Australia

ILINCA {Australia - the sixth-largest country on our planet - is dazzlingly diver

se: a sing-along medley of mountains, deserts, reefs, forests, beaches and mult
icultural melting-pot cities. It is situated on an island and neighbouring countrie
s include Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north; the Solom
on Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east.}

Famous cities

RUXI { Most Australians live along the coast, and most of these folks live in
cities. In fact, Australia is the 18th-most urbanised country in the world: it follo
ws that cities here are a lot of fun! Sydney is a glamorous collusion of beaches,
boutiques and bars. Melbourne is all arts, alleyways and Australian Rules footba
ll. Brisbane is a subtropical town on the way up; Adelaide has festive grace and
pubby poise. Boomtown Perth breathes west-coast optimism; Canberra transcen
ds political agendas. And the tropical northern frontier town of Darwin and chill
y southern sandstone city of Hobart couldn't be more different. }

Australian symbols
CATA {
}
MARIA{
Unofficial emblems :

National animal : Red Kangaroo
National bird : Emu
The Sydney Opera House - open since 1973, it has come to represent
Australia throughout the world; it is a multi-venue performing arts centre in
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Situated on Bennelong Point in
Sydney Harbour, close to the Sydney Harbour Bridge (another australian
symbol). Though its name suggests a single venue, the project comprises
multiple performance venues which together are among the busiest
performing arts centres in the world hosting over 1,500 performances
each year attended by around 1.2 million people. The venues produce and
present a wide range of in-house productions and accommodate numerous
performing arts companies
Uluru - it is one of Australia's most recognisablr natural icons; also known
as Ayers Rock and officially gazetted as Uluru / Ayers Rock,it is a large
sandstone rock formation in the southern part of the Northern Territory in
central Australia. }


LAURA { Australian idioms and words

Popular as a rattle snake in a lucky dip - unpopular person
Like a mad woman's breakfast - all over the place or messy
May your chooks turn into emus and kick your dunny door down - a way of
wishing someone bad luck
Like a shag on a rock - lonely or exposed
Kangaroos loose in the top paddock - eccentric or not very bright
Go troppo - go crazy
He needs that like a third armpit - he doesn't need it at all
Face like a dropped pie - ugly
Fit as a Mallee bull - very fit and strong, in good physical condition. The
Mallee is a region in Victoria, South Australia - a dry area where an animal
would need to be tough and fit to survive
Cark it - die
Stone the crows - expression of amazement.
Macca's - McDonald's
}
Famous australians
MARIA{
Their achievements are spread across categories as diverse as film, sport, music,
art, science, literature, politics, invention and exploration.

Famous Australian actors

A number of Australian actors have found international success, including the A
cademy-winning Geoffrey Rush, star of Shine and The King's Speech. Russell
Crowe, Nicole Kidman and Cate Blanchett have also claimed the Best Actor ho
nour. Action hero Hugh Jackman is also a Tony Award-winning singer and dan
cer. Other famous Australian actors include Naomi Watts, whose cut-through ro
le was in Mulholland Drive, and Heath Ledger, who won a posthumous Oscar f
or his performance in The Dark Knight. Australian actors of international fame i
nclude Guy Pearce, Eric Bana, Toni Collette, Rachel Griffiths and Paul Hogan.
}

Famous Australian sportspeople

ILINCA{Sport is a huge part of Australian culture and the nation has produc
ed many sporting greats. Our cricketing heroes include Sir Donald Bradman, Rit
chie Benaud, Allan Border, the Waugh brothers, Shane Warne and Glen McGrat
h. Famous Australian swimmers include Dawn Fraser, Shane Gould, Kieren Pe
rkins and Ian Thorpe. Our most famous runner is Cathy Freeman, who lit the Ol
ympic flame and claimed gold in the 400m at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Other
lauded runners include Betty Cuthbert, Herb Elliot and John Landy, famous for
his sportsmanship at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. Australian tennis stars incl
ude Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, John Newcombe, Pat Cash, Pat Rafter, Lleyton
Hewitt, Margaret Court and Evonne Goolagong Cawley.}

Famous Australian singers and songwriters

LAURA {There are famous Australian singers across every musical genre. T
heir greatest opera singers were Dame Nellie Melba and Dame Joan Sutherland.
Australian country music stars have included Smoky Dawson and Slim Dusty,
and more recently John Williamson, James Blundell, Kasey Chambers, and Keit
h Urban. Pop princess Kylie Minogue hit the international charts many years aft
er Grease star Olivia Newton John and icon John Farnham. Jimmy Barnes, Peter
Garret, Michael Hutchence and Daniel Johns claimed fame as lead singers in ro
ck bands. Songwriter and entertainer Peter Allen has been immortalized in a sta
ge musical.}

Famous Australian inventors and famous Australian inventions

RUXI {Australias Aboriginal people invented the aerodynamic boomerang a
nd a spear thrower called the woomera. Famous Australian inventors include Al
fred Traeger, who built a radio for the Royal Flying Doctor Service in 1929, and
David Ronald de Mey Warren, who invented the flight data recorder and cockp
it voice recorder. Professor Ian Frazer 2006, Australian of the Year, invented a v
accine to prevent cervical cancer. Other famous Australian inventions include n
otepads (1902), the surf lifesaving reel (1906), aspirin (1915), the pacemaker (1
926), penicillin (1940) the Hills Hoist clothesline (1946), the plastic disposable
syringe (1949), the wine cask (1965), the bionic ear (1978), dual-flush toilet flus
h (1980)anti-counterfeiting technology for banknotes (1992) and long-wearing c
ontact lenses (1999).}

Famous Australians scientists

CATA {Pharmacologist and pathologist Howard Florey shared a Nobel Prize
in 1945 for his work extracting penicillin. Other Australian scientists who are N
obel Laureates include William Bragg, John Warcup Cornforth, John Eccles, Be
rnard Katz, Peter Doherty and Elizabeth Blackburn. Geologist Dorothy Hill was
the first female professor in an Australian university. Other famous Australian s
cientists include immunology and virology pioneer Frank Macfarlane Burnet, m
agnetism specialist Robert Street, theoretical chemist David Craig and climate c
hange expert Tim Flannery. }