Interesting Facts About Australia

Interesting Facts About Australia

Australia is the smallest, driest and most isolated continent on Earth. It is the world's sixth largest country and as big as all of Europe but has a tiny population of just 21 million. The vast majority of the country is inhospitable and for the most part uninhabitable.

Australia has it all, rainforests, beautiful beaches, deserts, forests, mountains and its citizens enjoy one of the highest living standards in the world. It is also a country rich in endemic flora and fauna such as the kangaroo, koala, and eucalyptus tree. Australia is a multicultural nation as a result of millions of immigrants arriving over two centuries. Each culture has made a significant contribution to Australian life. Through this we are spoilt with an excellent choice of food, a functioning democracy and justice system and a healthy respect for one another.

Much of the above is widely known around the world. However, there are many other facts about our country which are unknown to most people, including to many Australians. Read on for a list of interesting and little known facts about Australia.

Australia has the world's largest population of wild camels and exports them to Arabia

Australians read more magazines per capita than any other nation

The black box flight recorder was invented in Australia in 1958

The Sydney Funnelweb spider is one of the world's deadliest. It's fangs can penetrate through gloves and fingernails and can kill a human in less than 2 hours. There has not been a fatality since anti-venom was introduced in 1981

The world's first feature length narrative film was the Australian production The Story of the Kelly Gang in 1906

The five biggest sources of immigrants to Australia are the United Kingdom, New Zealand, India, China and the Phillipines - in that order

There are over 200 languages spoken in Australian homes; the most common after English being Italian, Greek, Cantonese, Arabic and Mandarin

70% of households own their own home

The Dual-flush toilet system was invented in Australia in 1980

The Australian Alps are commonly known as the Snowy Mountains and receive more snowfall annually than the Swiss Alps

There are over 1500 species of Australian spiders

The Australian Coat of Arms features the Kangaroo and Emu. These Australian animals are unique in that they are incapable of walking backwards

Australia's island state Tasmania has the cleanest air in the world

The Saltwater Crocodile found in far northern Australia is the world's largest reptile and can grow to over 6m in length

Australia produces 95 per cent of the world's precious opals

Australia is home to 21 of the world's 25 deadliest snakes

In 1926, New South Wales became the first government in the world to pay pensions to women

Eucalyptus was first used as a medicine by Aborigines to treat coughs, fever and asthma

Australia is the only continent without an active volcano

Koalas are nocturnal and spend between 16-18 hours a day sleeping

The wine cask was invented in Australia by Angoves Wines in 1965