Australia - The Land Down Under

[KGIII]

You can tell that's not a contemporary USian beach. If so, more than 40% of them would be obese. (An additional 30% would be classified as 'overweight', presumably using BMI as the judge - which doesn't work for 100% of the population.)

But, yeah... Now that I think about it...

I think a lot of people in my country got their (mis)understanding of Australia and Australian culture from movies. They're not even recent movies, either! They either crack jokes about a dingo eating a baby or they make Paul Hogan jokes about knife sizes.

Oh, they also think that Guinness is "Australian for beer".

I'm pretty sure most Americans can find Australia on a map or a globe, but only because it's a pretty big place. I am not sure how much they'd actually know about Australia, other than it has venomous/poisonous critters and drop bears. Well, I suppose they'd also know about the kangaroo and koala.

 

[Brickwizard]

"Australian for beer".

This has got to be the funniest Aussie beer advert I have seen

 

[KGIII]

This has got to be the funniest Aussie beer advert I have seen

Yeah, I could see why they'd ban that.

Hmm... That reminds me of a story but that story is definitely not suitable for this forum. For many years, I was a performing musician - first when I needed the money and then mostly out of habit, I guess. That means I've spent a whole lot of time in places that serve alcohol and venues full of inebriated people.

I have seen (and done) some things... Much of 'em not really suitable for discussion on this site...

Did you know that, even as a guy, if you're on stage and you lift your shirt to the audience then a sizeable percentage of the audience will reciprocate? Well, now you know... (It does depend on the type of event and venue. You probably shouldn't do this if you're playing at your local church.)

 

[Condobloke]

He actually did spend time here....and as a result he did get at least some of it right..

 

[Condobloke]

The Dave Allen show in Australia (Pt 1)

 

[KGIII]

LOL I chuckled a couple of times.

 

[Condobloke]

Two stories here in one post.....both concerning men, women and children of the bush...The Victorian High Country.

Where is it?.....these maps should give a fair idea.

the green dot on the left, in Victoria (60 gives a rough idea

On the map below....the green ares on the right hand side....Alpine National Park just below Canberra, towns Omeo,Mt Butler, Bright

In the red circle....high country

Mountain calf sales more than just good business for remote farmers

Millions of dollars changed hands at the historic calf sale but for those in attendance, it was about more than just money and cattle.

www.abc.net.au

Behind the scenes at many cattle sales is the man who keeps the animals safe at night

Nobby the night watchman has been coming to the High Country cattle sales for 40 years, and keeping the cattle safe at night for 10. He says: "I'll be coming here till the day I die".

www.abc.net.au

 

[KGIII]

Huh... I've been there. I'd not expect to see Cann River on a map that scaled out, but there it is!

I'm also probably the only American that has ever heard of Cann River (unless they've seen me post about it on this forum).

I can even drive there from Melbourne without needing GPS! Just go east until you run into Princes Highway and then head south. You know, now that I think about it, there's no apostrophe in 'Princes'. I had assumed it was named after some prince but now I have no idea. I'd never thought of that before.

As for "Nobby" being the night watchman, it reminds me of the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. Nobby was a member of the City Watch, for those unfamiliar with the books. He was quite the character.

 

[Condobloke]

Moving scenes as calf reunited with mum after falling down well

A calf that fell down a well near Mount Gambier is safe and healthy after a lengthy rescue operation.

www.abc.net.au

All's well that ends well (pun intended)

 

[Condobloke]

Fancy a Fall....nah...probably not. Not unless you are Macca..... and even then...

I know Macca, from a time I spent living in the Blue Mountains of NSW, for around 25 years. This will slow him down....for a while.

Macca has been rock climbing for 30 years without incident. Last month his luck ran out

It was a daring 24-hour operation to save a rock climber who plunged 20 metres from a Blue Mountains cliff. One month on, Macciza Macpherson recalls the night he spent perched on a cliff with bones protruding from his skin.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Condobloke]

When a border dividing two states, just creates a mess.

i have been to Mungindi. A nice quiet, small, country town. Inhabited by the usual country folk of Australia, friendly as can be.

