bottomless attire is considered
offensive, even at the beach. In rural areas
conservative dress is best. Australians
also consider those who overdress with too
much makeup or high heels a little overdone.
And in rural areas you certainly would never
dress like this unless it was a very special
occasion eg. wedding, funeral etc. Shorts,
singlets and thongs prevail.
Melbourne and Sydney are probably a little
"spiffier" with suits and ties,
tailored jackets and suits in the city.
Brisbane and other capitals tend to be a
little more relaxed even in offices where
business suits are acceptable without ties.
General Customs
Australia is a multicultural society, predominately
based on western origins. Hence most Australians
are very tolerant of all peoples and races
as most Australians have a mixed gene pool.
However generally all Australians are known
for their informality and most people are
on a first-name basis from the start, therefore
rank is largely irrelevant.
However there are some things which must
be observed. For example loud chewing, burping
or talking with a full mouth is considered
rude. Tipping is not expected. Holding hands
or hugging in public is acceptable but kissing
is not. Littering is severely frowned upon.
Sport
Australians do take sport seriously and
almost every bar you enter will have a sport
on TV from somewhere in the country. However
the sports do vary from state to state or
region to region. In winter, Western Australia,
South Australa and Victoria get into Australian
Rules Football. Whereas New South Wales
and Queensland follow rugby. In summer cricket
is popular across the entire nation. Sports
stars enjoy hero status.
This Sporting Life on the Triple-J radio
station on Sunday afternoon's blends some
Aussie culture in with sports commentating.
The other popular media sports commentary
is the Footy Show on Channel 9.
For those that don't know cricket is two
teams of 11 players that can play from anywhere
to an afternoon to five days. International
cricket features through the summer, by
February and March attention turns to the
national cricket matches. Australian Rules
Football or AFL is also played on cricket
ovals and was originally introduced to keep
cricket players in shape in the off-season.
The AFL grand final is usually held at the
MCG in September.
Rugby developed in the English provincial
town of the same name when a student picked
up a soccer ball and ran it into the goal.
It has now developed into two variants:
rugby union which has 15-man teams and rugby
league with 13-man teams. Both national
sides in Australia enjoy equal success worldwide
but rugby league has a larger following.
The National Rugby League (NRL) series is
watched religiously by New South Wales and
Queensland and the State of Origin series
in June when the states take each other
on, is huge. Popular Union events include
the Super 12 tournament, the Tri-Nation
series (Australia, New Zealand and South
Africa) and the Bledisloe Cup.
Other popular sports in Australia include
triathlon, surflifesaving, yacht racing
(Sydney to Hobart on Jan 26), surfing, horseracing
(Melbourne Cup, first Tuesday in November)
and tennis (Australian Open, January).
Hospitality
Australians retain some of the British form
of hospitality and will generally offer
a coffee or tea with biscuits, cake or fruit
to visitors. In regional or farm areas this
will be a lot more warmly presented than
in the city, where you may miss out altogether!
Appointments
For business or social appointments Australians
are generally on time. Being late more than
10-15 minutes would require a phonecall
to explain the delay.
Aboriginal Settlements
Most settlements are closed to tourists
as too often people through with cameras
and make themselves unwanted. If you are
able to visit always ask permission before
taking pictures. If photographs are to be
used in any publication (even not for commercial
uses) permission must also be sought from
the family or community concerned. This
does not mean you are unwelcome in Aboriginal
communities, indigenous Australians are
a very warm and welcoming people. But unfortunately
most people are dissuaded from visiting
anyway and will warn you not to stop there
even for fuel, water or supplies.
Generally you can buy all the above unheeded
with no problem, although petrol pumps are
not always full or there may be no one there
to unlock them and serve you. It is best
to avoid forming any stereotypes of Aboriginal
people, although it is likely unfortunately
that you may see drinking, glue sniffing
or people living in basic conditions.
If you are privileged enough to stay or
be a visitor in a community it may be best
to avoid pubs at night as they sometimes
have policies of who can enter. It is probably
best to register in town if you are planning
to stay so you're officially recognised.
Try a police station first for directions
or advice. Don't mistreat dogs no matter
now mangy they appear. Most will have owners
and are often well loved. Also desecrating
a sacred site is possibly the worst offence
to Aboriginal people.
Stereotypes
The idea of the Australian as a sportperson
is a realised concept with a tendency amongst
most people to be involved in an organised
activity or to bike, walk, run or swim through
the week. However there are also a large
number of armchair sportspeope and obesity
amongst Australians is rising.
In rural parts of Australia men and women
retain more traditional roles of male and
female.
Australian culture is very much based on
the laisser-faire or egalitatrian ideal.
Slyness, cunning or other dishonest behaviour
is unappreciated. Directness and straightness
are valued. In Australia no one man is better
than his peers, any claims to superior race,
creed or society are rejected or considered
"snobby". Surviving in Australian
culture should be fairly easy as long as
you have no pretentions about being anything.
