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Australia, or the country “down under”, is a very interesting country. When many people think about it, they might think about kangaroos, koalas, poisonous animals, haunted places or even the Outback; however, there is a lot more to this country then just the stereotypes. While it is impossible to know all about Australia, learn a little bit more about this amazing country and Australian trivia by making sure to check out below for the top 10 facts about Australia.
#10: Anna Creek Station – the world’s largest cattle ranch
Australia is a really big country. However, when many people look on a map, it is hard to really understand how big it truly is. In fact, this is one of the most interesting facts about Australia. This is generally because countries at lower or higher latitudes tend to look bigger on a map due to the fact as it is difficult to show to scale a 3D globe on a flat surface. While the saying “everything is bigger in Texas” might be true for a lot of things, it is not true with regards to cattle ranching.
In fact, the world’s largest cattle ranch, Anne Creek Station, is located in the northern part of southern Australia. It was bought by the Williams Cattle Company in 2016 and is the world’s largest cattle ranch at 9,142 square miles (23,677 square kilometers).[1]The Australian – Anna Creek cattle station sale settles This makes it over seven times larger than the largest cattle ranch in Texas, King Ranch, which is 1,289 square miles (3,340 square kilometers). To help give you an idea of how truly grand in size the ranch is, if it was its own country, it would be the world’s 147th largest country ahead of countries such as Israel, Jamaica, and Cyprus.
#9: Living Near the Coast and the Cities
While Australia is a really big country, one of the most interesting facts about Australia is that it is mostly empty wilderness where you could drive for miles and miles without seeing any signs of civilization. In fact, more than 80 percent of the country’s population lives no farther than 62 miles (100 kilometers) from the coastline, making the country one of the most urbanized and coastal nations in the world.[2]Weekend Notes – 40 Interesting Fact about Australia
Part of this could be due to the Australia weather, where it is very hot in the central parts of the country and much more agreeable near the coasts. The central part of the country is a desert with the hottest temperature every recorded in Australia was 123.3 °F 50.7 °C in Oodnadatta in the central part of the country. However, we can take this a step further. Take a look at the chart below which breaks down the population of each of Australia’s 7 major regions (6 states and 1 territory not including Australia’s Capital Territory) which lives near the major regional cities. A majority of people live both near near the ocean and a city.
| Region | Percent of Population | Major Population Centers |
|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | 62% | Sydney |
| Victoria | 79% | Melbourne and two other areas |
| Queensland | 58% | Brisbane, Cairns, Townsville, and one other area |
| South Australia | 80% | Adelaide |
| Western Australia | 72% | Perth |
| Tasmania | 62% | Devonport, Launceston, and Hobart |
| Northern Territory | 68% | Darwin and Alice Springs |
#8: The second country to give the right to vote to women
One of the most interesting facts about Australia is that in 1902, it became the second country in the world to give right to vote to women.[4]The Nelly McClung Foundation – Dates for the Achievement of Political Equality for the Women of Canada This was after New Zealand gave the right to vote to women in 1893. However, the history of women’s suffrage is Australia starts earlier than this and is much more complicated and nuanced. In fact, the right to vote for women in Australia came in stages.
First, in 1894, the women of South Australia gained the right to vote. Next, in 1899, the women of Western Australia won the right to vote. Only after that did the women in the remaining states of Australia get the right to vote in 1902. While Australia should be applauded for helping lead the women’s suffrage movement, it should also be taken with a grain of salt as this right to vote did not extend to the Australian Aboriginal peoples. Neither Aboriginal men nor Aboriginal women were given the right to vote until 1962.
#7: Australia’s Prison Colony Roots
The Dutch discovered Australia in 1606. In 1770, the British laid claim to the eastern half of the continent. One of the most interesting facts about Australia is that by 1788, New South Wales became a penal colony where over the next 80 years; over 160,000 convicts from around the British Empire (England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales) were sent to live out the rest of their lives instead of being put to death.[5]BBC – Australia’s Penal Colony Roots
While this may sound humane, in many cases, many of the people were sent to Australia for menial crimes. They went to Australia for things such as robbery (where they were originally sentenced to die). To this day, about 20% of the country’s population can claim ancestry from one of these convicts. This including many people in prominent positions. For example, the former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd can trace his ancestry to his great-great-great-great-great grandmother. She went to Australia at the age of 11 for committing robbery.
