Book excerpt: Australia and California have shared aesthetic ideas through imported popular imagery for nearly 200 years. From gold rush photography to Spanish-style houses, this is the fascinating story of aesthetic exchange between two cultures. The absorption of images into the everyday life of these 'new' Western societies, made possible by the development of mechanical processes of production, constructed distinctive cultural iconographies. The Pacific Rim aesthetic is revealed through photography, graphic art, architecture and the ubiquitous eucalyptous.