furkew Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 1. Australia is as wide as the distance between London to Moscow. 2. The biggest property in Australia is bigger than Belgium. 3. More than 85% of Australians live within 50km of the coast. 4. In 1880, Melbourne was the richest city in the world. 5. Gina Rinehart, Australia’s richest woman, earns $1 million every half hour, or $598 every second. 6. In 1892, a group of 200 Australians unhappy with the government tried to start an offshoot colony in Paraguay to be called ‘ New Australia’. 7. The first photos from the 1969 moon landing were beamed to the rest of the world from Honeysuckle Tracking Station, near Canberra. 8. Australia was the second country in the world to allow women to vote (New Zealand was first). 9. Each week, 70 tourists overstay their visas. 10. In 1856, stonemasons took action to ensure a standard of 8-hour working days, which then became recognised worldwide. 11. Former Prime Minister Bob Hawke set a world record for sculling 2.5 pints of beer in 11 seconds. Hawke later suggested that this was the reason for his great political success. 12. The world’s oldest fossil, which is about 3.4 billion years old, was found in Australia. 13. Australia is very sparsely populated: The UK has 248.25 persons per square kilometre, while Australia has only 2.66 persons per square kilometre. 14. Australia’s first police force was made up of the best-behaved convicts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Its scarey when you start comparing the size of this place to other countries, it took me a while to understand just how large Australia was when we started looking into moving here,lol. Cal x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynsey Nicolson Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Its scarey when you start comparing the size of this place to other countries, it took me a while to understand just how large Australia was when we started looking into moving here,lol. Cal x Me too! I never thought I would have to drive 40 minutes to a small supermarket or over 200kms to a coles. I was a bit in the 'outback' as i would have said in the beginning! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
furkew Posted June 20, 2014 Author Share Posted June 20, 2014 I know what you mean. I love my offroading and to drive 200km's to get to the start of a days driving is not unusual. It's bloody big country and I love it!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 You notice when you visit the UK that 50 or 60 kms is regarded as a long journey but here it is nothing and you just get used to it pretty quickly. Another thing we noticed when we arrived is how many Australians really don't appreciate their local flora and fauna and how rare it is in the world to see such beautiful coloured birds and animals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
furkew Posted June 28, 2014 Author Share Posted June 28, 2014 a few more: 15. Australia has the highest electricity prices in the world. Due to the iniquitous carbon tax. 16. There were over one million feral camels in outback Australia, until the government launched the $19m Feral Camel Management Program, which aims to keep the pest problem under control. 17. Saudi Arabia imports camels from Australia (mostly for meat production). 18. Qantas once powered an interstate flight with cooking oil. 19. Per capita, Australians spend more money on gambling than any other nation. 20. In 1832, 300 female convicts mooned the governor of Tasmania. It was said that in a “rare moment of collusion with the Convict women, the ladies in the Governor’s party could not control their laughter.” 21. Australia is home to the longest fence in the world. It is 5,614 km long, and was originally built to keep dingoes away from fertile land. Strangely, it's known as "The rabbit proof fence" 22. Australia was one of the founding members of the United Nations. 23. Melbourne is considered the sporting capital of the world, as it has more top level sport available for its citizens than anywhere else. 24. Before the arrival of humans, Australia was home to megafauna: three metre tall kangaroos, seven metre long goannas, horse-sized ducks, and a marsupial lion the size of a leopard. 25. Kangaroos and emus cannot walk backward, one of the reasons that they’re on the Australian coat of arms. 26. Speaking of which, Australia is one of the only countries where we eat the animals on our coat of arms. 27. If you visited one new beach in Australia every day, it would take over 27 years to see them all. 28. Melbourne has the world’s largest Greek population outside of Athens. 29. The Great Barrier Reef is the planet’s largest living structure. 30. And it has its own postbox ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newjez Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 I never knew number 6; that explains the redgum song and album title, virgin ground.. 1. Australia is as wide as the distance between London to Moscow. 2. The biggest property in Australia is bigger than Belgium. 3. More than 85% of Australians live within 50km of the coast. 4. In 1880, Melbourne was the richest city in the world. 5. Gina Rinehart, Australia’s richest woman, earns $1 million every half hour, or $598 every second. 6. In 1892, a group of 200 Australians unhappy with the government tried to start an offshoot colony in Paraguay to be called ‘ New Australia’. 7. The first photos from the 1969 moon landing were beamed to the rest of the world from Honeysuckle Tracking Station, near Canberra. 8. Australia was the second country in the world to allow women to vote (New Zealand was first). 9. Each week, 70 tourists overstay their visas. 10. In 1856, stonemasons took action to ensure a standard of 8-hour working days, which then became recognised worldwide. 11. Former Prime Minister Bob Hawke set a world record for sculling 2.5 pints of beer in 11 seconds. Hawke later suggested that this was the reason for his great political success. 12. The world’s oldest fossil, which is about 3.4 billion years old, was found in Australia. 13. Australia is very sparsely populated: The UK has 248.25 persons per square kilometre, while Australia has only 2.66 persons per square kilometre. 14. Australia’s first police force was made up of the best-behaved convicts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikey Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 Oh lovely......I really enjoyed reading those. Fascinating! 1) yes the birds are amazing and the locals probably don't appreciate it 2) never knew the rabbit proof fence is the longest in the world 3) the gambling is sad but not surprising 4)the uk is one of the most densely populated in the world so makes the comparison even greater....I love the space in Aus 5) this is the big one......WELL DONE oz for being the first country to give women the vote! I assumed it was the uk with the suffragettes etc. Why is this not widely known? Or maybe it is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish.01 Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 Oh lovely......I really enjoyed reading those. Fascinating! 1) yes the birds are amazing and the locals probably don't appreciate it 2) never knew the rabbit proof fence is the longest in the world 3) the gambling is sad but not surprising 4)the uk is one of the most densely populated in the world so makes the comparison even greater....I love the space in Aus 5) this is the big one......WELL DONE oz for being the first country to give women the vote! I assumed it was the uk with the suffragettes etc. Why is this not widely known? Or maybe it is? Re woman's vote, second Nikey...our lovely Kiwi friends were first. As an Aussie, I love the birds too and dislike the excessive gambling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikey Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 Re woman's vote, second Nikey...our lovely Kiwi friends were first. As an Aussie, I love the birds too and dislike the excessive gambling. Oh yes...thanks for correcting me before I start telling everyone here !!! Still an amazing achievement. NZ has a lot to b proud of too....a big voice from such a small country Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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