Today’s Down Under Author is Michelle Rae. Check out Michelle Rae’s books, bio, and giveaway. And don’t forget to find the Scavenger Hunt word of the Day.
Have you been to New Zealand or Australia? We are looking for stories, pictures and memories to post for the rest of this month!
Down Under Interesting Facts:
Australia Facts of the Day:
Two facts actually because I couldn’t decide (much like Sydney and Melbourne) which to post:
1.) Canberra was selected as the capital because Sydney and Melbourne could not stop arguing which city should be the capital of Australia.
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of 381,488, it is Australia’s largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory, 280 km south-west of Sydney…
Population: 381,488 (2013)
Area: 314.36 sq miles (814.20 km²)
2.) Australians refer to English people as Pome (Pomes plural?), which is actually the acronym for Prisoners of Mother England.
New Zealand Interesting Fact of the Day:
Where Have All The Sheep Gone?
From the early 1980s, when NZ was home to over 70 million sheep, the population has declined to around 31 million (2013 data). This means the oft-quoted statistic, that NZ has 20 sheep for each human, is wrong! Nowadays it’s only about 7 to 1. This decline hasn’t stopped NZ from cornering 50% of all international trade in sheepmeat.
Unlike the human population, the majority of New Zealand’s sheep are based on the South Island, where there are more than 20 sheep for every human! The decline in the number of sheep has been caused by increasing dairy cattle numbers.
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 