#6: Ugg Boots Originated in Australia
Ugg Boots, commonly called Uggies by Australians, have their origins in Australia.[6]The Age – The uggly side of life Makers of these boots normally make them from sheepskin with fleece on the inside. Originally, people made them for a utilitarian purpose in order to keep people’s feet warm rather than to run around. Due to this feature, in the 1990s, they became very popular with the US surf culture. Despite not originally being used as a fashion statement they eventually became a popular trend worldwide in the 2000s.
#5: Australia is home to the world’s longest fence
You have probably heard of the Great Wall of China. The Chinese originally built it with the intention of protecting themselves from the raiding nomads that lived north of the wall. However, you have probably never heard of one of the most famous things in Australia, the Dog Fence or Dingo Fence. However, you probably didn’t know one of the most interesting facts about Australia. Australians built the fence in the early 1900s. It is 3,488 miles (5,614 kilometers) long and is the longest fence in the world.[7]Amusing Planet – Dingo Fence: Australia’s 5,600Km Dog Fence It it is just under 5 foot 11 inches (180 centimeters) in height.
To give you an idea of how long this really is. This fence is almost long enough to separate the United States and Canada along the US’ northern border. This border is approximately 3,987 miles long. Similar to the Great Wall, the builder made it to keep things out. However, instead of people, Australians created it in order to keep dingoes (a type of wild dog found in Australia) out. They did this to protect the south eastern part of the country. In this region the land was fertile and used for raising sheep and cattle. It has been mostly successful at its original goal. But, it also has caused a lot of discussion with regards to the impact in the environment. In fact, it has effectively created two different manmade ecological zones (one with dingoes and one without).
#4: When the British first discovered the platypus, they thought it was fake
The Australian continent is relatively isolated. In fact, it started to drift from the rest of the world’s land masses around 96 million years ago. Due to this, very interesting and original species developed on the continent. In fact, you cannot find most of them anywhere else in the world. One of these is the platypus. This animal has the bill of a duck, the tail of a beaver, the feet of an otter, can lay eggs like a bird, and is venomous like a snake really has no living equal in the world.
In fact, one of the true facts about the platypus and its history is that when specimens of the animal were first sent back to England, during the early times of British colonization, people in England thought that the Australians were playing a joke on them. They thought that the Australians had sewn the bill of a duck on the body of a rat. To them, the animal was too bizarre to believe that it could actually be real.[8]Convict Creations – The Platypus
#3: No animals native to Australia have hooves
Australia has a variety of amazing animal life. However, interestingly, no animals native to Australia have hooves.[9]Australian Animals List of Native, Introduced & Endangered Australian Wildlife It is ironic really, considering you can find animals such as kangaroos, koalas, and platypus.
#2: An Australian invented the term selfie
Australian’s have a lot of interesting slang. For example, barbie for barbecue, tinnie for a can of beer, and firie (or firey) for firefighter. However, one of the interesting facts about Australia that you probably did not realize is that the ubiquitous term “selfie” also came from Australia. Despite the fact that people use it in everyday culture throughout the world.
In 2013, the Oxford Dictionary officially added the word selfie to its list of words. In their research, it was found that the world selfie had first been used in a blog post in mid-September 2002 when a drunk Australian wrote, “Um, drunk at a mates 21st, I tripped ofer [sic] and landed lip first (with front teeth coming a very close second) on a set of steps. I had a hole about 1cm long right through my bottom lip. And sorry about the focus, it was a selfie.”[10]The Guardian -Selfie: Australian slang term named international word of the year
#1: Australians use classical music in shopping centers to deter teenagers from loitering
One of the most interesting facts about Australia is their laid back lifestyle and their way at looking at life. For example, at the Westfield Know shopping center in Melbourne Australia, the police have started using an interesting tactic in order to help disperse unruly youths loitering around the mall. They don’t forcibly remove them and chase them around. Instead, they play music that the kids did not like, such as classical music from Beethoven and Bach. Using this tactic, they have managed to reduce the loitering problem.[11]Herald Sun – Police use classical music to stop young people from hanging out at Westfield Knox shopping centre
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