Topic file: Australia Further information, also provided by your classmates:

Dangerous animals

There are many extremely dangerous animals in Australia.

Spiders

There are 1500 kinds of spiders, 30 of them are poisonous and 2 are dangerous for humans (the funnel-web spider and the Redback Spider). Spiders often hide at public toilets, wild grass, trash cans and at yards. But since 1979 no person died of a spider in Australia, because an antidote was invented against the funnel-web spider (the funnel-web spider is by the way the most poisonous spider in the world).

But in 2017 there was an incident, a 10 year old boy called Matthew was bitten by a funnel-web spider and holds the record of the most antidote given to a person (he got 12 anti-venom injections).

The most known spiders are: - The Huntsmanspider (it´s not poisonous but it looks just horrifying)

- The Redback spider (it´s poisonous and verydangerous to people)

- And the funnel-web spider (It´s the most poisonous spider in the world)

Snakes

There are 140 kinds of snakes in Australia, 100 of them are poisonous and 12 are dangerous for humans. Snakes often hide in tropical forests, subtropical forests, deserts, wooded lakes, rivers in cities and even on the sea, so they´re basically on the whole Australian continent. 3000 people get bitten but 200-500 need an antidote and just 1-2 die every year. Australia has the most poisonous snakes in the world: The Inland Taipan is very shy, but they´re 50 times more poisonous than the Indian Cobra. One bite of the Inland Taipan can kill 200 people. When you get bitten and you´re without help – you’ll be dead in 45 minutes.

Crocodiles

There are two types of crocodiles in Australia, the saltwater crocodiles and the freshwater crocodiles.

page 1

You can find the saltwater crocodile in coastal waters, mangrove swamps and in river estuaries (Western Australia, Northern Territory, and in Queensland). On the other hand you can find the freshwater crocodile everywhere in Australia (when there´s water). The freshwater crocodile is not dangerous and they are 3 meters long. The saltwater crocodile is very dangerous and it´s 7 meters long. Saltwater crocodiles kill 1-2 people per year and they attack 4-10 people per year.

Lizards

There are 300 kinds of lizards, only a few are poisonous, but they cause about 6-7 deaths per year. You can find lizards everywhere in Australia, in the desert, in subtropical forests, tropical forests… The lizards are very different in size, some are very large and some are just 5 centimetres long.

Tasmanian devils

What do Tasmanian devils look like?

Adult Tasmanian devils are usually about the size of a small dog. They have coarse brown or black fur and a pudgy appearance that makes them look like baby bears.

What do Tasmanian devils eat?

The Tasmanian devil is the worlds largest carnivorous marsupial, according to National Geographic. Most of the time, they eat birds, snakes, fish and insects. Often, they feast on dead carcasses, called carrion.

How old can a Tasmanian devil get?

Devils are fully grown at two years of age, and few devils live longer than five years in the wild. Possibly the longest-lived Tasmanian devil recorded was Coolah, a male devil which lived in a captivity for more than seven years.

Where do Tasmanian devils live?

Tasmanian devils now live only on the Island State of Tasmania. Inhabiting coastal scrub and forest areas, they make their dens anywhere they can safely sleep during the day, including hollow logs, old wombat borrows, and naturally-formed caves.

Threats to Tasmanian devils:

The survival of Tasmanian devils is seriously threatened by Devil Facial Tumor Disease which develops rapidly and is fatal. Once the highly infectious tumors appear around the mouth, face and neck , the devils generally die within three or six months.

page 2

water based animals

Flatback sea turtle

The flatback sea turtle is a reptile, lives in the sea and is a part of the reptile family. These turtles live at the near-by coast of Australia. The turtle has its name because of the flat back. The turtle can have a grey or a green shell, a normal adult flatback sea turtle is about 76 or 96 cm long and weights 70 to 90kg. The turtles are bigger than the normal sea turtles. They eat is seagrass, sea cucumbers, soft corals and jellyfish. This type of turtle starts to hatch at the start of December and will continue to hatch until March.This turtle has only two predators on land: The dingo and the fox’s dogs’ pigs. And in the water: Sharks. The only predators for older flatback sea turtles are fishing nets. The mature turtles lay their eggs every two to three years, these turtles are going to the beach to leave their eggs there.

Blue ringed Kraken

This kraken is one of four types of krakens that live in Australia. They live on flat coasts and around fifty-meter deep under the sea. They are on shore sometimes. The name of this kraken is derived from its skin, when it is in danger it changes it skin to a yellow skin with dark blue rings.

