Australiana

Australiana is an expression referring to anything distinctive, symbolic or stereotypical of Australian culture, society, geography and ecology, especially if it is endemic to Australia or has reached iconic status, and refers also to the collecting and collections of such characteristic materials. It includes the people and their spoken accent, places, flora, fauna, and events of Australian history and their two- or three-dimensional images.

Documents and realia identified as Australiana become collectable and comprise anything made in Australia or especially made for Australian use. Australiana often borrows from Australian First Nations' cultures, or features stereotypes of white Australian settler and pioneer culture. It attaches to Australian identity in representing a nationalist ethos or sentiment.

Artefacts collectable as Australiana include furniture, pottery, glass, bottles, printed materials, metal and wooden objects, fabrics and aboriginal collectables. They may range from elaborate antiques such as engraved and/or silver-decorated emu eggs, to primitive or rural decorative arts, folk crafts, and make-do and improvised objects. Objects can be generically Australian, such as boomerangs, Akubra hats, and didgeridoos, or can be common objects with Australian cultural images displayed on them.

Australiana may also refer to art with an Australian style or subject, including paintings, ceramics, crafts and coins that depict Australian imagery. Certain Australiana has become cliché, or is considered kitsch.