X-Nico

49 unusual facts about Australia


2009 Claxton Shield team rosters

The 2009 Claxton Shield was the 56th edition of the premier baseball competition in Australia, contested between teams representing the five mainland states: New South Wales Patriots, Queensland Rams, defending champions Perth Heat (representing the state of Western Australia), South Australia and Victoria Aces.

2009 Skycity Triple Crown

It contained Rounds 9 and 10 of the series and was held on the weekend of 19–21 June at Hidden Valley Raceway, in Darwin, in the Northern Territory, Australia.

Architecture of Australia

Australian architecture has generally been consistent with architectural trends in the wider Western world, with some special adaptations to compensate for distinctive Australian climatic and cultural factors.

Arthur Bryant Triggs

In 1887 Arthur immigrated to Australia, becoming a wealthy New South Wales grazier (known as The Sheep King) and collector of art, books and coins....

Australia-Asia Literary Award

Australia-Asia Literary Award (AALA) was an initiative of the Government of Western Australia Department of Culture and the Arts.

Australia's First Families of Wine

Some industry commentators lay the blame for this negative opinion on the giant, publicly listed multinational corporations, such as Constellation Wines and Foster's, which have dominated the industry for years and concentrated on the cheap commodity end of the market rather than building the reputation of Australia's finer, regionally distinctive wines.

It was officially launched at the Sydney Opera House on 31 August 2009 by former Hon Tony Burke MP, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

Australia's Funniest Home Videos

Other features include the introduction of the "Taped Crusader" character, and a videotaped message from former host Catriona Rowntree which paid tribute to inaugural presenter Graham Kennedy before he passed away in 2005.

Australia's Thunder from Down Under

Thunder From Down Under has also been featured on several television shows, including NBC's Today, The Tyra Banks Show, E!'s Top 12 Sexiest Vegas Shows, ABC Daytime The View, TLC's Gene Simmons Family Jewels,Drop Dead Diva and Lifetime's Project Runway (season 11).

Benjamin Jennings Caddy

Caddy was born in Australia and in 1898 at the age of 17 he emigrated to South Africa.

Bunyip North, Victoria

Bunyip North is a bounded rural locality in Victoria, Australia.

Caloundra RSL Cup

Caloundra RSL Cup could refer to several sporting competitions on Australias Sunshine Coast.

Coronet Flats

Coronet Flats (also known as Coronet Court) is a residential apartment building on the corner of Brunswick Street and Elystan Road, New Farm, Queensland, Australia.

Dale Buggins

Dale Charles Buggins (1961-1981) was an Australian stunt motorcyclist who had built a national and international reputation by the age of 20.

Du'aine Ladejo

In 2007 Ladejo and Adam Hollioake formed Quiet Storm Productions, which owned the television show Australia's Greatest Athlete.

Frankston Symphony Orchestra

The Frankston Symphony Orchestra (FSO) is one of ten community orchestras in Victoria, Australia.

Garfield North, Victoria

Garfield North is a bounded rural locality in Victoria, Australia.

George Louden

Business meant Louden never had the tiniest hope of going on an tour to Australia, though he was doubtless much better suited to the cast-iron Australian pitches than any English professional bowler of the time.

IBLA Internationals season 2000-01

The team played in the one and only season of the International Baseball League of Australia's Development League, All games were held on the Gold Coast at Palm Meadows with some showcase games played at Carrara Oval.

The team was a composite team made up of players from countries such as Korea, Japan, South Africa, Guam, New Zealand, USA and Australia.

John Newman discography

The single peaked to number 1 on the UK Singles Chart in early-June 2012, the song was also a Top 5 hit in Australia, Belgium, Netherlands and New Zealand.

Katrin Aladjova

She has a Bachelor of Business from Victoria University, Australia, and is the co-founder and Director of "All Australia Imports" and "StreetStar Cosmetics".

Kent Music Report

The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to 1998.

Koo Wee Rup North, Victoria

Koo Wee Rup North is a bounded rural locality in Victoria, Australia.

Lisa Gasteen National Opera School

The Lisa Gasteen National Opera School is an intensive, three-week program of study for young-professional or advanced-student opera singers and repetiteurs, founded by Lisa Gasteen, Australian opera singer.

Machinery of government

The Commonwealth Government and some state and territory governments utilise Administrative Arrangements Orders (also called AAOs) as legal instruments as a primary method to make machinery of government changes.

