state to receive Convicts. It has been said most of them now work in parliament or business. p align="justify"> * Brisbane - In 1824, a southern state governor sent a party of difficult Convicts to found a new settlement in Queensland. These days, southern state children send their difficult parents to Queensland to retire. Also a Mecca for Southern State teenagers who upon finishing school, head north for a week of booze and debauchery. p align="justify"> * Tasmania - The island state is one of the world's major suppliers of licit opiate products. The government maintains strict controls over areas of opium poppy cultivation and output of poppy straw concentrate; major consumer of cocaine and amphetamines. p align="justify"> * Long fence - The 'dingo fence' in Australia is the longest fence in the world, and is about twice as long as the Great Wall of China. br/>
Language
australia fact flag history
* Waltzing Matilda - 'Waltzing Matilda' the title of Australia's most famous song, is German for 'carrying a backpack'.
* Bludger - Australians refer to lazy people as 'bludgers'. The word is derived from 'bludgeoner' which is a prostitute's standover man. p align="justify"> * Larrikin - A larrikin is a comical, roguish individual who is prone to rowdy and unruly behaviour. The term was coined from an Irish policeman in a Melbourne court, claiming the prisoner was "larkin about". p align="justify"> * POME - Australians refer to English people as Poms or Pome. This is an acronym for Prisoners of Mother England. May have originally been an abbreviation for pomegranate which is Convict rhyming slang for immigrant. p align="justify"> * The name Australia comes from the Latin Terra Australis Incognito which means the Unknown Southern Land.
* Seppo - Australians may refer to Americans as 'Seppos'. This is an abbreviation for 'Septic Tank' which is rhyming slang for 'Yank'. p align="justify"> * Drongo - Australians may refer to fools, idiots and hopeless cases as Drongos. Drongo was a 1920's racehorse that showed promise but never won anything in 37 starts. In the 1940s, the term was applied to recruits of the Australian airforce. p align="justify"> * Digger - Australian servicemen are referred to as Diggers. This term comes from miners on the Australian goldfields of the 1800's. p align="justify"> * Kangaroo - The name for the Australian marsupial Kangaroo came about when some of the first white settlers saw this strange animal hopping along and they asked the Aborigines what it was called. They replied with 'Kanguru', which in the native language meant 'I don't know'. p align="justify"> * Moomba - The city of Melbourne has a cultural festival using the Aboriginal word Moomba. It seems the festival's initial...
