Interesting Facts About Australia

81

By MM Del Rosario

See all 7 photos

Australia today is a vibrant multicultural country with people of British descent, as well as Aboriginal and immigrants from many countries in Europe, Africa and Asia.

It is the sixth largest country in the world and the only country that is also a continent. Australia is in the Southern Hemisphere, where Summer is from December to February.

Here are some more interesting things that you may not know about Australia.

  • The black box flight recorder for aircraft was invented in Australia in 1958 by the Aeronautical research scientist David Warren.
  • The first official world surfing championships were held in Sydney in 1964.
  • The oldest newspaper in Australia is the Sydney Morning Herald, published in 1831.
  • Over 90% of the world's opals are mined in Australia.
  • Tasmania was once part of mainland Australia, before the melting of ice caps 12,000 years ago

Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus
  • A resident of Sydney is called Sydneysiders.

  • In 1926, New South Wales became the first government in the world to pay pensions to women.
  • Eucalyptus was first used as a medicine by Aborigines, to treat coughs, fevers and asthma.
  • Australia is the only continent without an active volcano.
  • The city of Melbourne founded the first gay and lesbian radio station in the world in 1993 with the name Joy Radio.

Platypus
Platypus
  • Dutch explorers arrived in Australia before James Cook claimed it for England and named it New Holland.
  • Melbourne was formerly called Batmania, after one of its founders John Batman.
  • The longest fence in the world is located in Australia. It is 5530 km long and was erected to keep dingoes away from sheep.
  • When a specimen of a platypus was first sent to England, the sceptical recipients believed the Australians had played a joke by sticking a duk's bill on a large rat's body.

  • Australia is the lowest continent in the world, with an average height of just 330m above sea level.

  • Australia's first TV station was TCN Channel 9 in Sydney.
  • Australia's first police force was created from a group of 12 of their best behaved convicts.
  • Australians called the English pommies from the initials POME on convicts uniforms. These initials stood for Prisoners of Mother England.
  • The name Kylie is derived from the Aborigine for Boomerang.

Famous Film Stars Born In Australia that have become internationally known

Did you know ?

Famous Film Stars Born In Australia

  • Cate Blanchett, born in Sydney
  • Toni Collette, born in Sydney
  • Errol Flynn, born in Hobart
  • Paul Hogan, born in Lightning Ridge
  • Hugh Jackman, born in Sydney
  • Health Ledger, born in Perth
  • Geoffrey Rush, born in Toowoomba
  • Eric bana, born in Melboune

You might also like to read the following hubs . . .

  • Koalas are Great Sleepers -Koalas are furry animals that live only in Australia they live only in certain types of trees, called eucalyptus trees where they can eat the leaves. Koalas are nocturnal, they spend at least 16-18 hours a day sleeping.
  • Sulphur- crested Cockatoo -Sulphur- crested cockatoo (Cacatua galerita) is one of the best known parrots, it is a large parrot, measuring about 45cm (18 inches). It has a dark grey-black bill Cockatoos have white feathered body.
  • The Legend of the Three Sisters - The Three Sisters rock formation is one of the famous site in the Blue Mountains. There are several legends about how it came to be, read one of the legend that explains why it happened.
  • Christmas Cards From Australia - Christmas is the biggest event in the Australian calendar, it is the beginning of summer month. It marks the end of the school examinations and the start of long summer holidays.

Have you been to Australia?

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Comments

bob the builders padre 4 days ago

hola this really helped me with mi school project

gracias

khuda khafiz

ibarat 6 weeks ago

I've been looking for interesting facts about Australia.this information was very interesting for me. Thank you very much.

