[Jonathan Leane]

10 weird & wonderful facts about Australia you probably didn't know​

We might be a little biased, but we reckon Australia is the best country in the world. The weather, the food, the people… what’s not to love?

And, as it turns out, there’s a whole lot more to our country than just that. Here are 10 weird and wonderful facts about Australia that you probably didn’t know.

1. Australia is home to nearly 5% of the world’s population of camels.

Yeah, camels are probably not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Australia. But we actually have the world’s largest population of wild camels, with an estimated 1 million of them roaming around our deserts, mainly in central Australia.

The majority of Australia’s camels were introduced in the 19th century, when they were brought over from India and Afghanistan to help with transportation and expeditions in the outback. These days, they’re mostly used for racing, tourism and meat.

​

2. There’s a town in Australia called Humpty Doo.

No, we’re not making this up. Humpty Doo is a small town in the Northern Territory, located about 80km from the capital city of Darwin.

The town gets its name from a nearby waterhole called Humpty Doo Spring. It’s believed that the name comes from an old Aboriginal story about a Dreamtime creature called Humpty Doo.

The Humpty Doo Hotel. Seems like a happening place. Source: Wikipedia​

3. Australia is the only continent without an active volcano.

There are plenty of volcanoes in the world, but none of them are located in Australia. This is because our continent sits on a large tectonic plate called the Australian Plate, which is separate from the other plates that make up the Earth’s surface.

As a result, Australia doesn’t have any active volcanoes, although there are a few inactive ones, such as Mt Gambier in South Australia and Mt Warning in New South Wales.

4. We have more than 10,000 beaches.

With a coastline stretching for more than 36,000km, it’s no surprise that Australia has a lot of beaches. In fact, we have more than 10,000 of them, which is more than any other country in the world.

Some of our most famous beaches include Bondi Beach in Sydney, Surfers Paradise in Queensland, and Cable Beach in Western Australia.

5. We have more than 50 million kangaroos.

That’s right, there are more kangaroos in Australia than there are people! In fact, the ratio is about 2:1.

Most of our kangaroos live in the wild, but there are also a few million that are farmed for their meat and skin. Kangaroo meat is actually quite popular in Australia and is considered to be a healthy alternative to traditional red meats.

Kangaroos outnumber us roughly 2 to 1. We'd better not tell them that they have the numerical advantage...​

6. We have the world’s oldest rainforest.

The Daintree Rainforest in Far North Queensland is the oldest rainforest in the world, dating back more than 180 million years.

The Daintree is home to an incredible array of plant and animal life, including more than 30% of all butterfly and bat species found in Australia. It’s also one of the only places in the world where two World Heritage areas meet – the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest.

7. We have the world’s largest sand island.

Fraser Island, located off the coast of Queensland, is the largest sand island in the world. It’s more than 120km long and has an area of more than 1,840 square kilometers.

The island is home to a wide variety of plant and animal life, including more than 100 species of birds and a number of rare and endangered animals, such as the dingo and the Fraser Island dingoes.

​

8. We have the world’s largest coral reef.

The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef. It’s located off the coast of Queensland and covers an area of more than 344,000 square kilometers.

The Great Barrier Reef is home to an incredible diversity of marine life, including more than 1,500 species of fish, 400 species of coral and a wide variety of other marine creatures.

9. We have the world’s longest fence.

The Dingo Fence, located in Australia’s outback, is the world’s longest fence. It’s more than 5,600 kilometers long and was built in the late 1800s to keep dingoes away from the settled areas of Australia.

Today, the fence is still used to keep dingoes away from farms and other properties, as well as to protect the endangered Queensland dingo.

The dingo fence spans 5600km, which is nearly 100km further than the distance from Lisbon to Moscow!​

10. We have the world’s deadliest snakes.

Australia is home to some of the world’s most venomous snakes, including the inland taipan, the tiger snake and the brown snake.

Inland taipans are considered to be the most venomous snakes in the world, and their venom is strong enough to kill 100 adult humans with just one bite. Fortunately, there have been no recorded deaths from an inland taipan bite in Australia.

