About Australia

Australian Trivia

• The Aboriginal people have lived in Australia for between 20,000 and 40,000 years. Mostly nomadic in relatively small tribes, they didn't cultivate the land, didn't build structures, didn't develop a written language, didn't domesticate animals (except the dingo), didn't breed animals for food, and had no ongoing contact to the outside world until 1770. Generally a peaceful race (except for territorial skirmishes between tribes), they are deeply religious. Their history and mythology was passed from generation to generation by word of mouth, or by their songs and dances.
• Captain James Cook is credited with discovering the Australian continent. Firstly, Cook only held the rank of Lieutenant but was captain of the ship. Secondly, the continent was discovered most probably by the Dutch, up to 130 years earlier. Cook landed in Australia in 1770, travelled up the east coast, then headed back to England. There was no return to Australia by the English for nearly 20 years. In fact, if it wasn't for the American War of Independence, colonisation may have been delayed even longer (the Civil War meant England had nowhere to send their convicts, and in 1779, Australia was put up as an alternative.
• The Commonwealth of Australia is less than 100 years old. The swearing-in of the Governor-General took place in Centennial Park Sydney on 1 January, 1901. Five months later, the first parliament sat in Melbourne, with Edmund Barton as prime minister.
• Australia is the smallest continent on earth - the only country that occupies a whole continent, and (arguably) the largest island (Greenland argues it's the largest, but the terms of reference differ). Australia is the driest continent, and the flatest. Nearly half of the land (42%) is under the control of the Aboriginal people. 85 percent of the population live in urban areas, with nearly all living on the eastern seaboard.
• The only writing visible in space is in Australia - the word 'Readymix' sits on the Nulabor Plain - under the east-west flight path.
• The largest cemetery in the world is located in Australia - Rookwood Cemetery in Sydney's west has been in continuous use since the mid-1860s.
• Both the largest sheep station and the largest cattle station in the world are in Australia - and both in South Australia. The cattle station is over 30,000 sq kms (nearly 12,000 sq miles) - nearly a quarter the size of the whole of England.
• Australia has one of the most boring national anthems around (sorry, had to put that in - Advance Australia Fair seems to drag on a little).
• In 1991, there were 150,000 people of Aboriginal descent. In 1996, there were 260,000 (don't ask me - I just report this stuff). People only have to identify with being Aboriginal to qualify. They don't have to prove they have Aboriginal blood).

When traveling around, your first stop has to be the local tourist office - if you can't find one, go to any phone box, dial 013 and ask the operator for the phone number of the nearest tourist office.

Oh, and don't just buy a bus, train or ferry ticket - ask what the cheapest ticket is - including whether it is cheaper to travel after 9am, is a return ticket cheaper, or are there any package tickets you can buy (for example, a Day Rover ticket in Sydney gives you unlimited bus, train and ferry travel).

There is just so much to see in Australia - travel North to Cairns (with the Great Barrier Reef and Kuranda), to Brisbane and the Gold Coast, go South to Tasmania with its many wilderness areas (like Cradle Mountain and Gordon/Franklin Rivers), West through some of the largest deserts in the world, visit Perth and Albany in West Australia. Of course, there's Sydney and Melbourne (culturally different, with Sydney having a real 'she'll be right' attitude, and Melbourne more towards the arts), Adelaide (the city of Churches), and Canberra (the nation's capital). Wanna see the real outback? Ease yourself into it by visiting some larger country towns (like Broken Hill), then head up to the smaller ones, like Cooper Pedy and Wilcannia. When you've come to grips with them, you can hitch a ride up to Alice Springs (and of course Ayers Rock), then head west into some of the most remote parts of the country. The scenery is spectacular - but DO NOT go there unless accompanied by an experienced bushie - YOU MAY DIE! (This is not an idle threat).

Of course, Australia isn't all outback and a couple of large cities - we have some excellent snowfields in the southern Alps (south New South Wales and north Victoria) - skiing is from June till early October, and there are lots of slopes to test the most experienced skier.

