Unusual Facts about Australia.Welcome to our page of unusual facts about Australia. This page is compiled unashamedly from articles and items stolen from other unusual facts about Australia pages wherever I could find them and I make no claims whatsoever as to their veracity. Starting at the beginning we have some unusual facts about Australia from history: Swimming - In 1838 it was declared illegal to swim at public beaches during the day! This law was enforced until 1902. Female vote - Australia was the second country to give women the vote. The secret ballot was first used in Victoria and South Australia following the granting of responsible government. Other states introduced secret ballots as follows: 1856 - Victoria & South Australia 1858 - New South Wales & Tasmania 1859 - Queensland 1893 - Western Australia. The secret ballot was referred to as 'kangaroo voting'. World wide, secret voting is often referred to as the 'Australian ballot.
In 1932, Francis De Groot, a retired cavalry officer, managed to get himself selected as part of the honour guard at the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. When the ribbon was about to be cut, he galloped forward on his horse and slashed the ribbon with his sword, declaring the bridge open in the name of 'the decent citizens of New South Wales'. The ribbon was then tied back together and the ceremony continued. De Groot was carried off to a mental hospital, declared insane and later fined for the replacement cost of one ribbon. Independence for Western Australia. In April 1933, 68 per cent of West Australians voted in favour of seceding from the Commonwealth of Australia. However, they needed permission from the British Parliament before they could officially become a new country. Meanwhile, Australia's Federal Parliament was arguing that Britain should not interfere in Australian politics. The end result was that Britain never made a decision. Consequently, Western Australian remained part of the Commonwealth. In 1954, Bob Hawke was immortalised by the Guinness Book of Records for sculling 2.5 pints of beer in 11 seconds. Bob later became the Prime Minister of Australia.
Prime Minister Harold Holt went for a swim at Cheviot Beach, near Portsea on 17th December 1967, and was never seen again. The event has been referred to as 'the swim that needed no towel'. Until 1984, Australia's National anthem was "God save the Queen/King." Cartoonists - A cartoon is a drawing that makes a satirical, witty, or humorous point. On 17 July 1924, the world's first society of cartoonists, the Black and White Artists' Society, was formed in Sydney.
Australia was the 3rd country, after the US and Russia, to launch a satellite into orbit. It was for the British, using a 'Blue Streak' rocket. Australia day - January 26, Australia day, is the anniversary of ships arriving in Sydney carrying a load of Convicts. Here are some unusual facts about Australian convicts: A census taken in 1828 found that half the population of NSW were Convicts, and that former Convicts made up nearly half of the free population. It is estimated that by the time transportation ended in 1868, 40 per cent of Australia's English-speaking population were convicts. In 2007, it was estimated that 22 per cent of living Australians had a convict ancestor.
Crimes punishable by transportation included recommending that politicians get paid, starting a union, stealing fish from a river or pond, embezzlement, receiving or buying stolen goods, setting fire to underwood, petty theft, or being suspected of supporting Irish terrorism. Alcohol- It has been reported that the first European settlers in Australia drank more alcohol per head of population than any other community in the history of mankind and we probably still do... Police force - Australia's first police force was a band of 12 of the most well behaved Convicts.....no comment. Mass moonings. In 1832, 300 female Convicts at the Cascade Female Factory mooned the Governor of Tasmania during a chapel service. It was said that in a "rare moment of collusion with the Convict women, the ladies in the Governor's party could not control their laughter."
In these days of global warming its only right that we should mention a few unusual facts about Australias environment. The Australian Lyre Bird is the world's best imitator; able to mimic the calls of 15 different species of birds in their locality and string the calls into a melody. Also been known to mimic the sound mobile phones. The echidna is such a unique animal that it is classified in a special class of mammals known as monotremes, which it shares only with the platypus. The echidna lays eggs like a duck but suckles its young in a pouch like a kangaroo. For no apparent reason, it may decide to conserve energy by dropping its body temperature to 4 degrees and remain at that temperature from 4 to 120 days. Lab experiments have shown that the echidna is more intelligent that a cat and it has been seen using its spikes, feet and beaks to climb up crevices like a mountaineer edging up a rock chimney. Purple wallaby - The Purple-neck Rock Wallaby [Petrogale Purpureicollis], inhabits the Mt Isa region in Northwest Queensland. The Wallaby secretes a dye that transforms its face and neck into colours ranging from light pink to bright purple.
