ABSTRACT
Anglo-Celtic cultures do not have to be downgraded to make way for an Australian multiculture; rather, the contrary should be the case. Understanding Anglo-Celts better is basic to our approach to Australian multiculture. Demographers, in practice, tend not to use the term ‘Anglo-Celtic’ in statistical analyses, referring more precisely to languages, or places, of origin (for instance, the Australian Bureau of Statistics says 10.2 per cent of Australians still consider their ancestry to be ethnically Irish) (ABS 2001). The shock that Australians (these are modern, multicultural Australians now) are so hard-working is contrasted with the ‘laid back’ image of the myth. Remembering such history is an ongoing task for the present, because the way we explain the past tells us a lot about ourselves. The core Australian values have been derived from all its peoples, formed by a history in which Anglos and Celts played a significant role.
