24 interesting facts about Australia

24 interesting facts about Australia

From a giant dingo fence to the largest living structure on the planet, we take a look at the most interesting facts about Australia

In a country the size of a continent, there are countless fascinating facts to discover. Australia's mix of ancient cultures, wild terrain and cosmopolitan cities means the country has so much to offer the millions of visitors it welcomes each year.

With red outback sands, tropical aquamarine reefs and the wild Southern Ocean, Australia is a land of truly diverse landscapes.

We spent a month exploring this vast country and learned many interesting facts about Australia. Here we share the best of them.

Interesting facts about Australia

1. Die australischen Ureinwohner sind die älteste zusammenhängende Kultur der Erde. Es wird geschätzt, dass Australiens Ureinwohner Afrika vor 75.000 Jahren verlassen haben und seit mehr als 40.000 Jahren in Australien leben. (Quelle: Australian Geographic)
2. Trotzdem wurden die australischen Ureinwohner erst durch ein nationales Referendum von 1967 in die offizielle Volkszählung aufgenommen und erhielten einen ähnlichen Status wie Siedler. (Quelle: BBC)
3. Im Jahr 1770 kartografierte Kapitän James Cook mit seinem Schiff HMS Endeavour die Ostküste der damaligen Terra Australis und beanspruchte ganz Australien in britischem Besitz. Die Stadt Cooktown markiert den Ort, an dem er an Land kam. (Quelle: BBC)

alt=“Exploring Cooktown Australia 15″>Atlas & BootsA bronze statue of Captain Cook in Cooktown

1. Das australische Festland ist die größte Insel der Welt, aber der kleinste Kontinent. (Quelle: Australian Tourism)

2. At 7,741,220 km², Australia is the sixth largest country in the world by area (excluding Antarctica), but with just 23 million people, it is only the 56th largest by population, making Australia one of the least populated countries in the world, with just three people per square kilometer. (Source: CIA World Factbook)

3. Australia is also the lowest, flattest and (apart from Antarctica) driest continent. The highest mountain in Australia is Mount Kosciuszko with a height of just 2,228 m (7,310 ft). (Source: Australian Government)

alt=“Things to know about Australia Kosciuszko”>Australia is the flattest continent; Kosciuszko is only 2,228 m high

1. Seit 2001 leben mehr als acht von zehn Australiern (85 %) innerhalb von 50 km von der australischen Küste entfernt. (Quelle: Australian Bureau of Statistics)

2. The often-mentioned Australian “outback” refers to the vast, remote interior of the country. Essentially, this is any location outside of the main urban areas near the coast. The outback is sparsely populated but is home to a wide variety of animals, plants and natural beauty. (Source: Britannica)

3. Rangers at Uluru, the Northern Territory's giant sacred monolith, regularly receive packages containing parts of Uluru taken by tourists, along with letters of apology. The rocks have become known as the “Excuse Rocks.” Some senders even believe that they have suffered bad luck by removing the stones and want to lift the “curse”. (Source: The Telegraph)

alt="Tourists brought back stones from the holy site">Atlas & BootsTourists have brought back stones from the holy site

1. Mit 478 km ist die Indian-Pacific-Eisenbahnlinie, die von Perth über Adelaide nach Sydney führt, die längste gerade Strecke der Welt. (Quelle: The Guardian)

2. The Dingo Fence in Australia, completed in 1885, is the longest fence in the world. The dingo fence was designed to keep the wild dogs of the Australian outback away from sheep. It is 5,614 km long and would take an estimated six months to circumnavigate. (Source: Condé Nast Traveler)

3. The state of New South Wales was founded as a penal colony in 1788. Over the next 80 years, more than 160,000 convicts from Britain were sent to Australia in lieu of the death penalty. Around 20% of Australians are descendants of convicts. (Source: BBC)

4. Australia's Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on the planet. It stretches over 2,000 km from north to south and covers a total of 350,000 km². (Source: National Geographic)

alt="The Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on the planet">Atlas & BootsThe Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on the planet

1. Das Great Barrier Reef ist eines der sieben Naturwunder der Welt. Die anderen sind Aurora Borealis, der Hafen von Rio de Janeiro, der Grand Canyon, der Mount Everest, der Paricutin-Vulkan und die Victoriafälle. (Quelle: The Guardian)

2. In 1967, Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt mysteriously disappeared after going swimming at Cheviot Beach near Melbourne. His body was never recovered, giving rise to numerous conspiracy theories, including one that claimed he was kidnapped by a Chinese submarine. (Source: CNN)

3. According to research from the University of Sydney's Coastal Studies Unit, Australia has 10,685 beaches, taking up about half - 15,000km - of its coastline. (Source: Australian Government)

alt="Australia has 10,685 beaches">Atlas & BootsAustralia has 10,685 beaches

1. Australien hat über 1.000 Reptilienarten, mehr als 10 % der weltweiten Gesamtzahl und mehr als jedes andere Land. Die Zahl steigt von 750 im Jahr 1993 weiter an. (Quelle: Australian Geographic)

2. The oldest fossil, believed to be 3.4 billion years old, was found in sandstone at the base of the Strelley Pool rock formation in Western Australia. (Source: New York Times)

3. Marsupials – mammals that carry their young in a pouch – are endemic almost exclusively to Australia. Well-known species include kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, koalas and the Tasmanian devil. (Source: Britannica)

alt="Marsupials are almost exclusively endemic to Australia">Atlas & BootsMarsupials are almost exclusively endemic to Australia

1. Nur die Hälfte der australischen Bevölkerung wurde in Australien von in Australien geborenen Eltern geboren. Laut der Volkszählung von 2016 wurden 49 % aller Australier entweder im Ausland geboren oder haben mindestens einen im Ausland geborenen Elternteil. (Quelle: The Guardian)

2. Australia is divided into six states and two territories: Western Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory. (Source: Australian Tourism)

3. More than a million wild camels roam the Australian outback. Between 1870 and 1920, up to 20,000 were imported to Australia from the Arabian Peninsula, India and Afghanistan. By the 1930s they were no longer needed and thousands were released into the wild, where their numbers exploded. (Source: BBC)

alt="Wild camels roam the outback">DreamtimeWild camels roam the outback

1. Australien ist die Heimat einiger der gefährlichsten Tiere der Welt. Dazu gehören der Binnentaipan, die giftigste Schlange der Welt; die Trichternetzspinne von Sydney, eine der gefährlichsten Spinnen der Welt; und die Würfelqualle, das gefährlichste Meerestier, das dem Menschen bekannt ist. Es gibt auch Haie, Krokodile und Riesentausendfüßler zu fürchten! (Quelle: Australian Geographic)

2. Australia broadcast the first images of the moon landing in 1969 to 600 million people around the world. A telescope at Honeysuckle Creek, near Canberra, provided the mission's best images and was therefore used for the majority of the broadcast. (Source: The Independent)

Lonely Planet Australia has many more interesting facts about Australia and is a comprehensive travel guide to the country.

If you'd rather hand off the planning, we recommend G Adventures and their small group Australia tours.

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