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5 Interesting Facts about Australia
Posted On 04 Jul 2015
When you think about Australia, the first things that tend to come to mind are: the Great Barrier Reef, koala bears, the Sydney Opera House, or the Australian Outback. However, there is plenty more to the country than any of these things. From the first police force comprised of the best behaved convicts to the bright pink color of Lake Hillier, Australia is bursting with fun and interesting facts.
1. It’s Beach-tastic
If you’re looking for plenty of beaches, Australia’s the place. Home to over 10,000 beaches; it would take a person 27 years to visit every beach on this beautiful island, if you visited a new beach each day.
2. The Country’s Deadliest Creature Is the Box Jellyfish
Contrary to popular belief, this deadly jellyfish has killed more people than crocodiles, sharks, and stonefish combined. The Australian box jellyfish can reach over 10 feet long, and has one of the deadliest venoms in the world. The toxins in the venom attack multiple systems including the cardio (heart), itegumentary (skin), and nervous systems.
3. The Roof of the Sydney Opera House Was Inspired by an Orange
If you took all of the sails on the Sydney Opera House and put them all together, it would create a perfect sphere. The architect thought of the design idea after eating an orange.
4. Queen Elizabeth II Ended the 1975 Government Shutdown
America wasn’t the first country to have a government shutdown. During 1975, the Australian Parliament failed to pass financial legislature to fund the government due to a budgetary squabble. However, Queen Elizabeth II ended things quite differently. She sent an official representative who fired the prime minister. After appointing a replacement prime minister and the government funding bill was passed; the official representative fired the rest of Parliament. Afterwards, the country held a new election to start Parliament over from scratch.
5. Home of the World’s Longest Fence
The Dingo Fence was completed in 1885, and was built to keep the dingoes out of the southeast section of the continent where the land was more fertile and to protect the flocks of sheep. The fence is over 3,400 miles long, making it about twice as long as the Great Wall of China.