Covid-19 Aussie Stats Update

Last update was 3 pm yesterday, Tuesday May 19.

Covid-19 Stats for Australia as of April 22

It's good to see that there are a lot of people who have recovered. I was getting very tired of just hearing the bad news. A little bit of positive news goes a long way at the moment.

88 Things You Didn't Know About Australia

Snagged from Sia Khan on Facebook

1. Australia is as wide as the distance between London to Moscow.

2. The biggest property in Australia is bigger than Belgium.

3. More than 85% of Australians live within 50 km of the coast.

4. In 1880, Melbourne was the richest city in the world.

5. Gina Rinehart, Australia's richest woman, earns $1 million every half hour, or $598 every second.

6. In 1892, a group of 200 Australians unhappy with the government tried to start an offshoot colony in Paraguay to be called 'New Australia'.

7. The first photos from the 1969 moon landing were beamed to the rest of the world from Honeysuckle Tracking Station, near Canberra.

8. Australia was the second country in the world to allow women to vote (New Zealand was first).

9. Each week, 70 tourists overstay their visas.

10. In 1856, stonemasons took action to ensure a standard of 8-hour working days, which then became recognised worldwide.

11. Former Prime Minister Bob Hawke set a world record for sculling 2.5 pints of beer in 11 seconds. Hawke later suggested that this was the reason for his great political success.

12. The world's oldest fossil, which is about 3.4 billion years old, was found in Australia.

13. Australia is very sparsely populated: The UK has 248.25 persons per square kilometre, while Australia has only 2.66 persons per square kilometre.

14. Australia's first police force was made up of the most well-behaved convicts.

15. Australia has the highest electricity prices in the world.

16. There were over one million feral camels in outback Australia, until the government launched the $19m Feral Camel Management Program, which aims to keep the pest problem under control.

17. Saudi Arabia imports camels from Australia (mostly for meat production).

18. Qantas once powered an interstate flight with cooking oil.

19. Per capita, Australians spend more money on gambling than any other nation.

20. In 1832, 300 female convicts mooned the governor of Tasmania. It was said that in a "rare moment of collusion with the Convict women, the ladies in the Governor's party could not control their laughter."

21. Australia is home to the longest fence in the world. It is 5,614 km long, and was originally built to keep dingoes away from fertile land.

22. Australia was one of the founding members of the United Nations.

23. Melbourne is considered the sporting capital of the world, as it has more top level sport available for its citizens than anywhere else.

24. Before the arrival of humans, Australia was home to megafauna: three metre tall kangaroos, seven metre long goannas, horse-sized ducks, and a marsupial lion the size of a leopard.

25. Kangaroos and emus cannot walk backward, one of the reasons that they're on the Australian coat of arms.

26. Speaking of, Australia is one of the only countries where we eat the animals on our coat of arms. 

27. If you visited one new beach in Australia every day, it would take over 27 years to see them all. 

28. Melbourne has the world's largest Greek population outside of Athens.

29. The Great Barrier Reef is the planet's largest living structure.

30. And it has it's own postbox!

31. The male platypus has strong enough venom to kill a small dog.

32. And when the platypus was first sent to England, it was believed the Australians had played a joke by sewing the bill of a duck onto a rat.

33. Before 1902, it was illegal to swim at the beach during the day.

34. A retired cavalry officer, Francis De Grootstole the show when the Sydney Harbour Bridge officially opened. Just as the Premier was about to cut the ribbon, De Groot charged forward on his horse and cut it himself, with his sword. The ribbon had to be retied, and De Groot was carted off to a mental hospital. He was later charged for the cost of one ribbon.

35. Australia has 3.3x more sheep than people.

36. Prime Minister Harold Holt went for a swim at Cheviot Beach, and was never seen again.

37. Australia's national anthem was 'God Save The King/Queen' until 1984.

38. Wombat poop is cube shaped! This helps it mark its territory.

39. European settlers in Australia drank more alcohol per capita than any other society in history.

40. The Australian Alps receive more snowfall than Switzerland.

41. A kangaroo is only one centimetre long when it is born.

42. Sir John Robertson, a five-time premier of NSW in the 1800s, began every morning with half a pint of rum. He said: "None of the men who in this country have left footprints behind them have been cold water men."

