Fun Facts about Australia

Australia is located south of Indonesia and nestles between the South Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean. Australia is the world’s smallest continent. The Australian continent lies in the southern hemisphere; hence, the seasons here are exactly the opposite of the countries in the northern hemisphere. For instance, when it is winter in United States, Australia enjoys a warm and sunny summer.

Fun Facts About Australia

Australia is lovingly referred to as the "island continent". It was originally a British penal colony. The murderers and thieves were banished and deported to Australia as a form of punishment.

Australian animals such as koala bear, emu, kookaburra and kangaroo are unique to Australia. Are you aware of the fact there are 1,500 species of Australian spiders? There are 6,000 species of flies and 4,000 species of ants in Australia. There are over 350 species of termites in Australia.

Did you know that the population of the sheep is more than the entire human population in Australia? As per recent statistics, there are approximately 150 million sheep, while the human population is around 20 million.

Most of the Australian cities are closer to the ocean or a beach. You can see a beach every 1000kms.

The world’s largest cattle station/ranch is in Australia. It is the size of the country Belgium. This is a fact.

Did you know that the Great Barrier Reef has a mailbox? If you want to post a letter or send a card to your loved ones, all you have to do is take a ferry out there. However, remember to stick only the stamp of Great Barrier Reef. Great Barrier Reef is the longest coral reef in the world.

The snowy mountains of Australia or the Australian Alps receive more snow than Switzerland.

Statistics show Melbourne houses the second largest population of Greeks in the world after Athens.

The naked eye can detect over 5,500 stars in Australian Outback under ideal viewing conditions.

Sydney Opera House is one of the major tourist attractions and is considered as one of the beautiful buildings of the twentieth century. This building was completed in the 1960s and has excellent acoustics. It has around 1,000 rooms and can seat a combined total of over 5,000 people at a time. Did you know that the roof of the Sydney Opera House weighs more than 161,000 tons?

Sydney Harbor Bridge is the world’s largest steel arch bridge and the Sydney Tower Center is the tallest building in the southern hemisphere.

Aborigines are the native tribes of Australia. They spoke around 200 languages and dialects. However, ninety percent of the languages and dialects including Aboriginal arts and culture have become extinct, after the British invaded this tiny island continent.

Another interesting fact is that Australia claims to have the highest rate of literacy in the world. This could be the reason, why the per capita newspaper reading is more than any other country in the world.

Did you know the cute and puffy rabbits are marked as pests in Australia?

One of the important facts about Australians is 88% of them live in towns and cities. Another fact is 22% of adults don't have children, while 16% have only one child. The statistics also show, 32% of women and 34% men never marry.

Some Very Interesting Fun Facts About Australia

The language that is commonly spoken by the Australians is English. Here are certain terms and their meanings.

• Aussie - Australian
• Arvo - Afternoon
• Barbie - Barbecue Grill
• Billabong - Pond
• Billy Tea - Tea made over a camp fire in a tin can
• Brekkie - Breakfast
• Chewie - Chewing Gum
• Clobber - Clothes
• Fairy Floss - Cotton
• Give it a Burl - Try it
• Lollies - Candy
• Lolly Water - Soda
• See you in soup - See you around
• Sunnies - Sunglasses

Australia is a great tourist destination and there are many places of attractions in the island continent that are worth a visit.