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1570 map by Abraham Ortelius depicting Terra Australis Nondum Cognita as a large continent on the bottom of the map and also an Arctic continent
The name «Austrialia» was used for the first time by Queirós – on 1 May 1606 Tridentine Calendar[1][2][3] or May 3 Roman Calendar
Austrialia was altered or ‘corrected’ to Australia over time (one example shown).[4]
The name Australia was specifically applied to the continent for the first time in 1794.[5]
The name Australia (pronounced in Australian English[6]) is derived from the Latin australis, meaning «southern», and specifically from the hypothetical Terra Australis postulated in pre-modern geography. The name was popularised by the explorer Matthew Flinders from 1804, and it has been in official use since 1817, replacing «New Holland,» an English translation of the Dutch name, first given by Abel Tasman in 1643 as the name for the continent.
History[edit]
The name Australia has been applied to two continents. Originally, it was applied to the south polar continent, or sixth continent, now known as Antarctica. The name is a shortened form of Terra Australis which was one of the names given to the imagined (but undiscovered) land mass that was thought to surround the south pole. The earliest known use of the name Australia in Latin was in 1545, when the word appears in a woodcut illustration of the globe titled «Sphere of the Winds» contained in an astrological textbook published in Frankfurt.[7] In the nineteenth century, the name Australia was re-assigned to New Holland, the fifth continent. Thereafter, the south polar continent remained nameless for some eighty years until the new name of Antarctica was invented.[8]
A Terra Australis «land of the south» appeared on world maps from the 15th century, although it was not based on any actual surveying of such a landmass but rather on the hypothesis that continents in the Northern Hemisphere should be balanced by land in the south.[9] This theory of balancing land is on record as early as the 5th century on maps by Macrobius.[10]
The earliest recorded use of the word Australia in English was in 1625 in «A note of Australia del Espíritu Santo, written by Sir Richard Hakluyt», published by Samuel Purchas in Hakluytus Posthumus, a variation of the original Spanish name «Austrialia del Espiritu Santo» (Southern-Austrian Land of the Holy Spirit)[1][2][11] coined by navigator Pedro Fernandes de Queirós in 1606 for the largest island of Vanuatu, believing his expedition had reached Terra Australis.[12] This is a rare combination of terms «Austral» and «Austria», the latter in honour of the Habsburg dynasty that ruled Spain at the time.[13] The Dutch adjectival form Australische was used in a Dutch book in Batavia (Jakarta) in 1638, to refer to the newly discovered lands to the south.[14] Australia was later used in a 1693 translation of Les Aventures de Jacques Sadeur dans la Découverte et le Voyage de la Terre Australe, a 1676 French novel by Gabriel de Foigny, under the pen-name Jacques Sadeur.[15] Referring to the entire South Pacific region, Alexander Dalrymple used it in An Historical Collection of Voyages and Discoveries in the South Pacific Ocean in 1771.
The name Australia was specifically applied to the continent for the first time in 1794,[5] with the botanists George Shaw and Sir James Smith writing of «the vast island, or rather continent, of
Australia, Australasia or New Holland» in their 1793 Zoology and Botany of New Holland,[16] and James Wilson including it on a 1799 chart.[17]
The name Australia was popularised by the explorer Matthew Flinders, who pushed for it to be formally adopted as early as 1804.[18] When preparing his manuscript and charts for his 1814 A Voyage to Terra Australis, he was persuaded by his patron, Sir Joseph Banks, to use the term Terra Australis as this was the name most familiar to the public. Flinders did so, and published the following rationale:
There is no probability, that any other detached body of land, of nearly equal extent, will ever be found in a more southern latitude; the name Terra Australis will, therefore, remain descriptive of the geographical importance of this country, and of its situation on the globe: it has antiquity to recommend it; and, having no reference to either of the two claiming nations, appears to be less objectionable than any other which could have been selected.[19]
In the footnote to this Flinders wrote:
Had I permitted myself any innovation on the original term, it would have been to convert it to AUSTRALIA; as being more agreeable to the ear, and an assimilation to the names of the other great portions of the earth.[20]
This is the only occurrence of the word Australia in that text; but in Appendix III, Robert Brown’s General remarks, geographical and systematical, on the botany of Terra Australis, Brown makes use of the adjectival form Australian throughout,[21]—the first known use of that form.[22] Despite popular conception, the book was not instrumental in the adoption of the name: the name came gradually to be accepted over the following ten years.[23]
The first time that the name Australia appears to have been officially used was in a despatch to Lord Bathurst of 4 April 1817 in which Governor Lachlan Macquarie acknowledges the receipt of Capt. Flinders’ charts of Australia.[24] On 12 December 1817, Macquarie recommended to the Colonial Office that it be formally adopted.[25] In 1824, the Admiralty agreed that the continent should be known officially as Australia.[26]
Djurberg’s 1780 map, with Australia marked as Ulimaroa
Ulimaroa was a name given to Australia by the Swedish geographer and cartographer Daniel Djurberg in 1776.[27] Djurberg adapted the name from Olhemaroa, a Maori word found in Hawkesworth’s edition of Captain James Cook and Sir Joseph Banks’ journals which is thought to have been a misunderstood translation — the Maori were actually referring to Grand Terre, the largest island of New Caledonia.[27] Djurberg believed the name meant something like «big red land», whereas modern linguists believe it meant «long hand» — echoing the geography of Grand Terre.[27] The spurious name continued to be reproduced on certain European maps, particularly some Austrian, Czech, German and Swedish maps, until around 1820,[27] including in Carl Almqvist’s 1817 novel Parjumouf Saga ifrån Nya Holland (Stockholm, 1817).
Commonwealth of Australia[edit]
The sovereign country Australia, formed in 1901 by the Federation of the six British colonies, is officially known as the Commonwealth of Australia, abbreviated within the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act and the Constitution of Australia to «the Commonwealth».[28]
Oz[edit]
The country has been referred to colloquially as Oz by people outside the country since the early 20th century; and by Australians in more recent times.
