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Archive-name: australian-faq/part5
Last-modified: 2 April 1996 Version: 3.10 See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge ----------------------------------------------------------------- PART I (separate posting) 1.About soc.culture.australian 2.How to find Australians, Australian Information 2.1 on the net 2.1.1 Public access sites 2.1.2 Gopher and WWW 2.1.3 Weather 2.1.4 Finding people 2.1.5 Other 2.2 elsewhere 3.Citizenship/Visas/Immigration 3.1 Australian citizenship 3.2 Dual Citizenship of other countries 3.3 Visas 3.3.1 For Foreigners in Australia 3.3.2 For Australians in other Countries 3.4 Immigration 3.4.1 Addresses 3.4.2 Criteria and Points System 3.4.3 Spouse/fiance(e) immigration 3.4.4 Employers sponsoring foreign employees 3.5 Emigrants ----------------------------------------------------------------- PART II (separate posting) 4.Coming to Australia 4.1 Quarantine 4.2 Standards 4.3 Cars 4.3.1 Car Insurance 4.4 Shipping Information 4.5 Miscellaneous 4.6 Australians Returning Home 5.Studying in Australia 5.1 Overview of Australian Higher Education 5.2 Postgraduate Study 5.3 Miscellaneous Questions 5.4 "Classification" of Australian Universities 5.5 Academic Addresses 5.6 Australian Medical Schools 6.For Australians Overseas 6.1 Radio Australia 6.2 Newspapers: 6.3 Australiana in the USA 6.4 Video Conversion 6.5 Expatriate organisation 6.6 Oz News ----------------------------------------------------------------- PART III (separate posting) 7.History 7.1 Pre-Europeans 7.2 European Discovery 7.3 European settlement 7.3.1 Penal Colony 7.3.2 Gold Rush 7.3.3 Post WWI Immigration 7.3.4 Miscellaneous (includes Tasmanian Aborigines) 7.4 Political History 7.4.1 Independence 7.4.2 Aboriginal Voting 7.5 Wars 7.5.1 Boer War 7.5.2 World War I 7.5.3 World War II 7.5.4 Korea, Vietnam and others 7.6 National heroes/Notable Australians 7.7 Miscellaneous 8.Politics 8.1 Political System 8.2 Voting System 8.3 Current governments 8.4 Taxation 8.5 The Independence Debate 8.6 Mabo 8.7 Health Care 8.7.1 Medicare 8.7.2 Medicare Levy 8.7.3 Doctors 8.7.4 Fees 8.7.5 Public Hospitals 8.7.6 Private Hospitals 8.7.7 Aged Care 8.7.8 Skin Cancer 8.8 Economic Information ----------------------------------------------------------------- PART IV (separate posting) 9.Geography, Natural History 9.1 Geographic information 9.1 Cities and Population 9.2 National Holidays 9.3 Weather 9.4 Flora 9.4.1 Extinct Species 9.5 Fauna 9.5.1 Monotremes 9.5.2 Marsupials 9.5.3 Tasmanian devils and Tasmanian Tigers 9.5.4 Venomous Fauna 9.5.5 Extinct and Endangered Species 9.5.6 Koalas 9.6 National Symbols 9.6.1 Flag 9.6.2 Coat of arms 10.Australian Life 10.1 Housing 10.2 Schooling 10.3 Public Transport 10.4 Roads 10.5 Prices 10.6 Shopping Hours 10.7 Crime 10.8 Sport ----------------------------------------------------------------- PART V (this posting) 11.Travel 11.1 Money 11.2 Jet-lag 11.3 Responses to 3 questions 11.4 Travel Reports and Recommendations 11.4.1 A Trip description 11.4.2 Uluru (Ayers Rock) 11.4.3 Places of interest in Tasmania 11.4.4 Accommodation tips to the low budget motorhome traveller (BB) 11.4.5 Adelaide and SA 11.4.6 Touring Australia by Motorcycle [C] 11.4.7 Cheap travel agent [RM] 11.4.8 Places of Interest in Melbourne 11.4.9 Australia from south to north [JO] 11.5 Advice for Australians in .... 11.5.1 United Kingdom 11.5.2 United States 11.5.3 Canada 12.Language 12.1 Australian pronounciation 12.2 Australian spelling 12.3 Australian slang, word origins 12.4 Australian word usage (misc) ----------------------------------------------------------------- PART VI (separate posting) 13.Culture 13.1 Recipes and food 13.1.1 Vegemite 13.1.2 Sweets recipes: anzac biscuits, pavlova, lamingtons, chocolate crackles 13.1.3 Meat Pies, Damper, Galah, pumpkin soup 13.1.4 Misc 13.2 Songs 13.2.1 "Waltzing Matilda", by Banjo Paterson (3 versions :-) 13.2.2 "Advance Australia Fair", National Anthem 13.2.3 "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda", Eric Bogle 13.2.4 "Tie me kangaroo down" (Rolf Harris) 13.3 Literature 13.3.1 Fiction 13.3.2 Poetry - "My Country" by Dorothea McKellar - "The Man From Snowy River" by A.B. (Banjo) Paterson 13.3.3 Children's Literature 13.3.4 Non-Fiction 13.4 Films 13.5 Music 13.5.1 Classical 13.5.2 Pop 13.5.3 Jazz 13.5.4 Other 13.6 Opera 13.7 Ballet 13.8 Theatre 14. Contributors ----------------------------------------------------------------- A major reorganisation has been done (June 1994) and some sections are incomplete. Contributions welcome - send to Stephen Wales, stephenw@mincom.com. PART V 11.TRAVEL 11.1 Money * transferring Money Australia <-> UK Banks will accept sterling cheques, they just take longer to clear (2 weeks). [Cost? AN] [JC] To open any bank account you must prove your identity to a total of 100 points, over a number of items e.g. passport 40?, driver's licence (I do not know whether a UK licence is sufficient*), rent notice, etc. *You should be able to get an Australian licence with a valid UK licence plus a road rules test + money. All of the 'big four' banks i.e. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), National Australia (NAB), ANZ and Westpac have a nationwide branch network, with very wide ATM access. You can use Commonwealth and Westpac cards at the other's ATMs. Similarly for NAB and ANZ. There are a number of smaller regional banks e.g. Advance, St George, which have linkages to nationwide ATM networks. Transferring money UK <-> OZ should not be a serious problem. However, ensure that you give very clear instructions as to where you want the money placed. I have tried transferring money to UK via telegraphic transfer (where the UK bank charged to deposit it.), and by taking a banker's draft in the currency of the destination country. The latter path works if you have taken sufficient cash (always more than your estimate!) to survive until you can open an account and have the draft credited to it. If you want to make smaller, regular transfers telegraphic transfer may be more relevant. The Commonwealth Bank announced recently that they will support CIRRUS both ways i.e for overseas travellers and for Australians overseas. We got into a money hole in UK, and get close to making withdrawals from our Australian account, even though we *thought* we had sufficient cash for the initial cost 'hump'. CIRRUS offers a useful backup. There are low bank charges for business accounts. Most of the 'big four' will charge heavily for operating a cheque i.e. current account but will give interest on savings accounts which can be linked to the cheque account at the ATMs. All of the 'big four' have branches in London. [JS] The easiest way to transfer money between Australia and any other country is to deposit it into a credit card, and withdraw it on the other end. There's no fee, and the exchange rate is as good as you'll get most places. Check with your credit card agency to make sure this will be OK, just in case. [SW] My brother did just this for a holiday to the US. Dumped money on the credit card to give him a 'positive' balance and spent it in the US by charging. Regarding banks, in my experience Australia's banks are far more user-friendly than UK banks. The last time I used UK banks was eight years ago; they may have changed. Due to the mergers and interbank links there's not much to choose from between them, and all have ATM access and branches across Australia. I recommend choosing one that has a convenient branch in the UK; that's the biggest factor that is likely to affect you. [MJ] I also received generally rotten service from Westpac over the years. The quality of this was about on a par with the (also lousy) service my parents received from the Commonwealth. At least, this was what I thought until I came to Britain. The level of incompetence and rudeness, the patronising attitude of the employees, and a failure to come to grips with technology that I have seen banking with Barclay's over here have astonished me. One general comment about banking in Australia. As a consequence of deregulation in the 1980s, Australia now has many smaller and younger banks in addition to the big four and the state banks. Many of these are former building societies that have turned into banks. Generally, these provide service of higher quality than do the larger and older banks. (For instance, friends of mine who bank with the Advance Bank and St George Bank (both in NSW) have told me very good things about them). Their disadvantage is that being smaller, their branch networks are not nearly as large (usually being concentrated in one state/geographical area). On the other hand, most financial institutions (smaller banks, building societies, credit unions) in Australia other than the large banks have pooled their ATMs together to form a single network comparable in size to those of the larger banks. Thus, at least from the point of view of basic access to your money, the lack of branches is not that big a disadvantage. [TT] Deposting to your credit card before arriving in Australia and then using your card for purchases and cash advances is really the best way to go. Someone said that the exchange rate is as good as you get in a bank, but my understanding is that is it better, as they give you the wholesale exchange rate rather than the retail you get in banks. However, someone said this avoids bank fees - this is not quite true. If I use my Canadian credit card in an Australian ATM, I am charged C$2 (mind youm this is still cheap, especially when compared with the $1 I'm charged if I use another Canadian bank within Canada; but it is still a charge. Metway Bank in Queensland can't do cash advances unless they issued the Visa Card (don't ask me why) - and then they charge $5. Metway is tied to the Plus Network (although their teller don't seem to know this so don't ask them). Using the PLus (or Cirrus) Network, one can actually access one's regular savings or checking accounts back in Canada or the US or wherever, just as if the ATM were back at home. All you have to do is find a bank that uses the same network as your own bank does. Once again you get the wholesale rate and you are charged. Canadians who have some types of Gold credit cards (certainly Visa) can get commission-free travellers cheques. This makes it worthwhile to have at least some travellers cheques on you (I've been caught in Sydney at 11 pm on a Friday night when an ATM ate my bank card), preferably in the currency of the country you are travelling to - Oz in this case - meaning they are as negotiable as possible. * transferring money from Aus to the US [BJ] - Write a cheque and post it. Takes time to clear, and there may be bank service fee and the exchange rate may be bad. - Bank draft: cost A$8-A$12. - Wire transfer: cost A$30. - Use my bank card (ATM card) issued by bank in the other country and withdrawn straight from my chequing account. This doesn't work on all teller machines though... - Draw money on credit card and pay off straight away. * Credit cards in Australia Almost everyone in Australia takes Bankcard, MasterCard and Visa. Someone mentioned a few places that only take Bankcard, and also suggested that a few don't take Visa. [AT] I'd forget travellers cheques and use credit cards wherever possible. VISA and MasterCard almost universal, Amex and Diners widely accepted. You can get cash advances on VISA, Mastercard and Amex at many ATM's and for VISA and Mastercard across the counter at all banks. You can also use Cirrus and Plus system ATM cards at many ATMs. ANZ Bank ATMs accept Cirrus and Plus, Commonwealth Bank accepts Cirrus and State Bank takes Plus. Using cards will in general get you a better exchange rate and you avoid the additional fees which the banks charge to cash travellers cheques. * Travellers cheques These are not commonly used as currency in Australia. Thomas Cook and American Express have offices in major cities, or you can change them at banks. [SW] I took in a Japanese exchange student in 1991 and she brought over several hundred dollars in travellers cheques. Everywhere she went to buy stuff accepted them, as long as she had her passport., * Visa All visitors to Australia need visa, except for Australian and New Zealand nationals. 