In the year 2004 UNESCO decided to award the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne the honour of being the first Australian building to be declared a Cultural Heritage of Humanity site. Australia is a country rich in culture, a cosmopolitan mix deriving both from the indigenous Aboriginal population, and the hundreds of thousands of immigrants from all corner of the world, who have made Australia their home.
Australia's cosmopolitan nature comes from the blend of populations and cultures who have settled in the country, but there is also a strong aboriginal culture which comes from the original Australians, the people who have inhabited this land during several millenniums.
Cave paintings, oral traditions, ceremonies, dance, music and theatre mix together in a pure and important art form.
Orchestral music forms an important part of the cultural life of Australia in all her cities, with frequent concerts being held. Two writers stand out in Australian literature- Henry Lawson and Patrick White.
