1. Australia's first police force was a band of 12 of the most well behaved convicts.
2. The 'dingo fence' in Australia is the longest fence in the world (5,530km) – about twice as long as the Great Wall of China.
3. 0.02% of the Australian land mass is used by mines. More land is occupied by pubs.
4. In 1954, Bob Hawke was immortalised by the Guinness Book of Records for drinking 2.5 pints of beer in 11 seconds. Bob later became the Prime Minister of Australia.
5. The Australian Coat Of Arms has a kangaroo and an emu on it. The reason being, kangaroos and emus can’t go backwards, they can only walk/hop forward.
6. Australians eat the animals on their Coat of Arms – maybe because they can’t run backwards – as do 20 other nations.
7. The world’s longest mail run is from Cairns to Cape York. In one day, Postman Barry flies 1,450km in nine hours with 10 stops.
8. Australia is the only continent on Earth occupied by one nation.
9. The country’s largest cattle ranch is 34,000 square km. Bigger than Belgium and almost as big as Taiwan.
10. Australia’s first ever political party meeting was held under a gum tree.
11. Koalas sleep for 18 hours meaning that over an average ten year lifespan, they are only awake for 2 ½ years.
12. When the English first saw a platypus they thought Australians were playing a joke on them by sewing a duck bill on a rat.
13. Amongst Australia’s most prolific inventions are the half-car-half-truck utility vehicle, (known as a ‘ute’), bionic ear, black box flight recorder, clothes line, notepad and stubby holder
(used to keep beer cold).
14. Australians eat 260 million meat pies every year, around 12 per head.
15. Australian town and suburb names include Humpybong, Woolloomooloo, No Where Else, End Of The World, Mount Buggery and Ozenkadnook, which means ‘very fat kangaroo” in the local Aboriginal dialect.
16. Australia’s Snowy Mountains receive more snow than Switzerland.
17. There are four types of boomerang – the "hook", the "hunter", "the club", "the V". Only The Hunter will come back when thrown.
18. In 1838 it was declared illegal to swim at public beaches during the day. This law was enforced until 1902.
(Me and Hen have done the Bridge Climb, as have every guest we've had stay!)The Sydney Harbour Bridge – Australian icon, postcard favourite and international TV star every New Year’s Eve. But what do you really know about Sydney’s beloved ‘coat hanger’?
Whether you’re a Sydneysider looking to impress your visitors to the city – or a visitor wanting some inside knowledge to show the locals up – here are some facts about the Harbour Bridge to keep your audience on the edge of their seats.
Building the bridge – “About that quote…”•
Construction on the Sydney Harbour Bridge started in 1924. It took 1,500 men, eight years, 53,000 tonnes of steel and six million hand driven rivets to complete the world’s biggest Meccano Set.
•When finished in 1932 the final bill was £10 million – more than double the original quote. In today’s money, that’s more than $1.5 billion. The loan wasn’t paid off until 1988.
•The top of the arch rises and falls up to 18 centimetres when the temperature changes. They put in special hinges to accommodate this.
Painting – that’s not a bridge, THAT’S a bridge!•
At the time, Grey was the only colour paint available in such quantities. It took 272 thousand litres just to get the first coat on.
•Paul Hogan worked as painter on the bridge before he found better paying day jobs on TV and making Crocodile Dundee movies.
Opening ceremony madness•
Retired cavalry officer, Francis De Groot somehow worked his way into the honour guard at the Bridge opening. Just as the ribbon was about to be cut, he galloped forward on his horse and slashed it with his sword, declaring the Bridge open in the name of 'the decent citizens of New South Wales'.
•After retying the ribbon as best they could, the ceremony continued. De Groot was carried off to a mental hospital, declared insane and later fined for the cost of the ribbon.
Crossing the bridge
•In the early years, 11 thousand cars travelled over the Bridge each day. Now more than 160 thousand make the journey.
•In 1976 the billionth vehicle crossed the bridge. The first 500 million took more than 33 years. The second 500 million, less than 11 years.
Climbing the bridge
•Before BridgeClimb opened in 1998, it was a rite of passage for the bravest (craziest?) young Sydneysiders to climb the bridge illegally. Since BridgeClimb opened, the most frequent climber is an 83 year-old from Sydney who has done it 26 times.
•2.5 million people (58% of them international visitors) have legally enjoyed what Lonely Planet call, “one of the top ten adrenaline experiences in the world.” 5,000 were engaged by the time they climbed down.
•Big celebs love the bridge. Will Smith, Matt Damon, Nicole Kidman, Kylie Minogue, Justin Timberlake, Cameron Diaz, Robert De Niro, Pierce Brosnan, Cate Blanchett, Teri Hatcher, Prince Harry, and Crown Prince Fredrick, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark and many others have all made the climb.
