What's the deal with Australian music?

Just as England was the font of the English wave in the early sixties, preceded by Elvis of course (and his predesesors), and the Mississippi River was a river of music sending styles up the Mississippi from New Orleans to Minneapolis, giving birth to the East Texas style, jazz, blues, zydeco, Memphis style and others, why is it that Australia does not seem to have had any spontaneus styles or a real vibrant musical culture? From the USA it seems as if it is a mild imitation of British and American types. FYI: Even though far afield of the Mississippi, there are largely American musical inventions such as blue grass, country, Folk, and I'm sure, more. What is it about Australia that prevented this from happening locally.