So there you have it – 10 weird and wonderful facts about Australia that you probably didn’t know. We hope you’ve enjoyed learning a little bit more about our great country!

Are there any other little known but impressive facts about Australia you'd like to share? Let us know in the comments below.

 

[SirExton]

Australia is the only continent in the world, with one National Flag covering it's entirety! Also after Federation, Australia is the only country in the world, to have had a no rules, Competition in 1901 for our own National Flag, of which there were 32,823 entries and of those entries 5 were identical! Those designs were chosen as the winner 3rd September 1901! The 5 winners of the 200 AU pound prize money were, Annie Dorrington of WA. Egbert John Nuttall of Vic. Leslie John Hawkins of NSW. A 14 year old school boy Ivor Evens of Vic and William Stevens a Ships Office of New Zealand. https://www.pmc.gov.au/resource-centre/government/australian-flags-booklet

 

[terri]

Why would you want to live anywhere else.? I love Australia.

 

[RTS]

After visiting Europe and America over three months I flew into Sydney and boarded a flight to Perth. The flight attendant sold me a ticket in the onboard Melbourne Cup sweep.
That's when I knew I was home and thought 'only in Australia'.

 

[PepeLePew]

And nOt to forget we have VEGEMITE yum!!

 

[Michelle S]

Australia is the only continent in the world,View attachment 4248 with one National Flag covering it's entirety! Also after Federation, Australia is the only country in the world, to have had a no rules, Competition in 1901 for our own National Flag, of which there were 32,823 entries and of those entries 5 were identical! Those designs were chosen as the winner 3rd September 1901! The 5 winners of the 200 AU pound prize money were, Annie Dorrington of WA. Egbert John Nuttall of Vic. Leslie John Hawkins of NSW. A 14 year old school boy Ivor Evens of Vic and William Stevens a Ships Office of New Zealand. https://www.pmc.gov.au/resource-centre/government/australian-flags-booklet

The Australian continental shelf includes Papua New Guinea which has 15 volcanoes, ie the country of Australia is not a continent geologically speaking, whatever is hammered into the heads of Australians. Just like Portugal is not a Mediterranean country, being exclusively along the Atlantic ocean and never touching the Mediterranean.etc...

 

[Peter26]

We might be a little biased, but we reckon Australia is the best country in the world. The weather, the food, the people… what’s not to love?

And, as it turns out, there’s a whole lot more to our country than just that. Here are 10 weird and wonderful facts about Australia that you probably didn’t know.

1. Australia is home to nearly 5% of the world’s population of camels.

Yeah, camels are probably not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Australia. But we actually have the world’s largest population of wild camels, with an estimated 1 million of them roaming around our deserts, mainly in central Australia.

The majority of Australia’s camels were introduced in the 19th century, when they were brought over from India and Afghanistan to help with transportation and expeditions in the outback. These days, they’re mostly used for racing, tourism and meat.

​

2. There’s a town in Australia called Humpty Doo.

No, we’re not making this up. Humpty Doo is a small town in the Northern Territory, located about 80km from the capital city of Darwin.

The town gets its name from a nearby waterhole called Humpty Doo Spring. It’s believed that the name comes from an old Aboriginal story about a Dreamtime creature called Humpty Doo.

View attachment 4140
The Humpty Doo Hotel. Seems like a happening place. Source: Wikipedia​

3. Australia is the only continent without an active volcano.

There are plenty of volcanoes in the world, but none of them are located in Australia. This is because our continent sits on a large tectonic plate called the Australian Plate, which is separate from the other plates that make up the Earth’s surface.

As a result, Australia doesn’t have any active volcanoes, although there are a few inactive ones, such as Mt Gambier in South Australia and Mt Warning in New South Wales.

4. We have more than 10,000 beaches.

With a coastline stretching for more than 36,000km, it’s no surprise that Australia has a lot of beaches. In fact, we have more than 10,000 of them, which is more than any other country in the world.