Want water activities? Nearly all the Australian population lives within four hours from the ocean (although there are some people who have never seen the ocean - honest!). Australians love the water - everything imaginable like water skiing, sailing, snorkelling and SCUBA diving, speed boats, surfing, jet skiing, swimming, water polo, whale and dolphin watching, and fishing. There are a couple of things to note - summer is a dangerous time in Australia's oceans. When going into the water north of Brisbane, check with the locals to ensure that it is safe to do so - there are stone fish, Portugese Man-o-Wars and sharks. Sharks can be a problem in any tidal waterway in Australia - but don't worry too much - most surf beaches near cities (like Sydney and Brisbane) have shark nets which generally keep sharks out. Oh, and lots of beaches have dangerous rips (water flows which can drag swimmers out to sea) and unpredictable wave patterns. Just remember, when swimming at an ocean beach, always swim between the red and yellow flags, and always obey the instructions of the lifesavers.

Accommodation ranges from five star international hotels right down to camping grounds where you can bring your own tent. Contact your local automobile association and ask about reciprocal arrangements with Australian automobile associations (such as NRMA in NSW, RACQ in Queensland, and RACV in Victoria). Contact your local youth hostel association (YHA) for information about hostel travel in Australia.

Here's some information which will assist you in getting to and around Australia.

- REQUIRED DOCUMENTS:  Passport, visa annd proof of onward/return
  transportation required.  Transit visa not necessary for up to 8-hour stay
  at airport.  Visitor visa valid 1 year for multiple entries to up to 6
  months, no charge, requires 1 application and 1 photo.  Need company
  letter for business visa.  Departure tax, $20 (Australian), paid at
  airport.  Minors not accompanied by parent require notarized written
  parental consent from both parents. AIDS test required for permanent
  resident visa applicants age 15 and over; U.S. test accepted.
  Note: Check for current laws and requirements.
- HEALTH:  Yellow fever vaccination is rrequired of travelers arriving from
  infected areas.  No particular health risks exist.  Health requirements
  change; check latest information.
- TOURIST OFFICES:  Australian Tourism IInd. Assn., Box E328, Canberra City,
  ACT, 2600, Tel 02-6273-1000, Fax 02-6273-4999; Australian Inst. of Travel &
  Tourism, 309 Pitt St., 3rd Flr., Sydney, NSW, 2000, Tel 02-9264-9616.
- WEATHER AND CLOTHING:  Seasons are thee reverse of the U.S.  The north is
  hot and humid year round.  Most of southern Australia requires lightweight
  clothing for its warm summers, and warmer clothing and an overcoat for its
  relatively mild winters.
- TIME:  Australia has 3 time zones (seee Time Zones Map).  The east coast is
  15 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Standard Time, and 10 hours ahead of
  Greenwich Mean Time.
- ELECTRIC CURRENT:  240V, 50-CYCLES, ACC

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Bad News About Australia

Leading ecologists estimate that the sustainable population in Australia is around the 10 million mark. We currently have over 20 million people living here. To quote one, 'There are now serious compromises in amenity in places like Sydney.' Overpopulation poses the greatest threat to Australia. Recent research by the CSIRO indicates that it takes 3 - 4 hectares of productive land to provide the food and wood needs of every man, woman and child in Australia. Unlike other continents, there is not the opportunity for population to spread right throughout the country. With only 80-100 million hectares of good soil (much of which is buried under houses and roads), we are reaching the limit this country can support.

Sometimes, extreme measures have been taken to provide resources for the populace which people in other countries just cannot comprehend (When I visited the Grand Canyon, the tour guide pointed out that water had to be piped across the canyon to Tuscayan - a distance of 27 miles. When I commented that the water for Kalgoorlie was pumped 600 miles, she didn't believe me).

