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SOME RANDOM & SOME VERY INTERESTING FACTS I LEARNT ABOUT AUSTRALIA1.Places:
- Australia comes from the Latin "australis", meaning southern.
- Canberrais the porn, pub and pyrotechnic capital of Australia.
- Gawler contains 90 pubs.
- South Australia is the only place in the country where Coca Cola isn't the number 1 sale. Famer's Union Iced Coffee is instead.
- Northern Territory has a population of 200,000.
- the Great Ocean Road took 13 years to build.
- Geelong has 160,000 people and is the 2nd largest city in Victoria.
- Melbourne was meant to be named after John Batman who had wanted to set up a settlement in Tasmania. However, he was prevented from doing so by the government of New South Wales, who governed everything until 1835. Batman came to Melbourne and traded land with the aboriginals. It is predominantly sheep country. In 1840, there were 80,000 people and 8 million horses.
- the Dog Fence, which separates the south-east of the country from the rest to keep out dingoes, is the longest man-made fence in the world (5400km)
2. Nature:
- River Finke is 350 million years old.
- Mt. Connor is 3x the width of Ayers Rock.
- the Mulga Tree is the most common tree in the Northern Territory.
- the state flower of South Australia is the Sturt Desert Pea.
- eucalyptus tree is also known as a gum tree and is the most common tree in Australia.
- 75% of Australia's fruit & vegetables is grown between Sydney and Melbourne, producing a turnover of almost AUS$8 billion per year.
3. Animals:
- Kangaroos:
-the population of kangaroos is 3x that of Australia's human population, totalling around 40 million.-big reds are the biggest, living in Central Australia (9.4ft is the tallest)-Victoria contains the heaviest kangaroos-females are all about reproduction - they are the only ones with pouches; they can determine the sex of their babies; they can self abort; they can delay the birth; they usually raise 3 different ages of joey at once (one in the stomach; one in the pouch; one in the outside world).-babies are called joeys.-Males are all about fighting (boxing kangaroos) - mobs of up to 60 led by a dominant male. When males fight, they put all their weight on their tails, kick with both legs and punch with their arms. They let each other know when they are fighting for fun or when they are serious. -tails act as 3rd legs.-can smell water up to 9ft beneath the ground.-Aborigines use kangaroos for food, to make tools and to discover water.-
- Echidna:
-porcupine-like animal with a long beak.-related to the platypus.-not poisonous; lay eggs; very timid.-bury bottom half into soil for protection.
- Koalas:
-sleep between 20 & 22 hours per day to conserve energy because they eat almost nothing.-there are no koalas in Northern Territory, Western Australia & Tasmania-aboriginal for "no drink" because they don't drink any water. Instead they get all their fluid from the eucalyptus leaves which consist of 50% water.-there are +800 types of eucalyptus of which koalas eat only 12. Normally stick with 1 type for their whole lives.
- Camels:
-there are 1 million camels in Australia BUT they aren't native.-Ghan railway is named after the Afghan camels that were used to transport goods from the south to the north of the country across the desert.-Australia produces the world's best camels due to its semi-arid climate.-1862: John Stewart tried to traverse the desert 3 times, the first 2 attempts on horseback failed but the 3rd, on the back of a camel, was successful. -cameleers didn't want to kill camels but couldn't afford to return them to Afghanistan so they just set them free.
- Emus:
-2nd largest flightless bird in the world (ostrich is the largest).-very dangerous when rearing young.-male does all the work - female has egg and leaves but male incubates egg and brings it up.
- Cassowary:
-found in Queensland.-flightless but just a little smaller than the emu.-related to the dinosaur.-are known to have killed 2 people by gutting them.
- Funnel Web Spider:
-world's deadliest spider - redbacks are very venomous but not as potent.
- Snakes:
-Taipan is the world's deadliest snake.-Eastern Brown Snake is the 2nd deadliest in the world.-snakes have no ears but great sense of vibration and smell; try to avoid humans.-Australian snakes have very small fangs but Australia contains 9 out of 10 of the world's top deadliest snakes.
- Wombats:
-related to koalas.-have upside-down pouches to protect young.-fat but very bony bottom used as a protection plate (if car hits one, car will probably suffer damage). -very slow; very poor eyesight
- many parrots, rosellas and cockatoos but they are very destructive.
- Australia performs controlled wildlife cullings to cut down the numbers of rampant species.
- Australians celebrate the Easter Kilby instead of the Easter Bunny because it is becoming extinct.
- more Australians die from trees landing on their heads than from spiders and snakes.
- after getting bitten, one has almost 18 hours to receive medication to have a chance of survival.
- marsupials are 100% waterproof.
- in Australia, it is an unwritten rule that if you hit an animal while driving, you get out and check if it is carrying any young.
- in Australia, most insurance companies won't insure drivers during the night because the risk of hitting something is so high.
4. Government & Business:
- Coat of Arms - on Australia's coat of arms is an emu and a kangaroos. This is because they can't run backwards and therefore symbolise that Australia is moving forwards. Australia is also the only country to eat both animals on its coat of arms.
- QUANTAS - stands for Queensland And Northern Territory Air Service
- Rip Curl was started when 2 teenagers decided to try and make wetsuits, now it is a worldwide company.
- Quicksilver was started when some teenages ripped up a pair of shorts and sewed them all together in a patchwork fashion. This style became very popular.
5. History:
- 1602: Portugese ship, The Mahogany, was thought to have been shipwrecked off the southern coast but it's remains were never found.
6.Aboriginal History:·oldest race on the planet - proof of being 60,000 years old but historians are now trying to prove that they have been around for 100,000.·no traditional written language - started recording stories and laws with the introduction of English.·chokkappa & walkabout with grandparents were how the kids found out about aboriginal law & culture.·tell stories through song & dance - many were lost when the Europeans arrived.·all believe in creation time - land was originally flat when their ancestors descended from the stars to create everything that we see today.·men & women are very separate, with own separate areas to visit.·after boys have completed their walkabout, they endure an initiation where they have to prove that they can live off the land.·no chiefs- group of elders decide on matters; big punishments.
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