10 Strange and Unusual Facts About Australia

8/2/2019 10 Strange and Unusual Facts About Australia

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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 moreinteresting things that you may not know about Australia.

01. Dingo Fence - The World's Longest Fence

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Dingo Fence on the 29th parallel of latitude. Sturt National Park (right of fence) - looking

east from Cameron Corner after rain.

02. The Flying Doctor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dingo_Fencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dingo_Fencehttp://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dS6Q2X2w3yI/T5uRdCkvq5I/AAAAAAAAv8w/ZXangKjjqOE/s1600/Australia+Facts+001.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dingo_Fence


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PhotoLink

The Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia (The Flying Doctor) is an emergency andprimary 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 RoyalFlying Doctor Service is a unique icon of Australian culture.

03. Home to 100 Million Sheep's

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http://www.alongthegrapevine.com/stories/2009/music-festival-for-flying-doctors/http://www.alongthegrapevine.com/stories/2009/music-festival-for-flying-doctors/http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=250165http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=250165http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gQAH__XCBTY/T5uRhHAu04I/AAAAAAAAv9A/gdMU2zV5kmo/s1600/Australia+Facts+003.jpghttp://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vE_BQXlU2ec/T5uRfE1R5PI/AAAAAAAAv84/LAwAsV6Uybo/s1600/Australia+Facts+002.jpghttp://www.alongthegrapevine.com/stories/2009/music-festival-for-flying-doctors/http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=250165


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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 thewool 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?

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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. Alocation 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
http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=250165http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=250165http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=250165http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=250165http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=250165http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=250165http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=250165http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=250165http://www.flickr.com/photos/74606299@N00/327217184/in/photostream/http://www.flickr.com/photos/74606299@N00/327217184/in/photostream/http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V6v8e_y_bBM/T5uRjDDpOoI/AAAAAAAAv9I/nBYC6CqQRRw/s1600/Australia+Facts+004.jpghttp://www.flickr.com/photos/74606299@N00/327217184/in/photostream/


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PhotoLink

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 largestranch 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
http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/the-curse-of-moola-bulla-station-strikes-again-20110706-1h2d0.htmlhttp://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/the-curse-of-moola-bulla-station-strikes-again-20110706-1h2d0.htmlhttp://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bn2wkczNLX4/T5uRlY0Gq7I/AAAAAAAAv9Q/5Xix4IrfYFo/s1600/Australia+Facts+005.jpghttp://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/the-curse-of-moola-bulla-station-strikes-again-20110706-1h2d0.html


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Kosciuszko National Park PhotoLink

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 runsfrom 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 thelocal 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
http://www.flickr.com/photos/australianalps/6954952431/http://www.flickr.com/photos/australianalps/6954952431/http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hef1qh6aisY/T5uRnBCMLEI/AAAAAAAAv9Y/NPzX1v_7bWU/s1600/Australia+Facts+006.jpghttp://www.flickr.com/photos/australianalps/6954952431/


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The Great Barrier Reef, Australia PhotoLink

Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef in the world, also, it is the largest organicconstruction 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 andattracts thousand of tourists a year, which threatens to harm the delicate eco-system of the

reef and its unusual marine life.

08. Sydneys Opera House
http://www.wayfaring.info/2010/07/21/the-great-barrier-reef-australia/http://www.wayfaring.info/2010/07/21/the-great-barrier-reef-australia/http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QpuWZ7-grp8/T5uRpbw5dxI/AAAAAAAAv9g/rd6ba0PGeC8/s1600/Australia+Facts+007.jpghttp://www.wayfaring.info/2010/07/21/the-great-barrier-reef-australia/


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Sydneys Opera House PhotoLink

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) wideat its widest point. It is supported on 588 concrete piers sunk as much as 25 m (82 ft) below

sea level. Sydneys 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
http://philip.greenspun.com/book-reviews/a-global-lifehttp://philip.greenspun.com/book-reviews/a-global-lifehttp://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mmnyWdp5qWI/T5uRrFTLUWI/AAAAAAAAv9o/lg2JUwTY_HM/s1600/Australia+Facts+008.jpghttp://philip.greenspun.com/book-reviews/a-global-life


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PhotoLink

Britain discovered Australia and as a result used it as a place of imprisonment forthousands 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 PhotoLink
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/lock-up-inmates-high-on-heroin/story-fn7x8me2-1226288191475http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/lock-up-inmates-high-on-heroin/story-fn7x8me2-1226288191475http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Antarctic_Territoryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Antarctic_Territoryhttp://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EFxUvgDe5LA/T5uRt5afTnI/AAAAAAAAv94/slZACJukAF4/s1600/Australia+Facts+010.jpghttp://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PTejD7b5d9Y/T5uRssXa9sI/AAAAAAAAv9w/rCZeyumh7LQ/s1600/Australia+Facts+009.jpghttp://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/lock-up-inmates-high-on-heroin/story-fn7x8me2-1226288191475http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Antarctic_Territory


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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 in1933. 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.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Antarctic_Territoryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Antarctic_Territoryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Antarctic_Territoryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Antarctic_Territoryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Antarctic_Territory

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10 Strange and Unusual Facts About Australia