The Oxford English Dictionary records a first occurrence in 1908, in the form Oss. Oz is often taken as an oblique reference to the fictional Land of Oz in the film The Wizard of Oz (1939), based on L. Frank Baum’s novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900).[29] In 1988, an American opinion was that Australians’ «image of Australia as a ‘Land of Oz’ is not new, and dedication to it runs deep»[30] but evidence for this view within Australia itself is lacking. The spelling Oz is likely to have been influenced by the 1939 film, though the pronunciation was probably always with a /z/, as it is also for Aussie, sometimes spelt Ozzie.[31] The Baz Luhrmann film Australia (2008) makes repeated reference to The Wizard of Oz, which appeared just before the wartime action of Australia. Some critics have even speculated that Baum was inspired by Australia, in naming the Land of Oz: «In Ozma of Oz (1907), Dorothy gets back to Oz as the result of a storm at sea while she and Uncle Henry are travelling by ship to Australia. So, like Australia, Oz is somewhere to the west of California. Like Australia, Oz is an island continent. Like Australia, Oz has inhabited regions bordering on a great desert. One might almost imagine that Baum intended Oz to be Australia, or perhaps a magical land in the center of the great Australian desert.»[32]
Other epithets and nicknames[edit]
Australia is colloquially known as «the Land Down Under» (or just «Down Under»), which derives from the country’s position in the Southern Hemisphere, at the antipodes of the United Kingdom. The term was first recorded in print in 1886, and was popularised internationally by the 1980 song of the same name by Men at Work.[33] Other less common nicknames include «Straya» («Australia» pronounced in an exaggerated Strine manner), and «Aussie», which is usually used as a demonym, but occasionally extended to the country as a whole (especially in New Zealand).[34] More poetic epithets used within Australia include «the Great Southern Land» (re-popularised by a 1980s rock song, and not to be confused with the Great Southern region of Western Australia),[35] «the Lucky Country» (deriving from Donald Horne’s 1964 book of the same name), and two phrases deriving from Dorothea Mackellar’s 1908 poem «My Country» – «the sunburnt country» and «the wide brown land».[36][37]
References[edit]
- ^ a b «He named it Austrialia del Espiritu Santo and claimed it for Spain» The Spanish quest for Terra Australis | State Library of New South Wales Page 1.
- ^ a b «before reaching the New Hebrides or what he called Austrialis del Espiritu Santo on 3 May 1606» Quiros, Pedro Fernandez de (1563–1615) Para 4 | Australian Dictionary of Biography.
- ^ Cartouche of La Gran Baya de S. Philippe y S. Santiago, Prado y Tovar ca.1606-1614 (España. Ministerio de Cultura. Archivo General de Simancas).
- ^ Gerritsen, Rupert (2013). «A note on ‘Australia’ or ‘Austrialia’» (PDF). The Globe. 72: 23. Posesion en nombre de Su Magestad (Archivo del Museo Naval, Madrid, MS 951.
- ^ a b «First Instance of the Word Australia being applied specifically to the Continent — in 1794» Zoology of New Holland — Shaw, George, 1751-1813; Sowerby, James, 1757-1822 Page 2.
- ^ Australian pronunciations: Macquarie Dictionary, Fourth Edition (2005). Melbourne, The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd. ISBN 1-876429-14-3
- ^ Barth, Cyriaco Jacob zum (1545). Astronomia: Teutsch Astronomei. Frankfurt.
- ^ Cameron-Ash, M (2018). Lying for the Admiralty: Captain Cook’s Endeavour Voyage. Sydney: Rosenberg Publishing. pp. 18–19. ISBN 9780648043966.
- ^ John Noble Wilford: The Mapmakers, the Story of the Great Pioneers in Cartography from Antiquity to Space Age, p. 139, Vintage Books, Random House 1982, ISBN 0-394-75303-8
- ^ Ambrosius Aurelius Theodosius Macrobius, Zonenkarte. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
- ^ «THE ILLUSTRATED SYDNEY NEWS». Illustrated Sydney News. National Library of Australia. 26 January 1888. p. 2. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
- ^ Purchas, vol. iv, pp. 1422–32, 1625. This appears to be variation of the original Spanish «Austrialia» [sic].[1] A copy at the Library of Congress can be read online [2].
- ^ Barber, Peter et al. Mapping Our World: Terra Incognita To Australia, National Library of Australia, 2013, p. 107.
- ^ Scott, Ernest (2004) [1914]. The Life of Captain Matthew Flinders. Kessinger Publishing. p. 299. ISBN 978-1-4191-6948-9.
- ^ Baker, Sidney J. (1966) The Australian Language, 2nd ed.
- ^ Ferguson, John Alexander (1975). Bibliography of Australia: 1784–1830. Vol. 1 (reprint ed.). National Library of Australia. p. 77. ISBN 0-642-99044-1.
- ^ Estensen, Miriam (2002). The Life of Matthew Flinders. Allen & Unwin. p. 354. ISBN 1-74114-152-4.
Flinders was not the first to use the name Australia. He may have known it from a 1799 chart of navigator James Wilson, possibly from a 1622 account of the voyage of Willem Schouten and Jacob Lemaire, or some other source.
- ^ Flinders, Matthew. «Letter from Matthew Flinders originally enclosing a chart of ‘New Holland’ (Australia)». cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk. Cambridge Digital Library. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
- ^ Matthew Flinders, A voyage to Terra Australis (Introduction). Retrieved 25 January 2013.
- ^ Flinders, Matthew (1814). A Voyage to Terra Australis. G. and W. Nicol.
- ^ Bennett, J. J., ed. (1866–68). «General remarks, geographical and systematical, on the botany of Terra Australis». The Miscellaneous Botanical Works of Robert Brown, Esq., D.C.L., F.R.S. Vol. 2. pp. 1–89.
- ^ Mabberley, David (1985). Jupiter botanicus: Robert Brown of the British Museum. British Museum (Natural History). ISBN 3-7682-1408-7.
- ^ Estensen, p. 450
- ^ «WHO NAMED AUSTRALIA?». The Mail (Adelaide, SA : 1912 – 1954). Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 11 February 1928. p. 16. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
- ^ Weekend Australian, 30–31 December 2000, p. 16
- ^ Department of Immigration and Citizenship (2007). Life in Australia (PDF). Commonwealth of Australia. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-921446-30-6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 October 2009. Retrieved 30 March 2010.
- ^ a b c d «Ulimaroa: a misnomer for Australia». Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
- ^ «Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act». ComLaw. 9 July 1900. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
- ^ Jacobson, H. (1988) In the Land of Oz, Penguin, ISBN 0-14-010966-8.
- ^ The Americana Annual: 1988, Americana Corporation, vol. 13, 1989, p. 66, ISBN 0-7172-0220-8
- ^ Partridge, Eric, et al., The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, Taylor & Francis, 2006, ISBN 0-415-25938-X, entries «Oz» and «Ozzie», p. 1431.
- ^ Algeo, J., «Australia as the Land of Oz», American Speech, Vol. 65, No. 1, 1990, pp. 86–89.
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary (Electronic), Version 4.0, entry for «down under». The dictionary recodes the first published use in 1886 by J. A. Froude in Oceana p. 92 «We were to bid adieu to the ‘Australasian’…She had carried us safely down under.»