According to KPMG, section 35(1) of the Western Australian Public Sector Act 1994, the Governor of Western Australia may establish, amalgamate or abolish government departments on the recommendation of the Public Service Commissioner.

A number of national governments including those of Australia, Canada, South Africa and the United Kingdom have adopted the term in official usage.

Music of Brisbane

Brisbane is a city in Queensland, Australia, home to many regionally important music institutions and venues.

Naazmi Johnston

Johnston was a participate on the show Australia's Got Talent with a group called Meriden Rhythmix, they performed routines of rhythmic gymnastics and made it to the semi-finals before being eliminated.

OET

Occupational English Test, a test for health professionals wishing to work or study in Australia.

Panel van

Panel vans were also especially popular with younger car buyers in Australia during the 1970s.

Paul Vinar

Vinar was born in Czechoslovakia, and moved to Geelong in Australia with his mother and four brothers after his father was killed in World War II.

Percy Douglas, 10th Marquess of Queensberry

He went as a gold prospector to Kalgoorlie, Australia, during the gold rush beginning in 1893, and later managed a road house in Canada.

Peterhead railway station

For the railway station in Adelaide, Australia, see Peterhead railway station, Adelaide.

Prussian Lithuanians

Some communities of Prussian Lithuanians have developed in Canada, the United States, Sweden and Australia.

Sandy Gandhi

On 4 February 2009 she appeared on the Australian Channel Seven Network's "Australia's Got Talent" program.

Skin cancer

Australia and New Zealand exhibit one of the highest rates of skin cancer incidence in the world, almost four times the rates registered in the United States, the UK and Canada.

Socialism with no doctrine

"Socialism with no doctrine" (Socialisme sans doctrine) is a phrase coined by Albert Métin based on his observation of the experiments in labour and economic regulation by the nonsocialist governments of Australia and New Zealand that Métin described as effectively being a form of state socialism though these policies did not contain any reference recognizing socialist theory.

Soul Mystique

This duo is most famous for their two times appearance on the television show Australia's Got Talent in 2007 (series 1) and 2012 (series 6) – both times with great success as Grand Finalists, and placing 2nd runner up in series 6.

Sydney Victor Colville

He was one of the first amateur radio operators in Australia.

The Scorching Adventures of the Screaming Jets

The Scorching Adventures of the Screaming Jets EP is the debut release by Australian Pub Rock band The Screaming Jets.

Those Terrible Twins

Those Terrible Twins is a 1925 Australian silent film directed J.E. Ward, a Papuan adventurer, who had previously made Australia's Own (1919).

Triple J Magazine

Triple J Magazine is an Australian monthly music magazine associated with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth radio station Triple J.

Walker railmotor

Walker railmotor is a term for a family of railcars ordered by the Victorian Railways of Australia.

Waxie Moon

The film won Best Local Film at the Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, Jury Award for Best Film at Queer Fruits Film Festival in Australia, and Best Film, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Editing and Best Soundtrack at Love Unlimited Film Festival.

Wendy Boase

Wendy Boase (14 October 1944 – 15 March 1999) born in Melbourne, Australia, she was one of the co-founders of the children's publishing company Walker Books.

Yip Ho Nung

Yip Ho Nung (18 October 1909 – 6 October 1979) was an Australian Chinese community leader, general merchant, produce merchant and restaurateur.

Zelman Symphony

The Zelman Memorial Symphony Orchestra (Zelman Symphony) is the longest-running amateur orchestra in Melbourne, Australia.


1966 Davis Cup

India then fell to defending champions Australia in the Challenge Round which was the 1966 Davis Cup finals.

1988 Asia-Pacific Touring Car Championship

With the championship generally ignored by most of the top teams from the stronger Group A championships (Australia, Europe and Japan), Crowe, Bond and Pirro were able to gain the top three placings despite each only running in two of the four rounds.

1993 Ansett Australian Indoor Championships

The 1993 Ansett Australian Indoor Championships was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts at the Sydney Entertainment Centre in Sydney in Australia and was part of the Championship Series of the 1993 ATP Tour.

2010 Winton V8 Supercar Event

It contained Races 11 and 12 of the series and was held on the weekend of May 15–16 at Winton Motor Raceway, near Benalla, in rural Victoria.

2011 Melbourne Cup

The winning jockey, Frenchman Christophe Lemaire, had arrived in Australia less than a day previously as a late replacement for Craig Williams.

Alone on a Wide, Wide Sea

his earliest memory was that he was an orphan from Bermondsey, in London, and that, at the age of five, in 1947, he was transported to Australia to find a new home.

