What better way to start the April 2016 A – Z challenge than with some fun facts about my amazing country, Australia.

1. Our population hit the big time this year when we made it to 24 million people.

• Australians love to shorten words and add an O to the end, for example ambulance driver becomes ambo.

• The first selfie was taken in Australia.

• The box jellyfish kills more people annually than sharks, stone fish and crocodiles combined.

• Australia has over 10,000 beaches. you could visit one a day for 27 years.

• The Emu and the Kangaroo are on our coat of arms because neither animal can walk backwards.

• On Christmas Eve, 1974 Darwin one of Australia’s capital cities was destroyed by cyclone Tracy, a category 5 cyclone.

• In 1973, the Australian government spent $1.35 million dollars to purchase Jackson Pollack’s Blue Poles. At the time, this was a very controversial decision, however it is now recogised as a great work of art, worth all the money and more.

• Melbourne has the world’s largest Greek population outside of Athens.

• 83% of Australia’s population live within 50 kilometres of the coast.

• Since 2012 Australia has been recognised as the world’s most obese nation with 26% of the population obese.

• Australia was the second country in the world to allow women to vote.

• Australia has the world’s large supply of camel’s with one hump and exports them to Saudia Arabia.

• Tasmania has the cleanest air in the world.

• There are over 150 big things in Australia.