- ^ Macquarie Dictionary (5th ed.). Macmillan Publishers Australia. 2010. ISBN 9781876429669.
- ^ For example, in: Helen Trinca (14 February 2015). Western values: Perth now and then – The Australian. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
- ^ For example, in: Bridie Smith (8 April 2015). «A sunburnt country spotted from space» – The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
- ^ For example, in: Margaret Smith (17 January 2015). «What if the French had settled Australia first?» – The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
Where Did The Word Australia Come From – Stan Grant is a Wiradori elder from Australia’s second largest Aboriginal community. Grant is one of a handful of people who still speak the tribal language, also called Wiradjuri. The language almost disappeared in the 20th century when Aboriginal people could be jailed for speaking their mother tongue in public.
Australia’s first people – known as Australian Aborigines – lived on the continent for more than 50,000 years. There are 250 different language groups in Australia today. Australia’s Aboriginal peoples are divided into two groups: Aboriginal peoples, related to people already living in Australia when Britain began settling the island in 1788, and Torres Strait Islander peoples, who are descended from Torres Strait Islanders , island group. Which is part of present day Queensland, Australia.
All Australian Aborigines belong to the original groups of Australia. However, the use of the term indigenous is controversial as it can be argued that it is from people who are descended from people who were not the original inhabitants of the island. In legal terms, an ‘Aboriginal Australian’ is defined as ‘a person of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent who identifies as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander and is accepted by the community in which he (or she) lives’ .
Countries By Continent :: Australia And Oceania
In 2017, a genetic study of the genomes of 111 Australian Aborigines found that all present-day Australian Aborigines are related to a common ancestor that belonged to a distinct population that appeared on the continent about 50,000 years ago. Humans are believed to have migrated from Asia to northern Australia using primitive boats. A recent theory claims that these early migrants left Africa about 70,000 years ago, which would make the Australian Aborigines the earliest human population to inhabit Africa.
Through her stunning photography, Amy Tonsing touches on the cultural struggles of Aboriginal Australians, but also celebrates the way of life of these indigenous peoples and their connection to their ancestral lands. National Geographic Live! This series brings thought-provoking presentations from today’s leading researchers, scientists, photographers and artists straight to your YouTube feed. Each presentation is filmed in front of a live audience at National Geographic headquarters in Washington, DC. New clips are broadcast every Monday.
When British settlers began settling in Australia in 1788, it was estimated that there were between 750,000 and 1.25 Aboriginal Australians living there. Soon epidemics ravaged the native population of the island and British colonists conquered the lands of the aborigines.
Although some Australian Aborigines resisted—up to 20,000 natives died in brutal conflict on the colonial frontier—most succumbed to the genocide and impoverishment of their communities when British settlers occupied their lands.
Where Did The Word ‘outstation’ Come From?
Between 1910 and 1970, between 10 and 33 percent of Australian Aboriginal children were forcibly removed from their homes as a result of government assimilation policies. These “stolen generations” were placed in adoptive families and institutions and were not allowed to speak their native languages. Their names changed often.
In 2008, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd issued a national apology for the country’s treatment of Stolen Generations Aboriginal Australians; Since then, Australia has worked to reduce social inequality between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians.
It was not until 1967 that Australians voted to extend federal laws to Australian aborigines. Most Aboriginal Australians did not have full citizenship or voting rights until 1965.
Today, about three percent of Australia’s population has Aboriginal heritage. Aboriginal Australians are still fighting to preserve their ancient culture and are fighting for recognition – and restoration – from the Australian government. The state of Victoria is now working on a first-of-its-kind settlement with its Aboriginal population that would recognize Australian Aboriginal sovereignty and include reparations. However, Australia itself has never entered into such an agreement, as it is the only country in the Commonwealth of Nations that has not ratified an agreement with its First Nations.
Australia Word Map
In the early 1900s, historian Carter G. Woodson led the fight for a holiday that promoted black achievement — and opposed racist stereotypes.
A study of thousands killed in 30 African countries found that fewer elephants were poached in areas where communities were healthy and prosperous.
Your biological age reflects your physical health and may differ from your actual age by years. A new tool that calculates that number “could be a wake-up call.” Stephen Gray does not work for, consult with, own stock in, or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations outside of his academic appointment.
A ‘Slave Map of Modern Australia’ was published in 1891 in a British anti-slavery newspaper. Author provides, author provides
Mid Term Exam 3ro Ad. Worksheet
This is a common misconception that often obscures our nation’s history of exploitation of First Nations and Pacific Island peoples.
“I’ve always said we have to be honest about our history,” Morrison continued. Unfortunately, his statement contradicts historical data.
This story was widely and publicly documented in the 2006 Australian Senate report Unfinished Business: Indigenous Stolen Wages.
Australia was not a “slave state” like the American South. However, slavery is a broad concept. As Article 1 of the UN Slavery Convention states:
The Word Spy By Ursula Dubosarsky
Slavery is the state or condition of a person over whom some or all of the powers attached to the right of property are exercised.
These powers can include non-payment of wages, physical or sexual abuse, restriction of freedom of movement or selling a person as property. In the words of slavery historian Orlando Patterson, slavery was a form of “social death.”
Slavery was illegal in the (former) British Empire after the Slave Trade Abolition Act of 1807 and certainly since 1833.
In the early 1860s, anti-slavery activists began to raise the terms “chatter fees and slavery” to describe conditions in northern Australia for Aboriginal labour.
Sight Words Archives
In 1891 the British Anti-Slavery Journal published a ‘Slave Map of Modern Australia’, documenting and working against slavery around the world.
… The movement of Aboriginal labour, children and adults, was reduced to conditions of slavery. The seeds of slavery in Australia
About 62,000 Melanesians were brought to Australia and enslaved to work on the sugar plantations of Queensland between 1863 and 1904. First Nations Australians had a long experience of slavery, initially in pearl production in Western Australia and the Torres Strait, and later in livestock production.
In the cattle industry, employers exercise a high degree of control over ‘their’ Aboriginal workers who are bought and sold as chattel, especially when they ‘go with’ the property for sale. There were restrictions on their freedom of choice and movement. Cruel treatment and abuse, sexual restraint and forced labor were practiced.
How A Flawed Idea Is Teaching Millions Of Kids To Be Poor Readers
… The whites would draw their guns and kill all the tribesmen who stood before them. And taking off your boots doesn’t even take time. No fear!
Ruby de Setage, an Aboriginal woman who worked at a railway station in Queensland, described the significance of the Queensland Defense Act as follows:
If you’re sitting there minding your own business, the station manager might walk up to you and say, “I want black ones”… like getting a cat or a dog.
