Long time listeners to the podcast may remember that in the past we’ve spoken about a variety of different countries including Venezuela, Argentina, Peru, Colombia and Chile, to name but a few.
In this episode, we go down under to talk about Australia in answer to a listener request. So, take off your thongs, grab a stubby from the fridge and sit back to learn some interesting facts about this amazing country.
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Bryan has passed the Cambridge C1 Advanced exam!
keep up your good job – keep up the good work
Australia
Australian English: https://inglespodcast.com/409
Interesting facts
Australia is the only country that is also a continent, more or less.
It’s located in the southern hemisphere between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. It’s almost antipodal to Spain, meaning nearly opposite on the globe. It takes anywhere from 22 to 30 hours to fly there from Spain.
In 1770, the British explorer Captain James Cook sailed along the east coast of Australia and claimed the land for Britain. This voyage later led to British colonisation. Australia became a federation in 1901.
Canberra is the capital city, not Sydney or Melbourne, which surprises many people.
Australia has the world’s oldest continuous cultures, with Aboriginal peoples living there for over 60,000 years.
Most Australians live near the coast, while the centre of the country is sparsely populated.
The Outback covers most of Australia, with deserts, remote towns, and extreme temperatures.
The country regularly suffers from both very severe drought and flooding, often in the same year, and often within weeks of each other.
Australia has more than 10,000 beaches, meaning you could visit a new one every day for over 25 years.
The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system in the world and can be seen from space.
Australia has more kangaroos than people. Kangaroos are native to Australia.
Australia also has more sheep than people. Sheep are not native to Australia. They were introduced in the late 18th century.
Kangaroos and emus appear on the national coat of arms because they are believed not to walk backwards.
Voting is compulsory in federal and state elections.
Australia was once a British penal colony, and many early settlers were prisoners.
Nowadays it is extremely difficult to be given permission to immigrate into Australia, as its immigration laws are now extremely strict. Decades ago British people could have their journey subsidised by the government to settle there!
The national sport culture is strong, especially for cricket, rugby, and Australian Rules Football.
From the 1800s to the 1970s(!) many Aboriginal children were forcibly taken from their families for adoption. Where Aborigines could live and work was also strictly controlled.
Australia is one of the safest countries in the world to live in. However, the country has about 25–30 highly venomous snake species. Around half of the world’s 10 most venomous snakes are found in Australia and 2 spiders are considered to be very dangerous:
the Sydney funnel-web spider
the redback spider
Dangerous sea creatures include:
Box jellyfish
Irukandji jellyfish
Blue-ringed octopus
Great white sharks
Saltwater crocodiles (in northern Australia)
Christmas in Australia happens in summer, often celebrated with barbecues and beach trips.
Despite its size, Australia has a relatively small population, compared to Europe or the USA. Australia’s population is about 27.6 million people living in about 7.7 million square kilometres. It’s the sixth-largest country in the world by land area.
Do you think Australia’s ban on visitors bringing any fresh fruit and vegetables at all to Australia is exaggerated? Visitors often get stopped by customs for eating/carrying an apple left over from their meal on the plane!
Do you agree with Australia’s recent ban on social media for under-16-year-olds?
…and now it’s your turn to practise your English.
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In next week’s episode: The British Police
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The music in this podcast is by Pitx. The track is called ‘See You Later’