AustraliaLife Down Under

Physical map of Australia

Political map of Australia – 6 states and 2 territories

Australia, Northern Territory – Aboriginal Culture

Arthur “Turtle” Tamboy is an Aboriginal performer with the indigenous dance troop Descendance. He is also a skilled bushman, artist and didgeridoo player. Like many Aboriginals, Turtle is part of the “Stolen Generation.” The controversial government policy forced the removal of Aboriginal children from their families.

Australia, North Queensland – Aboriginal Culture

Native dance group performs with traditional music and a background screen projecting “Dreamtime” paintings, which tell stories from the oldest surviving culture on Earth.

Australia, North Queensland – Aboriginal Culture

The headband and body pain symbolize reverence for the “word-encircling” ocean.

Aboriginal

Rock Art

Australia, South Australia – Cattle Station

The station manager must take their stock across Anna Creek Station, the world’s largest (30,100 square miles) and most remote cattle range. Raising livestock in such arid, desolate terrain is only possible because abundant water can be pumped from a vast natural aquifer that lies 600 feet below the surface.

Australia, South Australia – Cattle Station

In “Australian” an experienced cowboy is called a “drover,” “ringer” or “stockman,” while apprentices are labeled “jackaroos” or “jillaroos” depending on whether the rookie is a “Jack” or “Jill”.

Australia, South Australia – Cattle Station

A typical morning breakfast on a station will consist of meat – mutton, beef or the occasional kangaroo.

Australia, South Australia – Cattle Station

A signpost at the William Creek Hotel lays out the bare facts of living in the middle of the Outback.

The smallest town in South Australia (population 16), Williams Creek lies in the center of Anna Creek Station and boasts about its single-shade tree and the world’s first solar-powered telephone.

Australia, West Queensland – Outback Town

Once a favorite watering hole for cattle drovers on the edge of the forbidding Simpson Desert, the derelict Royal Hotel in Birdsville dates back to 1883. Recently, the hotel has been slated for historical restoration while the town of Birdsville is becoming a seasonal hangout in the middle of nowhere.

Australia, South Australia – Opal Mining

Mullock heaps and mineshaft holes left in the wake of eight decades of opal mining have created a moon-like landscape across miles of Outback around the town of Coober Pedy, the undisputed opal capital of the world. The town’s name comes from the Aboriginal words “kupa piti”, with roughly translates as “white man’s hole in the Earth.”

Australia, South Australia – Opal Mining

Specialized mining vehicles sink new shafts into the opal-rich rocks around Coober Pedy, one of three rich fields in Australia, which together account for 90% of the world’s opal production.

Australia, South Australia – Opal Mining

Over the years, miners and other resident of Coober Pedy have converted worked-out mineshafts into all types of living spaces, like this underground entertainment center recently upgraded to an “Internet” café.

About half of Coober Pedy’s population lives underground, in part to escape surface temperatures that can soar above 100º.

Australia, South Australia – Opal Mining

The dining and living room of a typical underground “house” in Coober Pedy. While many of the homes occupy former mines, the advantages of living underground - - climate control, low maintenance and novelty - - have led to the “digging” of custom residences, hotels and the town’s museum.

Australia, South Australia – Opal Mining

This outhouse sign in Coober Pedy features a classic piece of “down under” slang. “Dunny” is the term for an Australian Outhouse. It comes from the old English word “dunnykin” – a container for dung. Indoor plumbing has been a late arrival in much of the Outback, are dunnies are still considered service.

Australia, South Australia – Outback Wildlife

Kangaroos and their smaller cousins, the wallabies, have a major presence in the Outback. These generally shy animals come out mostly in the cooler hours between dusk and dawn, often helping themselves to water supplies pumped out or collected by humans.

Australia’s Most Popular Animals

Tasmanian DevilWombatKola

Dingo

Platypus

Australia’s Most Dangerous Animals

Saltwater Crocodile

Great White Shark

Red-Bellied Black Snake Boxed Jellyfish

Steve Irwin

The Crocodile Hunter

Great Barrier Reef – Northeast Coast of Australia

Australia, Northern Territory – Outback Trucking

The “Road Train” makes a regular 4,000 mile round trip run between Darwin and Adelaide, bisection the country but passing only through five towns. With few rail lines and a vast interior, Australia depends heavily on the big rigs to keep its economy humming.

Sydney, Australia

Sunset over Sydney Harbor lights up the city’s magnificent opera house. The architectural roof design evokes the form of a ship under full sail.

Australia – Sydney Fish Market

This fish market is the largest seafood market in the Southern Hemisphere. Arching over the market is the ANZAC Bridge erected to commemorate the soldiers from Australia and New Zealand who fought in both world wars.

Australia, Melbourne – Pop Culture

Australia has over 6 million immigrants and 140 nationalities that have made their homes in Australia since the end of World War II. Over 25% of Australia’s population was born in a different country.

Australia, Sydney – Surf Life Saving

Four out of five Australians live within a half-hour drive from the beach. Most Australians – over 70% - learn to swim, but with the constant threat of dangerous conditions, life saving clubs play a vital role in keeping Australia’s beaches safe.

Ayers Rock – Uluru

Uluru has acquired its reputation not just because it is such a unique landform, but also because of the effect the sun has on its colors and appearance. Sunrises and Sunsets cause changes to its color from browns though oranges, reds to finally grey. The best color effects occur on overcast days. Additionally the sun casts shadows off the larger and smaller gaps on the rock face which incredibly changes its look almost by the minute.

Port Arthur - penal colony

Australia was founded as a penal colony for British convicts. From 1788-1839, approximately 161,000 convicts were sent from Great Britain to Australia.

Australia, Western Australia - Wave Rock

The Wave on Hyden Rock is one of Australia's most famous landforms, a giant surf wave of multicolored granite about to crash onto the bush below. Stand under it and feel rock power from over 2,700 million years ago, before dinosaurs roamed the earth!

Whitsunday Island - Whitehaven Beach