The Wombat deposits square poos on logs, rocks and even upright sticks that it uses to mark its territory. A 10kg Tasmanian Devil is able to exert the same biting pressure as a 40kg dog. It can also eat almost a third of its body weight in a single feeding. Australia is the smallest, flattest, and driest inhabited continent in the world. It is the only country which is also a whole continent. Over 90% of Australia is dry, flat and arid. Almost three-quarters of the land cannot support agriculture in any form. A baby kangaroo at the time of its birth measures 2 centimetres. Kangaroos need very little water to survive and are capable of going for months without drinking at all. When they do need water, they dig 'wells' for themselves; frequently going as deep as three or four feet. These 'kangaroo pits' are a common source of water for other animals living in the kangaroo's environment. A kangaroo being chased by a dog may jump into a dam. If the dog gives chase, the kangaroo may turn towards the dog, then use its paws to push the dogs head underwater in order to drown it.
Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards, and are on the Australian coat of arms for that reason. A monotreme is a animal that lays eggs and suckles its young. The world's only monotremes are the platypus and the echidna. The male platypus has a poisonous spine that can kill a dog and inflict immense pain on a human. When a specimen of the platypus was first sent to England, it was believed the Australians had played a joke by sewing the bill of a duck onto a rat. The box jellyfish is considered the world's most venomous marine creature. The box jellyfish has killed more people in Australia than stonefish, sharks and crocodiles combined.
Lung fish - Queensland is home to the lung fish, a living fossil from the Triassic period 350 million years ago. Dont forget to visit our other facts pages at: More unusual facts about Australia. Even more unusual facts about Australia. If you would like to add any unusual facts about Australia that weve missed out please write to us through our contact us page and well do our best to include your contributions, John. Discount Shopping | Discount Travel | Special Travel Deals | Discount Attractions Our RSS feed will be updated periodically with all the latest travel deals and special offers. Please subscribe by clicking the button to the left (XML/RSS) to receive notice of these updates without any risk or obligation. PLEASE NOTE: If you don't know what an RSS feed is just click this link. Click here to return from Unusual facts about Australia to The Discount Travel Guide home page. |
Sir John Robertson, five times premier of New South Wales, drank a pint of rum every morning for 35 years. Later said: 'none of the men who have left footprints in this country have been cold water men.'
Yowie sighting - In 1987, the Alice Springs police station received a call from a frightened family. The family had stopped for a cup of tea after a morning of rabbit hunting. Then a huge ape like creature, two meters tall and covered in hair, leapt out of an empty water tank and began walking towards them. The family fled to their truck and the creature ran after them before disappearing into the bush. The man, Frank Burns believed it was a man however the women, Phyllis Kenny, told the press she could tell the difference between man and beast and this was definitely a beast. The following day police searched the area and found a man, 203 centimetres tall weighing a estimated 127-159 kg (or about two Oprah Winfreys) sitting naked by the roadside. The man was then taken to a local mental hospital. 
Convicts were not sent to Australia for serious crimes. Serious crimes, such as murder, rape, or impersonating an Egyptian were given the death sentence in England. 
The Fierce Snake or Inland Taipan has the most toxic venom of any snake. Maximum yield recorded (for one bite) is 110mg. That would probably be enough to kill over 100 people or 250,000 mice. 
The Sydney Funnelweb spider is considered the world's most deadly spider. It is the only spider that has killed people in less than 2 hours. Its fangs are powerful enough to bite through gloves and fingernails. The only animals without immunity to the funnelweb's venom are humans and monkeys. 