11.2 Jet-lag Different people have different strategies for trying to reduce the effects of jet-lag. Here is a compilation of suggestions: - Get a good night's sleep before the flight so you are rested. - No binges on the night before, or specially heavy meals. - Carry spare underwear and wash kit on plane. Change, wash face and shave and brush teeth shortly before arrival at destination. - Eat lightly and drink lots of liquids on the flight, but no caffeinated drinks (coke!) until the later part of the flight. Avoid heavy meals - airline dinners are a lot more sensible today than when I started flying. I have a standing order for veggie meals when I fly long distance. No booze unless you can limit it to one or two cans or glasses. Alcohol and caffeine are diuretics which will drain you. - Sleep or doze as much as you can. It doesn't seem to matter whether it is real sleep or not. A blindfold often helps. A neck cushion helps. - On arrival, get a shower ASAP. Have another before supper if you want. Eat lightly during the day, but let yourself go in the evening. Get to bed at a reasonable time, but try not to sleep during daylight hours. The next morning the body clock should be 99% hoodwinked. - Exercise (a run or whatever) from the second day on also helps things. - Carbohydrate loading on the day or two before the flight, with extra protein on the day of the flight, may also reduce the effects of jet lag. - Try to synch you body clock to your destination - i.e. when you land don't go to bed until your normal bed time in the *local* time zone. 11.3 Responses to 3 questions These 3 questions were posted at one stage. Here are a summary of answers. 1. How are the conditions of the streets (or roads?) in Australia in January? I heard that the roads in the North are often overflowed. Is this right? 2. We want to rent a car (or jeep or motor home) to go through Australia. Which kind of car is required or recommended (especially for the desert in the center of Australia)? 3. Maybe we want to fly within Australia. Which airlines are recommended and how much are the prizes (examples are enough)? Answers (1) Roads are O.K. around here - but I live in Sydney :- I don't know about the roads up north because I have never been there.. I've never heard of roads being overflowed, unless you mean flooded (with water). This has happened over the last couple of summers in the northern tropics, but roads are generally only cut for a few days. If you want to travel north, it is usually best to do that May to November when it is dry and travel south September to April. [FS] The monsoon hits the far north of australia, so the roads may be flooded and only usable by boats. however this only is a problem north of Townsville in Queensland and around Darwin in the Northern Territory the rest of the country is in summer HOT and dry for the most part but its is much colder in the southern parts and you may have some rain down there... IT IS A BIG PLACE and spans a large part of the earth!! [FW] The term 'condition' usually implies whether they are good for driving on or not. The term 'streets' usually means the roads in the cities. The term 'roads' usually refers to the highways, etc. So, to answer your question: they are generally in a good condition to drive on (the government has spent a lot of money lately fixing up the roads). I'm not sure where you mean exactly when you say 'north' since there is a lot to the north half of Australia (covering three states and many thousands of kilometres). If you mean Queensland (North East) then the roads are usually busy with holiday travellers. If you mean Northern Territory (North Central of Australia) then the roads are usually busy before Christmas (although there are still a number of people about on the roads). If you mean in Western Australia (North West) then you will find a lot of outback, very few people, few roads, and few cars. I think you mean Northern Territory ? [IC] No worries. Stay on the highways and you'll have no problems. It often rains a bit, but it is rare these days to have major holdups. But don't go off on to unsealed roads. [RC] Answers (2) Almost every area in Australia is accessible by any car. That is, as long as you stay on the bitch (bitumen) you can go anywhere. If you really want to go off the beaten track you will need a 4WD, but I've never owned one and I've never felt that I've missed anything. If you want a cheap form of accommodation that you can take almost anywhere, hire a motor home. If you can afford the outlay, and you are staying long enough, the cheapest way by far is to buy something civilised and semi reliable, then sell it before you go (you could pick up a half decent mid range car for A$3-4,000. [FS] Unless you have driven a four wheel drive (4WD) in sand/mud before then stick to a conventional car/motor home they are cheaper and you will probably not have enough time to spend exploring the rougher areas. If you want to see a sight that is only available by 4WD then there is probably a tour that will get you there and back for less trouble than hiring a 4WD. [FW] I would recommend a four-wheel drive vehicle for driving around through the desert in the centre of Australia. A motor-home will probably slow you down and use up a lot more petrol, a jeep will probably mean you will get sunburnt very easy. [IC] A bloody big one mate.! Rent a car, Ford or Holden from a reputable company, with air conditioning. Stay in motels and hotels. Don't leave the main roads, and even then, carry a 15ltr can of water if you go more than 200 km inland from any city on the coast. Travel with other vehicles in convoy if you can arrange it. Does this sound bad? keep in mind that there are only 17 million people in Oz, and most of those live in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide, then Darwin. That doesn't leave many to spread out over a country that is the size of Europe, plus England, plus lower Mediterranean etc. Try it on a map. It can be many days between passing cars in central Australia, and if you are broken down, you MUST stay with your vehicle. My advice ? See Australia by bus tour, the only way to go unless you are prepared to face the last frontier and all the hardships that that entails. And wear a hat. The temperature can be 40+ C in the shade. [RC] Answers (3) I never fly when going on holidays in Australia. This is because everything is so spread out. You fly somewhere then you have to hire a car to get out and see something, unless you want to ride on a sheep truck (tourist bus). Also when you fly you miss out on all the good things in between major centres where the airports are built. [FS] You should arrange this as part of your air ticket to australia as it will be cheaper than buying the air tickets here. All of the australian air lines are very good one of the best safety records in the world sometimes the service may not be the best but its a lot better than some of the service I have had in other parts of the world. Basically pick out what you want to see ask where it is, there may be a number of sites eg desert, we have about 5, sandy, stony etc then plan your trip it would take 4 days to cross the country east west 3 days to cross north south by fast car, with no stops for sight seeing... [FW] [IC] I presume you are not going to book these flights until you get to Australia (so you can ask around and get the best price at the time). However, the problem with this may be that many airlines will be heavily booked and getting a flight during the holiday season in Australia may take some time. Unfortunately, a local airline company (called Compass) went broke for the second time and a lot of really cheap flights within Australia have gone. There are 3 main local airlines now are Ansett, East-West Airlines and Qantas, previously the government owned international carried, merged with Australian Airlines, the government owned domestic carrier. The fleet is being repainted in Qantas colours. I don't have any actual information handy,so I am guessing here and these are my own approximate guesses (Prices in Australian Dollars): * Sydney - Perth. This is a long trip. Probably $700 - $900 Apparently it is cheaper to fly to New Zealand than to fly to Perth from Sydney. * Sydney - Darwin Approximately $400 * Darwin - Perth Approximately $600 * Flights to Tasmania (or is going by ship better?) If you don't think you'll get sea sick, then a ship (from Melbourne) will probably end up being cheaper. I have from a paper some exact figures from Melbourne:- (This is Ansett Airlines and the price is for a return ticket). Melbourne <-> Sydney $179 Melbourne <-> Adelaide $189 Melbourne <-> Canberra $199 Melbourne <-> Brisbane $289 Melbourne <-> Perth $419 Melbourne <-> Cairns $489 Another paper I have quotes this price (it is a 17 day package) :- * Darwin <-> Perth (Aeroplane and Bus) 17 days $3973 [includes hotel accommodation, plane, bus fares and most meals] 11.4 Travel Reports and Recommendations [paul@serena.iaehv.nl writes] A while ago I posted a request on behalf of my sister on info about trekking around Australia. All the people who replied [which got send a thank you message, but some bounced. :-(] Both my sister and me wish to thanks for all their kind help and effort. A number of people e-mailed me about forwarding the info I received. Although I said I would, the number has grown a bit larger than expected. :-) So during the weekend I will put an archive of all the replies up for FTP and WWW access. Anybody interested is hereby invited to come and get it... Here are the addresses where it will be after the 4th december 93. FTP: ftp://ftp.iaehv.nl/pub/users/paul/aussi.lha WWW: http://www.iaehv.nl/users/paul/index.html. I hope it will help other people as much as it helped my sister. 11.4.1 A Trip description I returned from Oz about three four months ago. I had an 11 month stint down there. I was working in Sydney and Brisbane. I went on a whirl wind tour of Australia which included. Sydney -> Alice Springs -> Darwin -> Cairns -> Sydney. All this was done in 2 and 1/2 weeks. I would not go into the outback or the rainforest, etc. without some sort of guide but Australia is reasonably civilized. Your main enemy is not going to be people but the harsh environment. I do not recommend that you try and see Australia in 2 and 1/2 weeks like I did. The reason that I did that is because I was trying to fit it into my regular holidays. What I did in that time was well filled but it would nice to have the luxury of time to contemplate what you want to do and where you want to go. I was in Alice Springs for about 5 days and that was about 2 days too long. It's the middle of the desert and the key landmarks there are Ayer's Rock, the Olgas, and King's Canyon. I definitely recommend seeing Alice Springs. The rock is spectacular. I went on an AAT Kings tour but if I was to do it again, I would either go on a younger or more adventure based tour (AAT Kings is for the blue rinse set :->). Or else organise transportation to the major places and just hike around (that would be far cheaper than taking a tour and I don't think that you miss much by skipping a tour.) In the desert it is very important that you carry lots of water. It is very easy to get dehydrated. Also, I would recommend going to Alice in the Winter (which is the same time as North American summer) if at all possible. In Darwin, I went on a 5 day tour of Kakadu with an adventure back-packing company called Backpacker's Australia (or something like that. There's another tour which is shorter but similar by Saratoga Safaris (there is more of an emphasis on wildlife on this one. It is run by an ex-zoologist). I organised my travel out of Darwin through Top End Travel. They are excellent! I was in Darwin during the dry season (which is the same as the North American summer) Cairns, I found, to be very touristy. There's a million things to do but they all cost money. Definitely get out on the reef. There's tons of cruises out to the reef to suit any type of lifestyle. You can snorkel or dive and there are tons of certification courses available if you are interested in getting certified. (I couldn't because of my asthma) 11.4.2 Uluru (Ayers Rock) *Accommodation at Uluru (Ayers Rock) [GR] 1) If you are a group 4/5/6 ++ people look at the possibility of renting a mobile home... It is stationary but cost about A$50/day. 2) Pioneer Outback Hotel (A$80/night bed/bath)..booked through AAT Kings travel agency..very pleased 3) Kitchenettes... somewhere in the 60 to 100 dollar range... double bed, a/c, share bathroom...best choice at price 4) Check with NT bureau 11.4.3 Places of interest in Tasmania [JL] Things I would look at: The Gorge in Launceston Hellyer Gorge on the West Coast Ocean Beach at Strahan day walks at Lake St Clair (overnight if you're set up) SW rainforest (might be difficult - check out adventure tours out of Hobart) scuba diving at Bicheno fishing on the East Coast Tas Redline Coaches, who have some sort of Tassie Pass for out of state travellers (008 006 006). However [MP] Just be careful to investigate the Red Line Tassie Pass a little more carefully. I spent several weeks in Tassie and loved it with one exception: actually getting around. The Pass doesn't even go to certain parts of the island and when it does it's usually once a day, every other day, and things like that. It's possible to rent a VW bug for A$25 per day or something which really works well if there are two or three of you. Four, five or six might be pushing it a little. Simply drawing out your itinerary beforehand and then pricing it on individual tickets actually competes with the Pass within a few dollars believe it or not! [CP] Location Bicheno, Tasmania, Australia Description Bicheno is a small fishing community located on the East Coast of Tasmania. The dive shop and other locals are trying to get the bay declared an Under Water Park. They ask that you please not take any shells or game. You will appreciate why they want to keep it the way it is. You can buy fish, crab, lobster, at the local fish market fresh from the fishing boats at a more-than-reasonable price. A camp ground is located close to the dive shop or you can stay at the dive shop itself, or you can stay at one of two hotels in town. Service Bicheno Dive Centre 4 Tasman Highway Bicheno, Tasmania 7215, Australia Phone: International+ (003) 75-1138 Rental Equipment is in very good condition. Charter Boats Bicheno Dive Centre General Information Site Rating: Excellent, Very Unspoiled Best Time of Year to Dive: Best visibility is in winter-spring (July-November). Summer is not really bad but you may get plankton bloom and more people show up. Water Temperature: Average 50 F, Use 1/4 inch or 7mm wetsuits Types of Diving: Boat, Shore, Cave, Night, Deep and Shallow Remarks My wife and I really enjoyed Bicheno. The dive centre is run by an Ex-Abalone diver who says he has dove every inch of Tassie. You can really appreciate how professional and smooth the diving is set up, you really feel safe diving with them. We stayed at the dive centre in our own private cabin. We would leave our door step, suited up, get on the boat dive for 30-40 minutes and be back taking a warm shower in about an hour. We would usually do about 2-3 dives per day. The night dives were really incredible, Sea Horses with 8-12 inch body length, Octopus. For most of the 10 days we were the only people on the boat. We thought it was a lot like Monterey, CA use to be like (about 150 years ago). 