Kokonutz. Seems like a LONG time (if ever?) since you've been to Australia if you say:

"Since the "culture" of recent (in the last 500 years) immigrants to Australia actually traces back to England and the Commonwealth, it is not a particularly "new" culture (just as the cultures of all colonial imports are not "new")."

As should be clear to you, there were NO European who settled Australia until 1788, so where your 500 years comes from I have no idea, or who taught you math. This country was not settled by Euopreans until 212 years back.

Next time you are here, check out a Sydney telephone book. The surname NG is followed by NGO, then NGA, then 8 pages of NGUYEN, then NHAM will politely remind you that if you think this country is NOT a cultural melting pot as much or MORE than the USA, you are VERY much mistaken.

There are entire sections of Sydney where not a word of English can be basically seen in signage, shop names and displays.