43. The Box jellyfish has killed more people in Australia than stonefish, sharks and crocodiles combined.

44. Tasmania has the cleanest air in the world.

45. The average Aussie drinks 96 litres of beer per year.

46. 63% of Australians are overweight.

47. Australia is ranked second on the Human Development Index (based on life expectancy, income and education).

48. In 2005, security guards at Canberra's Parliament House were banned from calling people 'mate'. It lasted one day.

49. In Australia, it is illegal to walk on the right-hand side of a footpath.

50. Australia is the only continent in the world without an active volcano.

51. Aussie Rules footy was originally designed to help cricketers to keep fit in the off-season.

52. The name 'Kylie' came from an Aboriginal hunting stick, similar to the boomerang.

53. 91% of the country is covered by native vegetation.

54. The largest-ever victory in an international football match was when Australia beat American Samoa 31-0 in 2001.

55. There are 60 designated wine regions in Australia.

56. Melbourne has been ranked the world's most liveable city for the past three years.

57. If all the sails of the Opera House roof were combined, they would create a perfect sphere. The architect was inspired while eating an orange.

58. Australia is home to 20% of the world's poker machines.

59. Half of these are found in New South Wales.

60. Moomba, Australia's largest free festival, held in Melbourne, means 'up your bum' in many Aboriginal languages.

61. No native Australian animals have hooves.

62. The performance by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the 2000 Olympics opening ceremony was actually a prerecording- of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

63. The wine cask (goon sack) is an Australian invention

64. So is the selfie.

65. Durack, Australia's biggest electorate, is larger in size than Mongolia.

66. The world's first compulsory seat belt law was put into place in Victoria in 1970.

67. Each year, Brisbane hosts the world championships of cockroach racing.

68. In 1932, the Australian military waged war on the emu population of Western Australia. Embarrassingly, they lost.

69. Canberra was created in 1908 as a compromise when Sydney and Melbourne both wanted to be the capital city.

70. A gay bar in Melbourne won the right to ban women from the premises, because they made the men uncomfortable.

71. In 1992, an Australian gambling syndicate bought almost all the number combinations in a Virginia lottery, and won. They turned a $5m purchase into a $27m win.

72. Eucalyptus oil is highly flammable, meaning gum trees may explode if ignited, or in bushfires.

73. In 1975, Australia had a government shut down, which ended with the Queen firing everyone and the government starting again.

74. A bearded Australian was removed from a darts match in the UK, after the audience started chanting 'Jesus!' at him, distracting the players.

75. There have been instances of wallabies getting high after breaking into opium crops, then running around and making what look like crop circles.

76. An Australian man once tried to sell New Zealand on eBay.

77. In 1940, two aircraft collided in midair, in NSW. Instead of crashing, the two planes became stuck together and made a safe landing.

78. The male lyrebird, which is native to Australia, can mimic the calls of over 20 other birds. If that's not impressive enough, he can also perfectly imitate the sound of a camera, chainsaw and car alarm.

79. Some shopping centres and restaurants play classical music in their car park to deter teenagers from loitering at night.

80. Despite sharing the same verbal language, Australian, British and American sign language are all completely different languages.

81. In 1979, debris from NASA's space station 'Skylab' crashed in Esperance, WA. The town then fined NASA $400 for littering.

82. There have been no deaths in Australia from a spider bite since 1979.

83. There currently a chlamydia outbreak among koala species, which has led to a 15% drop in koala populations.

84. In NSW, there is a coal fire beneath the ground which has been burning for 5,500 years.

85. An Australian election TV debate was rescheduled so it didn't conflict with the finale of reality cooking show Masterchef.

86. Chinese explorers travelled to Australia long before Europeans arrived. As early as the 1400s, sailors and fisherman came to Australia for sea-cucumbers and to trade with Indigenous peoples.

87. The first European to visit Australia was Dutch explorer Willem Janszoon, in 1606. More Dutch explorers visited the country over the next hundred years, plotting maps and naming it 'New Holland'.

