Moving to Australia? Here’s some fun facts you need to know!
Opals
Australia supplies 95% of the world’s opals from its mine in Coober Pedy. It’s so hot here that many of the houses and tourist hotels have their rooms below ground, where the sandstone keeps the temperature at a regulated 24°C. It’s also unusual as there’s no commercial mining in the town, anyone can become a prospector.
Gold
Kargoorlie in Western Australia is the world’s biggest gold producer. In Victoria, the Golden Triangle (Ballarat, Bendigo and Maryborough) has produced more gold than any other area in the world. It was this gold that made Melbourne in richest city in the world in the 1880s.
The Black Box
Scientist, Dr David Warren, invented the black box flight recorder – which, by the way, is orange in colour. Dr. Warren’s father died in a plan crash in 1934 and, even though his invention wasn’t in response to his father’s death, it must have been part of his thought process. In the 1950s, Dr. Warren was part of a research team which was looking into why the commercial aircraft, the Comet, had been involved in fatal crashes. He devised the black box so that recordings on cockpit conversations could be found in the event of a crash, shedding light on the reasons behind these disasters. Every commercial airliner carries a black box today.
Emergency Plane Exits
Keeping on the topic of aviation, Jack Grant, who was an employee with Qantas, invented the inflatable escape slide which is now on board every commercial plane in the world. Not only can these slides be used for passengers to safely leave the plane, they also double as a raft, should the plane land in water.
The Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is 1616 miles in length and can be seen clearly from space. It’s the world’s largest living structure and is home to well over 1500 species of fish that live in and around the coral.
Wi-Fi Hotspots
Australian inventors developed the chip, using radio astronomy technology, which allowed users to access wireless internet successfully indoors. Before the 1990s, wireless internet was less than successful indoors due to too much echo from radio waves.
Crocodiles
The Dominator, as he’s affectionately known, is a saltwater croc who roams the Northern Territory’s Adelaide River. It’s thought he measures between 5.5 and 6.1 metres. He shares the territory with his great rival, Brutus, who measures a mere 5 metres.
The Plastic Wine Cask
Angoves Wines of Renmark, South Australia developed a polyethylene sack, which collapsed as the wine was poured, keeping the air out and therefore keeping it fresh. The tap, now in all boxed wines, was added later.
Sparsely Populated
The UK has 248.25 people per square km and Australia has 2.66 per square km. Note, the UK would fit into Australia 31 times over.