Rosy 3 months ago

This wasn't as interesting as i hoped. There were many information and facts but none of them seeme a pleasure reading, however, i really enjoyed learning more about Australia. This really is useful knoledge to know. Thankyou fo this :)

d1ce 5 months ago

Thank u. So interesting web-site.

sasanqua profile image

sasanqua 6 months ago

Interesting hub...although I'd like to be pedantic and point something small out. You've written that the name Kylie comes from the "Aborigine for boomerang." There is no such language as Aborigine. There are hundreds of different Aboriginal languages in Australia, not just one.

shaun 54 6 months ago

awesome :)

bhawik.h.shah 6 months ago

a very nice interesting facts about Australia

Ann 7 months ago

Hi! My name is Ann. I live in Ukraine. I am thirteen. If somebody will answer me, I shall be very glad. this information about Australia is very good. Please answer me.

lily 8 months ago

I'm learning so much about Australia this is a great web site!!!!

sarah 8 months ago

lovely australia is.

Beautiful

lots of kangaroo's and koala's.

amazing.

pretty 9 months ago

i think hubpage.com is so cool it gives u alot of ifo

ssa 10 months ago

I find that Americans think Australia is something new to the world. Brits and Europeans have been visiting for years. And it was on the map long before Steve Erwin canme along. Though obviously not for Americans

kims3003 profile image

kims3003 Level 2 Commenter 12 months ago

very well done hub - quite impressive!

Richard83 profile image

Richard83 12 months ago

Great hub and great work writing! I have always been interested because of Steve Irwin. I love watching him. He really put the country on the map. Best regards.

Kamalesh050 profile image

Kamalesh050 Level 6 Commenter 12 months ago

Excellent hub , very informative.

Best Wishes.

George Cee 14 months ago

Very nice nation. I heard that the Great Barrier Reef is the largest living organism in the world!

cool 15 months ago

This gave me alot of good info. If only you can add more details

goodboii 16 months ago

Nice! :)

connor 16 months ago

i love austraila im moving there when im odler i live in canada

the stig 16 months ago

awesome used for that used for hw cool hub :)

chloe 18 months ago

hi i love learning more and more about australia so i think this article waz reall cool

jenisa 19 months ago

Really helped me with my notes for my HW

Lexy 19 months ago

thanks now i finally got 200 of my 300 notes i need

scott 20 months ago

Very interesting info.

jessica 21 months ago

thanks all the information helped me A LOT with my school project!

Kirancool77 profile image

Kirancool77 22 months ago

Its very nice hub. It is very interesting to read. thank you very much for sharing valuable information here about Australia. Well i also have amazing information about Interesting Facts About Australia : http://www.australiavoyage.net/

danielle 23 months ago

i wanna go to australia because im doing a topic in school called the holiday show and im doing australia

equealla profile image

equealla 23 months ago

When I was involved in a de-mining project in Africa,some Australian citizens had been involved as well. Because they became so dear to me during this time, anything concerning Australia is very special to me.

My birthstone is an opal, so most probably the one right here on my finger, is also from there.

This had been an interesting read and very entertaining.

adorababy profile image

adorababy 23 months ago

Plenty of FIRST list for Australia in this post. Great to know.

tuarangi profile image

tuarangi 23 months ago

Great hub, I want to visit Australia soon!

cailyn 2 years ago

intersting facts

dafne 2 years ago

thx so much! it helped me with doing a power point for shcool on Australia!

Evan Otis 2 years ago

Thx I used this for a idk section on a project about australia thx alot!!!

Ana-Maria 2 years ago

You really helped me out with my school speech thankyou very much!! :) :)

travel beijing 2 years ago

it is funny

rdelp profile image

rdelp 2 years ago

It's funny but I think Australian and British actors and actresses are the best right now.

coverley1 profile image

coverley1 2 years ago

Great info, very interesting reading and well written. It made my heart ache...I'm proud to be an Australian and still can't get enough of it. Currently trying to put together some Hubs about my working holiday around Australia. A few comments about crocs....can't wait to tell about my face to face encounter! Keep up the good work.

you will never know.... 2 years ago

Thanks, i used the website for my project!

Canadian 2 years ago

thx i used this 4 my project at the last minute:)

Australia 2 years ago

Awesome hub!

caria 2 years ago

very coooooooooooool

doglover09 2 years ago

love it i used iit for my homework

Shaun2 2 years ago

Interesting Page

I've been to Australia, twice! One time I barely missed running into Steve Irwin. I went to his zoo 5 minutes after he did! Aww

salt profile image

salt 2 years ago

And we are not a violent people and the outback is a place to be aware of yourself, as people from all corners of the world visit there and it is remote and beautiful and harsh and vivid. Id say an English soccer crowd from the 1990s was more aggressive than any Australian. Fantastic hub!!!!

salt profile image

salt 2 years ago

Great hub,thankyou!!!!