These krakens got a weird way to raise the small krakens: The mother takes care of the child and can glues the unborn child onto herself for safety. After the small kraken is born the mother and the father die.

These krakens eat small crabs and poison the crab with a venom that can be deadly for humans too. But the kraken don’t produce the venom on their own, a bacterium does that for them in their belly and the salivary gland. The venom is strong and it takes only 2 hours to die.

Saltwater Crocodile

The saltwater crocodile is one of the most dangerous animals in Australia. This crocodile is so dangerous because it is hiding in rivers. It isn’t picky and eats all animals, fish or humans. The saltwater crocodile lives in the North Territory.

This crocodile evolved over the past 25 million years. The normal size of a male saltwater crocodile is 3.5m to 6m and its weighs 200 kg to 1 ton.The biggest crocodile of this species was found in the year 1979 and was 10.1m long and weighted 2000 kg.

page 3

The female saltwater crocodile is 3m long and can weigh between 120 to 200 kg. One of the places where these crocodiles live is the Cahills Crossing.

Daintree Rainforest

Where is it?

It`s at the northeast coast of Queensland and about 1200 square kilometres big. The area includes the Daintree National Park, some areas of State Forest, and some privately owned land.

Do they have animals?

They have mammals, birds, reptiles, frogs, spiders, insects and an astonishing diversity of flora and fungi (which means plants and mushrooms).

What about plants?

Plants: The Daintree Rainforest includes about 3000 plant species. Some rare plant species are Hope`s Cycad, Fan Palm, Ribbonwood tree and the White Hazelwood shrub.

More fun facts:

- History: The Daintree Rainforest is the oldest surviving Rainforest in the world. It`s named after Richard Daintree.

- Richard Daintree: Richard Daintree was the discoverer of the Daintree Rainforest and the first governmental geologist for North Queensland. He was born on 13th December 1832 and died on 20th June 1878.

How to get around in the Rainforest?

Booking Tours: You can book two tours through the Rainforest.The first tour is a “2-hour Grand Fan Palm Gallery Tour“, the second tour is a „4-hour Greater Wilderness Experience“.A local expert will show you the most beautiful parts of the world.

page 4

Kakadu National Park

Where is it?

The nearest city is Jabiru-Darwin (which is 170 km west of the park)

How big is the park?19.804 square kilometres

What animals do they have?

280 bird species62 mammal species123 reptile species

To be more precise: Kangaroos, antelope, rats, bats, wallabies and crocodiles.

How many people visit the park?

200.000 people per year

Tell me about the rivers!

-West Alligator river-Wildman river-South Alligator river-East Alligator river

What about the plants?

They have about 1275 plant species.

Perth

What is Perth?

Is the largest city of Western Australia.

Tell me about its history!

Perth is named after the city of Perth in Scotland and was founded in 1829 by captain James Stirling. James Stirling was a British naval officer and colonial administrator. He became the first governor and commander-in-chief of Western Australia.

page 5

James Stirling claimed the whole of Australia outside new South Wales for Britain. To mark the event a tree was cut down on the site of kings Park, but soon there was a conflict between the European settlers and the indigenous Australians.

The indigenous people didn't like that the British claimed their land for themselves.The indigenous people went off their land and many of them were killed .The indigenous people are also known as the Aborigines or native people.

Where is it?

It is located far away from the other bigger cities (for example Adelaide, Sydney and so on). Perth is the only big city in the West, located in Western Australia at the South Western beach, with about 2.million inhabitants. It is the fourth biggest city in Australia after Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Things to do in Perth?

There are many sights and attraction in Western Australia.

- If you are in Perth you can swim in the Indian Ocean.

- Fremantle prison: It was an Australian prison from 1855 to 1991 and it is a world heritage site. In the last years the prison was used as a “high security prison“. Today it is used for sightseeing tours and youth hostel (Jugendherberge).Most tourists come to the Fremantle prison because the torchlight tour. The torchlight tour is completely in the dark. You can even see the gallows and visitors get scared by actors who imitate prisoners. The visitors can also see a dummy which lies dead on the floor ( ghost stories ).

