Australia is
officially called the Commonwealth of Australia. She is the sixth-largest
country in the world by total area. Canberra is Australia's capital and Sydney,
the largest city. Australia got its name from the Latin phrase 'Terra Australia
Incognito', which means the Unknown Southern Land. Australia's form of
government is a Federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Elizabeth II is
the monarch of Australia and Sir Peter Cosgrove is the governor general. Scott
Morrison is Australia's prime minister. Australia has a population of
25,117,300 people. English is the official language in Australia. The currency
in use in Australia is the Australian dollar (AUD). The most unique fact about
Australia is probably its being the only continent-nation in the world.
Herewith a comprehensive list of other amazing facts about Australia that you
may not already know.
1. There are
more kangaroos than people in Australia. The population of the marsupials is
double that of the humans. Australians have been urged to eat more kangaroo
meat as a way of controlling the population, which is now at 50 million.
Uncontrolled kangaroo numbers present a risk to plant biodiversity. Kangaroos
which are the national symbol of Australia have outpaced the population of
Australian residents 2 to 1. The red kangaroo - the largest species of kangaroo
- is the largest terrestrial mammal native to Australia.
2. Every year, the World
Championship of Cockroach Racing is held in Australia, at Brisbane's Story
Bridge Hotel. Punters can either bring their cockroach from home or purchase
one for $5. The Championship was born after a bet between two friends at the
Story Bridge Hotel.
3. In May 2006, an Australian man attempted to
sell New Zealand on eBay at a starting price of A$0.01. eBay managers pulled
the auction from the website after brisk bidding saw the price quickly rise
from A$0.01 to A$3,000.
4. Australians are the world's biggest gamblers.
They lead the world in per capita spending on gambling. Australians spend 40%
more on gambling than any other nationality. In 2017, Australian punters lost a
record $24 billion. More than half of this amount was poured into poker
machines at clubs and pubs across the country. 20% of the world's poker
machines are found in Australia.
5. Melbourne, the third-largest city in
Australia is the sporting capital of the world. Melbourne plays host to many
international events like the Australian Grand Prix, the Australian Open, Moto
GP, World Superbikes, and (V8) Supercars. Melbourne hosted the Internationals
Champions Cup in 2016, and the ICC Cricket World Cup and AFC Asian Cup in 2015.
Melbourne's cricket stadium, the MCG, is the 10th largest stadium in the world.
Indeed, Melbourne is unrivaled in it diversity of events, stadiums and
spectator support.
6. Australia has the third-highest prevalence of
overweight adults in the English-speaking world according to 2007 statistics
from the World Health Organisation. Nearly one in ten Australians (9.5% of the
population) were morbidly obese (BMI score of 35 or greater) and 63.4% of the
population (11.2 million) was overweight from 2014 to 2015. About 30% of
Australians were found to be obese in 2017.
7. The longest fence in the world is the Dingo
Fence of south-east Australia, which is 5,614 km (3,488 mi) in length.
The second-longest fence in the world is also
found in Australia; it is the Rabbit-proof fence of Western Australia, which
has a length of 3,253 km (2,021 mi).
8. There's an 800-meter high mountain in
Australia named Mount Disappointment. Explorers Hamilton Hume and William Hovel
named it that way because they were disappointed by the view they got from the
top. They expected to see Port Philip Bay from the top but couldn't due to the
large number of surrounding trees in the area.
9. Australia is home to the
only two kinds of egg-laying mammals in the world the spiny anteater
(echidna) and the duck-billed platypus.
Male platypuses have a
poison apparatus on their hind legs, which produces enough poison to kill a
dog. Though its poison is not lethal to humans, its sting is very painful and
causes rapid swelling in the stung area.
10. Australia is home to the world's deadliest
animals - deadliest bird, deadliest spider, deadliest snakes (the Inland
Taipan, the Eastern and Western brown snakes), deadliest octopus, deadliest
fish, deadliest snail and more. The Inland Taipan's bite can kill at least 100
fully grown men. Nonetheless, very few people are killed by these highly deadly
and/or venomous animals.
11. Voting in Australia is compulsory for everyone
aged 18 and above. Those who do not vote at a federal election without a valid
and sufficient reason are in violation of section 245 of the Commonwealth
Electoral Act 1918. The applicable penalty is a $20 fine.
12. The Great Barrier Reef in Australia is the
largest in the world. The 2,300 km long ecosystem is comprised of close to
2,500 individual reefs is made of 600 types of hard and soft coral. The Great
Barrier Reef even has its own mailbox.
13. Anna Creek Station -
the world's largest working cattle ranch - is located in the Australian state
of South Australia. It has an area of 23,677 square kilometers (9,142 sq mi).
The ranch is slightly larger than Israel.
14. The emu and kangaroo
were the animals placed on the Australian Coat of Arms because they can't walk
backwards, symbolizing a forward-thinking nature.
15. There are three sheep
for every person in Australia. In 2014, there were 74 million sheep for 23.5
million Australians.
16. Australia is a massive
continent but 90% of its population lives on the coast given that the majority
of the interior is a vast desert.
17. In South Australia, it is against the law to
disrupt a wedding or funeral.
18. Australia has the third
highest Human Development Index in the world (2017 statistics).
Centrepoint Tower in Sydney
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