Im not sure about the dingos and the emu proof or rabbit proof fence. We used to spend Sundays on a motorbike riding along the fence line whilst Kangaroos jumped over 6 feet to get over it.

The rabbit proof fence goes for miles and I know that at least one of the fences has fencing at least 2 feet underground so that when there were emus or rabbits in plague proportions, they couldnt dig under the fence to get through and ruin farm crops. Youve motivated me to do a hub on it.

And there are crocodiles, but mainly in the Northern Territory and signage is everywhere... And Australia was a penal colony, with free settlers too, as my Mother so gladly informs me.

We were not terra nullius though, the australian aboriginal people are said to be the oldest race on earth.

china tour 2 years ago

lovely hub, simply love it

shanghai tours 2 years ago

Nice hub

Maverick_999 profile image

Maverick_999 2 years ago

lovely hub, simply love it

Vietnam 2 years ago

Interesting info@

Marianne G profile image

Marianne G 2 years ago

This hub was so interesting to read. There seem to be some real neat facts about Australia and now I know a little bit more about the country and it's history as well. I would love to visit there someday.

Ryan23 2 years ago

John i have been there atleast 4 times because some of my family lives there. Its cool over there and i hope you go there. And i am doing a country report at school so ya. Buye Buye

-Ryan

johnr54 profile image

johnr54 3 years ago

Australia is one country I'd really like to visit some day. But I'm afraid it's at least a couple of years away :(

Ellandriel profile image

Ellandriel 3 years ago

Didn't also Australia, was the place where England and other countries send their most dangerous convicted criminals to isolation? Like a prison island?

Home of the well known Backpacker serial killer? Those awfull deaths!

There is a tv program that only tells Australia worse crimes and let me tell you, violent indeed!

Lisa 3 years ago

yeah awesome haha

china tour 3 years ago

Nice hub.

aaron 3 years ago

tnx for your information

WordWielder profile image

WordWielder 3 years ago

I loved the article! Makes me want to go there. Cate Blanchett- what a babe! I didn't realize she wsa from Australia. One thing I know for sure, besides the beauty and uniqueness of Australia- watch out for the snakes and for the open water. Australia has like 3 of the world's most poisionous snakes and open water is an invite for a croc attack! I've heard they've attacked people in as little as a few inches depth of water. Of course, I know that doesn't go on everywhere but those kinds of stores get memorialized in your thoughts. Thanks for the great read!

Mr Nice profile image

Mr Nice Level 1 Commenter 3 years ago

Very interesting info.

KDorfman profile image

KDorfman 3 years ago

Also home to one of the best rugby sides on earth, depsite what the Kiwis tell everybody! (Not from there, but worth mention.)

Aussiebb profile image

Aussiebb 4 years ago

Nice hub.

AuraGem profile image

AuraGem 4 years ago

Just to add another couple of oddities:

Melbourne - once was nicnamed "Bearbrass". It was supposedly a version of its Aboriginal name. In the early 19th century, it was also known as Bareport, Bareheep, Barehurp and Bareberp. Ref: "Bearbrass Imagining Early Melbourne" by Robyn Annear. Mandarin. 1995

Active volcanoes - While Australia does not have an active volcano on its mainland, it does own one. Heard Island, south of Perth, is a territory owned by Australia. This island has an awesome beauty - lava spilling volcano capped with snow and ice!

A great hub, giving the world a "taste" of Australia!

Smiles and Light

teeray profile image

teeray 4 years ago

I am looking up "Toowoomba" right now in another browser window. I have had trouble locating it on the map. Nice hub - thank you.

Lissie profile image

Lissie Level 1 Commenter 4 years ago

Nice hub -the map's a bit misleading though - its more a read place rather than a green place !

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