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Australia definitely has a reputation for being different from the rest of the world.
With its peoples’ strange slang, mutant-sized wildlife, and pink lakes, some would argue
that Australia is in a whole other dimension.
However, there’s more to Australia than being the land of Vegemite and meter-long earthworms.
Watch on for a closer look at the extremes and hidden wonders of the Land Down Under.
Australia is the smallest continent.
Though you might think otherwise, the Commonwealth of Australia is actually the smallest out
of all the continents.
It is also the flattest, the lowest and the driest continent by far.
However, it is the sixth-largest country in the world by total area, and the largest country
in Oceania.
Australia has 8 states.
The 8 states of Australia are Queensland, New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory,
Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, and the Northern Territory.
Most of the population is concentrated between South East Queensland and Adelaide.
January 26 is the national day of Australia.
The official national day of Australia is ‘Australia Day’.
People celebrate it on the 26th of January, in remembrance of the 1788 arrival of the
First Fleet of British ships at Port Jackson, New South Wales.
It also commemorates the raising of the Flag of Great Britain at Sydney Cove by Governor
Arthur Philip.
However, Australia has already been inhabited 50,000 years before the arrival of the British fleet.
Australia has 3.6 million hectares of rainforest.
Around 3% of Australia’s total native area is made up of rainforests.
It is usually characterized by lush growth, high rainfall, and closed canopies.
These rainforests are a vital part of Australia’s vast ecosystems.
Despite being temperate and damp, these rainforests are prone to fires in the arid summers,
as well as human-caused fires.
The Australian bushfires in 2019 have killed about 1 billion animals and may have driven
endangered species to extinction.
Australia has a population of 25.4 million.
Australia is the 55th largest country in the world with an estimated total population of
25.4 million.
Authorities expect that Australia’s population will continue to grow.
Vegemite is the most popular spread in Australia.
Vegemite is a dark brown spread invented by Dr. Cyril P. Callister in 1922.
Developed from brewer’s yeast, Vegemite is sticky with a salty, malty and slightly
bitter taste.
Aussies love this spread so much that they’d even make Vegemite lattes and Vegemite ice cream.
There are at least 125 Australian slang words and phrases.
It’s a running gag how wild Aussie slang can get.
Some Aussie terms include: A cold one (Beer), Barbie (Barbecue), Bathers (Swimsuit),
Billy (Teapot), Brolly (Umbrella), Brekky (Breakfast), Cactus (Broken), Coppers (Policemen),
Dunny (Toilet), Deadset (True) and Sanger (Sandwich).
Australia takes up 5% of the world's land area.
Australia has a total land area of over 7 million square kilometers.
In short, Australia takes up 5% of the world’s land area of 149,450,000 square kilometers.
If you're still having a hard time picturing it, Australia is twice the size of India.
Australia’s capital is named after boobs.
Finding Nemo may have fooled you into thinking Sydney is the capital of Australia,
but it's actually Canberra.
Located in the south-eastern side of Australia, Canberra’s namesake has 2 contested meanings.
Some say that the term was derived from the word Kambera or Canberry,
which means "meeting place" in Ngunnawal.
Another widely accepted definition is derived from Nganbra,
which translates to woman’s breasts in the indigenous language.
There are different time zones in Australia.
Australia is no stranger to extremes, and the difference in time zones is only one of them.
There are 3 different time zones down under: Western Standard Time, Central Standard Time,
and Eastern Standard Time.
The Sydney Opera House took 14 years to build.
The Sydney Opera House gets 10.9 million visitors every year.
At the beginning of its construction in 1959, builders expected the process to take merely
4 years.
However, it eventually took 14 years, 3 stages, and 10,000 workers to build the Sydney Opera House.
The Dingo Fence is longer than the Great Wall of China.
Australia’s Dingo Fence is the world’s longest fence at 5,331 kilometers in length.
The Dingo Fence is a ‘pest-exclusion’ fence built in the 1880s and completed in 1885.
The fence’s main purpose is to shield the fertile south-east part of Australia from dingoes.
The resulting barricade is even longer than the Great Wall of China.
Australia has the most venomous animals in the world.
Some of the world’s deadliest animals live in Australia.
Such venomous species include the Common Death Adder, Coastal Taipan, and Blue-Ringed Octopus.
The world's largest coral reef system is in Australia.
The Great Barrier Reef stretches for 2,300 kilometers
with an area of approximately 344,468 square kilometers.