However men are expected to be men both
on and off the sports field and girls who
can swing a pick or ride a horse are generally
better accepted than those in high heels
and mascara.
Australians revere a historical ideal of
a nation forged on the battlefield and therefore
Anzac Day or other war memorials are almost
sacred to identity. A national tendency
to be anti-authoritarian also has it's roots
in colonial days when Australians first
arrived as convicts. Aussies take little
offence to most behaviour but overt or a
lot of criticism is not appreciated, you
will be simply declared a whinger. Aussies
just "get on with it" or bear
with it.
City and Country Culture
Australia is one of the most urbanised countries
in the world. Those that have the opportunity
to travel north through Australia will notice
subtle difference between Sydney and Melbourne
and a city like Brisbane. You will again
notice further differences in coastal areas
and even more so inland in the outback.
The outback still retains some of the most
colourful characters you will meet anywhere.
People in the bush tend to be fairly straight
shooting and direct. Farmers, cowboys and
local businessmen are all friendly and will
spend the time to chat.
Titles
No formality exists in Australia to call
doctors, lawyers or other professions by
anything other than their first name although
it is polite to try the title first or a
Mr or Mrs until permitted to use the first
name. Most Australians will insist on this,
even the parents of school children to their
children’s friends.
Maori Culture
The Maori people are the indigenous people
of Aotearoa (New Zealand) and first arrived
in voyaging canoes over 1000 years ago.
Today the account for over 14 percent of
the population. Their language and culture
has impacted New Zealand life with traditional
arts such as carving, weaving, kapa haka
(group performance), whaikorero (oratory)
and moko (tattoo) practised throughout the
country. Maori culture also includes art,
film, television, poetry, theatre, and hip-hop.
History and Stereotypes
New Zealanders, like Australians, are largely
sophisticated and highly educated urban
dwellers. They embrace 21st century technology
and culture. Combined with this is a culture
of quiet but rugged individualism &
self-reliance. The early pioneers were isolated
geographically and had to quickly become
hardy and multi-skilled. This has transferred
into generations of young Kiwi business
executives, computer software builders,
film-makers, fashion designers, and sportspeople.
New Zealanders also have a strong egalitarian
streak and a sense of fair play and teamwork.
This is probably a combination of the early
European immigrants who came to New Zealand
to escape the class sytem and had to co-operate
to survive, and also part of the family
structure of Maori society. New Zealand
was one of the earliest countries to grant
women the right to vote and has a strong
trade union tradition.
The two World Wars inflicted heavy casualties
on the New Zealand male population. But
it also developed the idea of loyalty or
"mateship" to your friends and
comrades which is still an important part
of New Zealand culture.
Inventors
Frozen meat, the Hamilton Jet boat, and
the bungy jump are the most famous Kiwi
inventions, but New Zealanders are also
responsible for the tranquilliser gun, seismic
‘base’ isolators (to minimise
earthquake damage), electric fences, the
fastest motorbike in the world, freezer
vacuum pumps, stamp vending machines, wide-toothed
shearing combs, and the electronic petrol
pump.
Sport
New Zealanders are outdoor people which
is partly credited to their low population
density and spectacular scenery. Hiking,
mountaineering and kayaking are popular
as are bush walking and beach days. The
most adventurous Kiwi was Sir Edmund Hillary
who first conquered Mount Everest. Water
sports are particularly popular. New Zealanders
are at the forefront of yacht design and
racing and won the prestigious America's
Cup. New Zealanders have also won many Olympic
medals for yachting, windsurfing, kayaking,
and rowing. Rugby football is the most popular
spectator sport. The legendary All Blacks
have won the World Cup once and been a finalist
twice. The bungy jump was conceived in New
Zealand and the southern town of Queenstown
is one of the world's adventure capitals.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
PNG enjoys the kind of laidback hositality
featured in most tropical/pacific countries
and it's realtively hard to offend. Some
of the groups in particular are renowned
for their hospitality, particularly the
Motuans, a sea faring people who live in
and around Moresby.
Nakedness
It is not uncommon to see topless women
in PNG performing tribal dances or fishng.
Always ask however before you take photographs
although on occasions travellers have reported
that women happily stripped off shirts and
blouses to reveal tribal tattoos on their
naked chests.
However while you may be able to take photos
any display of nudity is not recommended.
Women do not dress in tight skirts and generally
wear baggy shorts or skirts below the knee.
Nothing is figure hugging and swimming takes
place in shirts and shorts or the PNG style
dress used for bathing. Of course if you
are in a resort area with other tourists,
swimming costumes and bikinis are fine.
Punctuality
Punctuality is not a concept adhered to
in PNG and appointment and meeting times
are flexible somewhat. Expats trying to
function here find it a bit frustrating
until they realise that socialability between
clients is the way to function and business
is often realised with a quick visit, or
meal. Even professional architects can not
escape unshceduled drop in visits from friends
and relatives. However most generally will
bring with them food and drinks on their
visits and it is polite to give up your
time to talk and entertain them. No one
is never unwelcomed.