- The kings Park: It is one of the largest parks in the world and even larger than the Central Park in new York. There are many monuments, for example one statue of Edith Cowan. The King Park got the name in honour of king Edward. The tourists come to the kings Park because there are many festivals, for example the wildflower festival .The tourists came to the festival to take a picture of the beautiful flowers

- Swan valley has a beautiful viewpoint and landscape.

- But the most tourists come to drink delicious wine.

- You can go camping

- Perth zoo : Many tourists come with her child to have fun

page 6

Adelaide

What is Adelaide?

Adelaide is a coastal city and the capital of the Territory South Australia.

I’m a tourist. What can I do there?

Adelaide has many famous museums. For example the Art Gallery of South Australia which also shows artwork from the Aborigines and the South Australian Museum which especially shows the natural history.

Many tourists visit Adelaide because of the Adelaide Festival, it is about art or movies.

But Adelaide is also known for wine, which is produced in the Adelaide Hills.

Adelaide's stadium "Adelaide Oval" with 53.500 places is especially needed for cricket and Australian Football.

The most famous church in Adelaide is the "St Peter's Cathedral". It is the seat of the archbishop of Adelaide. The cathedral is an important part of the city's heritage and it's also the primary church or also called mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Adelaide. The construction of the church started at the St Peter's Day in 1869 and ended 7th April 1904. In this timeframe from 1869 to 1904 the construction of the cathedral was often complicated because they had not enough money. The Anglican belief unites the christian and protestant belief.

What about politics?

Adelaide's current governor is Hieu Van Le, he has been governor since 2014. Before him, Rear Admiral Kevin John Scarce was governor between 2007 and 2014. The residence of the governor is the Government House in Adelaide.

Tell me some general facts!

- Population: 1.306 million people- Area: 3.258km²

What about its geographical properties?

page 7

There are many rivers in Adelaide, the Sturt River with a length of 27km, but also the River Torrens with a length of 85km. These are only two examples. There are many beaches at the coast of Adelaide, for example: the Henley Beach, Semaphore Beach, Grange Beach, the North Haven Beach and some others.

Native Animals in Adelaide

There are over 249 species of native birds in Adelaide, two of them are the Chestnut- rumped Heathwren and the Tree martin. The 20 species of freshwater fish include Lampreys, Eels, Catfishes and Galaxiids. Seven species of frogs live also in the waters of Adelaide. Adelaide has about 27 species of mammals, for example the Southern brown bandicoot. At least there are also 68 species of native reptiles found within Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges.

Nationalparks near Adelaide

There are some national parks near Adelaide:

Kyeema Conservation ParkIn this park, 60km in the south of Adelaide, you might see the southern brown bandicoot, swamp rat and the western grey kangaroo. But especially in this park you can see more than 80 species of birds.

Mark Oliphant Conservation ParkThis park is located 22km south east of Adelaide's Central Business District. It's a great choice, if you want to take a walk through a forest landscape. Maybe you see some of the native birds, including the scarlet robin, golden whistler and the Adelaide rosellas. It was named by Mark Oliphant, because of his donation for the conservation of the park.

What is a conservation Park?

A conservation Park is a protected area for endangered and threatened animals, to keep this species alive. But it's also opened for people who want to visit it in their free time.

Alice Springs

Where is it?

1500 km away from the nearest town, the area is 327.5 km² big, it is in the geographic centre of Australia (Red centre).25 000 people live there.

page 8

What can I expect to see there?

Alice Springs Reptile centre has a show 3 times a day and it has many reptiles, snakes, salt water crocodiles, goannas (german: Varanus) and many more.

Olive Pink Botanic garden it is a small place with many plants, the view is awesome and there are kangaroos. It is a quiet place for a break or just to spend time with friends or family.

The Alice Springs Desert Park has different animals to the reptile centre, like spiders, birds, mammals (i.e. like bats), hares, kangaroos and different kinds of mice.

Festival of light: It is celebrated on 5th of April.It is a festival were the nature is illuminated and therefore beautiful and not a dry desert.It is a festival by the Arrernte (Aboriginals) who celebrate their culture with the help of new technology. They invite people to understand their culture.

What about the natives?

The Arrernte Aboriginals lived there more then 50 000 years ago, around 2001 the population of Aboriginals was down to was 37%.

Animals

There are many kinds of mice around Alice Springs but there are also different kinds of spiders and many snakes. Famous is the thorny devil: It is a reptile and like the name says it has many thorns on it.

Darwin

What is Darwin?

Darwin is the capital of the Northern Territory.It's the biggest city in the northern country.

