I suppose so, but I greatly doubt it. The English word “winter” was never just a descriptor of a fixed calendar period. It also carried connotations of cold weather, shorter days, different diets, different clothes etc. It seems very unlikely to me that the colonial settlers from the northern hemisphere would simply have jettisoned all of that “baggage” and been comfortable referring to their hot weather period as “winter”.
I made a handy-dandy graphic to explain (I hope it’s correct).
We also have School years that start and end in Summer, like the US and UK do, but for us that is January to December, which conveniently fits a calendar year. It was a long time before I realised the Northerners do that differently, and once I did it cleared up a lot of confusion.
We’re still talking about Australia, right? It’s starting to sound like Dr. Seuss 
That is the number one thing I get asked about or have to explain is the difference in school years.
Arrrhgh!
I want to be in Melbourne right now!
[sobs]
In Calgary we’ve just had a whole week of minus 25C (-15F) with wind chill factors (temp. the wind makes it feel like to human skin) in the minus 30sC (-22F).
Just walking from street to school door to get the kid and my cheeks hurt…
Wife’s car battery died. And it was parked inside our house’s garage…
I can feel the snot inside my nose freeze and get hard as I breathe…
I got icicles in my moustache when I shoveled the driveaway…
Can some aussie doper have a VB or a Fosters’s on a terasse and think of me… I wish I were with you…
I’d rather have my nose frozen than drink Fosters … but I’ll have a James Squires or two for you.
Contrary to popular belief, Australians don’t actually drink Fosters. It is not marketed here and I haven’t noticed it being on sale (I’m sure it is but it is not placed prominently.) I have literally never seen someone drink Fosters.
I would gladly have a James Squires Amber Ale for you though (just to get more specific.)
Impressive work on the graphic there GuanoLad.
Except it’s upside down.
It may not be 100% correct orientation (it depends on your latitude) but it’s not 180° upside down.
Indeed, else people at the equator would get very confused.
Actually, compared to the other stuff on his website it’s quite ordinary ;). (Seriously, you have some awesome art there.)
Maybe the moon is right-side up for you and upside down for us!
Traitor! 
I can’t see the sunset because of the giant man standing in central Canada.
(seriously, nice graphic.)
You think you’ve got it bad? Pity the poor people in South Africa – the impact of his counterpart in the South Atlantic caused the entire continent of Antarctica to slam into them.
And yes, it’s a terrific graphic!
Just like to point out I got the globe graphic from a clipart site, which is why it’s funny looking/partially transparent. And the moon was originally a photo. The rest is all my own work.
Six seasons are also recognised by at least some of the Aboriginal groups in the far north of the Northern Territory. I’m pretty sure that a book I have covers this in at least some detail, but it’s in storage… 
I think the seasons in Tasmania approximate quite closely to the “traditional” seasons, though?
I can’t imagine why they wouldn’t- New Zealand, which is on a similar latitude, generally has four distinct seasons (except in the Bay Of Islands and Far North area where it starts getting a bit sub-tropical, and at the southern end of the South Island, where it’s Cold most of the year)
According to Wikipedia, the record cold in the South Island is “−21.6 °C (−6.9 °F) in Ophir, Otago.” [I think the Fahrenheit conversion is wrong, that should be more like 15°F ]
Right now, it is -29 °C (-20°F) outside my house. I have no sympathy.