88. Captain James Cook first landed on Australia's east coast in 1770. In 1788, the British returned with eleven ships to establish a penal colony. Within days of The First Fleet's arrival and the raising of the British flag, two French ships arrived, just too late to claim Australia for France.

Australia Day 2015

It's Australia Day! 

I don't really have anything planned for today. 

Other than maybe having vegemite on toast for brekky and lamb chops for tea ☺☺ 

Maybe a relaxing day in front of the TV watching some Aussie actors and crocheting might be the order of the day.

Perhaps even reading a book from my favourite Aussie author, Kate Forsyth.
Here's a list of 10 great Australian authors, just in case you want to check some out. My fave isn't on this particular list though.

We were discussing going to a BBQ with some of Mark's amateur radio club friends. Although I'm not 100% sure on that one. It has been ages since we had a barbie though so it might be nice.

Have a great day!! 

National Anthem of STRAYA (to the tune of Hey Ya)

This was released a few days ago and I finally got around to watching it. I just had to share it.

I LOVE it! 

We Felt The Earth Move Under Our Feet

Moe is about a 25 minute drive up the highway from us.

We had a little bit of excitement in our corner of the world last night. Just before 9 pm we had an earthquake. The boys and I were in the kitchen talking when it happened. Mark was in bed having a lie down (his sleeping patterns are all messed up for some reason). It took us a few seconds to realise what was going on. It started out like a rumble you could hear coming. Then the walls were creaking and the floor was shaking in what felt like a circular motion. It lasted for a good 20-30 seconds.

It's kind of obvious to me that we are not used to earthquakes. We just stood there looking at one another. Not moving just looking. A quick look in the lounge room to see if the animals were okay. Which of course they were. Nothing looked like it had fallen over. Mark went outside to check his shed. Everything was still in order apart from a couple of drawers that had opened.

Of course what did I do just a few seconds after that happened? I jumped on twitter. If you want to find out anything fast check there. I also tried Geoscience Australia's (GA) website but of course that had crashed. No surprise really. Brodz found out from friends overseas that the quake had measured at 5.2 according to the USGC website. Later the GA said it was 5.5 then revised it to 5.3 once they had been able to check all their data properly. Personally I don't care how big or small it was. All I cared about was that it felt different to the last few quakes that we had. It was much stronger and lasted much longer

This shows a more accurate picture of where the epicentre was. I live just to the left of Warragul

As you can see from the header photo the epicentre was just outside of Moe. Moe is roughly 35-40 km from us (around 25 miles). It's no wonder it felt stronger than any other quake I've experienced before. A few of our Church friends live in Moe and around. I chatted with a few of them on Facebook last night. They're okay. Some of the kids were a bit scared. One friend said all of the pictures on the wall had fallen down and their birdcage, which is on wheels, was knocked over but they were okay she just had a couple of frightened young boys. They had even had a few aftershocks. No wonder the kids were still scared.

So far, from what I have heard on the TV and read on the news sites no one was hurt. There wasn't much damage done. Which was good to hear.

Of course I had to play this song :D

How's that for a bit of exciting news. And there I was yesterday wondering what I could possible talk about in my next blog post.I guess I shouldn't have worried about it at all ...

Aussie Humour

I love our sense of humour!
Brodie saw this commercial for the first time last night and he laughed so hard I thought he might fall off the couch.

Tetley tea commercial

The Rain Keeps Falling Down

I feel pretty bad for the people of New South Wales and Victoria who are affected by the recent rains and the flooding (which hasn't finished yet some rivers have not reached their peaks).

This is a photo of Wagga Wagga from news.com.au

It makes me realised how blessed I am to live where I do. I can only imagine how hard it is to lose everything and need to start again.

I'm not exactly sure what the weather forecast is for these areas is but I'm crossing my fingers that the rain stops and the water levels drop quickly.

What's More Australian Than A Barbecue?

Since Australia Day is this week (tomorrow actually) I thought I would share this fun recipe video that I found. What's more Australian than a barbecue? A barbecue biscuit perhaps.