When was it founded?

Darwin was founded in 1869It was often destroyed by cyclones.

What's the population?

It has a population of 148,564

page 9

National parks

- Kakadu National park- Litchfield National park- Charles Darwin National park- Nitmiluk National park and Kathrine Gorge- Mary River National park

Has Darwin got any beaches?

Yes of course:

Mindl Beach:- it's near Darwin's town centre- it has the “Sunset Markets”

How is the temperature in Darwin?

The coldest temperatures in Darwin are around at least 16 degrees.The usual temperature in Darwin is around 33 degrees and overnight it is around 25 degrees.

What are the top attractions in Darwin?

Museums and Art Gallery of the Northern territory:- Crocosaurus Cove, Berry Springs Nature Park, RFDS Darwin Tourist Facility

Christmas in Australia

What is special about that?

Australia celebrates Christmas in the summer holidays! The temperature can reach 42 degrees because it is midsummer. For the majority of the Australian people is Christmas not a religious celebration. Still: Many Christmas traditions come from England and America. At the 24th December Australians travel long distances to celebrate Christmas with their family. At the morning of the 25th December the family opens their Christmas presents. The 26th December is called boxing day because many shops have Christmas sales.

page 10

What about New Year’s Day?

New Year ’s Eve is celebrated in pubs or at home with family and friends.Completely different to Germany: Civilians aren’t allowed to set off fireworks and firecrackers: It is forbidden by law throw firecrackers. However, there are fireworks in big cities.

Australian Music

What is the most listened music genre in Australia?

Rock and popular music that you usually see in the charts. Other genres would be country, soul, electronic, R&B and others.Are There any popular musicians?

Kylie Minogue, Sia, Vance Joy and Iggy Azalea are known artists for their solo albums. Of course we have Bon Scott, too. He was the original lead vocalist of AC/DC before hesadly passed away in 1980.

Successful Bands and singers

The most successful band is AC/DC known for their hard rock songs, Kylie Minogue is a very popular singer and songwriter and Sia is known all over the world for her strong vocals.

What music is being played on the radio?

It’s mostly mainstream Rock but popular songs are being played too. Some people even complain because there isn’t enough Australian music being played.

Aboriginal music and instruments

The Aborigines used an instrument called the didgeridoo which is still played to this day. It’s a wide wooden instrument in which you blow to produce a deep sound. Some even call the instrument “wooden trumpet”. They used it to make their own music, it’s a part of their culture.

Sports

Popular Australian sports are rugby, soccer, basketball, tennis and cricket.

Famous stars in each group

Rugby: Israel Folau and Michael HooperSoccer: Tim Cahill and Mark SchwarzerBasketball: Ben Simmons and Liz Cambage Cricket: Donald Bradman and Glenn Maxwell

page 11

History:Sport in Australia is very popular. The weather allows every kind of sport during the whole year .The most popular summer sport is cricket. Many popular were brought to Australia by English immigrants: Soccer, rugby and cricket.The Aborigines are also part of the sports history. They have started to play cricket in the 19th century.

Questions:

What are the first sports in Australia ?-The first sports are Cricket and Rugby

What is the national sport in Australia?-The national sport in Australia is cricket

Surfing

What is surfing?

Surfing is a water sport which is extremely popular in Australia.The weather is good all year round and Australia has got a very long coastline. When you surf you stand on a board and ride on the waves. For the best surfing conditions it has to be windy. It is a fast and exiting sport.

Is there a history of surfing?

Yes, of course! Surfing was first mentioned as a central part of ancient Polynesian culture. The British explorer Samuel Wallis and his crew of the HMS Dolphin observed the sport in Tahiti in 1767.

How did the sport change over the years?

Today surfing is a popular hobby for people who enjoy water sports. In Polynesia it had a different purpose. It was a form of transportation around the islands. The first surfboards were made from wood. Today they use a combination of wood and high- tech materials.

Which equipment do you need?

The important things you need for surfing are a surfboard, fins, a wetsuit, surf earplugs and sunscreen.

Best places for surfing in Australia?

page 12

One of the best places for surfing in Australia is the Central Coast, its location halfway between Sydney and Newcastle is convenient for daytrippers, but that`s not the only reason Central Coast is one of Australia`s most popular surf destinations. Can you guess the other reason?

Sharks?

Sharks attacks on surfers are possible sometimes.

page 13