Who is an aunty and what the term means very much comes down to who you ask.
Much like the origins of "Auntie Beeb", the nickname given to the BBC to reflect its cosy and respected, yet sometimes prudent, image of "auntie knows best".
When the ABC was officially launched on July 1, 1932, it adopted the public broadcasting model of the BBC.
And, as it followed in the maiden "Auntie Beeb's" footsteps, it was only natural the ABC would also come to affectionately be known as "Aunty" in some circles.
As the ABC turns 90 today, we take a deeper look at the meaning and importance of "aunty" across various cultures.
Indigenous aunty 'will sort you right'
Aunty Munya Andrews remembers the first time she was called "aunty".
She was "shocked, but had a little giggle later".
"I was walking along, and I could see a young Indigenous fellow walking toward me and he said, 'Hello aunt'. I had to turn around to see who he was talking to," she told the ABC.
Aunty Munya — a Bardi woman from the Kimberley region of Western Australia — runs cultural awareness workshops across the country.
She said that, in Indigenous culture, being called aunty was considered a mark of respect.
However, they differ from elders who are seen as "possessing deep cultural knowledge".
"All elders are aunties and uncles, but not all aunties and uncles are elders," she told the ABC.
Aunties play an important role as cultural teachers, guiding young people and passing on traditions, customs and language.
They also help with "women's business", such as child-rearing and assisting with births.
"When young women reach the teenage years, there's an expectation that an aunty might talk to them as they're becoming women," Aunty Munya said.
"That's the aunty's responsibility, not the mother's."
Being the disciplinarian is another duty that falls onto aunties, not parents.
"Parents will often threaten their children with, 'You better watch out for aunty so and so. She'll sort you right.'"
Aunty Munya says there is "a great responsibility" of leading by example, showing young people how to be in the world and how to take care of their country.
Then there's the recognition by the community that she holds a certain value.
"I'm valued as an older person and I'm valued as a woman, especially," Aunty Munya said.
Aunty without kids can also have a 'wonderful' life
Melbourne aunty Chris Carr has 19 nieces and nephews and 29 grand nieces and nephews dotted across Australia.
The 72-year-old thought she would have her own children, but life took a different course.
"Because I don't have children of my own, and I come from a very big family, being an aunty gives me that sense of connection with younger people," Ms Carr told the ABC.
"I participate in their lives quite a lot … Watching them grow and watching them become adults is like having my own children without actually having my own children."
These bonds were further strengthened when two of Ms Carr's brothers died, leaving behind young children.
She was able to offer support and comfort that differed from their mothers'.
"That was a particularly important time for all of us. They helped me cope with my grief and I was always there for them," she said.
There have always been certain issues Ms Carr's nieces and nephews have turned to her for, over their parents.
"I was the one travelling and I was the one in the peace movement and the film industry," she said.
This has become particularly important for a niece who is now in her 40s and realising she may not have children.
"She can look at my life and think, 'Well, you can still have a fabulous life'," Ms Carr said.
"Life can be wonderful if you don't have your own children. There is hope to being an older woman that everything doesn't just disappear."
Every girl needs several aunties
Psychologist, parenting educator and author Steve Biddulph says that, with the "unprecedented collapse" in young people's mental health, especially girls, aunties can play a crucial role.
He says "every girl needs several" adult women who love them and can provide another home when things are tense.
"Especially from 12 onwards, girls are wired to look beyond Mum for wider role-modelling," he says, adding they may approach aunties who they believe are more "cool" or feel less embarrassed to consult.
Mr Biddulph wrote in his book — Raising Girls — that, today, girls spend 80 per cent less time with older women than they did 50 years ago.
Instead, they default to getting help from their peer group, which can be "a very inadequate and sometimes even toxic source for these key needs".
"We've abandoned kids really," he said. "Rousing aunties to get involved — taking girls to lunch, having them over to stay, doing trips, really pays off."
Iraqi aunty helping refugees in Adelaide
When Hind Suleiman arrived in Adelaide as an Iraqi refugee in 2003 she was thankful to find an aunty figure in the community.
"It was very difficult for me when I first arrived," Ms Suleiman told the ABC.
"But, as I was trying to set up my new life in South Australia, I found my own aunty. She gave me a lot of comfort in that moment and supported me."
In Ms Suleiman's culture, an aunty is a woman in the community who people feel comfortable talking to.
"In my country, if someone has an issue, they always go straight to the aunty — they know they have the quickest solution," she said.
For several years, Ms Suleiman has been working with the Australian Refugee Association (ARA), helping refugees and migrants settle in South Australia.
The 53-year-old is an aunty to many, especially women.
The ARA says she is the reason many Arabic-speaking refugees come to the organisation for help.
"I try to not let them go the hard way. I try to direct them in the right way and link them to the right services," Ms Suleiman said.
However, being an aunty isn't all serious business.
"It is very light in our cultures. The aunty is usually a very funny person, a happy person," Ms Suleiman said.
Pacific aunty 'went to the university of culture'
Aunty Sana Balai went through an "aunty initiation" in her village on Buka Island, in Papua New Guinea's autonomous region of Bougainville.
She gained knowledge and wisdom passed down over 30,000 years to become a mentor and guide.
But it wasn't something that she was quite ready for.
"I reluctantly became an aunty because, for me, it meant I had to grow up," Aunty Sana told the ABC.
However, when she moved to Melbourne in the 1990s, she found an unexpected place where she could guide others with her cultural knowledge.
Although from a science background, Aunty Sana became a prominent figure in the art world for her contribution as a curator and mentor in Indigenous and Pacific art at Melbourne Museum and the National Gallery of Victoria.
She is currently the museum curator for the Living Museum of Logan in Queensland.
Aunty Sana remembers being questioned about her inexperience at her first interviews, but was confident in what she could contribute.
Aunty Sana took it upon herself to be an aunty in that space so that artists from Indigenous and Pacific backgrounds could feel comfortable being themselves.
"There was nobody to give me support in a space where the cultural material, or the art, was held up by people from a European background or academia," she said.
"So I took a leading role in mentoring and just talking and listening. I think the most important role of an aunty is just listening."
Every woman becomes an 'aunty' in China
In China, aunty can be used to address any older woman.
Aunty Wu, a Chinese Australian living in Melbourne, was only in her 20s when a group of younger children in the street called her "aunty".
"I suddenly felt my age, but also a sense of closeness to these children," she said.
Aunty Wu — who is now in her 50s — moved to Australia two years ago with her daughter.
She said the way Australians addressed each other by names can sometimes feel distancing.
While she has adapted, being called aunty still gives her a "warm and caring feeling".
The term "aunty" in Chinese culture also refers to housekeepers or maids who help with caregiving, cleaning and other household tasks.
They were addressed as "aunty" because of the "deeply ingrained importance of family values" in Chinese culture, Aunty Wu said.
"Therefore, when a housekeeper enters a home, your employer treats you as a member of the family," she said.
"In the same way, you [the housekeeper] are expected to treat them kindly, as if you are a part of their family."
