Geography
- Australia is composed of 6 states. Here they are, clockwise from the west:
- Western Australia
- Capital: Perth
- Australia’s “last frontier”
- Queensland
- Capital: Brisbane
- Other major cities: Cairns, Gold Coast
- Home to the Great Barrier Reef
- New South Wales
- Capital: Sydney
- Most populous state
- Also home to Australia’s capital: Canberra
- Victoria
- Capital: Melbourne
- Multicultural center of Australia
- South Australia
- Capital: Adelaide
- Known for its festivals and fine wine
- Tasmania:
- Capital: Hobart
- Home to MONA (Museum of Old and New Art)
- Northern Territory (Not a state, but worth noting)
- City: Darwin
- Home of the Indigenous culture
- Mostly Australian outback
- Western Australia
- Australia is approximately the same size as the continental United States (2.97 million vs. 3.12 million square miles, but the population of Australia is about 23 million people, smaller than the population of Texas!
History
- In 2003, two protesters scaled the Sydney Opera House and painted “NO WAR” on the side of one of the sails to display their opinion about the Iraq War. They were arrested and fined $151,000 to pay the cost of cleaning the sail. The protesters earned the money to pay for this fine, by purchasing mini models of the Opera House, painting “NO WAR” on them, and selling them to tourists and visitors just outside of the Opera House.
Culture
- Local holidays:
- New Year’s Day (January 1st) – also recognizes the establishment of Australia (January 1st, 1901)
- Australia Day (January 26th) – originally commemorated the formation of New South Wales; now celebrates national unity
- Anzac Day (April 25th) – created to honor specific members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who served in the First World War; today, similar to US Veterans’ Day
- Martin Place, in the financial district of Sydney, has been featured in many movies, including The Matrix. In Superman Returns, the filmmakers wanted to use Martin Place, but the setting was supposed to be NYC, so they closed off all of the roads and placed NY taxis in them to make the scene look authentic.
Government
- With Australia being a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the royalty of England, with recommendation from Australian officials, appoints an Australian Governor-General to oversee the Australian government. This is true despite the fact that Australia has been governing independently of Britain since 1901.
- The Australian crest features a kangaroo and an emu: two animals that cannot walk backwards. This is supposed to symbolize Australia’s constant forward movement.
Staying in Australia
- Like in England, cars are operated on the left side of the road.
- Being in the Southern Hemisphere, the toilet water flushes in the opposite direction as in the United States due to reverse gravitation pull.
- Tipping is generally not expected.
- Travel fares on an Opal Card (like a CharlieCard in Boston) are capped at $2.70 on Sundays to go anywhere by ferry, bus, train, or all of the above!
- The majority of bread has no preservatives, so eat it fast, or freeze it!
- Grocery stores, at least where I live, no longer provide plastic bags for free. You must bring your own bags or pay for large bags that the store offers.
- Domestic flights within Australia have no limitations on the volume of liquids packed in carry-ons, so take that weekender and stuff it with the biggest sunscreen bottles you can find!