2. 6 States and 2 Territories
◦ Canberra – Capital
◦ New South Wales – Oldest State and where Sydney is
◦ Victoria – Smallest State and where Melbourne is
◦ Queensland – Brisbane
◦ South Australia
◦ Western Australia
◦ Northern Territory
◦ Tasmania
2,941,300 Sq. Miles
Population 22,949,849 (estimate of 2013)
3. School Attendance is compulsory in most states from
ages 5-16
99% adult literacy rate
37 government funded universities, 2 private
5. Fourth highest life expectancy in the World
Universal Healthcare since 1975
Highest rates of skin cancer in the World
Current system called Medicare instituted in 1984
6. Flight or Cruise are main ways to travel to Australia
If you are not a citizen, you must have a Visa to enter
Australian law prevents bringing in drugs, steroids,
weapons, firearms and protected wildlife. Some
foods are also prohibited.
Vaccinations are needed only if you visited or
traveled from a yellow fever infected country within
6 days prior.
7. Seasons are opposite US
December-February is Summer
March – May is Autumn
June – August is Winter
September – November is Spring
Northern states are warm much of the time
Southern states have cooler Winters
Australia is one of the driest continents
8. No official Language
English is the National Language
Between 200 to 300 indigenous languages existed at
the time of first European contact
Auslan is the Australian Sign Language for the Deaf
9. Many foods originated in Australia:
◦ Macadamia Nuts
◦ Bush Tucker
◦ Pavlova
◦ Chicken Parmigiana
◦ Granny Smith and Pink Lady Apples
◦ Lamingtons (National cake of Australia)
They also enjoy emu, fish ‘n’ chips, tim tam, meat pies, fairy
bread, crocodile, barramundi and grilled kangaroo
12. 140 species of marsupials –
◦ Kangaroo, wallabies, koalas and wombats
Monotrems – Egg-laying mammals – only found in Australia -
Platypus
The Dingo is the largest carnivorous mammal in Australia
828 species of birds – about half found only in Australia
24 of the world’s 25 most deadliest venomous snakes are
found in Australia
5 species of endangered sea turtles
4000 of the world’s 22000 types of fish
Great Barrier Reef
Kangaroo Island
16. Adelaide Festival of Arts
Rock Art – Aboriginal Art
Kakadu National Park – History of Aboriginies
17.
18.
19. Australian Rules Football (AFL)
Australian Open – Tennis
Melbourne Cup – Horse Racing
Darwin Beer Can Regatta
◦ 35 years, started in 1974 – Family Day
◦ Boats built out of beer and soda cans
◦ Started after Cyclone Tracy devastated Darwin and the
workers drank a lot of cans of beer to fight the humid
climate. There was no recycling program so they decided
to build boats out of the cans and race them. It has
become a yearly tradition.
24. Penicillin (1940) – Howard Florey won the Nobel Prize
in 1945
Pace Maker (1926) – Mark Lidwell
Bionic Ear (1978) Graeme Clark invented the multi-
channel Cochlear Implant