One big news item over the last few years has been the deforestation of the Amazon Basin in South America. Well, Australia is suffering just as much, with hundreds of thousands of acres of native vegetation being cleared every year. Deforestation accounts for 30 percent of Australia's carbon dioxide emissions. The clearing has also led to the situation where 25 percent of Australia's 22,000 native plant species are now on the endangered list. Our native animals are not doing too well either. Most people around the world have seen our red and grey kangaroos, and our koalas, but so few people have even heard of our tree wallabies because most species are endangered. The beloved red kangaroo is becoming endangered as is the koala. The more the native vegetation is removed, the more flora and fauna species will disappear. Areas where fauna thrives hides the problem of imbreeding within species - koalas suffer from imbreeding in numerous areas as their habitat shrinks.

The deforestation is usually done in the name of agriculture - we clear land so we can plant crops, which usually are not suitable to the climate. To overcome this problem, we then built large irrigation systems. Extracting water from rivers may allow crops to grow, but destroys the river system, not just locally but for hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of miles downriver. The result is toxic blue-green algae blooms (the largest the world has seen), increases in heavy metals in the remaining water (up 32 percent since the 1950s), and river bank collapses (due to lower water levels resulting in die-off of riverside vegetation). Blue-green algae blooms are also caused by effluent from houses making its way to the river systems.

When was the last time you bought a cotton T-shirt, because you thought it was an environmentally-friendly product? Well, the bad news is, cotton requires a very high amount of water, as well as high levels of insecticide. Australia (which is classed as arid to semi-arid) and similar countries cannot ecologically support a cotton crop. And although Australia has some of the best quality rice in the world (we sell our rice to Japan), it comes at a huge ecological price. It seems that Australia chases the current high-price crop, when in fact we could be planting more appropriate crops which will yield a better return on investment over the years, as they require less irrigation, can be harvested more often, are more hardy and withstand pests. The cotton industry has just started work on a compensation package, to compensate beef farmers whose stock have become unsaleable due to insecticides from cotton farming making its way into the cattle.

One other way Australia has addressed the problem of getting water to inland crops or communities has been to sink bores. These extract water from the water table. Each one extracts an almost miniscule percentage of the available water, but collectively they have lowered the water table considerably. Unfortunately, more and more of these bores are having to be dug deeper to get to the water. The result is no surface water, and higher salinity levels. The remaining vegetation cannot survive, and the area becomes desert. And when bores are dug, when the water is no longer required, the bore is left to draw water from the water table. The water just flows onto the ground, and erodes the surface, causing more damage (a project is underway to cap bores throughout the country which are no longer required, but this will take years).

Up until 220 years ago, Australia had really only one imported species - that was the dingo (a dog brought in by the Aborigines). There was almost no introduced vegetation. Now, almost 15 percent of all Australia's vegetation is introduced weeds. Before white man came to Australia, there were no hoofed animals (pigs, horses, camels, cows, etc), no rabbits, no cats, a few species of mice, no trout or carp. Australia's native wildlife is being driven out of its habitat by these introduced animals, and our plantlife is being strangled by the likes of blackberries, lantana and Paterson's Curse. People still purchase these plants from nurseries and plant them in their gardens, believing they are controllable there (they seem to forget these propagate by birds eating the berries and flying off to somewhere else to excrete the seeds).

Unfortunately, the government of the day generally attacks these problems from a tactical viewpoint. One current method is to declare an area a 'wilderness' area, supposedly to stop any further degradation. This is appropriate if the area is indeed wilderness - that is, it hasn't been tarnished by introduced species (plant or animal). This is rarely the case though, and once an area is declared wilderness, there is no longer any management of the area, so introduced species thrive, killing off the remaining natives.

This all may sound like doom and gloom, and it will be if there is not major work done to correct the errors of our ways. These corrections must not be politically or economically driven, but should be driven by rational, scientific planned action.

I love Australia, and I encourage everyone to visit - but remember, Australia is a very, very fragile country, and needs everyone's help to keep it such a beautiful place.