It is the biggest coral reef system in the world.
The reef is off the coast of Queensland, Australia, in the Coral Sea.
The world's longest golf course is in Australia.
The longest golf course in the world is the Nullarbor Links.
Measuring more than 850 miles long with an 18-hole par 72 golf course,
this golf course took 5 years to build.
Australia is the biggest island in the world.
Even if Australia is the smallest continent in the world, it is also the world’s biggest island.
There is an ongoing debate that Greenland should be the world’s biggest island since Australia is a continent.
However, Australia still has the “qualifications” of an island, which maintains its place.
Sydney has more than 100 beaches.
In Sydney, Australia, there are over 100 beaches in the city located in rivers, bays, and harbors.
The Pacific Ocean coastline reaches several meters to a few kilometers.
There are more than 1.6 million dairy cows in Australia.
These cows produce an average of 5,500 liters of fresh milk every year.
Australia set a new Guinness World Record in Bondi Beach.
Australia set a new Guinness World Record for the largest female swimsuit group photoshoot
in 2007.
1,010 women put on their swimsuit and headed to Bondi Beach to set the record.
One of the participants said: “As an Australian myself, it’s logical that any record involving
sun, sand and surf should be in this country”.
Australia created the world's first Seat Belt Law as mandatory in 1970.
In 1970, the city of Victoria mandated the first seat belt law.
It requires all passengers and drivers to use their seat belts all the time while inside the vehicle.
As a result, driving around is safer.
Australia has pink lakes.
Western Australia has several pink lakes such as Lake Hillier and Hutt Lagoon.
The reason for its pinkish color is a subject that is not fully understood by scientists just yet.
But they are guessing it has to do with the existence of the Dunaliella salina microalgae.
Australia exports ten thousand camels every year.
One of the funnier things about Australia is that the country has more camels than the
Middle East.
The country exports about 10,000 camels to the Middle East by Australia mainly for their
meat, worth 2,000,000 AUD.
Australia first exported the camels in Brunei and Malaysia.
But it is the Middle East that grabs more market share today with high-rising demand.
Australia is the 5th largest wine exporter in the world.
The wine industry of Australia stimulates its economy through employment, tourism, and export.
The Australian wine industry ranks 5th in the world as the largest wine exporter.
It has an estimate of 780 million liters per year to the international export market.
Locals consume 40% of the wine.
27% of Australians were born abroad.
Australia has the world’s highest proportion of migrant settlers in a developed country.
About 27% of Australians were born abroad.
46% of Australian households had at least one parent born overseas.
The government chose Canberra as the capital on January 1, 1911.
Canberra became the capital of Australia on January 1, 1911.
For a long time, Australians have had a hard time choosing between Melbourne and Sydney.
With Melbourne and Sydney having a ‘historic rivalry,’ Canberra was chosen as a tiebreaker.
Melbourne, Australia is consistently listed at the Global Liveability Index.
Year after year, Melbourne, Australia is consistently listed at the Global Liveability Index.
The city has a rating of 98.4.
It attains a score of 100 in education, healthcare, and infrastructure.
Also, Melbourne has many public transport choices, low crime rates, and plenty of job opportunities.
The Ayers Rock of Australia is the world's largest rock.
Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock is right in the center of the map of Australia.
The Ayers Rock is 2,831 feet and it is the world’s largest rock.
Uluru is sacred to the Pitjantjatjara Anangu, the Aboriginal people of the area.
One of the historical Australia facts!
Australia celebrates Christmas in the summer.
Christmas in Australia comes at the beginning of summer.
The summer holidays start from mid-December to early February.
Thus, some people go camping during Christmas.
Since it is so hot during Christmas time, there are often massive bush fires across the country.
However, there is not much difference in terms of celebrations.
Santa Claus surfs in Australia.
Australia won a Guinness World Record for the most surfing Santa Clauses.
Australia made history when 320 Santa Clauses gathered at Sydney’s Bondi Beach to surf
their way to a new world record.
Australia ranks 26th in the world's most obese countries.
The country has 29.9% overweight people in the population.
Obesity is becoming a major public health issue in Australia.
However, those outside the major cities of Australia are less affected by this health issue.
Australia has the world's longest national highway.
Australia’s Highway 1 is the world’s longest national highway road in the world.
It stretches over 14,500 kilometres.
Millions of travelers use the route every day going to work or any tourist spots.
