26 fun facts about Australia

1. We invented the pavlova – a highly contested claim but I’m sticking with it. Marshmallowy base topped with whipped cream and fresh berries delicious!
2. The biggest property in Australia is the size of Belgium!
3. Australia was the second country in the world to allow women to vote.
4. Australia is very sparsely populated: The UK has 248.25 persons per square kilometre, while Australia has only 2.66 persons per square kilometre.
5. There were over one million feral camels in outback Australia, until the government launched the $19m Feral Camel Management Program, which aims to keep the pest problem under control.
6. Australia is home to the longest fence in the world. It is 5,614 km long, and was originally built to keep dingoes away from fertile land.
7. Australia was one of the founding members of the United Nations.
8. Before the arrival of humans, Australia was home to megafauna: three metre tall kangaroos, seven metre long goannas, horse-sized ducks, and a marsupial lion the size of a leopard.
9. The Great Barrier Reef is the planet’s largest living structure.
10. Before 1902, it was illegal to swim at the beach during the day.
11. The average Aussie drinks 96 litres of beer per year.
12. If all the sails of the Opera House roof were combined, they would create a perfect sphere.
13. The wine cask (goon sack) is an Australian invention.
14. The closest American state in population is New York, which has 19.6 million people, yet Australia is more than 53 times its size.
15. Australia is home to 10 of the world’s 15 most poisonous snakes as well as a disproportionate number of venomous spiders.
16. Australians developed a fake animal to scare tourists. The drop bear was purported by mainstream institutions including the Australian Museum to drop from trees and attack tourists. There is no drop bear.
17. Australia has more than 10,000 beaches.
18. World champion beer drinker for a prime minister.
19. 10,000 species of Australian spiders.
20. We have a bright pink lake in Perth called Lake Hillier.
21. Australia’s first police force was a band of 12 of the most well behaved Convicts.
22. Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards, and are on the Australian coat of arms for that reason.
23. Tasmania has the cleanest air in the world.
24. More than 80 percent of Australians live within 100 kilometres of the coast.
25. It has 16 world heritage listed sites.
26. Kangaroo meat can be purchased from the supermarket or butcher.