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Everywhere I go in the US, as soon as I open my mouth, people realize I was born somewhere else. Many people guess correctly, but some think England. That's OK. It's a great country too. And my roots are there on my great-great grandparents side.
Anyway, once they know I'm an Aussie, the next thing people say is that they have always wanted to visit there.
So, if you have questions about Australia and need some great advice about where to go and what to see, here's your chance, ask away!
OK, here goes. How can you stand the heat there, what is croiky, are the wallabys running wild, have you ever met Steve Erwin, do you think Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban make a good couple, what did you think about Heath Ledger, is the skin cancer rate very high and if Australia is so wonderful why are here?
OK, here goes. How can you stand the heat there, what is croiky, are the wallabys running wild, have you ever met Steve Erwin, do you think Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban make a good couple, what did you think about Heath Ledger, is the skin cancer rate very high and if Australia is so wonderful why are here?
Lerecka, the last is easy: I married an American. Australia is still wonderful - gosh, I still have an Australian passport. And yes, I am in the process of becoming a dual citizen.
- The heat in the centre of Australia is more unbearable than on the coast, except that I remember as a child enduring a searing 104 degrees on Christmas Day, lying on the vinyl floor in the kitchen trying to get cool (Aussies then didn't know about air-conditioning in their homes. Well, maybe the very rich). I remember visiting Ayers Rock (Uluru) and Alice Springs in the Centre and it was 114 degrees. Fortunately it's not that hot all over.
- "Crikey" is like saying "Gosh", "Wow" or "How about that!"
- The wallabies and kangaroos do run wild. But not in the cities. Just in the more rural areas although there are some bush areas within the cities and sometimes you can find wildlife there. (It's hard to generalize.)
- No, I've never met Steve Irwin however I used to own a travel company and I did business with his company. I have a book about the way they met and some other memorabilia.
- Hard to say whether Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban will make a go of it. Probably not, if statistics in Hollywood are anything to go by. Having said that, I sincerely hope that they can weather that lifestyle. It's not condusive to long-term relationships.
- Heath Ledger. I just thought, what a shame. He was so young. Quite amazing that someone like him (and Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman too) could make it so big in Hollywood.
- I believe Australia has the highest incidence of melanoma (skin cancer) in the world. It looks very dorky but elementary school children have to wear hats with their school uniforms which have a flap on the back to protect their necks. A good thing given the consequences of not being protected.
The colonisation of Australia, Was mainly due to Britian, Loosing it's American Colonies!
The over-crowding in British jails, Due to "Petty Theft", Was so bad...That the British needed To find a solution, To their excess prisoner problem and Thanks to a few Dutch explorers (From Around 1606), Loosing their way..En-route to Indonesia (Dutch-East Indies) and becoming shipwrecked on the West Coast, Where they named the land "New Holland"
News of this New Southern Landmass, Began spreading throughout Europe, Inviting both the French and the English to come an have a look?
On Arriving!, The French didn't see much promise in the land, However?, The English did!, Eventually Sending Leiutenant James Cook and the HM Bark Endeavour, To navigate around more of the continent, Where he eventually landed!, At what is now Sydney's "Botany Bay" in 1770, There he Re-named the land "New South Wales" and claimed it, In the name of the Crown.
When the American Revolutionary War finally ended, The "Treaty Of Paris" was signed in 1783 and England then, Could no longer send convicts to America, So the English turned their attention, To their newest jewel...Australia, Starting with the first fleet, Arriving in 1787 and full colonisation starting in 1788, With Captain Arthur Philip, Naming the new site of "Sydney Cove" As the site of the new Penal Colony, On January 26th (Australia Day)
The name "Australia". Is thought to come from "Terra Australis Incognita" (Unknown South land), Which was the name, The first European Explorers gave Australia.
Last edited by Kangaroofarmer; 04-25-2008 at 12:38 AM..
In short, because the law and order system of the day demanded that people be imprisoned for crimes that we call "petty theft" and which today would be given a suspended sentence with community service as punishment.
One of the crimes was "impersonating an Egyptian". Another was stealing a loaf of bread. The first is funny. The second is not. I don't mean to be flippant. I hope it exaggerates the enormity of the punishment with the desperation and pettiness of the crime (stealing food, that is.)
The prisons were full to overcrowding with men, women and children and the authorities were looking for somewhere to send all these prisoners. Captain James Cook discovered Australia (well, the east coast) and claimed the country for the British and they turned it into a penal colony. Prisoners were punished with transporation for the term of their natural lives. The First Fleet arrived from England with prisoners and Marines - how they survived is nothing short of miraculous - and it was the beginning of Australia as we know it today.
It's a fascinating story. What isn't so fascinating is their treatment of the Australian Aborigines, but that's another story.
There is even a group of people descended from those first convicts who have formed an association in Australia. At least some good has come out of the misery of their ancestors as I think their aim is some kind of community service in the form of preserving the knowledge as much as possible, of that part of Australian history.
skin cancer is prevelant becuase of the ozone depletion uv levels in summer can reahc 11 in the south 15 in the north tropics as in usa it sometimes reaches 6 and in europe 3
Last edited by ciggas; 04-30-2008 at 04:22 AM..
Reason: spelling
pretty sure it has something to do with the equator?? or is it the other line?? tropic of capricorn? In Queensland (top state on the east cost) it doesnt matter whether its summer or winter staying out of the sun is a matter of skin presevation.
Now here's the thing of it. I actually did a little research and found something I didn't know before about skin cancer and its prevalence in Australia:
There are 3 types of UV rays which cause skin cancer (A,B and C). Only A and B are worth worrying about and B is more worrying than A because the rays are stronger.
Apparently there are several factors that depend on how the UV rays reach us:
1. Time of day
2. Season (highest during summer but UV rays reach us even on cloudy days)
3. Altitude (greater in mountains than in valleys)
4. Where you live (strongest on the Equator - tropical North Queensland, Northern Territory, north of Western Australia - folks in those areas need special vigilance)
5. Length of time spend in the sun. It can be cumulative apparently. Just be careful walking the dog too often - it's fraught with danger.
By definition and to bring it home, people in Texas have more prevalence of melanoma than folks in Wisconsin.
pretty sure it has something to do with the equator?? or is it the other line?? tropic of capricorn? In Queensland (top state on the east cost) it doesnt matter whether its summer or winter staying out of the sun is a matter of skin presevation.
You are absolutely right.
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Another was stealing a loaf of bread. The first is funny. The second is not. I don't mean to be flippant. I hope it exaggerates the enormity of the punishment with the desperation and pettiness of the crime (stealing food, that is.)