Some of our most famous beaches include Bondi Beach in Sydney, Surfers Paradise in Queensland, and Cable Beach in Western Australia.

5. We have more than 50 million kangaroos.

That’s right, there are more kangaroos in Australia than there are people! In fact, the ratio is about 2:1.

Most of our kangaroos live in the wild, but there are also a few million that are farmed for their meat and skin. Kangaroo meat is actually quite popular in Australia and is considered to be a healthy alternative to traditional red meats.

View attachment 4141
Kangaroos outnumber us roughly 2 to 1. We'd better not tell them that they have the numerical advantage...​

6. We have the world’s oldest rainforest.

The Daintree Rainforest in Far North Queensland is the oldest rainforest in the world, dating back more than 180 million years.

The Daintree is home to an incredible array of plant and animal life, including more than 30% of all butterfly and bat species found in Australia. It’s also one of the only places in the world where two World Heritage areas meet – the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest.

7. We have the world’s largest sand island.

Fraser Island, located off the coast of Queensland, is the largest sand island in the world. It’s more than 120km long and has an area of more than 1,840 square kilometers.

The island is home to a wide variety of plant and animal life, including more than 100 species of birds and a number of rare and endangered animals, such as the dingo and the Fraser Island dingoes.

​

8. We have the world’s largest coral reef.

The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef. It’s located off the coast of Queensland and covers an area of more than 344,000 square kilometers.

The Great Barrier Reef is home to an incredible diversity of marine life, including more than 1,500 species of fish, 400 species of coral and a wide variety of other marine creatures.

9. We have the world’s longest fence.

The Dingo Fence, located in Australia’s outback, is the world’s longest fence. It’s more than 5,600 kilometers long and was built in the late 1800s to keep dingoes away from the settled areas of Australia.

Today, the fence is still used to keep dingoes away from farms and other properties, as well as to protect the endangered Queensland dingo.

View attachment 4142
The dingo fence spans 5600km, which is nearly 100km further than the distance from Lisbon to Moscow!​

10. We have the world’s deadliest snakes.

Australia is home to some of the world’s most venomous snakes, including the inland taipan, the tiger snake and the brown snake.

Inland taipans are considered to be the most venomous snakes in the world, and their venom is strong enough to kill 100 adult humans with just one bite. Fortunately, there have been no recorded deaths from an inland taipan bite in Australia.

So there you have it – 10 weird and wonderful facts about Australia that you probably didn’t know. We hope you’ve enjoyed learning a little bit more about our great country!

Are there any other little known but impressive facts about Australia you'd like to share? Let us know in the comments below.

Sorry to inform you my friend that number 3 isn’t technically accurate, we have at this present time two Volcanoes which are classed as “potential active” Undara Elevation 1020 m in FNQ and Newer Volcanics Prov” Elevation 1011 m in western Victoria.

We might be a little biased, but we reckon Australia is the best country in the world. The weather, the food, the people… what’s not to love?

And, as it turns out, there’s a whole lot more to our country than just that. Here are 10 weird and wonderful facts about Australia that you probably didn’t know.

1. Australia is home to nearly 5% of the world’s population of camels.

Yeah, camels are probably not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Australia. But we actually have the world’s largest population of wild camels, with an estimated 1 million of them roaming around our deserts, mainly in central Australia.

The majority of Australia’s camels were introduced in the 19th century, when they were brought over from India and Afghanistan to help with transportation and expeditions in the outback. These days, they’re mostly used for racing, tourism and meat.

​

2. There’s a town in Australia called Humpty Doo.

No, we’re not making this up. Humpty Doo is a small town in the Northern Territory, located about 80km from the capital city of Darwin.

The town gets its name from a nearby waterhole called Humpty Doo Spring. It’s believed that the name comes from an old Aboriginal story about a Dreamtime creature called Humpty Doo.

View attachment 4140
The Humpty Doo Hotel. Seems like a happening place. Source: Wikipedia​

3. Australia is the only continent without an active volcano.

There are plenty of volcanoes in the world, but none of them are located in Australia. This is because our continent sits on a large tectonic plate called the Australian Plate, which is separate from the other plates that make up the Earth’s surface.