11.4.4 Accommodation tips to the low budget motorhome traveller (BB) 1. Obtain the Automobile club district maps for the area. They are the best to navigate by showing all the sights to see and have "Rest Areas" marked on them. Now some rest areas can be nothing more than a rubbish bin on the side of the road but others, particularly in Queensland can have toilets,fresh water and even showers. As a traveller you can stay for up to two nights at a proper rest area. I know of two places within 20mins of the Gold Coast for example. 2. Obtain information from National Parks, State Conservation Areas and State Forests on camping areas. Most are free and those that you have to pay at are generally worth it. I regularly stay the night in a State Forest near the Sunshine Coast. 3. Many remote picnic areas, lookouts etc are also good for one night even if the sign says "No Camping". Who's going to know if it's only one night and you don't make it obvious? Up to 10pm you're only having a BBQ before returning to the camp aren't you? I'm not campin' I'm goin' fishin'!. And of course you got up early to have breakfast in the bush. 4. The first bit of bush you like. Often there are areas of unfenced land on the side of the road. Just find a track and drive in (careful if raining, don't get bogged). With all bush sites I prefer to be as far away from the road as I can. First because it's quieter. Second - if they can't see you they can't bother you, even if it's some kids wanting to hoon around. I can remember one night at Mallacoota this young couple drove right past us into the centre of the clearing (it was dark). She got out and urinated on the ground in full view then back into the car for some fun. Suddenly they realised that they were not alone. Engine on, quick reverse out of their favourite parking spot! I have been touring this way for 24 years without any trouble but a lot of adventure. Camping grounds are for when you desperately need a shower or to wash the clothes. They invariably are built next to the highway or railway, have noisy people who insist on partying all night and wasting the daylight hours sleeping in, and aren't anything like being in the bush at dusk or dawn when the native animals are active. 11.4.5 Adelaide and SA In Adelaide itself, there's some very interesting architecture. It's one of only two designed cities I know of in Australia - the other being Canberra, the federal capital. It was designed by Colonel William Light (I hope I remember correctly) in the early days of the colony. There are many lovely churches, and the parks are also nice. The stone architecture in the area is unique in Australia - wood was scarce in SA, so stone was used. Also, many of the early migrants were from Germany and Europe, and preferred stone to wood. The town of Hahndorf just outside the city has some wonderful german influences, including the food! Then there's the wineries: To the north is the Clare Valley, to the south is McClaren Vale, to the north east is the Barossa Valley. The Barossa is the longest established, and my personal favourite, because one of there specialties is german-style white wine. McClaren Vale has some interesting styles including the light italian table wines. Down in the south-eastern corner of the state can be found other wineries specialising in sparkling wines (including methode champagnoise). The areas around Mildura also have extensive grape crops, but these are often for sultanas, or made into wines by the southern wineries. The citrus growing areas close to Mildura are great for fruit - the town of Berri can be seen lending its name to products in the supermarkets all over the country. National parks and recreation areas: The Adelaide hills have a number of small national parks and recreation areas including some spectacular gorges and viewpoints. There are other small parks to the south on the Fleurieu Peninsula, including Hallet Cove. Kangaroo Island, off the tip of the peninsula is a popular weekend destination and has a lot to offer - including the chance to see seal colonies. Other places for weekend trips - or preferably longer - include the Flinders ranges and the Gammon ranges, the Eyre peninsula and the Grampians National Park in Victoria. There are also extensive wetlands near the mouth of the Murray River, and paddle-wheeler trips on the Murray are popular. The Flinders Ranges, especially the Gammon Ranges at the northern end, are a good introduction to a visitor of what "the Outback" really means. There are comfortable motels to stay in, but the gorges and valleys are well worth seeing. I was lucky enough to see the Gammon just after rain - the ephemeral flowers were amazing, and the red rock reflecting in still pools of the gorges something that must be seen to be believed. [DS] Kangaroo Island, just a 30-minute light plane flight or a somewhat longer ferry ride from Adelaide, is a must-see. The tourist office can organise extremely cheap long-weekend trips incl. car hire (but watch out for the roads -- I had a tyre come off and didn't even realise it, the roads are that corrugated!) and accommodation. It's a great place with excellent swimming and fishing and, of course, lots of kangaroos. [WS] For animal petting, Cleland Wildlife Reserve is the place to go. You can walk among wallabies and Kangaroos and on occasion pet a koala. If you like to hike, you could start at Waterfall Gully and hike there through some beautiful woods, but check the distances and directions first to make sure it fits your time and hiking constraints. If you like to try good wine, McClaren Vale is south of Adelaide and Barossa Valley is north. They have some of the finest wines that are not too outrageously priced, in the world. A tour by a knowledgeable native would be most helpful. My wife, an Adelaide native, recommends Handorf, a German town not too far, and the art gallery where you might view Hans Heisen's art. A popular place to shop is the Rundall Mall in downtown Adelaide. On the River Torrens is "Popeye" which offers quiet trips on the river. In that vicinity is the theatre complex. The Adelaide Zoo and the parklands around the main city are also pleasant endeavours. [MW] BEACHES - don't let anyone tell you beaches are no fun in winter, it just isn't true. Personally, I think the southern beaches are the best, that is the ones south of Adelaide, heading towards Cape Jervois. For a secluded beach, you can't go past Normanville. If you like body surfing, try Boomer beach near Goolwa. Victor Harbour is worth a day trip, and you can see fairy penguins under the rocks on Granite Island. I haven't been to Kangaroo Island for quite a while, but people say it's still beautiful and relatively unspoilt. HILLS - Adelaide's best kept secrets. Besides Hahndorf, there are many other (less touristy) towns, with local crafts, tea shops, lovely old buildings, and great country bakeries. There are also forests to be wandered through (Kuitpo "Kai-po" and Second Valley are the largest). Further north, the wildlife park at Cudlee Creek (already mentioned elsewhere in this newsgroup) is a must. In the Barossa, try to see the Whispering Wall. HIKING and bushwalking - the Flinders Ranges are really spectacular. The best time to go is August/September, when the wildflowers are out and the weather is not too hot. 11.4.6 Touring Australia by Motorcycle [C] Oz by bike is heaven. Try the Great Ocean Road south west of Melbourne. Most of the country is pretty safe, and it's beautiful, and has lots of lovely curvy country roads, and frequent bike rallies (look at Two Wheels and Bike Australia magazines when you get here) and there are campsites all over the place in National parks, state forests etc etc. And plenty of "motorcycle enthusiasts" to help you find your way around. (There's a wry joke that once we were filthy bikies, but when the Grand Prix brings money into the state, we become "motorcycle enthusiasts".) A few tips: don't ride at dusk in the country; that's when you find lots of animals on the road. Don't travel alone on back country dirt roads in the desert a long way from the nearest town, unless you are a mechanical genius and can fix everything with a bit of string and chewing gum. Take water if you do that. There are sealed roads all round the country, but a lot of the minor roads in less populated areas are dirt. Radar detectors are illegal, and Australian beer is good but drink-driving is a very bad idea. Sun-screen is a good idea. Spring and Autumn are good times to travel, because wearing full leathers in summer sucks severely. If you're female, you need to be able to cope with minor sexual harassment, but generally there's a sufficient bike camaraderie that it won't get dangerous. Just insult them back. (And if you're gay or lesbian there's cool bike groups around; "Dykes on Bikes" usually lead off the Mardi Gras parade.) 11.4.7 Cheap travel agent [RM] Last month I questioned the net looking for consolidators to get a cheap ticket to Australia. I found a good source and thought people would be interested - indeed there have been a number of requests in rec.travel.air lately. Try AUSTRAVEL 1-800-633-3404 Their San Francisco office is 360 Post Street, Suite 606 Phone (415) 781-4329, Fax (415) 781-4358. They also have offices in New York, Chicago, Houston, Sydney, and I believe they started in the UK, so there may be offices there (hence the unrestricted distribution of my article). They also have an office in London. I don't know whether they are a "consolidator" as such, as I am not up on the strict definition. They have block bookings with Qantas which are definitely cheaper than I could get direct through Qantas or my usually great travel agent (who is now going to use AUSTRAVEL for her Aussie ticketing). You can still get FF miles with these tickets which I understand is not generally the case with consolidators. They also got me cheaper domestic connecting flights in Australia and I believe have package deals for tours and accommodation that I cannot comment on, having not used them. They gave me good fast service, fedexed my tickets to me, are bonded with IATA.... in other words this is a recommendation from a happy customer who had one good experience and thought you'all ought to know. 11.4.8 Places of Interest in Melbourne [CP] Melbourne is one of the top restaurant cities in the world however it doesn't seem to have adopted the North American fashion of brew pubs and microbreweries. If you want to you can buy bottled beer at a bottle shop and take it with you to a BYO (Bring Your Own, ie bring your own liquor) restaurant. There are LOTS of these in Melbourne. Many pubs serve inexpensive counter meals but usually have fairly restricted dining hours (eg 12-2 and 6-8pm). If you really want to explore Melbourne's dining scene pick up a copy of either "The Good Food Guide" or it's spinoff "Cheap Eats in Melbourne" in one of the bookstores downtown (there are several along Bourke St., Swanston St and Elizabeth St.). "Must see" sights? Melbourne has a lot of interesting things to see but doesn't really have any truly compelling sights. The Victoria Market (Elizabeth and Victoria streets) is a large farmers market that may be of interest. It's open Tuesday and Thursday mornings, Fridays till about 3:30, Saturday till 12 and Sunday till 5. There is no produce