Australia does not have an official national sport.
Australians love sports such as cricket, rugby, football, basketball, and golf.
It has a long sporting history but does not officially have a national sport.
Australia has the world's happiest animal.
Australia has the world’s happiest animal, the quokka.
This animal has become the most popular tourist attraction at Australia’s Rottnest Island.
Quokka is part of the kangaroo and wallaby family.
Australians love poker.
The country is home to 20% of the world’s poker machines.
Every year, Australian gamblers lose up to 16 billion AUD in playing poker every year.
In fact, there is a demand for online poker games and it continues to grow in Australia.
The word "selfie" originated in Australia.
It started when a drunk Australian uploaded a self-portrait photo.
As it continues to trend in the media, the Oxford Dictionary has named it the word of the year.
Now over 25 billion selfies are up online.
Forest fires are common in Australia.
Forest fires and bushfires are very common in Australia because of the climate.
But trees in Australia can explode, as eucalyptus trees produce flammable oil.
Australians use green ants as an ingredient.
These ants measure between 5 to 7 mm. Green ants are also used as an ingredient
for goat cheese (chevre).
In fact, indigenous societies ate these ants for their protein content and medicinal benefits.
An Australian invented the pacemaker.
In 1926, Dr. Mark Lidwill invented the pacemaker at the Crown Street Women’s Hospital.
Dr. Mark Lidwill treated a stillborn baby whose heart continued beating after 10 minutes
with his invention.
His invention, the cardiac pacemaker, has saved countless lives.
Australian Geographic listed it amongst the top ten Australian inventions that changed the world.
But because of ethical concerns, Dr. Lidwill refuses to acknowledge his invention.
There is a Christmas Island in Australia.
Australia’s Christmas Island is also known as the Galapagos of the Indian Ocean.
The island is a rocky speck in the Indian Ocean lying south of Java, Indonesia.
Christmas Island is famous for its wildlife, such as red crabs, whale sharks, seabirds,
and coral reefs.
The island is closer to Asia than mainland Australia.
It’s home to diverse cultures and some of the world’s most spectacular natural wonders.
Australia gets really, really hot.
The highest temperature in Australia reached a scorching 50.7°C or 123.3°F.
Climate change and global warming are becoming an Australian is a political issue.
Australia’s hottest months are usually December, January, and February.
… but also really cold.
Australia also experiences extreme cold weather.
For instance, it has recorded its lowest at -23°C or -9.4°F. The coldest months are
usually June, July, and August.
The Sydney Tower was the tallest building built in 1981.
The Sydney Tower was the tallest building built in 1981 in Australia.
It is the second tallest observation tower in the Southern Hemisphere at 1,001 feet.
Also, there is a Sydney Tower Stair Challenge that happens every year.
In fact, it’s open to everyone interested to take part in climbing 1,504 steps to the top.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge took 8 years to construct.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge construction started on 28 July 1923.
There are 1,400 workers used for labor and construction was completed after eight years.
Builders used roughly 6 million hand-driven rivets, 53,000 tons of steel
and 272,000 liters of paint.
A linguist debunked the old kangaroo story in 1970.
When Captain James Cook was exploring the land of Australia, he saw an animal and asked
an Australian native its name.
The native replied “Kangaroo”, which translated to “I don’t understand you”.
But Cook thought that was the name of the animal.
However, linguist John B. Haviland debunked this old story in 1970.
Australia celebrates Anzac Day on 25th April.
Every 25th of April, Australians celebrate Anzac Day.
This day commemorates those who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations.
The boomerang is a popular Australian icon.
Aboriginals used boomerang as a weapon.
They also used boomerangs for hunting as well as sports and entertainment in the modern era.
Australia is one of the lowest and flattest countries in the world.
The lowest point in the country is Lake Eyre in Northern South Australia.
It is approximately 15 m below sea level and the highest is Mount Kosciuszko at 2,228 m
above sea level.
95% of opal stones come from Australia.
These amazing stones are from Australia’s Opal fields that lie in the three states of
New South Wales, Queensland, and South Australia.
Melbourne was the first capital of Australia.
Melbourne was the capital of Australia for 26 years from 1901 to 1927 before the capital
shifted to Canberra.
These are only a few of the strange yet essential facts that make up the peculiar country of Australia.
Whether or not you were amazed, Australia is definitely one of the places you have to
see for yourself.
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