22 Australia fun facts

The world’s first compulsory seat belt law was put into place in Victoria in 1970. Tweet This

There is an annual world championship of cockroach racing in Brisbane. Tweet This

Canberra was created in 1908 as a compromise when Sydney and Melbourne both insisted to be the capital city. Tweet This

An Australian election TV debate was rescheduled so it didn’t conflict with the reality cooking show MasterChef. Tweet This

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Chinese explorers travelled to Australia long before Europeans arrived. Tweet This

The first European to ever visit Australia was the Dutch explorer Willem Janszoon, in 1606. Tweet This

Captain James Cook first landed on Australia’s east coast in 1770. Tweet This

Perth has more cafés per capita than any other city in the world. Tweet This

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Apart from being the biggest island in the world, Australia is as well a continent, but the smallest, the lowest and flattest of all. Also the driest inhabited one. Tweet This

Australia produces 95% of the world’s opal and 99% of the rare black opal. Tweet This

Kargoorlie, Western Australia is the world’s largest producer of gold today. Tweet This

Australia has about 25,000 known species of plants (Europe has only 18,000). Tweet This

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Some Australian inventions: ultrasound, tank, refrigerator, pre-paid postage, airplane black box, lawn mowers with engines, smoke alarm, pacemaker, electric drill, and the car radio. Tweet This

Australia has 10 deserts. The biggest such one is the Great Victorian Desert, larger than the UK. Tweet This

The first official World Surfing Championship was in Sydney, in 1964. Tweet This

Some Australian Hollywood stars: Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett, Errol Flynn, Paul Hogan, Mel Gibson, Hugh Jackman, Heath Ledger, Geoffrey Rush and Eric Bana. Tweet This

There are approximately 1,500 species of spiders in Australia. Two of them are deadly. Tweet This

In Australia you drive on the left side of the road. Tweet This

20 of the top 25 most venomous snakes come from Australia. Tweet This

Mining is a major industry in Australia, but pubs actually take up more land space than the mines do. Tweet This

Camels, cane toads, foxes, rabbits, goats, pigs, buffalo, and feral cats are all introduced species and some of them currently cause great problems. Tweet This

Uluru (also known as Ayers Rock) is the biggest rock monolith in the world. It is 3.6 km (2 mi) long, 1.9 km (a mile) wide and 348 metres (1,150 ft.) high. Tweet This