sold on Sunday. The Melbourne zoo is worth a visit (far more so than Taronga zoo in Sydney!). The arboreal primate exhibits, small feline exhibits, great flight aviary, butterfly house and platypusary are some of its best features. The Botanic Gardens are a very fine example of formal gardens and contain numerous native plant species along with imports from the Northern Hemisphere. The Shrine of Remembrance, adjacent to the botanic gardens is a grand memorial to those who have died in various wars. Some of the statues around it are quite interesting. There is a really good view from the parapet! Outside Melbourne you could visit the Dandenong Ranges and see Fern Tree Gully national park, the Ricketts Sanctuary and the state Arboretum, a little further away is Healesville with it's native animal zoo (the Healesville Sanctuary). A few miles north of Healesville (up Myers Creek Road) Mt St Leonard offers a spectacular view of the Yarra Valley. The walk to the top goes through some magnificent forests. The Great Ocean Road to the south-west of Melbourne is a wonderfully scenic weekend trip. The two biggest tourist day trips from Melbourne are probably to Ballarat and to Phillip Island. Ballarat has much to do with Victoria's gold mining history. It's easy to spend a day at the Sovereign Hill Historical park there. Phillip Island has the "penguin parade" when fairy penguins come home to feed their chicks and scramble up the beach oblivious to the crowds of tourists watching them. There are lots of National parks within 6 hours drive of Melbourne. If you have no idea what to do or where to go visit the Victorian Tourist Bureau in Collins St near Swanston St and they will give you LOTS of ideas. Alternatively check with the RACV (Royal Automobile Club of Victoria), they have reciprocal arrangements with many foreign automobile associations (eg AAA in the US) and will provide maps and information on production of your membership card. 11.4.9 Australia from south to north [JO] This gives some comments on travel in Australia. I have some definite biases and will admit them as appropriate. Also, I am assuming that the reader has an atlas with maps of Australia and New Zealand. My biases: - I don't like large cities, deserts or rainforests. - I do like small cities, mountains, beaches and seacoasts. - I think that the US and Canada have some of the most beautiful scenery and interesting cities in the world. Australia needs your money and I would love to meet you but honesty compels me to say you should see the US and Canada first. I have never seen Adelaide or Western Australia so make no comments. Also note that Australia is large. You will need to fly unless you like long train or bus trips. Don't plan on intercity driving. The roads are poor and there is nothing like the US interstate highway system. Hobart in Tasmania is a small but very nice city. It has a beautiful harbour, steep hills and some very good seafood restaurants and a colony of artists and craft workers. (San Francisco in miniature). It is a popular tourist area for Australians but most overseas visitors miss it. Tasmania itself is popular with Australians because it is very different from the mainland. Cooler and wetter, greener and has more trees and some heavily forested low mountains. People from the eastern or northwest US would probably not see much point in visiting it. If you are from the plains or southwest US than it will be different from home. Melbourne - Sydney and Melbourne have a long standing feud (like San Franciso and Los Angeles). Its a nice city if you like cities of 3 1/2 million. It does have a beautiful art gallery with a good collection, some lovely parks, and a number of wildlife preserves nearby in the Dandenong mountains. It also has a good public transport system of trams (streetcars) which are fun to ride. There are a lot of good restaurants and I think there is an "Eating Out in Melbourne" guide book which is supposed to be reliable. Eating in the major hotels is a recipe for bankruptcy. (Just like the US.) Sydney - Its slightly bigger than Melbourne, suffers from a horrible urban sprawl, driving is terrible (no freeways) but there is good bus and train service. The harbour and Opera House are just as beautiful as you have heard. There are harbour ferries which are fun to ride. The ferry service has several guided tours of the harbour which are relatively inexpensive and worth the time. The Opera House also has guided tours. There is an historical area near the harbour called "The Rocks" which is fun to wander through. Note that down here anything older than 100 years is "historical. My unimaginative but practical suggestion is that the best way to see Sydney is to take one of the bus tours like Grayline. They all go to the same places . There is a public zoo (Taronga Park) which can be reached by ferry. That is the easy way to see koalas and kangaroos. There is also a "Koala Park" that I've never been to. I think its included in many of the sight seeing tours. Sydney also has an "Eating Out" guide and plenty of good restaurants of all nationalities. It lacks chains such as Denny's or Sizzlers but the take away snack bar food is fairly good. Not gourmet but they won't poison you. Outside Sydney, the major tourist area is the Blue Mountains. They are not high (1500 meters/5000 feet) but are scenic. If you like caves, try the Jenolan caves near Katoomba in the Blue Mountains. There are coach tours from Sydney to the Blue Mountains and the caves. Alternatively, take a train to Katoomba (2 hours, $8) and than catch one of the coach tours there. I believe the railroad organises this. You might want to stay one or two nights. There are plenty of good motels. I can also recommend the train trip to Wollongong as very scenic but then I am biased since I live there! The Whitsunday Islands: Now we jump 1500 km to central Queensland. The Whitsunday Islands are a group of small, semi-tropical islands at about 20S latitude. You may be able to find the largest (Whitsunday Island of course) in an atlas. The nearest towns are Bowen and Proserpine. Two islands, Hamilton and Hayman, have been developed as international standard resorts at international standard prices. A number of other islands have "family style" resorts aimed at the ordinary Australian. Hamilton Island has an airport. You can fly directly to it and take a boat to the other islands. All the other islands have check in counters at the Hamilton Island airport. South Molle was run by Ansett Airlines. Their lease expires in June '94 and they are not renewing it. So far, I have not heard whether it is closing down or someone else is taking over. Radisson Long Island Resort was targeted at the 18 - 35 age range. It has just been purchased by another company. The new owners say it will cater to all ages. I don't know if they plan to redevelop or whatever [JO]. South Molle is remaining open - it is under new management. [JO] The islands are inside the Great Barrier Reef. All the resorts provide high speed catamaran trips to the outer reef (about 2 hours to get there). There you can snorkle, take glass bottom boat trips or take a ride in a "submarine". These don't submerge. You sit inside the underwater hull and look out through big windows. The Whitsunday Island region is world famous for scuba diving and sailing. There are dive boat operators for qualified scuba divers. The island resorts also have dive courses. Yachts can be rented for bareboat cruising and there are tour operators who take people on 5 to 7 day cruises of the islands using 45 to 55 foot yachts . You sail in the daytime and camp on the beaches with tents, sleeping bags and air mattresses at night. The operator provides the camping gear, crew and cook. This is a bit of "pot luck" since you will be with strangers and the boat might have 6 passengers or 18. The cooking is also "pot luck" because the cook will probably be a young woman who is touring Australia and has signed on for only one trip. With luck, she may know how to cook! I did this once and liked it. For details, ask your travel agent for brochures on the Queensland Islands, Whitsunday Islands or Northern Queensland. Cairns and Cape York: Now jump another 1000 km north. Cairns is in the tropics at about 9S latitude and is also inside the Great Barrier Reef. It has access to the reef and the rainforest of Cape York. When I went there it was small and very lovely. There are no beaches in Cairns but some beautiful tropical beaches to the north of it and around Port Douglas (an hour drive to the north). Since I was there, it has been developed as an international tourist resort (mostly for Japanese). I don't know what the town is like now but the reef and rain forest are still there. Cairns is an international airport with flights to Japan, New Zealand and the US. You could go skiing in NZ in August and than fly to Cairns for swimming and sunning on the reef. Warning: Don't go to Cairns or the Whitsunday Islands between December and March. That's the cyclone (hurricane) season. The Outback: I've never been there and have no interest in it. However, if you want desert, kangaroos, or dingos than Alice Springs and Uluru (Ayers Rock) are supposed to be very good. There is also a tropical park called Kakadu in the Darwin area. It's reported to have lots of crocodiles and birdlife and be very interesting if that's your thing. Watch the weather. The rainy season is said to be awful - roughly November to March. 11.5 Advice for Australians in .... 11.5.1 United Kingdom Banks. I tried the big five: Natwest, Lloyds, Midland, Barclays, and Abbey National. Lloyds weren't interested in opening an account for someone who was only in the UK for a short time (18 months!). Abbey National and Barclays required the last six months' worth of bank statements from my Australian bank, proof of income, a residential address, etc. Midland wanted proof of income, or proof of employment, and to see my passport. NatWest just wanted to see my passport. I now bank with NatWest. When I opened my account I did not have a residential address - this did not bother them, and they used my employment address instead. The passport is merely used as proof of identity. Opening an account took 10 minutes at the local branch. Within two weeks I had a cheque book, paying-in book, and a "Switch" card. The latter is both an ATM and direct debit card which saves me from having to carry large amounts of cash. Transferring money from Australia to the UK is relatively easy. There is a flat fee of $20.00 (I bank with the Commonwealth), and NatWest charge UKP 6.00. per transfer. Therefore, it's best to transfer large chunks of money (many $1000's) at a time. I've found that arranging the transfer by fax is easiest. The whole operation takes roughly five working days from faxing the two banks concerned to having the money in my UK account. NatWest also offer a direct debit / standing order facility to pay regular bills, and also support Cirrus / Maestro and Access (Mastercard) services. This means that I can use my Com Bank cards (which were Cirrus / Maestro- enabled prior to leaving Oz) in NatWest's ATM's. However, I believe every Cirrus / Maestro ATM transaction of this nature carries a $4.00 flat fee. General note: if you are an Australian taxpayer, and do not pay UK income tax, then fill out the appropriate form to inform the UK bank of this (ask the bank for it). That way, what little interest your money earns will not be taxed. Calling Home. I use Mercury Communications Ltd. to call home. They promise a 10% reduction on standard BT rates for calls to Australia (and STD calls within the UK). This rises to 15% reduction for four nominated UK STD numbers and one international number through the "Your Call" scheme. To use Mercury, one must subscribe to them (flat annual fee) - the numbers are in the phone directory. The access code and pin are stored in memory in a Mercury-compatible phone (available from many retailers starting at UKP 15.00 for ownership). (I use my PC terminal software's phone number database and dial prefix function with my modem, pick up the phone when the called number starts to ring, and then disable the modem!) Use BT for local calls in the UK - even Mercury admit that it's cheaper. Health. Upon arrival, contact the Family Health Service. Again, the numbers are in the telephone directory. State your situation, and where you are residing, and they will give you the names / addresses / phone numbers of local GP's. If you're still an Australian taxpayer, then you are covered under the NHS / Medicare reciprocal agreement. If any GP that you contact queries such an arrangement, have them contact the FHS office that you contacted. Other Services. Organisations such as electricity authorities, British Gas, water authorities, etc., may as for a deposit (e.g. UKP 100.00 from Northern Electric, UKP 90.00 from BT) unless you have a credit record in the UK. Many will waive this if you set up a direct debit transfer with your bank (BT didn't in my case!). Value Added Tax (VAT) (like GST :) ). It's currently 17.5% for most (all ?) items excepting some exempt categories. I believe that if one buys certain goods in the UK and plans to leave within three months then one can claim back the VAT upon departure. However, I've not tried it, and am not sure of what paper work is required apart from the VAT receipt. Visiting "English Heritage" Properties. Many buildings / structures of historical / cultural / tourist significance are operated by English Heritage. They have a reciprocal agreement with the National Trust in Australia. If you are a member, this can reduce the entry fees to many interesting sites. Obtaining a UK Drivers License Australians can legally drive in the UK on their Australian licence, or an International Driving Permit, for 12 months after taking up residence. (Note, this is residence, *not* citizenship!) Beyond that period, a UK licence is required. The task of obtaining a UK licence is fairly straight forward. You will require the following items: a) A *valid* Australian licence. b) A completed application form (D1) obtainable from any Post Office. (Pick up the D100 guide for completing the D1, as well.) c) A cheque for UKP 21.00 drawn on a UK (or EU) bank. Send these items to the 'Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency' (DVLA) in Swansea, Wales. DVLA advise that it takes approximately two weeks after receipt of application to issue the licence. (Mine arrived within a week.) The licence is valid until the age of 70 - with *no* renewal fee! Physically, the licence is a green and pink coloured A4 size sheet. If you want your Australian licence returned to you, it is best include a letter stating this with the application. All correspondence from the DVLA is via Second Class post - I wasn't happy with the security of this, and included a prepaid "recorded delivery" envelope (it cost less than GBP 1.50). I'd recommend recorded delivery both ways - it doesn't cost much compared to the problems associated with obtaining a replacement Oz licence! A word of warning to those licenced in the A.C.T. - the rules state that you must surrender your A.C.T licence to the issuing authority once it is used to obtain a UK licence. No other states and territories have this restriction. Note that on DVLA's D1 form the term used is "Exchange Licence" irrespective of the state or territory in which you are licenced. Renewing the Work Permit Your employer must make an application to the Home Office to renew your work permit. This process should begin no later than eight (8) weeks before the expiry date of the existing permit. Towards the end of the eight weeks, the Home Office will also require your passport for stamping and validation. 11.5.2 United States Calling Home (Rates in US Dollars) AT&T Standard (800-pick-att) high $3.10 first minute, $1.25 additional minute (2pm-8pm) AT&T Standard (800-pick-att) low $1.71 first minute, $0.81 additional minute (3am-2pm) AT&T reachout world plan (800-523-world) $0.78 (10pm-2pm) $3 monthly fee MCI Around the World (800-672-8054 (8pm-2pm) $3 monthly fee MCI Around the World (800-672-8054 (2pm-8pm) $3 monthly fee Cyberlink (800-661-0393) $0.41 anytime, any number 6 sec billing no mthly charge without changing long distance carriers Banks [SW] From my understanding, there are no real _national_ banks in the USA, like Westpac or ANZ or whoever, unless you include the really big international operations like Citibank. Depending on who you bank with, you may not be able to do your transactions at any branch of your bank. The smaller banks seem to be of the mentality of 'at our office only', while the larger ones will let you transact at any of their branches. There is typically a $1 fee per transaction if you use any 'foreign' ATM, that is any ATM not run by your bank. Most banks also charge a fee if your balance falls below some point, typically four or five hundred dollars. There are also other fees for getting new cheques, and some banks will issue you a new ATM card each year for a small fee (whether you want it or not). Opening an account generally requires you to have a Social Security Number. I don't know what happens if you try to open an account without one. 11.5.3 Canada To open a bank account, you definitely need ID, and presumably a fixed address, but to the best of my recollection we didn't yet have our Social Insurance Numbers when we opened our first account. The big banks are: Royal Bank of Canada (biggest retail bank in the world) CIBC (Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce) Bank of Montreal Bank of Nova Scotia Toronto Dominion (somewhat smaller) I have always found Royal Bank and CIBC to have rotten service, and Scotiabank the best service. Bank of Montreal tends to have the lowest mortgage rates (or at least, leads the pack to lower them). At least in smaller cities, foreign-currency accounts are difficult or impossible to come by, with the exception of US Dollar accounts which are quite standard. Bank deposits (US Dollar accounts excepted) are insured to $60,000 (some rules about how many accounts this applies to). There are many other banks, more regionally based, and also Trust comapnies, some owned by banks and others not. Like the old Australian building societies, their interest rates are a little higher, but their services are more limited. Visa, MasterCard, AmEx standardly accepted (some places no longer accept AmEx because of high commissions). Diners (now allied with EnRoute) much less so. If a business accepts one card only, it is most likely to be Visa. JCB also accepted in tourist-type establishments. Canada has just seen the introduction of Interac payment, identical to Australian EFTPOS (only we got it much later than in Australia). Banks will receive electronic transfers of money from overseas, but will cahrge for it, even if the amount is transferred already converted to CAD. The standard charge seems to be about $10. Transfer time varies between instantaneous and a couple of days (on occasion, longer). [XXX Anyone care to write something similar for the US, others ?? - SW] 12.LANGUAGE 12.1 Australian pronunciation * Pronounciation of Aussie [WE] Information concerning how/why Australians pronounce Aussie with an /z/ and Americans pronounce it with a /s/. A linguistic analysis (I'm a linguist) suggests the following: 1. The Australian pronunciation of Aussie (/z/) is a normal phonological feature called "intervocalic voicing of consonants" where English speakers make /s/ -> /z/, /k/ -> /g/, /t/ -> /d/ etc. when they are between consonants. Some Americans pronounce "significant" as significant, water as wader and we all say "laser" with a /z/. 2. The American pronunciation of Aussie (/s/) is an example of spelling pronunciation -- which, once again is normal behaviour when we don't know the pronunciation of a word. We usually say it the way it spells until we find out differently. 3. So why do Americans insist on saying Aussie with an /s/ even when we tell them Aussies say it with a /z/? Once again, that's normal. We all have great difficulty saying things in a way that goes against the grain -- our grain. I've lived a long time in the U.S., but still can't say NEW York with /nu/. I have to say /niu/. Most Americans say greasy (/s/) or blouse (/s/) -- all with /s/'s. I think it may go against the grain for them to say Aussie with a /z/. * To distinguish Australian accents from various British ones: [RC] Australian "day" sounds like "die"; Australian "buy" sounds like "boy". So that "daylight" ends up something like "die-loyt". For more details see Afferbeck Lauder's, "Let Stalk Strine". Actually I've heard people distinguish three different Australian accents: Cultivated, General and Broad. In the "broad" variant the vowel shifts are particularly obvious, but I speak "cultivated" and have been mistaken for English by Englishmen several times. [PW] Some pommy accents are quite similar to strine. In particular, some of the south-coast ports are quite similar - probably because of historical reasons ! There seem to be fundamental differences between the northern and southern english accents. The australian accent seems to have picked up a mixture of the pronunciations such that people here sometimes think that I'm really posh because of the way I pronounce some words. [MJ] It is said the accent spoken in Milton Keynes (a 'new' city consisting largely of housing estates) in England (especially among young people) is quite Australian, apparently due to their watching Neighbours and Home and Away. The variation in ozzie accents seems to be more to do with the scale of the changes in pronunciation rather that the actual changes. For example, country accents always seem "stronger" that city ones, but seem to have the same way of pronouncing words. This seems to hold true for all but the most posh people, but they live in world of their own anyway. [TG] There are many theories about the evolution of the Australian accent. There would appear to be influences from cockney pronunciation, and there are also vestiges of Irish influences as well (a lot of early teachers were of Irish background, particularly in church run schools.) You will also find remnants of Irish, Scottish and Welsh influences in the Australian pronunciation of some words. Then, of course, we had a large influx of German, Greek and Italian immigration, which has probably also had an influence as well. Of later years, the language has been strongly influenced by TV media, from, you guessed it, the USA. To say that the convicts are the predominating influence is probably false. There were many more free settlers than there ever were convicts. One common comparison that is made is between the Received Pronunciation (RP) (a la BBC English) and what is termed Cultivated Australian (CA). There is also a classification of Australian speech called General Australian (GA). GA differs from CA in that vowels tend to become a little longer and some vowels are "diphthongized" (hard to explain if you don't know phonetics -- maybe someone else could have a bash at this one?) CA is more likely to be found in formal speech and GA in conversational. There tends to be a slight erm, what you might call a "class distinction" between the two, although this is by no means a general thing. (Often politicians cultivate a GA manner of speaking to be more appealing to the voting population, as GA is more laid back, you might say.) I might also point out that the Australian accent was the but of much disdain for some time earlier this century -- speech trainers would teach the "proper speech" i.e. RP. In general, CA speakers tend to form their vowels more forward in the mouth than is the case for RP. This is why RP pronunciation is often associated with the phrase "plum in the mouth" because the vowels tend to be formed further back in the mouth. To an CA speaker, this is probably the most noticeable characteristic. RP speakers also tend to have a more rounded lip formation than CA speakers for the same sounds. (Now *that's* a big generalisation!) Another difference is the way in which words and phrases are pronounced in isolation and in connected speech. CA speakers tend to use what is called the neutral vowel more often than RP speakers do in connected speech. Also CA speakers tend to have a slightly smaller intonation range than RP speakers. This lead to several criticisms of CA speech as "monotonous" by many speech trainers earlier this century. There are other traits of RP pronunciation that are not present in CA, such as frequent use of a definite vowel in the final position. These differences wrt neutral vowel and intonation patterns are also why many Australians label someone speaking with an RP accent as excessively pedantic. These are some of the characteristics compared to RP, now of course there are many dialectic variations of English in Britain! RP is just used as a useful reference point. Also, any given speaker is not necessarily going to use a "pure" dialect either, you'll find CA speakers using GA pronunciations and all sorts of variations in the middle. One book you might like to look at is Mitchell and Delbridge "Phonetics of English in Australia". 12.2 Australian spelling [SW] For the most part, Australian spelling appears to follow the British mould (funny that). The letter 'u' appears in words like 'humour', 'colour', labour et. al., unlike the corresponding American spelling of these words (humor/color/labor). There are other differences as well. The word 'tyre' gets 'tire' in the USA. 