THERE will be no croc wrestling on the bar, shrimp on the barbie or – God forbid – plastic kangaroos on the tables.Australians in New York celebrating the 2000 Olympics, which start in Sydney tomorrow, will be donning our drinking shoes, but – contrary to rumor – there’s more to partying Australian-style than beer.

Aussies love seafood, but very rarely barbecue shrimp (we call them “prawns,” anyway), preferring snags (sausages), chops and steak, slathered with tomato sauce (ketchup).

At a dinkum (that’s “authentic” to us Aussies) Down Under party, you’ll spy sausage rolls (an iconic fast food made from pastry wrapped around a ground-beef mixture), lamingtons (sponge cake dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with coconut) and pavlova (a brittle-crusted meringue with a sticky center, served with cream and fruit).

For those who insist on throwing another stereotype on the barbie, there’s always kangaroo (lightly seared, it’s chewy and rich) or emu, although most Australians would sooner sauté their pet budgie than eat the flesh of the two animals that adorn the Australian coat of arms.

“Most Americans have grossly distorted notions of who Australians are, and no idea of what an Australian party would be,” says Joe Snyder, president of the American-Australian Association.

For those who think Mel Gibson is an Aussie (he was born in upstate New York), or consider the Outback Steakhouse’s “Grilled Cheese-A-Roo” or “kookaburra wings” the real thing, here are a few tips:

Yes, Australians greet each other by saying, “G’day.” At a true Aussie party, everyone’s your mate, and to leave someone stranded with an empty glass is considered un-Australian.

Expect to hear exclamations of approval such as “bonza,” “ripper” and “beauty” anytime an Australian Olympian brings home the gold.

“Very often, Americans want to see a theme, but I don’t think that’s necessary,” Snyder says. “I don’t think the venue matters – if you have enough Aussies together in one place, it’s a good party.”

At the downtown Australian restaurant Eight Mile Creek, they’ve put televisions in the downstairs bar for the duration of the Olympics, and extended the bar menu to include meat pies, cold cuts of lamb, seafood, lamingtons and pavlova. Naturally, there will be plenty of booze.

“We’ll be serving Coopers – a premium bottled beer, probably one of the best in Australia – and Bundaberg rum, an iconic Queensland spirit,” says Aussie Will Ford, who, with his brother Frank, opened the popular upscale eatery in December.

“Every time Australia wins a medal, we’re going to have a drinks special – an open bar or happy hour.

“I’m sure there’ll be plenty of Americans and Australians, and a bit of friendly rivalry. A big part of our culture is about not excluding people, so everyone is brought into the fold.

“Aussies are naturally funny, off-handed and good-humored, so you’ll be guaranteed to hear some good jokes, although many Americans still haven’t grasped the Australian sarcasm yet.”

The American-Australian Association will be shepherding its members toward the Sporting Club in TriBeCa to watch the coverage on big-screen televisions. “It’ll be a bunch of American and Australian friends getting together,” Snyder says. “I’m sure there will be Foster’s.”

Hospitality Australian-style will take on a slightly more refined patina at the Australian Consulate’s gala event tomorrow night, where about 150 diplomats, business and sporting figures will be sipping, not guzzling, Foster’s beer and Lindemans wine, and feasting on lamb hors doeuvres, party pies, sausage rolls and Australian cheeses.

“I don’t think we can hope to generate the buzz there is in Australia, but we’ll all be keenly watching [the coverage] to see how our country fares,” says the consulate’s cultural attaché, Robert Archibald.

And, of course, there will be plenty of Australian-style parties hosted in apartments across the city.

Snyder characterizes a typical Aussie party as “very loose, not highly structured.”

“You’d better have plenty of beer, a raffle with a meat tray is a good idea, and if you can have gambling as part of the party, that becomes very typically Australian,” he says.

Former Sydney resident Julie Earle – who founded Food on the Hop (e-mail orders to foodonthehop@yahoo.com) – began making and selling sausage rolls in the U.S. after discovering her favorite snack food was hard to find in New York City. She’ll be trying to recreate an Australian atmosphere in her SoHo apartment.

“I’d love to be there and be part of it,” she says. “When Sydney won the right to host the Games, we were drinking champagne in the streets and dancing, and I imagine there’ll be more of the same.

“But we’ll gather the troops here and watch the coverage at home, where we can have a live telephone hookup with friends in Sydney. It’s a fair bet we’ll have sausage rolls and, most probably, beer.”