Anderson Report

Wearne, a publisher from South Yarra, told the inquiry that 'Scientologists planned to take over Australia, after establishing a "Scientology Government"' and that 'he first heard of the plan to take over Australia in 1960'.

Ansett New Zealand

Ansett Australia would be owned by Air New Zealand and (until it was bought out) Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, while Ansett New Zealand would be owned by News Corporation exclusively.

Antares

The Wotjobaluk Koori people of Victoria, Australia, knew Antares as Djuit, son of Marpean-kurrk (Arcturus); the stars on each side represented his wives.

Australia at the 1932 Summer Olympics

Due to the Great Depression, Australia could only afford to send 12 athletes to the Games.

Australia's Funniest Home Videos

At the end of each year there are semi finals and a grand final, where third place receives a home theatre package from JVC, second place receives a prize package worth around $100,000, normally two or three cars and the winner receives $250,000 in cash although in 2012, the winner received $150,000.

Battle of Barrosa

A young officer in the 4th Dragoons at the battle, subsequently Colonel William Light and the governor of South Australia in the 1830s, decided to name one of the valleys in his area Barossa Valley in memory, albeit subject to a clerical error.

Battle Scars

When Fiasco was in Australia for Supafest he came to Sebastian's Sydney studio to record the rap.

Beijing United Family Hospital

The hospital is staffed by a team of over 100 doctors from 20 different countries, including the United States, China, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, and Australia.

Bowie Tupou

He began his boxing career training with Johnny Lewis, the Australia’s most well-known boxing coach, having trained Jeff Fenech, Jeff Harding, Virgil Hill and Kostya Tszyu.

C. Y. O'Connor

On 7 December 1898, his daughter Eva married Sir George Julius at St John's Church, Fremantle, Western Australia.

Carinotrachia admirale

The type locality of Carinotrachia admirale is Middle Osborn Island, Bonaparte Archipelago in north-western Kimberley, Western Australia.

Corangamite Catchment Management Authority

There are 13 Ramsar-listed wetlands in the catchment including Lake Corangamite, the largest permanent inland lake in Australia.

Diadema palmeri

The species has also been found in other sub-tropical regions around the South Pacific at greater depths, including New Zealand's Kermadec Islands, and Australia's lower east coast - off Danger Point to Montague Island, New South Wales (at about 200 m), Lord Howe Island and the Norfolk Island Ridge.

Elizabeth Street, Sydney

Central Railway: designed by Walter Liberty Vernon, Central Railway has been described as the grandest railway station in Australia.

Hyde Park, Sydney

Seven Arab horses taken on board the First Fleet at the Cape Colony (now South Africa) were the first horses to be brought to Australia.

J'adore Hardcore

The video for the single features footage of a live Scooter concert in Differdange (Luxembourg), dancers Pae and Sarah performing the Melbourne Shuffle on the streets of Melbourne (Australia) and car scenes of H.P. Baxxter, the frontman of Scooter, recorded on Majorca (Spain).

Jeanie Descombes

In recognition of her contribution, in 2007 the Aussie Hearts sponsored her to go to Australia where she conducted many clinics and showed her AAGPBL PowerPoint presentation to hundreds of Aussie women ball players.

Ken Archer

His younger brother Ron Archer played 19 Tests for Australia between 1953 to 1956.

Live: Bad Kitty Board Mix

Live: Bad Kitty Board Mix is a 2006 live album by Sophie B. Hawkins recorded at The Triple Door (Seattle, USA) and The Basement (Sydney, Australia).

Louis Matheson

In 1951, after only a few years in Australia, he returned to the UK to accept the Beyer Chair in Engineering at the University of Manchester.

MacDonald Airfield

MacDonald Airfield was an airfield built alongside the former northern road, west of Stuart Highway, north of Pine Creek, Northern Territory, Australia during World War II.

Martin Elmiger

Arguably one of the best moments in his career was leading the Tour Down Under in 2007 for 2 stages and then winning it by a mere 3 seconds over Australian Karl Menzies.

Mint julep

These mint juleps were served in gold-plated cups with silver straws, and were made from Woodford Reserve bourbon, mint imported from Ireland, spring water ice cubes from the Bavarian Alps, and sugar from Australia.

Oceanian nations at the FIFA World Cup

New Zealand, Australia, Fiji got to group 1 and respectively ranked 1, 2, 5 places.