'Cheque' becomes 'check' in the USA. I am by no means a linguist, but these are some examples that come to mind. [Anyone care to add to this ? SW] 12.3 Australian slang, word origins [ There are more than likely several errors in this. Please feel free to email me corrections/additions/notes -SW ] A brief lesson in Australian English - David Stybr of Illinois - MaestroDJS@aol.com Much has been written about the differences between British English and American English. However, nothing quite matches Australian English for its lively colourful phrases. Some words and expressions are quite naturally taken from British slang. Some words have completely different meanings in Australia than in Anglophone countries north of the Equator. A number of commonly-used words have been shortened considerably. Other words are indigenous to Australia and derived from Aboriginal terms, such as "boomerang" and "kangaroo". In general, however, the wonderful slang of Australian English is primarily because Australians take English as a game to be played, and they love to have fun with it. Some of the words and expressions are readily understandable but others can be incredibly obscure in their meanings and derivations. In addition to the slang, Australian pronunciation can be peculiar. To the casual listener is sounds similar to Cockney pronunciation, but it differs in many ways. Australian speech also tends to be more contracted, with some sounds and even entire syllables omitted. Most obvious in Australian speech are the "I" sound for "A" and "Ah" for "R". These can best be illustrated with examples of pronunciations such as "egg nishner" = "air conditioner", "G'dye, myte" = "Good day, mate", "Strine" = "Australian", or "Wyne chevva cold share" = "Why don't you have a cold shower." (American English has some similar examples, as in the phrase "Jeet jet?" = "Did you eat yet?") ===== --> Strine (Australian) Glossary from A to Zed <-- Act: Pretending to be something you're not. Aggro: Aggressive. Alf: Stupid person. Amber or Amber fluid: Beer. Arvo: Afternoon. Aussie (pronounced "Ozzie"): Australian. Avagoyermug: Traditional rallying call, often heard at cricket matches (contraction of "Have a go, you mug!") Back of beyond: Far away in the outback. Back of Bourke: The middle of nowhere. Bag: Lady who is not particularly pleasant. Bail out: Leave. Bail up: Hold up, rob, earbash. Banana bender: Resident of Queensland. Barbie (Barbecue): Like a cook out. Many people get together for a 'Barbie' in the warmer months. They are usually BYO (Bring your own) meat and drinks. Barney: Fight or scuffle. Barrack: To cheer on a team at a sporting event. Bathers: Swimming costume (Victoria). Battler: Hard trier, struggler. Beaut, beauty, bewdie: Very good. Excellent. Belt up!: Shut up! Berko: Angry. Bible basher: Minister. Bickie: Dollar. Big mobs: Large amount, heaps. Bikies: Motorcyclists. Billabong: Water hole in a dry riverbed, or more correctly an ox-bow bend cut off in the dry season by receding waters. Billy: Used for making tea in, usually over a campfire. The best billies are the old ones, which make better tea. Bitumen: Surfaced road. Black Stump: Out towards the horizon. A long way away. Block: Block has a few meanings but the more Aussie one is your head. Bloke: Person, usually a male. Bloody: All-purpose intensifying adjective. Blowies: Blow flies. Bludge: Not doing anything or getting things of others. Bludger: Lazy person. Blue: A fight, or the nickname of someone with red hair. Bonzer: Great. Boomer: Very large, or a particularly male kangaroo. Boomerang: Curved flat wooden instrument used by Aborigines for hunting. If your boomerang returns, it means you MISSED! Booze: Alcohol, usually beer. Booze bus: Police van used for random breath testing for alcohol. Bottle shop: Liquor shop. Buckley's: No chance at all. Bug (Moreton Bay bug): Small crab. Bullamanka: Imaginary place even beyond back of Bourke, way beyond the black stump. Bull dust: Fine and sometimes deep dust on outback roads. Bunyip: Mythical bush spirit. Burl: Have a try, as in "give it a burl". Bush: Somewhere in the country or away from the city. Go bush means go back to the land. Bushbash: Force one's way through pathless bush. Bushranger: Outlaw, analogous to the outlaws of the American Wild West (some goodies, some baddies). Bush tucker: Native foods, usually in the outback. BYO: Bring Your Own (booze to a restaurant, meat to a barbecue, etc.) Caaarn!: Traditional rallying cry at football games (contraction of "Come on!"). Camp oven: Large, cast-iron pot with a lid, for cooking on an open fire. Captain Cook: To have a look. Cask: Wine box. Chiko roll: Australian junk food. Chook: Chicken. Chuck a U-ey: Make a U-turn. Chunder: Vomit, curbside quiche, drive the porcelain bus, pavement pizza, liquid laugh, rainbow sneeze, technicolour yawn. Cleanskin: Unbranded cattle. Clobber: Clothes. Chuck: Chuck has a few meanings. It can mean to throw or to put in. Cobber: Mate (archaic). Cocky: Small-scale farmer. Come good: Turn out all right. Compo: Compensation, such as workers' compensation. Conk: To hit someone. Cooee: Bush greeting. Coolabah: Type of box eucalyptus tree. Corroboree: Aboriginal dancing. Counter meal, countery: Pub meal. Cow: Also means anything that is difficult. Cow cocky: Small-scale cattle farmer. Cozzie: Swimming costume (New South Wales). Crook: Ill, badly made, substandard. Crow eater: Resident of South Australia. Curbside quiche: Vomit. Cut lunch: Sandwiches. Dag, daggy: Dirty lump of wool at the back end of a sheep, also an affectionate or mildly abusive term for a socially inept person. Daks: Trousers. Damper: Bush loaf made from flour and water cooked in a camp oven. Dead horse: Tomato sauce. Deli: Delicatessen. Milk bar in South Australia. Dijeridu: Cylindrical musical instrument played by Aboriginal men. Dill: Idiot. Dillybag: Small bag to carry things. Dinkie die: The whole truth. Dinkum: Genuine or honest. Divvy van: Police divisional van. Dob In: To tell (an authority) on someone. Donk: Car or boat engine. Don't come the raw prawn: Don't try to fool me. Down south: The rest of Australia, according to someone north of Brisbane, Queensland. Drive the porcelain bus: Vomit. Drongo: Worthless person. Duco: Car paint. Dunny: Outdoor lavatory. Dunny budgies: Blow flies. Earbash: Non-stop talk. Eastern states: The rest of Australia, according to someone in Western Australia. Enzedder: New Zealander. Esky: Large insulated box for keeping beer etc. cold. Evo: Evening. Fair crack of the whip!: Fair go! Fair dinkum: The whole truth. Fair go: Give some a chance or an opportunity to do something. Financial: To be flush with cash. FJ: Most revered Holden car. Flake: Shark meat, used in fish and chips. Flaming: All-purpose intensifying adjective. Flat out: As fast as possible. Floater: Meat pie floating in pea soup. Fossick: To hunt for gemstones. Galah: Noisy parrot, thus noisy idiot. Game: Brave. Gander: Have a look. Gaol: Australian and British spelling of "jail". Garbo: Garbage collector. G'day: A greeting. It is the Aussie way of saying good day. Going "troppo": Going tropical; laid-back and fun-loving. Gibby: Aboriginal word for stony desert. Give it away: Give up. Good on ya!: Term of approval. Grizzle: To complain. Grazier: Large-scale sheep or cattle farmer. Grog: General term for alcohol. Grouse: Very good, unreal. Gumtree: Eucalyptus. Gutzer: Some plans don't work out or to have an accident. Hire: To rent, as "to hire a car". His nibs: The boss. Hooley: Wild party. Hoon: Idiot, hooligan, yahoo. Hooly-Dooly: An expression of surprise. Hotel: Sometimes means only a pub. How are ya?: Standard greeting. HQ: Second most revered Holden car. Hump: To carry. Icy-pole: Ice cream on a stick. Identity: Celebrity. In full feather: In fine health. In yer boot!: An expression of disagreement. It's a goer: Something that will definitely occur. Jack-in-the-box: Person who can't sit still. Jackaroo or Jillaroo: Trainee on a cattle station. Jingoes!: Exclamation of wonder. Jocks: Men's underpants. Joe Bloggs: The average citizen. Joey: Baby kangaroo, still in the pouch. Journo: Journalist. Jumbuck: Sheep. Kafuffle: Argument. Kanga or kangaroo: Shoe. Keen as mustard: Enthusiastic. Kerb: Alternative Australian and British spelling of "curb". Kelpie: Sheep dog or cattle dog. Kick: To share or join in. Kip: Sleep or nap. Kiwi: New Zealander. Knackers: Testicles (also love spuds, nuts, nads). Knock: To criticise. Knocker: One who criticises. Kombi: Multi-purpose van-like vehicle. Koori: Aborigine (mostly south of the Murray River). Lair: Layabout, hooligan. Lairise: To behave in a vulgar, flamboyant manner. Lamb-brained: Stupid. Lamington: Sponge cake cut into squares, covered in chocolate and coconut. Larrikin: Ruffian or hoodlum. Lay-by: To put a deposit on an article so a shop will hold it. Licensed: Legally permitted to sell alcoholic drinks. Like a bandicoot on a burnt ridge: Lonely. Liquid laugh: Vomit. Lob: Arrive. Lollies: Candy or sweets. Lolly: Money. Loo: Lavatory or toilet. Lot: The whole thing. Lurk: Scheme (no negative connotation). Mad: Crazy (seldom means anger). Mallee: Remote bushland of Victoria. Manchester: Household linen. Mate: This usually means a friend but it can be used to talk about or to anyone - even a total stranger. Matey with: Familiar or friendly with. Matilda: The belongings of a swagman, wrapped in a blanket or bedroll. Middy: 285 ml beer glass (New South Wales). Milk bar: Corner general store. Milko: Milkman. Mob: Group of person or things (not necessarily unruly). Mozzie: Mosquito. Mug: Either a fool or your face. Naff: Ridiculous, useless. Nana: Banana. Nark: Spoilsport. Narked: Annoyed. Neddies: Horses. Never never: Desert region far away in the outback. Nick: To steal. Nick out: Go somewhere for short period of time. Nit: Fool or idiot. No hoper: Hopeless case. No shortage of oscar: To be flush with money. No worries!: Everything will be fine! Noise off: Speak loudly. North Island: Mainland Australia, according to someone in Tasmania. Northern summer: Summer in the Northern Hemisphere. Nulla-nulla: Wooden club used by Aborigines. Num-nums: Tasty food. Ocker: Uncultivated or boorish Australian. Off-sider: Assistant or partner. Oil: Accurate information. On a good lurk: To have a good job. OS: Overseas. Outback: The bush, or uncivilised uninhabited region. Oy!: An ocker's call. Owyergoin: How are you going? Often used with "G'day" and "Mate". OYO: On your own (flat or apartment). Oz: Australia, as in Oz-tralia. Packed out: Filled to capacity. Packet: Large some of money, an envelope. Paddock: Field or meadow. Pally: On friendly terms with. Paper yabber: Letter. Parcel: Package. Pastoralist: Large-scale grazier. Pavement pizza: Vomit. Pavlova: Traditional Australian meringue and cream dessert, names after Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova. Pearl: Excellent. Perve: To gaze with lust, purview. Pester: Annoy or bother someone. Petrol: Gasoline. Piffle: Nonsense. Pinch: To arrest. Pineapple, rough end of: Stick, sharp end of. Piss: Alcohol, usually beer. Piss turn: Boozy party. Pissed: Drunk. Pissed off: Annoyed. Pivot on: Consider. Plonk: Cheap wine (contemptuous contraction of "vin blanc"). Poddy dodger: Cattle rustler. Poker machine, pokies: Slot machine, found in clubs mainly in New South Wales. Pom or Pommy: English person. Poofter: Homosexual. Possie: Advantageous position. Postie: Postman. Pot: 285 ml glass of beer (Victoria and Queensland). Prang: Accident or crash. Proprietary (Pty.): Company (Co.). Pub: Any hotel. A favourite meeting place of many Australians. Push: Group or gang of people, such as shearers. Putt-putt: Any small vehicle. Q: Thank you (mumbled). QANTAS: Acronym for Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Service. Quack: Doctor, especially if not very good. Quick smart: In a hurry. Quids: A lot of money. Rainbow sneeze: Vomit. Rapt: Delighted, enraptured. Ratbag: Someone who does not behave properly. Raw Prawn: A lie or a con job. Razoo: Fictitious coin, as "I haven't a brass razoo". Reckon!: You bet! Absolutely! Rego: Registration, as in car rego. Ridgy-didge: Original, genuine. Ringer: Fast sheep shearer. Ripper: Good. Road train: Multi-trailered semi truck. Roo: Kangaroo. Roo bar: Metal rod on front of vehicles to protect against kangaroo strikes. Root: Have sexual intercourse. Rooted: Tired. Ropable: Very ill-tempered or angry. RS: Lousy (rat shit). Rubbish: To tease, as in "to rubbish". Rug up: Dress for warmth. Sack: To dismiss from a job. Salvo: Member of the Salvation Army. Sandgroper: Resident of Western Australia. Scallops: Fried potato cakes (Queensland), shellfish (elsewhere). Scheme: System or method (no negative connotation). School: Group of drinkers, each of whom buys a round. Schooner: Large beer glass (New South Wales, South Australia). Screamer: Noisy drunk. Scrub: Can be the same as the bush or mean areas in the country where there are not many trees. Sea wasp: Deadly box jellyfish. Sealed road: Surfaced road. See you in the soup: See you around. Semitrailer: Articulated truck. Session: Lengthy period of heavy drinking. Sheila: Female or woman. Shellacking: Complete defeat. She'll be right!: Everything will be fine! Shivoo: Rowdy party. Shonky: Unreliable. Shoot Through: To leave or disappear in a hurry. Shout: Pay for someone else, particularly a round of drinks. Shove off!: Go away! Shirty: To get upset or angry. Sickie: Day off work ill, or malingering. Silk shirt on a pig: Something wasted. Sink the boot: Drive fast. Skint: Broke. Skite: To boast. Slog: Hard work. Smoke-oh: Short break at work. Snag: Sausage. Sport: More general way to refer to someone rather than a mate. Spunky: Good-looking, attractive as in "what a spunk". Square off: To apologise. Squatter: Large landowner who originally occupied land as a tenant of the government. Squattocracy: Australian "old money" folk, who made their fortunes by being first on the scene and grabbing the land. Station: Large farm or ranch. Stickybeak: Nosy person. Stinger: Box jellyfish. Strewth!: It's the truth! An exclamation, often of surprise. Strides: Daks, trousers. Strine: Australian slang. Stubby: Small bottle of beer. Sunbake: Sunbathe. Swag: Canvas-covered bedroll used in the outback. Swagman: Vagabond, rural tramp. Take away food: Take-out food. Tall poppies: Achievers, often a disparaging term. Tariff: Rate. Taswegian: Resident of Tasmania (patterned after "Norwegian"). Tea: evening meal. Technicolour yawn: Vomit. Tee up: Organise or arrange. Telly: The television. Thingo: Thing, whatchamacallit, hooza meebob, doo velacki, thingamajig. This arvo: This afternoon. Thongs: Rubber sandals. Tinny: Can of beer. Also a small aluminium fishing dinghy (Northern Territory). Togs: Swimming costume (Queensland, Victoria). Too right!: Absolutely! Top End: Northern part of the Northern Territory. Trucky: Truck driver. True blue: Dinkum. Tucker: Food. Australian schools call their canteens a "tuckshop". Twit: Fool or idiot. Two-pot screamer: Someone who can't hold his liquor. Two-up: Traditional Australian heads/tails gambling game. Tyre: Australian and British spelling of "tire". Underdaks: Underwear. Uni: University. Up a gumtree: In a quandary. Up north: New South Wales and Queensland, according to someone in Victoria. Ute: Utility truck or vehicle. Vee-dub: Volkswagon car. Vegemite: Popular vegetable extract used as sandwich spread. Velvet: Highly profitable or advantageous. Waffle: Nonsense. Wag: To skip school or work. Walkabout: Periodic nomadic wanderings. Wallaby track, on the: To wander from place to place in search of work (archaic). Waltz Matilda: To carry a swag. Weatherboard: Wooden house. Wet, the: Rainy season in northern Australia. Wharfie: Dockworker. Winge: Complain and carry on unnecessarily. Whomajigger: Term for person or thing whose actual name one can't remember. Willy-nilly: Small dust twister. Wobbly: Disturbing, unpredictable behaviour, as in "throw a wobbly". Woomera: Stick used by Aborigines to throw spears. Wowser: Spoilsport or puritan. XXXX: Fourex, a favorite brand of Queensland beer. Yabbie: Small freshwater crayfish. Yahoo: Noisy and unruly person. Yahooing: Boisterous behaviour. Yakka, yakker: Hard work, an Aboriginal term Yank: American. Yankee shout: A round of drinks in which everyone pays his own. Yank tank: An American car. Yobbo: Uncouth, aggressive person. Yonks: Ages, a long time. Youse: Plural of you. Zebra crossing: Broad-striped pedestrian roadway crossing. Zed: Australian and British pronunciation of "Z". Zeds: Pertaining to sleep (zzz). * What is the origin of the word "Pom" or "Pommy"? [BR] - from daniels@rand.org (Greg Daniels): shipping crates labeled "P.O.M.E." (Property of Mother England) - for deverett@vms.macc.wisc.edu (David W. Everett): Prisoner of Mother England (POME) - from njc@robots.ox.ac.uk (Nick Cerneaz): Piss Off Mother England - from adally@afit.af.mil: convict clothing being labelled P O H M for Prisoner Of His Majesty - from ins559n@aurora.cc.monash.edu.au (Andrew Bulhak): Push Off Miserable Englishman - from ins559n@aurora.cc.monash.edu.au (Andrew Bulhak): short for pomegranate, referring to the complexion of recent arrivals who have not yet absorbed much of the Australian sun - from Jacco.Zwetsloot@f550.n635.z3.fidonet.org (Jacco Zwetsloot): The general concensus (amongst academics at least) is that `pom' came through this train of words and word association: immigrants came to be called `jimmygrants' via some sort of rhyming slang. `jimmygrants' became `pomegranates' via another sort of rhyming slang. This in turn became shortened to `pommy' and `pom'. While this may seem like an incredible (in the literal meaning of the word) explanation for the origin of `pom', it is verified in a number of books. One being "The Australian Language" published in 1945. - from bls@sector7g.Eng.Sun.COM (Brian Scearce): My _Dictionary of Historical Slang_ has this to say about it: pommy, Pommy. A newcomer from Britain, esp. from England: Australian: C.20. The OED Sup. records it at 1916, but it was current before the Great War. Origin obscure; possibly a corruption of TOMMY imported by Australian soldiers returning from the Boer War (1899-1902). Or perhaps ex. *Pomeranian*, a very "superior" sort of dog. It may also have developed from JIMMY GRANT thus: Jimmy Grant > immy-granate > pomegranate > pommy. "Jimmy Grant" is, as a previous poster pointed out, rhyming slang for "immigrant" (or "emigrant"). * Sydney is spelt with a "y", not Sidney. It was named after Baron Sydney of Chislehurst, the Home Secretary at the time when the First Fleet arrived. Actually, they named Sydney Cove and the city was supposed to be called Albion, but it didn't come out that way. [HG] * State-based Nicknames From: Nickname: NSW Cockroaches, Ma-staters, Mexicans (by Queenslanders) Cornstalks Vic Mexicans Cabbage-patchers Gum-Suckers (Melbournians only ?) SA Crow Eaters WA Sand Gropers Qld Banana Benders Tas Apple Eaters NT Top-enders * Origin of "Whinge" [BD] The Macquarie dictionary says "Northern form of OE _hwinsian_ to whine", and for whine "OE _hwinan_". * Origin of "Dunny" [LC] I was using the toilet the other day and noticed that the brandname stamped on the porcelain was "Dunedin". Could this be the origin from which the endearing term "dunny" is derived ?? [IR] Unfortunately no. The Macquarie gives: "short for Brit. d. dunnakin, dunnaken, from dannaken, from danna (dung) + ken (place)" * "Show us your map of tazzy" [PG] Well, being the literary expert that I am . . . 8-) I'll have a crack at it. Reference page 182 "A Nice Night's Entertainment" Barry Humphries published 1981 by Granada: "Anyway, there she was starkers! I didn't know where to look. The driver seen her norks in the rear-vision mirror and nearly come off his dual carriageway. He said, 'Ay, miss, 'ow are you goin' to pay me?", at which she *pointed* ... Now, there's a nice crowd in here tonight so I'm not going to tell you where she pointed; suffice it to say she pointed at the map of Tasmania. Those of you with a rudimentary grasp of geography will have a rough idea of what I nearly had a rudimentary grasp of - a large triangular land mass deep in the southern hemisphere." Quiz question: which BH character said this? 8-) [JMack] I first heard the expression in conjunction with the arrival of the show "Hair" in Sydney (this was about 1970). I don't remember whether it was a friend, or a review in the paper or a quote from Robert Helpman, but the person referring to the costumes on the stage, mentioned the maps of Tasmania. It's not quite as graphic as Barry Humphries use above, but it predates it. * "Claytons'" Originally the brand name of a non-alcoholic beverage that looks like neat Scotch whiskey, the television commercial featured Australian actor Jack Thompson(sp?) sitting at a pub bar and ordering "I'll have a Claytons' - (to camera) the drink I'm having when I'm not having a drink" Almost immediately the press media used "Clayton's Promise(chk?)" to headline a politician "making a promise when you're not making a promise". It now has accepted usage as a derogatory adjective of anything that has questionable authenticity. (Victorian usage anyway) [RK] * "Nugget" This is a brand-name of a New Zealand shoe polish made of paraffin and ?carbon. To "nugget" your shoes is to apply any shoe polish and buff the footware to shiny clean. Many Australians incorrectly think Nugget brand shoe polish as a local Australian invention, it is just marketed very well. [RK] * "West Island". New Zealand is another country, not a state of Australia. (Sometimes people in NZ refer to Australia as the "West Island" as NZ has two main land masses, North and South Islands) [RK] * Origin of Taswegian [ZS] Tasway n, {Colloq.} Tasmania [backformation from TASWEGIAN by analogy with {Norwegian} adj, from {Norway} Taswegian n -> Tasmanian [TAS(MANIAN) + {-wegian} (by analogy with {Norwegian, Glaswegian,} etc.)] * What is a bunyip? [BT] Originally an Aboriginal legend. A bunyip is a creature which lives in fresh or brackish waterways (rivers, billabongs, swamps, but not the ocean). I believe that like most legendary creatures, it eats humans. More recently, "Bazza the Bunyip" has been appearing on Australian TV sets, begging us all to "not muck up the Murray [River]", but I don't think that's what the question meant. Also, there is a mechanical bunyip in the Murray Bridge caravan park. If you insert 20 cents, (s)he will rise from the depths of his/her caged pond, let rip with some terrifying roars, and subside. The whole performance takes about a minute, and used to be a lot more frightening when I was very young... * What is the aboriginal name for koalas? "Koala" is a bastardisation of a word from an Australian language. As stated, the question doesn't really have an answer, as there were around 200 Australian languages at the time of European contact, and while many if not all of these are fairly closely related, there are many different words for koala. "Koala" appears to be a misreading of "kuu(l)la", the word for Koala in certain languages of the Sydney region. [CM] * What does QANTAS stand for? "Qantas, n. The Australian international airline, founded in 1920 as the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Ltd, with Sir Fergus McMaster as provisional chairman, P.J. McGuinness and W. Hudson Fysh as the pilots and W.H. Baird as the mechanic." * And further in the line of QANTAS trivia, why is the name or word (clue) Longreach, painted on the fuselages of the 747-400's? Didn't QANTAS have it's origins at Longreach in QLD (where the Stockman's Hall of Fame now is) ? Also, when they bought the first new 747-400, they flew it non-stop from London to Oz. [RB] * Does water go down drains in the opposite way? If you know anything about fluid dynamics than the fact that the Rossby number for such a tiny vortex is very large, should give you the answer. In simple terms: a bath-tub vortex is much too small and too fast for the Earth's rotation too have any effect on it. Planetary scale mid-latitude lows and tropical cyclones however do spin in opposite directions as a result of the rotation of the Earth, but smaller scale vortices like tornadoes and dust devils do not. [SD] [MJ] Technically, this is in some sense the case. The Coriolis force due to the earth's rotation will in the absence of all other effects cause the whirlpool in a bathtub to rotate in the opposite direction in different hemispheres. In practice, however, the forces involved are so small that other effects are more important ie you can make the whirlpool go in either direction if you give it a nudge. As for using this effect to determine whether a ship is north or south of the equator, I don't believe a word of it. The effect increases as you go away from the equator. It is largest at the poles. It is _zero_ on the equator. Anywhere even remotely near the equator, it is much smaller than in somewhere like Australia. Combined with the fact that a ship is likely to get buffeted around by the ocean a little, a much larger effect, the whole idea is ridiculous. * Australian Tea Tree Oil Melaleuca Alte [BS] Tea tree oil-based antiseptic cream is the most fantastic skin cream you can imagine. It's great for open cuts/wounds, or acne, so far as I have tried. With acne, rub it in 3 times per day for very quick and effective results. Also I had a shampoo based on it - was good for dandruff! It was used in WWI in the trenches as an antiseptic cream for open wounds. Two companies that I know in Australia include Melacare (based in Grafton) and Thursday (Island?) Plantation, not sure where they are based but their products grace many a chemist's shelves. Also in London you can buy tea tree oil based products from House of Mistry, Hampstead. [KX] But it hurts (and stinks) like hell. I had a some pretty bad scratches on my back that my cat inflicted and there is NO way that I'd have had the courage to apply this stuff to "new wounds". Although, I must admit, when I have actually used it (rare occasions, I must add) it does actually seem to work. BTW - if you're a horse owner, Tea Tree Oil works well on minor cuts from fences etc., , bite marks and similar injuries. [AW] There is a pretty informative and interesting article on the tea tree and its products in the February/March issue of _The Herb Companion_, and probably lots of other information available from herbal supply sources. Seems to be a real wonder! * What's the name of the swagman in Waltzing Matilda? [RG] Andy. "Andy sat Andy watched Andy waited till his billy boiled..." ;-) * What does "BYO" mean in restaurants? "Bring Your Own". Means alcohol. * What is the "Didgeridoo"? Traditional instrument of Australian Aborigines. A very long (> 6ft) pipe. You have to maintain a continuous stream of air through it, which means you have to be able to store air in your cheeks to blow out, and breathe in through your nose. See also section on music in 14.5.4. * What is a wanker? Macquarie: 1. _wank_ v.i. colloq. to Masturbate. 