- Australians invented notepads (1902), aspirin (1915), the pacemaker (1926), penicillin (1940), the plastic disposable syringe (1949), the wine cask (1965), the bionic ear (1978), dual-flush toilet flush (1980) anti-counterfeiting technology for banknotes (1992) and long-wearing contact lenses (1999).
- Australia’s 85.7 million sheep (mostly merinos) produce most of the world’s wool. With 25.4 million head of cattle, Australia is also the world’s largest exporter of beef.
- Australia produces 95 per cent of the world’s precious opals and 99 per cent of its black opals.
- Australia’s coastline stretches almost 50,000 kilometres and is linked by over 10,000 beaches, more than any other country in the world
- Australia is the sixth largest country in the world. It’s about the same size as the 48 mainland states of the USA and 50 per cent larger than Europe, but has the lowest population density in the world – only two people per square kilometre.
- Australia’s human population is around 21 million while its sheep population is estimated at 150 million.
- The most popular sports in Australia, a sports mad nation are Australian Rules Football, Horse Racing, Rugby League, Motorsports, Cricket, Rugby Union and Soccer. Water Sports dominate recreational activities.
- Australia was the second country to give women the right to vote.
- Until 1984, Australia’s National anthem was “God save the Queen/King. The current National anthem is Advance Australia Fair though many consider the Banjo Patterson song Waltzing Matilda the unofficial anthem.
- Convicts were not sent to Australia for serious crimes. Serious crimes, such as murder, rape, or impersonating an Egyptian were given the death sentence in England.
- Australia is the smallest, flattest, and driest inhabited continent in the world. It is the only country which is also a whole continent.
- In 1983, the yacht “Australia II” ended the Americans 132 year dominance of the America’s cup
- Rod Laver is the only male tennis player to win the grand slam and he did it twice.
- The name Australia comes from the Latin Terra Australis Incognito which means the Unknown Southern Land.
- Australians may refer to Americans as ‘Seppos’. This is an abbreviation for ‘Septic Tank’ which is rhyming slang for ‘Yank’.