Of course I had to share Sam Kekovich's new commercial for this years Australia Day. I just can't believe that Sam was actually singing ... At least this fits in with the BBQ theme :D

For those who don't know who Sam is he's a bit of an eccentric former Aussie Rules Footballer who is very passionate about Aussies eating lamb on Australia (and Mother's Day for that matter) He even goes as far as calling himself a Lambassador (o_0) 

While he is not everyone's cup of tea (he is a bit over the top sometimes) he provides a laugh for many Australians.

Made In China

When Mark requested a new Aussie flag because his old one got ripped I kept my eye our for them in the shops. So when Aldi had them for sale the other day I grabbed one. I did find it a little sad to see that flags never seem to be made at home any more. That they tend to be made in China. It's kind of funny really when you see things sold as souvenirs that all seem to be made overseas. So much for keeping the money at home. Oh well. Maybe it's time to search for a manufacturer from Australia.

I find it sad that an Australian flag isn't even made here any more. I guess it's cheaper to make them overseas.

TC Yasi Update

Tropical Cyclone Yasi has made landfall. So far, from what I have read online & seen on TV, there has been no loss of life or serious injury. There have been a few babies born though. I wish the Mums and their babies the best!

You can track where Yasi has been and its predicted path by going HERE. At this moment in time it is classified as a Category 2 Cyclone and is still moving further inland.


I have no photos of the destruction to show you but I am sure that you can imagine what it would be like. If you saw photos of what had happened with Cyclone Larry or even Hurricane Katrina I am sure you can imagine what it is currently like in far North Queensland.

Even though TC Yasi has made landfall it isn't over yet with storm surges still predicted. I'm just wondering how much more is in store for the people of Queensland. I know they breed them tough up there but how much more must they have to endure. Sending good thoughts & wishes their way.

Tropical Cyclone Yasi

You know that saying - When it rains it pours - I am sure that's what the Queenslanders are thinking right now. That cloud mass in the picture above is Cyclone Yasi, a Category 5 cyclone [Hurricane for my friends in the US], and expected to hit landfall in a little over 11 hours from now.

The Bureau of Meteorology has said that it is worse than Cyclone Larry (one that his Qld a few years ago) and that it we should expect to see scenes of destruction similar to those of Cyclone Tracy which almost wiped Darwin off the map in 1974.

Sending good thoughts & wishes to all those in the path (or surrounding areas) of Cyclone Yasi.

If you wish to track the cyclone you can go HERE for more information.

The Lucky Country?

Toowoomba, Qld. This video was taken yesterday.

What a mixed bag of weather Australia has had these past few weeks. With flooding rains in Queensland, northern New South Wales and pasts of Victoria to heatwaves in Western Australia and parts of South Australia.

They say we are the lucky country but I am thinking that there are many today that are thinking that they aren't so luck after all.

Most of Queensland is under water, even Brisbane is under flood watch. I've been on twitter getting lots of updates and I have seen lots of photos (and videos). Its rather scary to see. Heartbreaking in fact. With many places already under water and lots of people being asked to evacuate immediately.

If you wish to check out what is happening you can go to any of the following sites
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/01/11/3110450.htm
http://www.facebook.com/QueenslandPolice
Current Qld weather warnings:
Suburbs at risk:

LIVE news broadcasts

They have also stated that if you were in an area affected by the 1974 floods to get out NOW because it is expected to be worse this time around.

I hope & pray that there are no more lives lost.

Daylight Savings

Just a reminder for the Aussies who are in Daylight Savings areas. Don't forget to put your clocks forward an hour tonight. Lucky us .. we get to lose an hours sleep tonight!

It's National Wattle Day

September 1st is Wattle Day. The wattle is the national floral emblem of Australia. Find out more about Wattle Day HERE. This year Wattle Day celebrates 100 years.

There's nothing that signifies the start of spring more than when the wattle starts flowering. It certainly takes me away from the gloom of winter & the promise of warmer days and LOTS of flowers!

Spring is my favourite time of year.

Australian Animals

Golly gosh! Its no wonder there are so many misinformed people out there who have no clue about Australian animals & our country. International media (and Aussie media) has probably fuelled this misinformation.