2. _wank oneself_, to maintain an illusion; deceive oneself. 3. an act or instance of masturbation 4. a hobby: /flying is his wank/ 5. behaviour which is self-indulgent or egotistical. 6. _wank wank_, /Colloq./ (an exclamation indicating an ironic dismissal of some previous statement). [orig. uncert.] -wanker, /n./ * Why do the stars on the Australian flag have 7 points? (See 9.6.1 The Flag) * WHY IS AUSTRALIA CALLED AUSTRALIA? "Terra Australis" was the land of the south. The Portuguese Fernandez de Quiros, in the service of Philip III of Spain, named it Australia del Espiritu Santo (Southern Land of the Holy Ghost) "Australia" was used to flatter the King who was a Prince of the Austria Ruling house. [VS] * What is the source of ".oz" as an internet address representing Australia? (is it any different from ".au"; and why do some addresses have ".oz.au" both, or is that just harmless redundancy?) [What follows is the combinations of comments from Robert Elz (KRE), Chris Maltby (CM) and Piers Lauder (PL) which I hope I've integrated completely. Any of you three gents may feel free to correct me if I've mucked it up -SW] [KRE] No, its certainly not the same as AU, nor is it redundant in addresses where it appears, its required, and can't be used in others. Long ago when we were first setting up addressing for Aust we were always going to use domain addressing - this is way back when xxx.arpa was the standard name for US hosts on the arpanet (& milnet). That is, the use of domain names wasn't new, but there was not yet any organised structure for domain naming (ie: the edu, gov, ... and the two letter country names didn't yet exist). We knew we wanted a domain name that represented Australia in some way, and things like AU and AUS were suggested, but we also knew that our (then) small group of sites couldn't really ever claim to represent all of Australia, and do anything that would effectively take over the entire Australian namespace leaving nothing for anyone else unless they could fit themselves into our naming scheme. I should also mention that at this time we were already using domain names, the domain we used was "SUN" which meant "Sydney Unix Network" (and sometimes "Sydney University Network") - the Australian net was an outgrowth of a network that started in Sydney at Sydney University, and linked UNIX systems. The network started before Sun Microsystems was created - still they asked us if we could use something other than "SUN" as our name - and since our net was no longer just in Sydney, that seemed reasonable (though the software used remained called "SUN" then SunII and SunIII, until comparatively recently when SunIV was renamed MHSnet). [CM] The Australian use of domain tokens (they were more a hostname adjective in the first implementation) was ahead even of the .arpa stuff kre mentions above. I don't remember a "sun" domain, but there were both hierarchical "domains" and non-hierarchical adjectives which were intended to implement multicast delivery. I remember plans to start a "news" adjective and to disseminate netnews to *.news, which the SUN software would do efficiently. The "oz" domain also had the meaning of "sites with an interest in global level routing" - if you were the gateway to your site you had to belong to "oz". When kre tried to connect Thailand he had many problems because the software at that time made assumptions about ".oz" being somehow global. [KRE - in response to "I don't remember a "sun" domain"] It existed, but I'm not sure how visible it ever was inside Aust. This may have only ever been added here on messages exported to the world - I think it dates from about SUN II days, when domains didn't exist at all on ACSnet. If I hunted really hard I could probably still find the message from Bill Shannon asking us to stop using that name... [PL] The SUN (II/III) software allowed a node to have as many domains as it liked, but one of them had to be nominated as the "primary" for the purpose of making routing calculations more efficient - if the domain was "su" for instance, the routing tables only needed to know about other nodes in "su". The Thailand problem was due to a bug in SUNIII, rather than any built-in knowledge about "oz" being special. As an aside, it's worth noting that the SUN in Sun Microsystems stands for "Stanford University Network". [KRE] In any case, needing a name, something Australian, but not to pretend to represent the whole of Australia, someone (it certainly wasn't me, but I don't recall who) suggested "oz". That sounds like the "Aus" part of "Australia" or "Aussie" when spoken by an Australian (rather than an American, who pronounce the thing in some totally wild way), and is fairly commonly used by various people to represent things Australian (and has no relationship I know of with the wizard), and was adopted. [CM] In the great tradition of Unix, we selected "oz" because it was in common usage in Australia and was shorter to type than any alternative. [KRE] Eventually, the two letter country naming stuff was invented, and AU of course became Australia - the "oz" part, which was always just a subset of Australia fitted very neatly as a sub-domain of AU, and so that's what was done with it. In time, other sub-domains of AU were created, including the edu.au com.au etc domains, that serve basically the same community as oz.au does, but also telememo.au and otc.au (which match the X.400 naming "ADMD=telememo; C=au") that are used by commercial e-mail systems in Australia, which has retrospectively justified the decision to confine our naming within a subset of the Australian namespace, and not even pretend to take over the whole thing. There's another version of the "creation of oz" story, which relates to the very first international e-mail connection that the academic community had here, which ran between the University of Sydney (home of the Sydney University/Unix Network) and Bell Labs. It was implemented using a maildrop on an IBM mainframe at the University of Waterloo in Canada, Bell labs would dial there, and leave mail for Australia in a file, then the University of Sydney would call, using X.25, and pick up the mail in the file, and leave another for Bell Labs the next time they called. This was set up by Ian Johnstone, initially from UNSW, but then at Bell Labs - the theory is that "oz" was the name of the account at Waterloo, or one of the file names, or something like that. This may indeed be what sparked the suggestion to use "oz" as the domain name, I don't know, I certainly don't recall that name being in any visible use in that e-mail system though, whatever use it had, if there was one, must have been internal I think. [CM] In support of this story, it's important to note that ianj is close to being the worst typist I have ever seen. "oz" is close to the limit for him! Also, Bell Labs were using UUCP to deliver their end to the gateway, and "oz!address" worked well at their end. At our end we had only one site to mail to, so "user@usa" was sufficient. Finally, "oz" still has a special meaning - although some of the .oz sites are fully connected to the Internet. There is an assumption that if you are called something.oz.au that you will maintain some sort of ACSnet connectivity (even via an SMTP gateway), so that sites which have only MHSnet software can work out from the address whether to attempt internal delivery. Until AARNet began charging for MX address registrations, kre had a rule for *.oz.au which merely inserted the incoming message into ACSnet for delivery. [PL] No, this isn't true anymore, there are now many sites running SUN IV that aren't in "oz.au" -- more likely "com.au" these days. Deciding whether a site needs message delivery via SMTP or something else is now done based on address tables specifying the delivery method. [KRE] It is so true... Though its not clear which part of Chris' paragraph you're rejecting, you're right that's there's no longer any generic *.oz.au -> ACSnet rule (but Chris did say "had") - but it is true that xxx.oz.au -> ACSnet. The reason for that has nothing to do with the Internet, but with ACSnet - there are still lots of sites (on ACSnet) that simply dump *.oz.au messages (as *.oz) into ACSnet and assume they will be delivered. Whenever a site with an oz.au name leaves ACSnet and relies on MX stuff for mail to be delivered (which works fine on the Internet) I get mail from ACSnet sites asking what happened to them... Note this doesn't imply (and hasn't since MHSnet) that sites on ACSnet have to have oz.au names, anything legal that works is OK - just that oz.au sites have to be on ACSnet. * What is the village in northern France where the Australian presence in WW1 is still celebrated? In a little town called Viller-Bretonneuve, just outside Amiens, there's a memorial to Australian soldiers a couple of kilometres outside town, signposted from the main road. There's also a cafe on the main road called the Boomerang Cafe, which makes me feel it's the right area. :-) [HJ] I can confirm that Villers-Bretonneux appears to be the town that you have in mind. A large Australian contingent was situated in or near the town during WW1. There remains a number of overt signs of this presence [MS]: - some of the streets and shops bear Australian names (e.g., Melbourne Street) - there is a large Australian War Memorial just outside the town on a rise. It contains a lookout and wall with the names of the Australian soldiers lost (and, for the most part, never found) in the battles of northern France and Flanders. On the wall, it is noted that 11,000 Australian soldiers died between 1916-1918, so this gives you an indication of the size of the wall! - At the entrance to Villers-Bretonneux, is situated Adelaide Cemetery containing the graves of some of the Australian soldiers. - In fact, the region contains a number of Australian and British Commonwealth war cemeteries, all of them immaculately kept with cut lawns and red roses! - Villers-Bretonneux has an Australian "twin town" (Robinvale, Vic. if I remember correctly). - I spoke with the mayor, who showed me around the local school, which was apparently built after WW1 with donations from Australia. The main hall is panelled in Australian wood, and has a number of large wood carvings of Australian animals. The mayor said he visits Australia every year, to maintain the contact between the Villers-Bretonneux and Australia. In the cathedral of nearby Amiens, there is a commemorative plaque that states: "...to the memory of The Australian Imperial Force who valiantly participated in the victorious defense of Amiens from March to August 1918 and gave their lives for the cause of justice, liberty and humanity..." * What is the name of the crazy boat race held in Darwin every year? The Beer Can Regatta * In which dry river near Alice Springs is there a boat race every year? The Todd River * Why is November 11th remembered (PB) First and foremost, it is the anniversary of Armistice Day, the end of the War to end all Wars (well,almost). It has also been chosen as the date for the formal laying to rest in the Australian War Museum in Canberra of the Australian Unknown Soldier, an Australian soldier recovered from a graveyard in France as a symbol for all Australians of the sacrifice the Australian troops made during WW1. It is also the anniversary of the sacking of the Whitlam Government by the G-G, Sir John Kerr in 1975. And finally, it is the 115th anniversary of the hanging of Edward "Ned" Kelly in Melbourne Gaol in 1880. 12.4 Australian word usage (misc) * Units of measure "kilo" - always refers to a weight (ie kilograms) eg. "I've put on half a kilo", "one kilo of chicken breasts please" "k" - always refers to distance or speed (ie kilometres or km/hour) eg. "It's 250 k's to Lithgow from here", "I got busted doing 140 k's on the freeway" "mil" - refers to liquid volume (ie millilitres) eg. "I'll have the 500 mil bottle please" The terms grams, metres, litres and degrees are used as is. As yet there is no conversational abbreviation for centimetres, which may explain why description of people's heights in feet and inches still persists somewhat in the street, although not in newspapers or on TV, where the full word is used. * Australasia and Oceania [BJ] Australiasia=Oz+NZ. Oceania=Oz+NZ+Fiji+all those South Pacific Islands... -- | | | | | | Stephen Wales | Internet: stephenw@mincom.com |M|I|N|C|O|M Denver, Colorado, U.S.A. | No employer opinion included User Contributions:Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic: |
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