This Act eased Aboriginal slavery in the Northern Territory, Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland. Under South Australia’s Aborigines Act 1911, the government gave the police the power to “inspect workers and their conditions”, but not to enforce basic working conditions or impose wages. The Adivasi Ordinance 1918 (Cth) allowed the forced recruitment of indigenous laborers in Uttar Pradesh and penalized non-payment of wages.
Tourism Australia Invites The World To Come And Live Australia’s Philausophy
In Queensland the licensing system was effectively a blank check to recruit Aboriginal people for work without their consent. An amendment to the Protection of Aborigines and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act 1897 gave the watchman or constable the power to ‘spend’ his salary or invest it in a trust fund – which was never paid out.
Officials were aware that “slavery” was a public relations problem. The Chief Warden of Uttar Pradesh noted in 1927 that pastoral workers:
In the early 1930s, the chief warden Dr. Cecil Cook pointed out that Australia was in breach of its obligations under the League of Nations Slavery Convention.
If the British Empire did not have slavery, then the NT was not part of the British Empire; Because here it certainly exists in its worst form.
Tasting Language: Using Descriptive Words And Connotations
In the 1940s, anthropologists Ronald and Catherine Brand investigated the condition of cattle stations owned by Lord Westy and commented that Aboriginal people:
… Since they owned neither the huts they lived in nor the land on which they were built, they had no tenure rights and in some cases were sold or transferred with the property.
In 1958, the lawyer for the famous Aboriginal artist Albert Namajira argued that the Welfare Ordinance 1953 (Cth) was unconstitutional because the law was:
… Act to enslave part of the population of the Northern Territory. Earnings from processors
What Is Wordle? The New Viral Word Game Delighting The Internet
Australia has unfinished business in returning Aboriginal and South Sea slave wages. First Nations slave labor allowed big business to make significant profits and helped sustain the Australian economy during the Great Depression. Despite the historical narrative, the tribes take pride in their work at the stations
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The name Australia (pronounced /əˈstreɪliə/ in Australian English) is derived from the Latin australis meaning “southern” and specifically from the hypothetical Terra Australis postulated in pre-modern geography.
How did Australia get its name?
The name Australia derives from Latin australis meaning southern and dates back to 2nd century legends of an “unknown southern land” (that is terra australis incognita). The explorer Matthew Flinders named the land Terra Australis which was later abbreviated to the current form.
Who is Australia named after?
Pedro Fernandes de Queirós a Portuguese navigator in the service of the Spanish was commissioned by King Philip III to find Terra Australis. In 1606 his expedition reached a large island. Queirós believed he had found the southern continent and named it Australia del Espiritu Santo.
What was Australia called before 1901?
Before 1900 there was no actual country called Australia only the six colonies – New South Wales Tasmania South Australia Victoria Queensland and Western Australia. While these colonies were on the same continent they were governed like six rival countries and there was little communication between them.
What do aboriginals call Australia?
The Aboriginal English words ‘blackfella’ and ‘whitefella’ are used by Indigenous Australian people all over the country — some communities also use ‘yellafella’ and ‘coloured’.
Who were the first people in Australia?
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the first peoples of Australia meaning they were here for thousands of years prior to colonisation.
Why are Aborigines called?
Most people assume the word Aboriginal means “the first inhabitants” or “from the beginning.” But the root meaning of the word ”ab” is a Latin prefix that means “away from” or “not.” And so Aboriginal can mean “not original.”
Why is Australia called Oceania?
Most of Australia and Oceania is under the Pacific a vast body of water that is larger than all the Earth’s continental landmasses and islands combined. The name “Oceania” justly establishes the Pacific Ocean as the defining characteristic of the continent.
See also what three important factors influenced southern life?
Who really discovered Australia first?
explorer Willem Janszoon
While Indigenous Australians have inhabited the continent for tens of thousands of years and traded with nearby islanders the first documented landing on Australia by a European was in 1606. The Dutch explorer Willem Janszoon landed on the western side of Cape York Peninsula and charted about 300 km of coastline.
What is the official name of Australia?
the Commonwealth of Australia
Australia officially the Commonwealth of Australia is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the largest country by area in Oceania and the world’s sixth-largest country.
Did the Chinese discover Australia?
“1421” a best-selling book by Gavin Menzies a former British naval officer suggests that the great 15th-century treasure fleets of the Ming dynasty captained by the famed Muslim eunuch Zheng He landed in Australia and even as far afield as the Americas.
Why is Aboriginal offensive?
‘Aborigine’ is generally perceived as insensitive because it has racist connotations from Australia’s colonial past and lumps people with diverse backgrounds into a single group. … Without a capital “a” “aboriginal” can refer to an Indigenous person from anywhere in the world.
Is the term Blackfella offensive?
This term is considered outdated and highly offensive by many people across Australia. The expression is used though by Aboriginal and Torrest Strait Islander people amongst ourselves. However many would find it offensive for a person who is not Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander to use this expression.
Where did Aborigines come from?
Aboriginal origins
Humans are thought to have migrated to Northern Australia from Asia using primitive boats. A current theory holds that those early migrants themselves came out of Africa about 70 000 years ago which would make Aboriginal Australians the oldest population of humans living outside Africa.
What race are Australian Aboriginal?
The First Nations people of Australia consist of two culturally distinct Indigenous groups of black people Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders born inher- itors and custodians of the land.
Was there a pygmy race in Australia?
Disputed pygmy presence in Australia. Australian anthropologist Norman Tindale and American anthropologist Joseph Birdsell suggested there were 12 Negrito-like tribes of short-statured Aboriginal peoples living on the coastal and rainforest areas around Cairns on the lands of the Mbabaram people and Djabugay people.
See also what is game farming
Are Aborigines African?
Aboriginal people are genetically most similar to the indigenous populations of Papua New Guinea and more distantly related to groups from East Indonesia. … These findings suggest that modern Aboriginal Australians are the direct descendants of migrants who left Africa up to 75 000 years ago.
What is difference between indigenous and Aboriginal?
‘Indigenous peoples’ is a collective name for the original peoples of North America and their descendants. Often ‘Aboriginal peoples’ is also used. … However the term Aboriginal is still used and accepted.
Is New Zealand is part of Australia?
New Zealand is not a part of Australian Continent however it is considered as a part of Zealandia or Oceania (hasn’t been officially declared a continent but many geographist refer it as a continent).
What are the 14 countries in Australia?
The Oceania region includes 14 countries: Australia Micronesia Fiji Kiribati Marshall Islands Nauru New Zealand Palau Papua New Guinea Samoa Solomon Islands Tonga Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
What is Australian slang for girl?
