Australia is a very multicultural country . It is made up of descendants of the British, as well as Aborigines and immigrants from many European, African and Asian countries. Everyone who visits Australia returns with anecdotes of encounters with dangerous animals, snakes, jellyfish or spiders and nice photos of animals such as Kangaroos or Koalas, although the latter are not easy to see.
Things you may not know about this gigantic country:
1) It is estimated that Australian Aborigines have lived there for more than 40,000 years .
2) The first Europeans to live in Australia were British prisoners . The country was a prison-colony of the United Kingdom from 1787 to 1868.
3) The Australians call the British pommies , since POME were the initials that were worn by the convicts’ uniforms. They stood for Prisoners Of Mother England . *
4) One third of Australia is desert (mainly in the center).
5) That is why 90% of Australians live on the coast.
6) Australia is the sixth largest country in the world .
7) And the only country that is also a continent even though it is the smallest.
8) It is also the flattest continent with an average height of only 330 m. above sea level.
9) There are over 1500 spices of spiders .
10) More than 100 million sheep .
11) There are an estimated 40 million Kangaroos , their meat is highly prized.
12) And only 20 million inhabitants .
13) Australia is the country with the least population density , only 2 people per square kilometer.
14) The most dangerous jellyfish in the world is on the Australian coast (Cubozoos or Box jellyfish).
15) Also one of the most dangerous spiders (funnel-web spider). Its venom can kill a person in less than 2 hours. The only mammals that are not immune to its venom are monkeys and humans.
16) 20 of the most dangerous snakes in the world live in Australia.
17) The Dutch came to Australia in 1644 (Abel Tasman) and called it the New Holland. Until the end of the 19th century the Dutch continued to use this name.
18) Australian Aborigines are only 2% of the population.
19) Koalas are nocturnal animals and spend between 16 and 18 hours a day sleeping .
20) The word Kangaroo comes from gangurru which means “I don’t understand you” in an aboriginal language. Gangurru is said to have been the answer that the natives gave to James Cook’s explorers when they asked for the animal’s name.
