Australia Culture

Australia is the land down under. How did this land become populated? Who lived there before? What is the country like now? Learn loads of facts and history of some of the best sites to visit in Australia. Great for book reports, learning, and discovering what is so amazing about Australia.

A young cub is snatched from his family and home by a giant eagle, then dropped, injured and alone, in a suburban garden. This is where he meets his first Human and begins his long journey to becoming the most famous dingo in the world. He will never see his mountain home again or his family. But it is his destiny to save alpine dingoes from extinction, and he dreams of a time when all cubs like him can live in the wild in safety, instead of facing poison and bullets and hatred.

What is it like to grow up Aboriginal in Australia? This anthology, compiled by award-winning author Anita Heiss, showcases many diverse voices, experiences and stories in order to answer that question. Accounts from well-known authors and high-profile identities sit alongside those from newly discovered writers of all ages. All of the contributors speak from the heart - sometimes calling for empathy, oftentimes challenging stereotypes, always demanding respect.

The Kidd family is on their way to Australia to find Lasseter's Gold when they are challenged by fellow treasure hunter Charlotte Badger, who challenges them to a race to the gold! But when the Kidds pull into port in Australia, their parents are suddenly arrested—they've been framed! It turns out Charlotte Badger is a pirate, and she's planted a priceless stolen black opal on the Kidds' ship, The Lost!

Miss Arabella Braithewaite of Switherby knows there is no future for the 10 orphans - a remarkable mix of genteel and working-class children - she has gathered together in these years of England’s grim factory growth in the early 1820s. Her plan, quite outrageous in the eyes of most, is to take the children to Australia to take up a land grant. Thus, one day the townsfolk gather to watch a line of departing “pilgrims” led by the fearless “Missabella”.

Henry Khoo's family treats him like a baby. He's not allowed to go anywhere without his sister/chaperone/bodyguard. His (former) best friend knows to expect his family's mafia-style interrogation when Henry's actually allowed to hang out at her house. And he definitely can't take a journey halfway around the world all by himself! But that's exactly his plan. After his family's annual trip to visit his father in Singapore is cancelled, Henry decides he doesn't want to be cooped up at home with his overprotective family and BFF turned NRFF (Not Really Friend Forever).

There were dozens of us on the ship, all ages, boys and girls, and we were all up on deck for the leaving of Liverpool, gulls wheeling and crying over our heads, calling good-bye, I thought they were waving good-bye. None of us spoke. It was a grey day with drizzle in the air, the great sad cranes bowing to the ship from the docks as we steamed past. That is all I remember of England…

Tristan White's story started like many others. He had a dream to work in a job that inspired him. He didn't find that job, so he created it. In 2004, The Physio Co (TPC) was born with one team member: Tristan White. In the 13 years since, TPC has become a remarkable health care success story based upon fast growth and a thriving, systemised company culture. Tristan's obsession with creating an inspiring place to work for himself and others has resulted in more than a decade of learning, testing and refining.

It's a dark and dangerous journey for the Cobb and Co night mail coach, but when his coach-driver father is injured, young Jem Donovan must take the reins. Surely a boy like Jem can't handle a team of four horses and guide the coach on a rough bush track through fog and untold dangers? But there are six passengers on the coach tonight, each with a secret. And if Jem can't get them all to their destination by morning, the seventh secret could be deadly.

Life hasn't been much fun for Milly Dynes lately. There seem to be problems everywhere she looks. She's always loved her home in Tidgy Bay, but at the moment she wishes she was somewhere—anywhere—else. Then Eliza Vanda turns up-and magic comes with her.

On the far northwest coast of Tasmania at Cape Grimm lies the isolated and idiosyncratic community of Skye, which practises a religion that reveres the imagination. One clear evening in 1992 all the inhabitants enter the church hall, where they are locked in and burned alive. They have been persuaded to do this by a young man called Caleb Mean - also known as El Nino, the Christ Child.

