As we are spending a week plus in Australia, we thought you might enjoy learning a bit more about this vast country. We’ve attended several lectures on Australia and we’ll share the highlights.

The capital of Australia is Canberra, in the state of Australia Capital Territory. The creation of Canberra as the capital occurred in 1913, a so-called compromise between Sydney and Melbourne which both wanted the honor.

Australia gained independence from Britain through a gradual process rather than a single event, culminating in 1986. While the Commonwealth of Australia was formed as a self-governing dominion on January 1, 1901, full legal and legislative independence was achieved with the Australia Act 1986, which removed all remaining ties to the British Parliament and judicial system.

There are 8 states in Australia and we’ve had the opportunity to visit 5 of them on this journey; New South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. The others are Northern Territory, Queensland and Australian Capital Territory. Each state has a representative legislative government, with the head of government being the Premier.

As mentioned in an earlier blog post, Australia’s land mass is actually nearly equal to the United States, minus Alaska. The United States is the 3rd largest country in the world, while Australia is the 6th. Where the big difference is in population: the US has 335 million people and Australia has 27 million. And unlike the US where the majority of the population lives in the interior of the country (60%), in Australia, 90% of the population lives on the coast.

Western Australia is the largest state at 4 times the size of Texas. If Western Australia were it’s own country, it would be the 10th largest in the world.

Australia has many natural habitats: vast deserts (the Outback), tropical rainforests, eucalyptus bushland, mountainous alpine areas, and extensive coastal wetlands and coral reefs (Great Barrier Reef).

There are lots of things that can kill you in Australia. Seriously. There are crocodiles of all sizes. There are sharks of all sizes. There are snakes of all sizes. You get the picture. There are also 66 varieties of poisonous insects: ants, spiders, ticks, centipedes and wasps. There are even birds that will attack you. Our lecturer commented that if you get lost at sea, don’t worry about the sharks. The giant petrel will get you! Yikes!

Australia has given us many beloved actors over the years: Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Cate Blanchett, Margot Robbie, Chris Hemsworth, Russell Crowe, Heath Ledger, Naomi Watts, Rose Byrne, Eric Bana, and Liam Hemsworth. Notable musicians include the Bee Gees, AC/DC, Keith Urban, Kylie Minogue, Olivia Newton-John, Helen Ready, INXS and Little River Band.

Australia is also giving us some rough seas. We’ve had some large swells for a couple days now and the barf bags are out. This is definitely “down under” waters where the Indian Ocean and the Tasman Sea meet in a body of water called the Great Australian Bight. We’ll be happy to turn the corner at Perth and head north.

Tomorrow: Sea Day