Apr 27, 2012
10 Strange & Unusual Facts About Australia
Australia
today is a vibrant multicultural country with people of British
descent, as well as Aboriginal and immigrants from many countries in
Europe, Africa and Asia. It is the sixth largest country in the world
and the only country that is also a continent. Australia is in the
Southern Hemisphere, where Summer is from December to February. Here are
some more interesting things that you may not know about Australia.
01. Dingo Fence - The World's Longest Fence
Dingo Fence on the 29th parallel
of latitude. Sturt National Park (right of fence) - looking east from
Cameron Corner after rain. 09 More after the break...
02. The Flying Doctor
The
Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia (The Flying Doctor) is an
emergency and primary health care service for those living in rural,
remote and regional areas of Australia. It is a not-for-profit
organisation which provides health care to people who are unable to
access a hospital or general practice due to the vast distances of the
Outback. The Royal Flying Doctor Service is a unique icon of Australian
culture.
03. Home to 100 Million Sheep's
At
the turn of the new century (2000), there were estimated to be 120
million sheep in Australia. Due to the effects of ongoing drought and
lower demand for wool due to the wool stockpile, this figure has
gradually fallen to the point where there is currently an estimated 100
million sheep in Australia. Therefore, Australia has five times more
sheep than people (20 million inhabitants).
04. Why Canberra is the Capital of Australia?
The
site of Canberra was selected for the location of the nation's capital
in 1908 as a compromise between rivals Sydney and Melbourne, Australia's
two largest cities. A location was chosen which was 248km (154mi) from
Sydney and 483km (300mi) from Melbourne. It is unusual among Australian
cities, being an entirely planned city.
05. Largest Cattle Station in the World
The
Anna Creek cattle station in the South Australian Outback is by far the
largest working cattle station (ranch) in the world. It covers a huge
area of some 34.000 sq km (13,000 sq mi). This makes the station bigger
than the country of Belgium. By comparison, the largest ranch in the USA
is around 6,000 square kilometres. The ranch has a carrying capacity of
16,000 head of cattle but due to the extended drought in Australia this
has currently been reduced to less than 2,000 head.
06. Australian Alps Receive More Snow Than Switzerland
Kosciuszko National Park Photo Link
Every
winter the Australian Alps have more snow cover than Switzerland. The
Alps (or "Snowy Mountains") are part of the Great Dividing Range on the
eastern side of the country. The Great Dividing Range stretches over
3.500 kilometers (2,200 mi) and runs from north to south through the
states of Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. The snowfields are
an important feature for Australian tourism. When it's summer in the
northen hemisphere, it's winter in Australia. The snowfields are an
important part of the local tourism industry. Thousands of visitors from
the Northen Hemisphere come to enjoy the skiing and other winter
activites on the Aussie snowfields.
07. Largest Organic Construction on Earth
The Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Great
Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef in the world, also, it is the
largest organic construction on Earth. It stretches for 1,250 mi (2,000
km) in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, Australia. The Great
Barrier Reef is actually a series of individual reefs separated from the
mainland by a shallow lagoon. The reef is extremely beautiful and
attracts thousand of tourists a year, which threatens to harm the
delicate eco-system of the reef and its unusual marine life.
08. Sydney’s Opera House
Sydney’s Opera House
The
Sydney Opera House is a modern expressionist design, with a series of
large precast concrete "shells", each composed of sections of a sphere
of 75.2 metres (246 ft 8.6 in) radius, forming the roofs of the
structure, set on a monumental podium. The building covers 1.8 hectares
(4.4 acres) of land and is 183 m (600 ft) long and 120 m (394 ft) wide
at its widest point. It is supported on 588 concrete piers sunk as much
as 25 m (82 ft) below sea level. Sydney’s Opera House was designed in
1957 by Jorn Utzon, a Danish architect. Its roof weighs more than
161,000 tons.
09. Australia Was Home to 160,000 Prisoners
Britain
discovered Australia and as a result used it as a place of imprisonment
for thousands of convicts and political prisoners. About 160,000 of
Britain's unwanted were shipped out there. Many died on the high seas
during the eight month journey. Now, about twenty five percent of
Australians have ancestors who were convicts.
10. Australian Antarctic Territory
Map of Antarctica indicating Australian claim
The Australian Antarctic
Territory (AAT) is a part of Antarctica. It was claimed by the United
Kingdom and placed under the authority of the Commonwealth of Australia
in 1933. It is the largest territory of Antarctica claimed by any
nation. The Australian Antarctic Territory covering an area of almost
5,9 million sq km (2.3 sq mi) is the largest of these territories.
