Culture remains one of the most widely discussed yet least defined concepts in Australian public life.
So, let’s start by defining it.
To put it plainly, a culture is the shared norms, myths, habits and festivities of a people, together with the institutions that grow out of them.
Cultures are rarely ever pure, and this fact is often mistaken for evidence that they don’t even exist.
Every culture ever practised by one community has been shaped by contact with members of other communities.
At times, through trade and the exchange of ideas.
At other times, through war and conquest.
Conquered people often take on the culture of their conquerors and often, within a generation, come to think of it as their own.