Aussie Slang Words For Women:
Sheila. Chick. Woman. Lady.
When did white man come to Australia?
On January 26 1788 Captain Arthur Phillip guides a fleet of 11 British ships carrying convicts to the colony of New South Wales effectively founding Australia.
Why did the Dutch not claim Australia?
The reason the Dutch didn’t make a claim to Australia was because the part they saw – the western and north-western coast – was mostly uninhabitable. The north-west portion of the continent is mostly arid land or desert. There was no benefit to be seen in this land.
Who was the first white person to discover Australia?
navigator Willem Janszoon
The first known landing in Australia by Europeans was in 1606 by Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon. Later that year Spanish explorer Luís Vaz de Torres sailed through and navigated what is now called Torres Strait and associated islands.
What was Australia called before 1788?
After British colonisation the name New Holland was retained for several decades and the south polar continent continued to be called Terra Australis sometimes shortened to Australia.
Is Australia older than America?
Compared to most of the world Australia is older. Most European Asian and African countries were formed after Australia. Modern India was formed in 1950 South Korea in 1948 and China in 1949. … For example the United States of America began its journey as country in 1776.
What continent has no countries?
Antarctica
Antarctica is a unique continent in that it does not have a native population. There are no countries in Antarctica although seven nations claim different parts of it: New Zealand Australia France Norway the United Kingdom Chile and Argentina.Jan 4 2012
See also why do you think the british colonies became larger and more successful than the french?
How did Aussies get their accent?
Australian English can be described as a new dialect that developed as a result of contact between people who spoke different mutually intelligible varieties of English. The very early form of Australian English would have been first spoken by the children of the colonists born into the early colony in Sydney.
Was there slavery in Australia?
Slavery in Australia has existed in various forms from colonisation in 1788 to the present day. … Many Indigenous Australians were also forced into various forms of slavery and unfree labour from colonisation. Some Indigenous Australians performed unpaid labour until the 1970s.
Did Christopher Columbus discover Australia?
Christopher Columbus never discovered Australia. In fact Christopher Columbus never sailed beyond the Atlantic Ocean the Mediterranean Sea and the…
Why is there a warning for Aboriginal deceased?
Warnings alert Indigenous Australians to material that may contain the image voice or name of an Indigenous Australian who has died and enable them to choose whether or not they access the material. … the name or images of the deceased are not being used in order to meet local cultural practices or.
Are Hawaiians indigenous?
Native Hawaiians are the aboriginal indigenous people who settled the Hawaiian archipelago founded the Hawaiian nation and exercised sovereignty over the Hawaiian Islands.
Why are First Nations called Indian?
The word Indian came to be used because Christopher Columbus repeatedly expressed the mistaken belief that he had reached the shores of South Asia. Convinced he was correct Columbus fostered the use of the term Indios (originally “person from the Indus valley”) to refer to the peoples of the so-called New World.
How do you refer to Aboriginals?
both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples use terms such as ‘First Nations Australians‘ ‘First Australians’ or ‘Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples’.
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Australia Geography/Australia Country Song
Matthew Flinders, General chart of Terra Australis or Australia, 1814, nla.obj-232588549
The land that is now known as Australia was called by various names by the Indigenous peoples who lived there for thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans. These names varied between different language groups and regions. The Indigenous peoples had a deep spiritual connection to the land and had a name for every feature of the land.
For many centuries Europeans believed there must be a vast land in the southern hemisphere, variously called ‘Terra Australis Incognita’ or ‘Unknown South Land’.
After Dutch navigators charted the northern, western and southern coasts of Australia during the 17th Century this newly found continent became known as ‘New Holland’.
It was the English explorer Matthew Flinders who suggested the name we use today. He was the first to circumnavigate the continent in 1803, and used the name ‘Australia’ to describe the continent on a hand drawn map in 1804. The National Library holds a reproduction.
When the map and book describing his journey was finally published in 1814 the name ‘Terra Australis’ was used instead, although Flinders stated that his preference was still ‘Australia’. You can view his General chart of Terra Australis or Australia map online.
The New South Wales Governor Lachlan Macquarie endorsed the name Australia to replace New Holland in a dispatch to the Colonial Office in London in December 1817, and the name came into common local usage. By 1824 the British Admiralty started to officially use the name, and the term Australia was first used in British legislation in 1828 to apply to the two colonies of New South Wales and Van Diemen’s Land combined.
The name Commonwealth of Australia for the nation of six federated colonies was formalised in the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 preamble section 3, passed by the UK Parliament.
The name Australia had appeared in print long before Flinder’s suggestion, but only broadly applied to the legendary southern land mass. The earliest printing of this name is in an astronomical treatise published in 1545. With south at the top of the map a small wind head map names the imagined southern land mass ‘Australia’.
The State Library of South Australia has an excellent overview of Flinders’ naming of Australia on their website Encounter 1802-2002.
Some relevant material held by the National Library includes:
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A voyage to Terra Australis , the published account by Flinders of his journey around Australia.
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Terra Australis : Matthew Flinders’ great adventures in the circumnavigation of Australia
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Matthew Flinders: navigator and chartmaker
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General chart of Terra Australis or Australia [cartographic material] : showing the parts explored between 1798 and 1803 by M. Flinders Commr. of H.M.S. Investigator. This is also available to view online.
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Mapping our world : Terra Incognita to Australia
The name ‘Australia’ comes from the Latin word ‘australis’, meaning southern.
Australia is the world’s 6th largest country by area.
The population of Australia is estimated to be about 25 millions in 2019.
Due to its large size and isolation from the rest of the world, Australia is sometimes known as the ‘island continent’.
Most scholars date the arrival of humans in Australia at 40,000 to 50,000 years ago, with a possible range of up to 125,000 years ago. Genetic studies appear to support an arrival date of about 44,000 years ago.
The indigenous people of Australia are Australian Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders.
Melbourne was the initial capital following the 1901 Federation of Australia. In 1927, the seat of national government was moved to the newly created city of Canberra, which continues to serve as the national capital to this day.
The highest mountain on mainland Australia is Mt Kosciuszko, standing 2228 meters (7310 feet) above sea level.
Australia has a range of different landscapes, including urban areas, mountain ranges, deserts and rain forests.
Nearly seven million square kilometers, or 91% of Australia, is covered by native vegetation.
It has 16 world heritage listed sites including historic townships, cities and landscapes.
Uluru is probably Australia’s best-known natural landmark.
Australia has more than 378 mammal species, 828 bird species, 4000 fish species, 300 species of lizards, 140 snake species, two crocodile species and around 50 types of marine mammal.
More than 80% of our plants, mammals, reptiles and frogs are unique to Australia and are found no-where else.