I was reading a blog post this morning and the author (well their friend) was describing what a sugar glider was as they have a couple as pets (I didn't know you could get them as pets overseas). She said they live in the jungle. Its news to me as I didn't think we had jungles here in Australia. I know we have the bush & rainforests but no jungles.

Okay I can let that slip I guess but how about this one .. we have koala bears! NO we don't! Koala's are NOT bears in any way shape or form! They are Koalas!

Okay, with that said I feel better now.

How Australian Are You?

How many of these things have you done?

The ones I have done are in BOLD.

1. Heard a kookaburra in person.
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Seen a koala.
4. Visited Melbourne.
5. Watched a summer thunderstorm.
6. Worn a pair of thongs.
7. Been to Uluru (Ayer’s Rock)
8. Visited Cape York.
9. Held a snake.
10. Sang along with Khe San.
11. Drank VB
12. Visited Sydney (does the airport count?)
13. Have seen a shark.
14. Have used Aussie (and NZ) slang naturally in a conversation.
15. Had an actual conversation with an indigenous Australian (Aboriginal).
16. Eaten hot chips from the bag at the beach.
17. Walked/climbed over the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
18. Used an outside dunny, and checked under the seat before sitting down.
19. Seen Chloe in Young & Jackson’s.
20. Slept on an overnight train or bus.
21. Been to Sydney’s Mardi Gras
22. Have gone bush-bashing.
23. Taken a sickie.
24. Been to see a game of Aussie Rules football.
25. Have seen wild camels.
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Done a Tim Tam Slam.
28. Ridden in a tram in Melbourne.
29. Been at an ANZAC day Dawn Service.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Held a wombat.
32. Been on a roadtrip of 800km or more.
33. Seen the Great Australian Bight in person.
34. Had a really bad sunburn.
35. Visited an Aboriginal community.
36. Seen a redback spider.
37. Have watched Paul Hogan.
38. Seen Blue Poles in person.
39. Wandered barefoot in the bush/outback.
40. Eaten Vegemite.
41. Thrown a boomerang.
42. Seen the Kimberleys.
43. Given a hitch-hiker a lift.
44. Been to Perth.
45. Have tried Lemon, Lime and Bitters.
46. Played a didgeridoo
    
47. Seen dinosaur footprints.
48. Eaten Tim Tams.
49. Been to Darwin.
50. Touched a kangaroo.
51. Visited the Great Barrier Reef.
52. Listened to Kevin Bloody Wilson.
53. Killed a Cane Toad.
54. Gone to a drive-in theatre.
55. Have read and own books by Australian authors.
56. Visited Adelaide.
57. Know the story behind "Eternity".
58. Been camping.
59. Visited Brisbane.
60. Been in an outback pub.
61. Know what the term "Waltzing Matilda" actually means.
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Listened to Slim Dusty.
64. Own five or more Australian movies or TV series.
65. Sang along to Down Under.
66. Have stopped specifically to look at an historic marker by the side of the road.
67. Eaten a 4′n’20 pie.
68. Surfed at Bondi.
69. Watched the cricket on Boxing Day.
70. Visited Hobart.
71. Eaten kangaroo.
72. Seen a quokka.
73. Visited Canberra.
74. Visited rainforests.
75. Used a Victa lawnmower.
76. Travelled on a tram in Adelaide.
77. Used a Hills hoist.
78. Visited Kata Tjuta
79. Used native Australian plants in cooking
80. Visited the snow.
81. Chosen a side in Holden VS Ford.
82. Visited the desert.
83. Been water skiing
84. Read The Phantom.
85. Visited Parliament House
86. Gone spotlighting or pig-shooting.
87. Crossed the Nullarbor.
88. Avoided swimming in areas because of crocodiles.
89. Listened to AC/DC.
90. Called someone a dag.
91. Voted in a Federal Election.
92. Have been swimming and stayed between the flags.
93. Had a possum in your roof.
94. Visited the outback.
95. Travelled over corrugated roads.
96. Hit a kangaroo while driving.(almost)
97. Been well outside any mobile phone coverage.
98. Seen an emu.
99. Have woken to the smell of bushfires.
100. Subscribed to RRR.
101. Patted a pure-bred dingo.
102. Seen the Oils live.

Borrowed from Tina Gray