Cuisine. The food of Indigenous Australians was largely influenced by the area in which they lived

The food of Indigenous Australians was largely influenced by the area in which they lived. Most tribal groups subsisted on a simple hunter-gatherer diet, hunting native game and fish and collecting native plants and fruit. The general term for native Australian flora and fauna used as a source of food is bush tucker.[315][316] The first settlers introduced British food to the continent[317] which much of what is now considered typical Australian food is based on the Sunday roast has become an enduring tradition for many Australians.[318] Since the beginning of the 20th century, food in Australia has increasingly been influenced by immigrants to the nation, particularly from Southern European and Asian cultures.[317][318] Australian wine is produced in 60 distinct production areas totaling approximately 160, 000 hectares, mainly in the southern, cooler parts of the country. The wine regions in each of these states produce different wine varieties and styles that take advantage of local climates and soil types. The predominant varieties are Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Sé millon, Pinot noir, Riesling, and Sauvignon blanc.[319][320][321][204][322][323] In 1995, an Australian red wine, Penfolds Grange, won the Wine Spectator award for Wine of the Year, the first time a wine from outside France or California achieved this distinction.[324]

Sport

Cricket has been an important part of Australia's sporting culture since the 19th century.[325]

Around 24 per cent Australians over the age of 15 regularly participate in organised sporting activities in Australia.[203] Australia has strong international teams in cricket, field hockey, netball, rugby league, and rugby union, having been Olympic or world champions at least twice in each sport in the last 25 years for both men and women where applicable.[326][327][328][329][330][331][332][333] Australia is also powerful in track cycling, rowing, and swimming, having consistently been in the top-five medal-winners at Olympic or World Championship level since 2000.[334][335][336] Swimming is the strongest of these sports; Australia is the second-most prolific medal winner in the sport in Olympic history.[337][338][339]

Some of Australia's most internationally well-known and successful sportspeople are swimmers Dawn Fraser, Murray Rose, Shane Gould, and Ian Thorpe; sprinters Shirley Strickland, Betty Cuthbert, and Cathy Freeman; [340] tennis players Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Ken Rosewall, Evonne Goolagong, and Margaret Court; cricketers Donald Bradman and Shane Warne; three-time Formula One world champion Jack Brabham; five-time motorcycle grand prix world champion Mick Doohan; golfers Greg Norman and Karrie Webb; [341] cyclist Hubert Opperman; and prodigious billiards player Walter Lindrum.[342] Nationally, other popular sports include Australian rules football, horse racing, squash, surfing, soccer, and motor racing. The annual Melbourne Cup horse race and the Sydney to Hobart yacht race attract intense interest.

Australia has participated in every summer Olympics of the modern era, [343] and every Commonwealth Games.[344] Australia hosted the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne and the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, [345] and has ranked among the top six medal-takers since 2000.[346] Australia has also hosted the 1938, 1962, 1982, and 2006 Commonwealth Games.[347] Other major international events held in Australia include the Australian Open tennis grand slam tournament, international cricket matches, and the Australian Formula One Grand Prix. Sydney hosted the 2003 Rugby World Cup and the annual Australia–New Zealand Bledisloe Cup is keenly watched. The highest-rating television programs include sports telecasts such as the summer Olympics, FIFA World Cup, Rugby League State of Origin, and the grand finals of the National Rugby League and Australian Football League.[348] Skiing in Australia began in the 1860s and snow sports take place in the Australian Alps and parts of Tasmania.