Do We Still Love Pies, Kangaroos & Holden Cars?
30 January 2006 at 12:01 pm
Having just celebrated Australia Day, research group Roy Morgan Single Source reveals the changing nature of what is “truly Australian”. Are those icons still our icons?
When it comes to national identity, being born in Australia is clearly not a pre-requisite to being an Australian. Only three quarters (75%) of the total population aged 14 and over were born in Australia, however a much greater percentage identify themselves as Australian, with 88% agreeing with the statement, “I consider myself an Australian”.
Footy Mad?
Apart from one-off sporting events, Cricket is Australia’s most popular spectator sport with 47% of Australians aged 14 and over almost always or occasionally watching either Test, One Day or State Cricket on television.
Meat Pies and Chiko Rolls
When it comes to food, over half of all Australians (52%) still enjoy a Pie or a Pasty, however more Australians like a Salad (72%), a Sandwich (71%) or even a bowl of Soup (62%).
Lamb on Australia Day?
A majority of Australians (68%) own a BBQ, and the meat most likely to be found on the hot plate on any given day is chicken, with 83% of Australians having eaten chicken in the last seven days.
Happy little Vegemites?
When it comes to sandwich spreads almost half of all Australians (48%) have eaten margarine in the last seven days followed closely by a rosy-cheeked 46% of Australians who have eaten Vegemite, Marmite or Promite.
Holden or Ford?
The traditional Holden vs. Ford rivalry is still alive and well but although Holden pips Ford in the race to Australia’s most commonly-driven brand of car (16% cf 15%), the Australian icon must share the winner’s podium with Toyota (16% of Australians mostly drive a Toyota).
These are the latest findings from Roy Morgan’s nationwide survey of 23,534 people aged 14 years and over from October 2004 to September 2005.
We are left asking “what happened to the kangaroos”!