As a result, Australia doesn’t have any active volcanoes, although there are a few inactive ones, such as Mt Gambier in South Australia and Mt Warning in New South Wales.

4. We have more than 10,000 beaches.

With a coastline stretching for more than 36,000km, it’s no surprise that Australia has a lot of beaches. In fact, we have more than 10,000 of them, which is more than any other country in the world.

Some of our most famous beaches include Bondi Beach in Sydney, Surfers Paradise in Queensland, and Cable Beach in Western Australia.

5. We have more than 50 million kangaroos.

That’s right, there are more kangaroos in Australia than there are people! In fact, the ratio is about 2:1.

Most of our kangaroos live in the wild, but there are also a few million that are farmed for their meat and skin. Kangaroo meat is actually quite popular in Australia and is considered to be a healthy alternative to traditional red meats.

View attachment 4141
Kangaroos outnumber us roughly 2 to 1. We'd better not tell them that they have the numerical advantage...​

6. We have the world’s oldest rainforest.

The Daintree Rainforest in Far North Queensland is the oldest rainforest in the world, dating back more than 180 million years.

The Daintree is home to an incredible array of plant and animal life, including more than 30% of all butterfly and bat species found in Australia. It’s also one of the only places in the world where two World Heritage areas meet – the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest.

7. We have the world’s largest sand island.

Fraser Island, located off the coast of Queensland, is the largest sand island in the world. It’s more than 120km long and has an area of more than 1,840 square kilometers.

The island is home to a wide variety of plant and animal life, including more than 100 species of birds and a number of rare and endangered animals, such as the dingo and the Fraser Island dingoes.

​

8. We have the world’s largest coral reef.

The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef. It’s located off the coast of Queensland and covers an area of more than 344,000 square kilometers.

The Great Barrier Reef is home to an incredible diversity of marine life, including more than 1,500 species of fish, 400 species of coral and a wide variety of other marine creatures.

9. We have the world’s longest fence.

The Dingo Fence, located in Australia’s outback, is the world’s longest fence. It’s more than 5,600 kilometers long and was built in the late 1800s to keep dingoes away from the settled areas of Australia.

Today, the fence is still used to keep dingoes away from farms and other properties, as well as to protect the endangered Queensland dingo.

View attachment 4142
The dingo fence spans 5600km, which is nearly 100km further than the distance from Lisbon to Moscow!​

10. We have the world’s deadliest snakes.

Australia is home to some of the world’s most venomous snakes, including the inland taipan, the tiger snake and the brown snake.

Inland taipans are considered to be the most venomous snakes in the world, and their venom is strong enough to kill 100 adult humans with just one bite. Fortunately, there have been no recorded deaths from an inland taipan bite in Australia.

So there you have it – 10 weird and wonderful facts about Australia that you probably didn’t know. We hope you’ve enjoyed learning a little bit more about our great country!

Are there any other little known but impressive facts about Australia you'd like to share? Let us know in the comments below.

I’m sorry to advise you mate that you aren’t technically correct with number 3. We have actually two volcanoes which are technically classed as “potentially active.

The first UNDARA with an elevation of 1,020 m in FNQ which most of you may well have visited and the lesser known Newer Volcanics Prov with an elevation of 1,011 m and is situated due west of Melbourne. There are a number of craters in the cluster and I believe the public is forbidden entry to one of them (I’m more than happy to be corrected on that last point if somebody has more information on it. I was due to visit the site and like many things I was stopped by COVID.

 

[Singomate]

10 weird & wonderful facts about Australia you probably didn't know​

We might be a little biased, but we reckon Australia is the best country in the world. The weather, the food, the people… what’s not to love?

And, as it turns out, there’s a whole lot more to our country than just that. Here are 10 weird and wonderful facts about Australia that you probably didn’t know.

