But what does Baz Luhrmann's controversial and epic love story Australia actually mean?

Dozens of academics will gather at the National Museum today to discuss exactly that, in a two-day symposium discussing themes as varied as race relations, the bombing of Darwin, the history of Australian film and the film's portrayal of cattle, among many other topics.

Convener Maria Nugent, of the ANU's Australian Centre for Indigenous History, says the idea for a symposium came directly from the debate at the time of the film's release between Melbourne University lecturer Professor Marcia Langton and Germaine Greer.

Professor Langton, a professor of Australian indigenous studies, had praised the film for ''leaping over the ruins of the 'history wars' and giving Australians a new past''.

Professor Greer, on the other hand, writing in the Guardian, slammed the film for glossing over the ''shocking exploitation of Aborigines'', in a film that ''twists history into a fairytale confection''.

Through this, Dr Nugent's co-convener, Shino Konishi, also from the ANU, came up with the idea for a conference and approached the National Museum with the idea.

What took both academics by surprise was that when they sent out a call for papers, expecting enough response to hold a one-day symposium at best, they were inundated with responses.

To find out more about the conference, pick up a copy of today's Canberra Times.