Australia

Download an Australia destination travel guide (PDF, 932K)

From cosmopolitan Sydney to the sun-drenched Outback and the teeming Great Barrier Reef, Australia is a world in one country. Combine that with the charm of the Aussie people, and you have a destination that can’t be beat.

• History
• Fast Facts
• Holidays and Festivals
• Books
• Videos
• Tips
• Weather
• Average Temperatures
• Down Under Slang
• Did you know?

History

Australia’s indigenous Aborigines enjoy the longest continuous known history in the world, with rock carvings dating back an amazing 30,000 years. Europeans didn’t enter the picture until the sixteenth century, and no one laid claim to the continent until Captain James Cook flew the Union Jack over Australian soil in 1770. The vast, harsh island was initially used by the British to solve their problems of prison overcrowding, but soon an influx of free settlers followed, looking for fortune during the Gold Rush of the 1850s. Australia became a nation in 1901, although many of its legal and cultural ties with England remained. Over the years, waves of immigrants have made Australia their home, adding to the rich tapestry of the nation’s culture.

Fast Facts

Capital: Canberra
Population: 20 million
Language: English, aboriginal languages
Currency: Australian dollar (A$)
Time Zone: EST plus 13-15 hours
Electricity: 220-240V

Holidays & Festivals

Books

• The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho
• The Colour, by Rose Tremain
• The Fatal Shore: The Epic of Australia’s Founding, by Robert Hughes
• In a Sunburned Country, by Bill Bryson
• The Lost World of the Moa: Prehistoric Life of New Zealand, by T.H. Worthy, et al.
• Playmaker, by Thomas Keneally
• Taming the Great South Land: A History of the Conquest of Nature in Australia, by William J. Lines

Videos

• Walkabout (1971)
• The Man From Snowy River (1982)
• Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002)
• Whale Rider (2002)
• The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003; filmed in New Zealand)

Tips for Tipping

Hotels and restaurants do not add service charges, but it is becoming a more widely accepted practice to tip a waiter 10 to 12 percent for good service, especially in the nicer restaurants. At hotels, porters could be given A$1 a bag in Australia and a NZ$1 or NZ$2 coin in New Zealand. Room service and housemaids are not tipped except for special service.

Weather

Take our American seasons and turn them upside down when you visit Down Under. Winter begins in June, and summer in December. Australia is a large country, so weather will vary— from warm, tropical climates in the north to temperate, drier weather in the south. New Zealand also enjoys a mild climate, although mountainous regions experience a chilly winter. Pack lightweight, casual activewear to fully explore the natural beauty that Australia and New Zealand have to offer. Lots of layers are a plus if you plan to visit in the winter.

Average Temperatures

Down Under Slang

Did You Know?

• The Maori waka taua war canoe was carved from a single totara tree and could carry up to 90 warriors.
• A pair of precariously balanced boulders in Australia’s Outback are called the Devil’s Marbles. The Aborigines believed that these oval-shaped rocks were actually eggs laid by the mythical Rainbow Serpent in Dreamtime.
• According to science, the oldest exposed surface on Earth is New Zealand’s south island.
• Sydney’s Queen Victoria Building, impressive in its own right, boasts the world’s largest animated clock, which took four years and $1.5 million to build. The clock’s adornments provide a valuable Australian history lesson.
• Australia is the only English-speaking country to have made voting compulsory in federal and state elections. It results in a voter turnout of 95 percent.
• The phrase “three dog night” is attributed to Australian Aborigines, who coined the term when they needed three dogs to keep them warm during long, cold winter nights.

• Return to top
• More travel information guides