Life

20 Things Irish People Don't Realise About Australia

Australia is a land of mystery. No matter where you are in the world, Australia is the furthest place from it. But what do we know about the country the locals call 'Straya? Well, probably not as much as we thought. Turns out Australians are batshit crazy.

1. It's seriously always hot

2. We all really love Vegemite. Like, a lot.

via GIPHY

3. We've had 5 Prime Ministers in 5 years

Kevin Rudd ('07-'10), ousted by Julia Gillard ('10-'13), who was ousted by Kevin Rudd ('13) who then was outvoted by the public in favour of Tony Abbott ('13), who was ousted by current PM Malcolm Turnbull ('15 -). Fun times!

4. We go to a hardware store to get a sausage. It's perfectly acceptable not to go in. 

Note: must be a beef sausage and must be called a snag. $1 soft drink is a must-have. Some people even went to extreme lengths to get a snag:

5. And our elections have to have sausage sizzles #democracysausage

We even had a website for finding your local election booth and whether it had a sausage sizzle and/or cake stall. "Democracy sausage" was also the Australian word of the year.

6. Australians call McDonald's "Maccas" and we even have legit signs to prove it

7. No one has seen a kangaroo or koala in the wild unless they live in the bush or somewhere away from the city

But when they do...

via GIPHY

8. Sadly there are spiders everywhere

In our bathrooms, in our shoes....

9. Kookaburras are the worst.

100% guarantee of waking you the fuck up

10. Thongs are flip-flops and we will never call them flip-flops even if there's a fire

11. We have the best Cadbury chocolate in the world hands down

Turkish Delight! Snack! Top Deck! It's making me cry.

12. We have some actually really beautiful animals you mightn't have heard of:

Like galahs

Rainbow lorikeets

Quokkas

Cassowaries

The platypus

Echidnas

13. Australia Day rivals Paddy's Day

January 26 is a day of 'Straya Pride.

14. Chicken parmy is a thing you're missing out on

Just look at it.

15. And big chain stores with multiple departments. All Australians love Kmart. But never ask as we will never STFU about it

Kmart is life.

16. Drive-thru off-licence shops. Oh yes.

Except we call them bottle-os!

17. Footy means every sport basically

Rugby league, rugby union, soccer, AFL...

18. The NT News is a real newspaper

It is the jewel in our crown

19. We have snakes... lots of 'em. In fact 20 out of 25 of the world's deadliest snakes live in 'Straya!

But they're not everywhere.

20. Christmas falls in the hottest season of the year meaning cricket on the beach, swimming and BBQs

Life is pretty good when you're wearing just your togs (yep that's what some Aussies call swimsuits)

Have you ever been to Australia? What weirded you out or surprised you the most about their way of life?

Also read: An Aussie Shares 20 Thoughts About Catching Dublin Buses

Share this article
Article written by
Emma is an editor and writer from Brisbane, Australia and has been living in Dublin since September 2016 after she decided warm weather and beaches were overrated. She now wears three pairs of trousers every day and loves it.