Among Australia’s best-known animals are the kangaroo, koala, echidna, dingo, platypus, wallaby and wombat.
The world’s largest reef system, the Great Barrier Reef, is found off the north-eastern coast of Australia.
The biggest property in Australia is bigger than Belgium.
The world’s largest cattle station, Anna Creek Station in Australia, is larger than Israel.
Lake Hillier in Australia is a bright pink color and scientists aren’t sure why.
The top ten deadliest snakes can be found in Australia.
Tasmania has the cleanest air in the world.
In Australia, there are more kangaroos than people.
Australia exports camels to Saudi Arabia.
The town of Docker River in Australia was once invaded by 6,000 camels that came in search of water.
Australia has 10 times more camels than koalas.
There were over 10 million koalas before British settlers arrived in Australia. Now, there are around 43,000 in the wild.
24 rabbits that were introduced to Australia in 1859 had multiplied in number to over 2 million in ten years.
In 2009, snipers were deployed in Australia to protect a colony of little penguins from predators.
Burning Mountain, Australia, has an underground natural coal fire that has been burning for about 6,000 years.
Australia is the only continent in the world without an active volcano.
The world’s oldest fossil, which is about 3.4 billion years old, was found in Australia.
Australia was the second country in the world to allow women to vote (New Zealand was first).
Australia’s Highway 1 is the world’s longest national highway. With about 14,500 km, (9,000 mi), it circumnavigates the entire country.
Australia is a relatively wealthy country with a high life expectancy.
The name Australia is derived from the Latin Terra Australis, and it means unknown southern land. It is a name used for putative lands in the southern hemisphere of the world; and thus, it is a name that was used accordingly from the time of the ancient Roman Empire.
The earliest recorded use of the word Australia in English was in 1625 in «A note of Australia del Espíritu Santo, written by Sir Richard Hakluyt» and published by Samuel Purchas in Hakluytus Posthumus, a corruption of the original Spanish name «Austrialia del Espíritu Santo» (Southern Land of the Holy Spirit, an island in Vanuatu).
The first time that the name Australia appears to have been officially used was in a despatch to Lord Bathurst. On April 4, 1817, Governor Lachlan Macquarie then acknowledges the receipt of Matthew Flinders’ charts of Australia. On December 12, 1817, Macquarie recommended to the Colonial Office that the name be formally adopted. In 1824, the Admiralty agreed that the continent should be known officially as Australia.
More Info:
en.wikipedia.org
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Quick Facts
Essential Facts
Interesting Facts
- Australia has more kangaroos than people.
- There are over 10,000 beaches in Australia.
- Australia has inhabitants 50,000 years before the British came.
- Melbourne, Australia has the largest Greek population outside of Greece.
- The Australian Alps get more snow compared to Switzerland.
- Australians eat kangaroo meat.
- Australians eat crocodile meat.
- The national animal of Australia is the kangaroo.
- An Average Australian drink 96 liters of beer per year.
- The Australian Dollar (AUD) is Australia’s currency.
- There are 8 sheep for every person in Australia.
- Australia discovered a fish in the year 2015 and named it “Blue Bastard”.
- Australia created its version of football rules for their league.
- Australia has more camels than Egypt.
- The name ‘Australia’ comes from the Latin word ‘Terra Australis’ that means southern.
- The real country name of Australia is the Commonwealth of Australia.
- 90% of Australians live near the sea or at the edge of the land.
- Tasmania, Australia has the cleanest air in the world.
- Fraser Island, Australia is the largest sand island in the world.
- The Indian Pacific train of Australia is the longest straight section of train tracks in the world.
01
Australia is the smallest continent.
02
Australia has 8 states.
03
Victoria is the garden state of Australia.
04
Australia has 160 spoken languages.
05
January 26 is the official national day of Australia.
06
Australia has 3.6 million hectares of rainforest.
07
Australia has a population of 25.4 million.
08
James Cook discovered Australia in 1770.
09
Vegemite is the most popular spread in Australia.
10
There are at least 125 Australian slang words and phrases.
11
Australia takes 5% of the world’s land area.
12
Australia banned all semi-automatic rifles and pump-action shotguns.
13
There are different time zones in Australia.
14
The capital of Australia is Canberra.
15
The Sydney Opera House took 14 years to build.
16
The Dingo Fence is longer than the Great Wall of China.
17
Australia’s first policemen were criminals.
18
Some of the world’s deadliest animals live in Australia.
19
The world’s largest coral reef system, the Great Barrier Reef, is in Australia.
20
Australia is a spacious country.
21
Australia has diverse religions.
22
Australia has the world’s longest golf course.
23
There are 150 million sheep in Australia.
24
The Great Emu War broke out in Australia.
25
The government hired former World War I soldiers to fight the emu.
27
Australia is the 6th largest country in the world.
28
Australia is the biggest island in the world.
29
Sydney has more than 100 beaches.
30
There are more than 1.6 million dairy cows in Australia.
31
5% of the cows suffer from mastitis.
32
Australia set a new Guinness World Record in Bondi Beach.
33
Australia has regular thunderstorms.
34
The Prime Minister of Australia disappeared while swimming.
35
Conspiracies about Prime Minister Harrold Holt’s disappearance spread around the world.
36
Australia created the world’s first Seat Belt Law as mandatory in 1970.
37
Gina Rinehart is Australia’s richest woman.
38
Prime Minister Bob Hawke holds a Guinness Record.
39
Australia has 21 of the world’s 25 most venomous snakes.
40
An average of 70 tourists overstay their visa in Australia every week.
41
Canberra actually means «a woman’s cleavage».
42
Native vegetation covers 91% of Australia.
43
Australia is one of the driest inhabited places on earth.
44
Australia has pink lakes.
45
Australia exports ten thousand camels every year.
46
The Australian election TV debate gave way for the reality show Masterchef.
47
Australia is the 5th largest wine exporter in the world.
48
An Australian man tried to sell New Zealand in an auction.
49
ASIC is one of the world’s most trusted financial regulators.
50
27% of Australians were born abroad.
51
The government chose Canberra as the capital on January 1, 1911.
52
Melbourne, Australia is consistently listed at the global liveability index.
53
The Ayers Rock of Australia is the world’s largest rock.
54
Christmas is summer time in Australia.
55
Santa Claus surfs in Australia, what?
56
Australia ranks 26th in the world’s most obese countries.
57
Australia has the world’s longest national highway.
58
Australia does not have an official national sport.
59
Australia has the world’s happiest animal.
60
Australians love poker.
61
The word «selfie» originated in Australia.
62
Forest fires are common in Australia.
63
Australians use green ants as an ingredient.
