MelissaA
Brenton
Shilpa Karhik
More Australian Facts
January 29th 2007 00:25
* For each person in Australia there are two sheep and over 16 rabbits.
* Rabbits were introduced in 1859 by a man who brought 24 wild rabbits from England in an effort to remind him of home. Now their ever growing number competes for food in the wild with the native animals.
* Per Capita, Australians spend more money on gambling than any other nation. considering that we have less than 1 percent of the world's population, we also have more than 20% of the world's poker machines.
* Swimming - In 1838 it was declared illegal to swim at public beaches during the day! This law was enforced until 1902.
* It may surprise you to know that Australia's first police force was comprised of 12 of the most well behaved Convicts.
* The secret ballot was first used in Victoria 1856, and South Australia in 1858. Other states later also introduced this system. The secret ballot was referred to as 'kangaroo voting'. World wide, this type of anonymous voting is often referred to as the 'Australian ballot'.
Australia was also the second country in the world to give women the vote.
* In April of 1933, 68% 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.
At the same time the Australia's Federal Parliament was also arguing that Britain should not interfere in Australian politics.
The end result was that Britain never made a decision and so 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.
* On the 17th of December 1967 after a short time at the wheel of the Australian Government, Prime Minister Harold Holt went for a swim at Cheviot Beach, near Portsea and was never seen again.
Theories about his disappearance include kidnapping by a Russian submarine, eaten by a shark or being carried away by the tide. The event has been referred to as 'the swim that needed no towel'. Now to "do a Harold Holt" is slang for "do the bolt".
A public swimming pool was also named in his honour!
* 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. It has slso been known to mimic the sound of mobile phones.
* The Purple-neck Rock Wallaby inhabits the Mount Isa region of Queensland. This interesting little wallaby secretes a dye, changing the colour of the fur on its face from light pink to bright purple.
* The name for the Kangaroo came about when some of the first white settlers saw this strange animal hopping along and they asked the Aborigines what it was called.
They replied with 'Kanguru', which in the native language meant 'I don't know' (what you are asking).
* A baby kangaroo at the time of its birth measures 2 centimetres.
* Australia is home to the world's only 2 monotremes, the platypus and the echidna. A monotreme is a animal that both lays eggs and suckles its young.
* When a specimen of the platypus was first sent to England, it was thought to have been a practical joke. They thought that the Australians had sewed the bill of a duck onto a rat.
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Comment by katyzzz
Photography Tips
MS Paint Art
Some of it sounds a bit like my computer art.
Convict police, eh? Things haven't changed much. Just off to do a Harold Holt.
katyzzz
Comment by Anonymous
Comment by Lilla
From The Home Front
Enviro Warrior
Dream Herald
Esoteric Bookshop
Funny alright, especially about the police officers...
Monotremes really interest me too, and our long-beaked echidna is going extinct too. Makes me wonder about evolution and if this little creature is a missing link of some sort? I hope they save them, or we may never know.
Another really interesting post,
caio
Lilla
Comment by Bhumika
Political Minds
Comment by KylieW
Celebrity Obsession
I love that there is a pool named after Harold Holt. That's such an Australian thing to do. hehe
Comment by MelissaA
Fun Facts
As for monotremes, in some ways they are the missing link between the dinosaurs and us mammals.
As for convicts in the police....well who did that one surprise.....really! ; )
Comment by Anonymous