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Faculty of Arts and Education
RESEARCH FILE| WORDS:994Page | 1
SYNOPSIS
This research file is the first assessment for the Research for Writers subject and aims to develop research skills prior to writing. The research file is a compilation of primary and secondary sources on the selected topic of celebrations.
It is aimed to research celebrations from a historical perspective in an effort to inform the Australian population about the true meaning of the various events that are celebrated during the calendar year.
Most articles that focus on celebrations in Australia are event specific. In other words, they overview a particular event, provide commentary on what occurred and perhaps provide some background information. The angle taken by this writer will differ in that there will be less commentary, but a greater focus on the historical perspective of the event. Furthermore, numerous events that are celebrated will be covered.
Australia has a very diverse population with a continued flow of immigrants joining the Australian population. At the same time, Australia has a fairly unique history and culture, a lot of it stemming from Australia's British colonial origins. There are numerous public holidays and special events held during the year which celebrate various milestones, events and occasions which are very specific to Australia. Some of the celebrations may be quite unfamiliar to Australia's recent arrivals. Furthermore, even well-established migrants may now be familiar with certain celebrations that occur during the year, such as Moomba for example, but may have no knowledge about the background of the special events or the reasons why they are being celebrated. To bring some meaning to Australia's diverse population, it is the intention to conduct some background research on the various public holidays that are held during the year which provide an opportunity of celebration for the people of Australia.
The target audience is predominantly migrants. However, it can include any individual who resides in Australia but his unfamiliar with the background of the various events that are celebrated during the year in Australia.
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PRIMARY SOURCES
Australian Government, 2012, “Citizenship”, Department of Immigration and Citizenship.
Australian Government, 2012, “Australian citizenship test: Snapshot report”, Department of Immigration and Citizenship, June 30.
A couple of AustralianGovernment primary sources that provide various statistics on the composition of Australian immigrants and new arrivals into Australia. These sources will be used to provide background information about the composition of Australia's population and will be used to introduce the article.
Australian Government, 2012, “Public Holidays”.
holidays.htm
Public Holidays Act (1993), 2011, No. 119 of 1993, Authorised Version No. 025 (incorporating amendments as at 8 June 2011).
Victorian Government, 2012, “Public Holidays”, Victoria Online.
The three sources above are similar in that they are all official government documents and outline the various state and federal public holidays. These three sources will be the research starting point, as they provide a listing of the key public holidays in Victoria (and other states) and those celebrated nationally across Australia.
SECONDARY SOURCES
alldownunder.com, “Australian public holidays: The Queen’s Birthday”.
Provides some information about the unusual public holiday - the Queen's Birthday. It is unusual in that it celebrates the Queen's Birthday on different dates. In all Australian states except Western Australia it is celebrated in June. In Western Australia the Queen's Birthday is celebrated in September. This event is also celebrated on different dates around the world.
AsiaRooms.com, 2012, “Australia Day Celebrations”.
Event specific source which focuses on Australia Day celebrations, including some background history into this special day, as well as an outline of the itinerary of events that occurs during the day in various parts of Australia.
City of Melbourne, 2011, Melbourne News, February.
In this edition of the Melbourne News, two pages are devoted to the Melbourne Moomba festival. It outlines some of the ways that families can celebrate the festival, and provides an itinerary of events.
convictcreations.com, “Australia traditions”
This is an excellent resource which provides commentary and background information about various Australian traditions which are celebrated in Australia. There are also explanations as to why certain traditions are not celebrated in Australia, as they are in other parts of the world. This fairly detailed article includes quotes from various books and texts, as well as a couple of editorials from different Australian newspapers on the topic.
Dillon, A, 2012, “A day for celebration, not a day to dwell”, Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), January 26.
Talmazan, Y, 2010, “Australia Day Celebrations and "Invasion Day" Controversy”, January 25.
These articles take a different perspective on Australia Day celebrations, looking at it from the viewpoint of Aboriginals.
Gondwananet, 2011, “Australian Celebrations”.
This is a very interesting resource which lists and describes various Australian events and festivals in which people celebrate. There are plenty of photographs which can be used for illustrative purposes.
Huxley, J 2010, “Bronzed Aussies Celebrate Migrant Past”, Sydney Morning Herald, March 19.
This source provides a slightly different perspective on celebrations, by moving away from celebrating specific events through regular festivals and public holidays, and instead, focuses on a one-off event which celebrates Australia's migrant past.
Kwan, E, unknown, “Celebrating Australia: A History of Australia Day”, Australia Day.
As the title suggests, this book focuses specifically on Australia Day celebrations and provides a great amount of detail and information about the origins of Australia Day and how the celebrations have developed over time.
Schwarz, C, 2010, Australia Day in Question, Seminar Paper, Grin Publishing.
The seminar paper presented by Clara Schwartz focuses on the celebrations that revolve around Australia Day. This is a comprehensive resource which outlines the history of Australia Day and presents a description of the way that this event has been celebrated over the course of the past century. Although this resource is limited to only one event, it does provide some good detail about how this event has been celebrated by Australians in the past.