1. Australia is home to nearly 5% of the world’s population of camels.

Yeah, camels are probably not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Australia. But we actually have the world’s largest population of wild camels, with an estimated 1 million of them roaming around our deserts, mainly in central Australia.

The majority of Australia’s camels were introduced in the 19th century, when they were brought over from India and Afghanistan to help with transportation and expeditions in the outback. These days, they’re mostly used for racing, tourism and meat.

​

2. There’s a town in Australia called Humpty Doo.

No, we’re not making this up. Humpty Doo is a small town in the Northern Territory, located about 80km from the capital city of Darwin.

The town gets its name from a nearby waterhole called Humpty Doo Spring. It’s believed that the name comes from an old Aboriginal story about a Dreamtime creature called Humpty Doo.

View attachment 4140
The Humpty Doo Hotel. Seems like a happening place. Source: Wikipedia​

3. Australia is the only continent without an active volcano.

There are plenty of volcanoes in the world, but none of them are located in Australia. This is because our continent sits on a large tectonic plate called the Australian Plate, which is separate from the other plates that make up the Earth’s surface.

As a result, Australia doesn’t have any active volcanoes, although there are a few inactive ones, such as Mt Gambier in South Australia and Mt Warning in New South Wales.

4. We have more than 10,000 beaches.

With a coastline stretching for more than 36,000km, it’s no surprise that Australia has a lot of beaches. In fact, we have more than 10,000 of them, which is more than any other country in the world.

Some of our most famous beaches include Bondi Beach in Sydney, Surfers Paradise in Queensland, and Cable Beach in Western Australia.

5. We have more than 50 million kangaroos.

That’s right, there are more kangaroos in Australia than there are people! In fact, the ratio is about 2:1.

Most of our kangaroos live in the wild, but there are also a few million that are farmed for their meat and skin. Kangaroo meat is actually quite popular in Australia and is considered to be a healthy alternative to traditional red meats.

View attachment 4141
Kangaroos outnumber us roughly 2 to 1. We'd better not tell them that they have the numerical advantage...​

6. We have the world’s oldest rainforest.

The Daintree Rainforest in Far North Queensland is the oldest rainforest in the world, dating back more than 180 million years.

The Daintree is home to an incredible array of plant and animal life, including more than 30% of all butterfly and bat species found in Australia. It’s also one of the only places in the world where two World Heritage areas meet – the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest.

7. We have the world’s largest sand island.

Fraser Island, located off the coast of Queensland, is the largest sand island in the world. It’s more than 120km long and has an area of more than 1,840 square kilometers.

The island is home to a wide variety of plant and animal life, including more than 100 species of birds and a number of rare and endangered animals, such as the dingo and the Fraser Island dingoes.

​

8. We have the world’s largest coral reef.

The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef. It’s located off the coast of Queensland and covers an area of more than 344,000 square kilometers.

The Great Barrier Reef is home to an incredible diversity of marine life, including more than 1,500 species of fish, 400 species of coral and a wide variety of other marine creatures.

9. We have the world’s longest fence.

The Dingo Fence, located in Australia’s outback, is the world’s longest fence. It’s more than 5,600 kilometers long and was built in the late 1800s to keep dingoes away from the settled areas of Australia.

Today, the fence is still used to keep dingoes away from farms and other properties, as well as to protect the endangered Queensland dingo.

View attachment 4142
The dingo fence spans 5600km, which is nearly 100km further than the distance from Lisbon to Moscow!​

10. We have the world’s deadliest snakes.

Australia is home to some of the world’s most venomous snakes, including the inland taipan, the tiger snake and the brown snake.

Inland taipans are considered to be the most venomous snakes in the world, and their venom is strong enough to kill 100 adult humans with just one bite. Fortunately, there have been no recorded deaths from an inland taipan bite in Australia.

So there you have it – 10 weird and wonderful facts about Australia that you probably didn’t know. We hope you’ve enjoyed learning a little bit more about our great country!

Are there any other little known but impressive facts about Australia you'd like to share? Let us know in the comments below.

What's not to like about this magnificent Country ️