Osadia

Tollwood Festival, Munich / Sydney Mardi Gras, Australia / Trafalgar Square Festival, London, UK / Juste pour rire/Just for laughs, Montreal, Canada / The Esplanade Festival, Singapore / NZ International Festival, Wellington, New Zealand / Kleines Fest im Grossen Garten, Hanover / Daidogei World Cup, Shizuoka, Japan / Hogmanay, Edinburgh, Scotland / Festes de la Mercè, Barcelona

Øyvin Thon

He is also five times Relay champion, as a member of the Norwegian winning teams in 1981 (Thun, Switzerland), 1983 (Zalaegerszeg, Hungary), 1985 (Bendigo, Australia), 1987 (Gérardmer, France) and 1989 (Skaraborg, Sweden).

Page playoff system

It is identical to a four-team McIntyre System playoff, first used by the Victorian Football League in Australia in 1931, originally called the Page-McIntyre system, after the VFL delegate, the Richmond Football Club's Secretary, Percy "Pip" Page, who had advocated its use.

Pixie Jenkins

Born 'Paul Blake Jenkins' in Launceston, Tasmania in 1957, now referred to by his stage name 'Pixie', in an article in The Australian, Pixie was referenced alongside Jimmy Little, Chad Morgan and Slim Dusty as "...an icon of Australia's country music industry".

Ronald Eric Johnstone

Ronald Eric Johnstone (born 1949) is an Australian ornithologist who worked for the Western Australian Museum for many years.

Run to Paradise

The song returned to the Australian singles charts in Australia in July 2004 when dance producer Nick Skitz asked Gable to sing "Run to Paradise" on a dance reworking.

Scott Alderdice

Scott Alderdice is a Shakespearean director, media producer and acting lecturer currently based at the University of Southern Queensland in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia.

Scott McGrory

Scott McGrory (born 22 December 1969) in the Victorian country town of Walwa is an Australian former professional racing cyclist.

Shelford Girls' Grammar

Robyn Christine Robinson AM - President and South Pacific Liaison Officer of the Critical Incident Stress Management Foundation Australia; Former Clinical Director of the Victorian Ambulance Crisis Counselling Unit; Former Senior Lecturer/Deputy Director of the Soc.

Souls on Board

Souls on Board have played the Big Day Out and St Kilda Festivals, shared stages with Maxïmo Park (UK), Yura Yura Teikoku (Japan), Ground Components, Expatriate, Midnight Juggernauts, Dukes of Windsor, and toured Australia a bunch of times including jaunts with Dan Kelly and the Alpha Males, End of Fashion & Glenn Richards (Augie March).

Thomas Austin

After farming near Ouse, Thomas and his brother James crossed Bass Strait in 1837 and settled as pioneer pastoralists in the Western District of the Port Phillip District (now called Victoria).

Toti Dal Monte

In 1924, fresh from triumphs in Milan and Paris, but before her debut in London or New York, she was engaged by the diva Dame Nellie Melba to be one of the star singers of an Italian opera company that Melba was organising to make a tour of Australia.

Tresco

Tresco, Elizabeth Bay, an historic residence in New South Wales, Australia.

TSS Fairstar

On 19 May 1964 the Fairstar left Southampton with a full complement of passengers, mostly migrants, on her maiden voyage to Sydney, Australia, joining older company vessels Fairsky, Fairsea and Castel Felice already operating in the same role.

UNSW Faculty of Engineering

George Savvides, Industrial Engineering - Managing Director, Medibank Private; Engineers Australia "Top 100 Influential Engineers, 2013"

Michael Uzzell, Electrical Engineering - Head of Navy Engineering, Royal Australian Navy; Engineers Australia "Top 100 Influential Engineers, 2013"

Viewer Access Satellite Television

From December 2013, CRN, NIRS, RPH, and the BBC World Service will merge with the new satellite platform from the existing Aurora platform that will end at that time.

Vladas Vitkauskas

Between 1993 and 1996 Vitkauskas climbed the Seven Summits, the highest peaks of all the continents including Mt. Everest (Eurasia), Mt. McKinley (6,194 m, North America), Vinson Massif (4,897 m, Antarctica), Kilimanjaro (5,895 m, Africa), Mt. Kosciusko (2,228 m, Australia), Aconcagua (6,959 m, South America); also Elbrus (5,642 m, Caucasus) and Mont Blanc (4,807 m, Alps) in Europe.

World Safari

Includes a motorcycle trip across Australia, living with Buddhist monks, selling life insurance on the side of the road, and getting lost in a two-cylinder DAF van while crossing the Sahara desert.