During a semester in the wilderness, 16-year-old Sib expects the tough outdoor education program and the horrors of dorm life, but friendship drama and an unexpected romance with popular Ben Capaldi? That will take some navigating. New girl Lou has zero interest in fitting in, or joining in. Still reeling from a loss that occurred almost a year ago, she just wants to be left alone. But as she witnesses a betrayal unfolding around Sib and her best friend Holly, Lou can't help but be drawn back into the land of the living.

Neuseeland war damals weitaus wilder als heute. Eine grün wuchernde feuchte Pflanzenwelt, in die über Jahrmillionen niemand eingegriffen hatte. Ein menschenleeres riesiges Land mit reicher Tierwelt. Dieses Paradies finden die Mitglieder eines polynesischen Stammes, als sie um 950 n. Chr. mit ihren riesigen Kanus die Fahrt übers Meer, durch wilde Stürme und mörderische Wellen überstehen. Über 2000 km von ihren Heimatinseln entfernt, lassen sie sich nieder und begründen das Volk der Maori.

Nani siempre ha soñado con ser una princesa. Cuando una princesa de la vida real de Hawái visita a su pueblo en Hilo, Nani se viste con sus mejores ropas. Pero, mientras observa a la Princesa Luka, quien ha venido a salvar al pueblo de Mauna Loa de la lava volcánica, Nani aprende que hay algo más que ser una princesa con ropas finas.

Cuando un raro y pequeño animalito aparece fuera de la nada después de un gran chubasco, ¡los animales australianos se preguntan de dónde puede ser! Su piel, sus patas, su cola, y su pico como de cuchara de helado les recordaba a cada animal algo diferente. Con un espiritu "australiano", todos se ponen a trabajar con entusiasmo para ayudarle a descubrir su procedencia.

The mayor flipped a lever, and everyone cheered as Old Lower Grange was submerged beneath five thousand swimming pools’ worth of water. But Cassie’s family wasn’t there to see it - they were too busy rushing to the hospital to deliver an eight-weeks-early Cassie. Now, twelve years later, Cassie feels drawn to the mysteries hidden beneath the surface of the manmade lake - and she’s not the only one.

Butter O'Bryan lives in a Very Small Castle with his father and three aunts—Aunt Elephant, Aunt Cake and Aunt Peculiar. These aren't their real names, of course, just as Butter's father isn't really called 'Pongo'. And even though Butter is only twelve years old, and the grandson of one of Australia's most successful Jam Kings, he is very aware of the hardship many people are experiencing. Butter has been told there are ghosts at the nearby isolated Howlers Beach, but are there? And how can the children Butter plays cricket with on the beach simply vanish?

Sixteen-year-old Nipper and his Gallipoli mates Lanky, Spud, Bluey and Wallaby Joe are starving, freezing and ill-equipped. By November 1915 they know that that there is more to winning a war than courage. The Gallipoli campaign has been lost. Nipper has played cricket with the Turks in the opposing dugout, dodged rocket fire and rescued drowning, freezing men when the blizzard snow melted. He is one of the few trusted with the secret kept from even most of the officers: how an entire army will vanish from the Peninsula over three impeccably planned nights.

Australia is home to some of the most unusual animals in the world. Did you know, millions of years ago, all the continents were clumped into one large landmass? When the continents began to break away, South America, Antarctica, and Australia were still stuck together. Later, South America connected to North America, but Australia separated. It kept evolving in isolation, which is why the animals of Australia can look very different from animals anywhere else in the world.

Young wombat Lola doesn’t quite fit in. Wombats are supposed to be shy and quiet, but Lola is talkative, curious, and always getting into trouble. When her village is attacked by a Tasmanian devil leading a group of swamp rats, Lola’s parents are captured - and the rats say it's on the orders of the queen! To rescue her parents, Lola will have to leave home for the very first time and set off on a wild adventure. Even with the help of friends she meets along the way, Lola will need every ounce of her bold bravery to help rescue her family and save the kingdom!