64
Avatar is the highest-grossing film of all time in Australia.
65
The fish industry is now a multibillion-dollar business in Australia.
66
Dr. Mark Lidwill invented the pacemaker.
67
There is a Christmas Island in Australia.
68
Red crabs live on Christmas Island.
69
Melbourne was previously called Batmania.
70
50.7°C is the highest temperature ever recorded in Australia.
71
The coldest temperature in Australia is -23°C.
72
The Sydney Tower was the tallest building built in 1981.
73
The Sydney Harbour Bridge took 8 years to construct.
74
A linguist debunked the old kangaroo story in 1970.
75
David Warren invented the flight data recorder.
76
Australia celebrates Anzac Day on 25th April.
77
The boomerang is a popular Australian icon.
78
Australia is one of the lowest and flattest countries in the world.
79
95% of opal stones primarily come from Australia.
80
Melbourne was the first capital of Australia.
Australia is the smallest continent.
Australia is the smallest of all the continents. It is also the flattest, the lowest and the driest.
Australia has 8 states.
The 8 states of Australia are namely: Queensland, New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, and the Northern Territory.
Victoria is the garden state of Australia.
Victoria, Australia has the nickname “The Garden State” because of its fertile agricultural land.
Australia has 160 spoken languages.
Australia has 160 spoken languages. Although Australia has no official language, the considered official language is English. The majority of the population speaks English. An awesome Australia fact!
January 26 is the official national day of Australia.
The official national day of Australia is ‘Australia Day’. People celebrate it on the 26th day of January. This special day is a remembrance of the 1788 arrival of the First Fleet of British ships at Port Jackon, New South Wales. It also remembers the raising of the Flag of Great Britain at Sydney Cove by Governor Arthur Philip.
Australia has 3.6 million hectares of rainforest.
3% of Australia’s total native area is the rainforest. Australia has 3.6 million hectares of rainforest. It is usually characterized by lush growth, high rainfall, and closed canopies. Rainforests bolster up a remarkable part of Australia’s biodiversity.
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. Specifically, the migration will play a notable role in that growth.
James Cook discovered Australia in 1770.
It took some time before someone discovered Australia. Captain James Cook led the most famous discovery aboard HMS Endeavour in 1770. Eventually, this voyage led to the first European settlement in Sydney.
Vegemite is the most popular spread in Australia.
Vegemite is a dark brown spread invented by Dr. Cyril P. Callister, a chemist. The texture of Vegemite is sticky with a salty, malty and slightly bitter taste. Aussie parents raise their kids and toddlers on Vegemite. It’s one of the first foods that parents give to them because of their nutritional value.
There are at least 125 Australian slang words and phrases.
Here are some of those Australian slang, such as: 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 5% of the world’s land area.
The land area of Australia is 7,682,300 square km. This is 5% of the world’s land area of 149 450 000 square km. In fact, Australia is about 2 times bigger than India.
Australia banned all semi-automatic rifles and pump-action shotguns.
Gun laws in Australia are mainly within the jurisdiction of Australian states. In the last 20 years, several high-profile gun violence has been recorded. The federal government coordinated more restrictive firearms legislation with all state governments. Gun laws were largely aligned in 1996 by the National Firearms Agreement. Finally, Australia bans all semi-automatic rifles and pump-action shotguns.
There are different time zones in Australia.
The time zones in Australia are the Western Standard Time, Central Standard Time, and Eastern Standard Time. Australia’s standardization of time started in 1892. The representatives accepted the recommendation of the 1884 International Meridian Conference to use the Greenwich Mean Time.
The capital of Australia is Canberra.
Contrary to the thinking of many that Sydney is the capital of Australia, Canberra is the actual capital of Australia. Canberra is on the south-eastern side of Australia.
The Sydney Opera House took 14 years to build.
The Sydney Opera House gets 10.9 million visitors every year. Builders expected the construction of the Sydney Opera House to take 4 years. But it eventually took 14 years to build with 10,000 construction workers.
The Dingo Fence is longer than the Great Wall of China.
Dingo Fence of Australia is the world’s longest fence, its 5,331 kilometers in length. The Dingo Fence is a ‘pest-exclusion’ fence built in the 1880s and completed in 1885. Its main purpose is to shield the fertile south-east part of Australia from dingoes. The Dingo fence is longer than the Great Wall of China.
Australia’s first policemen were criminals.
The first cops in Australia were a group of convicts. Laying down the rules set by Governor Arthur Philip, the first fleet arrived in New South Wales in January 1788. The Marines of the Royal Navy were in charge of law enforcement.
Some of the world’s deadliest animals live in Australia.
Some of the world’s deadliest animals live in Australia. Such as Common Death Adder, Coastal Taipan, and Blue-Ringed Octopus.
The world’s largest coral reef system, the Great Barrier Reef, is in Australia.
It stretches for 2,300 kilometers over an area of approximately 344,468 square kilometers. The Great Barrier Reef is the biggest coral reef system in the world. The reef is off the coast of Queensland, Australia, in the Coral Sea.
Australia is a spacious country.
If we are going to scatter all the people in Australia, there will only be 3 people for every 100 hectares all around the country.
Australia has diverse religions.
Religious beliefs in Australia are diverse. But there are more people there that do not have a religion. 30% of them do not have a religion. 22% are Catholic, 16% are Christians, 13% are Anglican, 2% are Buddhist, 2% are Islam and the others remain undecided.
Australia has the world’s longest golf course.
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.
There are 150 million sheep in Australia.
There are 150 million sheep in Australia with 20 million people. That’s around 8 sheep for every person. How about the kangaroos? Australia has 25 million kangaroos.
The Great Emu War broke out in Australia.
The Emu War of Australia is the war of man vs the birds. Emus are very big birds with heights at an average of no less than 5.7 feet, the second-largest living birds. They have long legs and necks with short wings (less than 8 inches). When the emus grew in numbers, they started to wreak havoc on crops and that started The Great Emu War of Australia.
The government hired former World War I soldiers to fight the emu.
The soldiers used the Lewis machine gun, a light machine gun that was widely used in the first world war. They used that gun against emus in Australia, more than a decade later.
Emus won the war!
It took about 10 bullets to kill a single emu, hence the officials decided that it is not worth it. Major Meredith was the leader of the war, but in the end, the emus won! And one of the soldiers quoted “The emus have proved that they are not so stupid as they are usually considered to be.”
Australia is the 6th largest country in the world.
Australia is the 6th largest country after Canada, United States, Russia, Brazil, and China.
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.
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.
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.
5% of the cows suffer from mastitis.
5% of the dairy cow in Australia suffers from mastitis. It’s an inflammation of breast tissue. This may involve infection and inflammation. It can result in swelling, warmth, redness, and breast pain that may lead to fatality.
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 has regular thunderstorms.
Not far away in the Northwest Coast of Australia, thunderstorms happen regularly. More than 40 thunderstorms come to pass every year. Central Queensland encounters 50 thunderstorms a year. The thunderstorms usually come during the monsoon and winter season.
The Prime Minister of Australia disappeared while swimming.
On December 17, 1967, Prime Minister Harold Holt went to Cheviot Beach with his friends to swim. Prime Minister Holt and his friends were on the beach around 12:15 pm. According to his friends, Mr. Holt went into deeper and deeper water. Then, the Prime Minister disappeared. Authorities conducted an enormous search operation after the incident. At one point, there were 50 divers simultaneously looking out for the body but no one found it.
Conspiracies about Prime Minister Harrold Holt’s disappearance spread around the world.
There are many conspiracy theories for Prime Minister Harold Holt’s disappearance. First, Harold Holt was a Chinese spy and he was picked up by a Chinese submarine and lived the rest of his life in China. Second, Harold Holt is a good swimmer and a diver and can hold his breath for a few minutes. Third, the CIA assassinated Harold Holt. According to this theory, the US thought he will pull out Australia from the Vietnam war. And finally, Harold Holt faked his death and moved to Switzerland with his lover.
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.
Gina Rinehart is Australia’s richest woman.
Gina Rhinehart is a mining magnate and company chairman. She earns an estimated 600 AUD a second or over 2,000,000 AUD per hour, giving her the title of Australia’s richest woman.
Prime Minister Bob Hawke holds a Guinness Record.
Australia is a home for interesting Prime Ministers. From Prime Minister Harold Holt’s disappearance, then to Prime Minister Bob Hawke. The former Prime Minister Bob Hawke set a world record for sculling 2.5 pints of beer in just 11 seconds. As a result, he set a record in the Guinness Book of Records. One of the coolest Australia facts!
Australia has 21 of the world’s 25 most venomous snakes.
Here are some, such as Inland Taipan Venom, Eastern Brown Snake, Western Brown Snake, Mainland Tiger Snake, and Coastal Taipan.
An average of 70 tourists overstay their visa in Australia every week.
Tourists in Australia tend to overstay. Reports have shown that most of them are Malaysians and Chinese. While the Americans, British, and Indian also adds a small part of it. The department said that it will not detain the overstaying tourists if they work with the government to clear up their cases.
Canberra actually means «a woman’s cleavage».
Canberra means “a woman’s cleavage” since two mountains cradle the city.
Native vegetation covers 91% of Australia.
Native vegetation covers 7 million square kilometers of the whole of Australia.
Australia is one of the driest inhabited places on earth.
It has the lowest water level of rivers. Australia has the lowest run-off, and also the smallest area of permanent wetlands of all the continents. One-third of Australia has almost no run-off at all. Australia has the most inconsistent rainfall and stream-flow as well.
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 yet. But they are guessing it has to do with the existence of the Dunaliella salina microalgae.
Australia exports ten thousand camels every year.
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.
The Australian election TV debate gave way for the reality show Masterchef.
An Australian election TV debate was rescheduled to give way for the season finale reality cooking show Masterchef. The debate is usually at 7:30 pm with the same time slot of Masterchef. More than 4 million Australians were expected to watch Masterchef, so the election TV debate moved 1 hour earlier and started at 6:30 pm.
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.
An Australian man tried to sell New Zealand in an auction.
An Australian man tried to sell New Zealand in an auction at a starting price of 00.01 AUD on eBay. There are 22 bids in total and it went as high as 3,000 AUD. Even though everyone knew that it was just made for fun, the foreign Minister of New Zealand did not like it.
ASIC is one of the world’s most trusted financial regulators.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is one of the world’s most trusted regulators. Most foreign Forex traders prefer Australia due to its credibility and security of the client’s fund. Most notable Forex online brokers are namely: IC Markets, Pepperstone, and Axi Trader.
27% of Australians were born abroad.
Australia is the world’s highest proportion of migrant settlers in a developed country. 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. It’s due to Australians having a hard time to choose between Melbourne and Sydney. Melbourne and Sydney had a ‘historic rivalry’. That is why Canberra becomes the 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!
Christmas is summer time in Australia.
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, what?
Australia won a Guinness World Record for most surfing Santa Claus. There were 320 Santa Claus at Sydney’s Bondi Beach who performed to set 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. While 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 has a length of 14,500 kilometres. Millions of travelers use the route every day going the work or any destinations they desire around Australia.
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 have officially 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 for 20% of the world’s poker machines. Every year, Australians 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. So when there is a forest or bushfires, eucalyptus trees are burning like fireworks.
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 favoured these ants for their protein content and medicinal benefits.
Avatar is the highest-grossing film of all time in Australia.
Avatar is the highest-grossing film in Australia. It has box office earnings of $115,623,586 as of 11 January 2019. It was the first film released in Australia to earn over $100 million. Followed by Star Wars: The Force Awakens in second place with $94,034,676 earnings. Avengers: Infinity War followed with $61,865,083 earnings claiming the third spot.
The fish industry is now a multibillion-dollar business in Australia.
It is now a multibillion-dollar business in Australia. Aussie love fish and seafood, and is part of their diet, around 16 kilograms per Aussie per year.
Dr. Mark Lidwill 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.
It 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 close to Asia than mainland Australia. It’s home to an artful of cultures and some of the world’s most spectacular natural wonders.
Red crabs live on Christmas Island.
120 million red crabs are living on Christmas Island, Australia. Like most land crabs, red crabs use gills to breathe. They also must take great care to conserve their body moisture.
Melbourne was previously called Batmania.
Before Melbourne was Melbourne, it was shortly called Batmania. It was after one of its founders, John Batman. John Batman was an entrepreneur, explorer, and Australian grazier.
50.7°C is the highest temperature ever recorded in Australia.
The record was 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.
The coldest temperature in Australia is -23°C.
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 exploring the land of Australia, he saw an animal and asked an Australian native its name. The native replied “Kangaroo”, 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.
David Warren invented the flight data recorder.
His invention often solved cases on air crash investigations. In fact, it also brought improvements in the aviation history.
Australia celebrates Anzac Day on 25th April.
Every 25th of April, Australians celebrate Anzac Day. This 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 it boomerangs in huntings as well as sports and entertainment in the modern era.
Australia is one of the lowest and flattest countries in the world.
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 primarily 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.
Hope these Australia facts taught you something about Australia! So what are you waiting for? Book a flight to Australia soon! Maybe these Australia facts made you interested to see what the country has to offer.