But they have a distinct problem. The town is divided, not by racial problems etc, but by a border.......The line which divides new South Wales and Queensland

​

Cross-border complexity in Mungindi, the town straddling two states​

Cross-border complexity in town that straddles two states

If the Queensland Cross-Border Commissioner has his way, Mungindi may finally become the town where the "border doesn't exist" and the endless challenges facing locals could be resolved.

www.abc.net.au

 

[KGIII]

When a border dividing two states, just creates a mess.

We have Derby Line, Vermont. It's pretty much a town divided by the US/Canada border. There are buildings that cross the line and have lines clearly marking the territory but that was once just for tourists.

After 9/11, we enacted a whole lot of new rules regarding the borders, even with Canada. You can imagine the problem when you could previously just walk across the street to go get groceries and the library itself crossed the border.

We ended up with a 'Smart ID' that we can use, or an 'enhanced driver's license/ID'. That makes crossing the border easier but it's still not like what it once was. I haven't been there in forever but I think it means you now go to jail if you play the game of jumping across the painted border on the library floor.

 

[theLegionWithin]

We have Derby Line, Vermont. It's pretty much a town divided by the US/Canada border. There are buildings that cross the line and have lines clearly marking the territory but that was once just for tourists.

After 9/11, we enacted a whole lot of new rules regarding the borders, even with Canada. You can imagine the problem when you could previously just walk across the street to go get groceries and the library itself crossed the border.

wild. I grew up just a few miles south of the US/Canada border (Montana) and as a kid we would routinely illegally cross the border for camping. there was an official border crossing road/port of entry but if you've ever lived in a small town you know how it is, everyone knows everyone else and most everyone is related to everyone else, so we knew all of the border guards and rangers on both sides of the border. was never really a big deal. hell, even some of my friends lived up there (they went to school in the US, closest town in Canada was like 50km north) so the school buses were always driving back and forth and they never got searched.

as I got older and learned the history of the area I discovered that a lot of the illegal moonshine was run through our town for the larger cities down south back in the Prohibition days, and in high school I knew a guy who made his money by smuggling weed into the US (again, for sale down south) in a big backpack. quality stuff too.

I'm sure the border is much less porous now but I havent been back there in decades. border towns are weird!

 

[Condobloke]

I try not to include topics like this.....they are, after all, not uplifting, decidedly on the negative side...can cause distress in some....not the sort of effects I had envisaged promoting here.

However.

Laura's husband was 34 and healthy when he died after a cardiac arrest. There were no warning signs

New research shows cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death for Australians aged under 50, but many have no prior symptoms.

www.abc.net.au

 

[KGIII]

I'm sure the border is much less porous now but I havent been back there in decades. border towns are weird!

I am closer to the Canadian border than I am to the nearest uS state (as the crow flies). I am also (now) a Canadian citizen. In theory, I could just cross the border and skip the official crossing. They're gonna be mad when they find me over there. They're gonna have questions, but I doubt they'll do much more than give me a fine - if that much.

I try not to include topics like this....

I hesitated hitting the 'like' button. In this case, it means I like that you shared the information.

 

[Condobloke]

Australia’s best photos of the month – March 2025

Cyclone Alfred drives wild seas, a seagull eclipses the moon, and our Kylie performs on a trapeze: Guardian Australia looks at some of the month’s best images

www.theguardian.com

 

[Condobloke]

Weather.... whether or not it's gonna rain...again.....

"Ya gotta be jokin' - No we're not!"

Normally dry creek now 60 km wide

Far western Queensland floodwaters are visible from space heading towards Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre in South Australia.

www.weatherzone.com.au

(read it all)

 

[wizardfromoz]

... and more on floods in outback Queensland

 

[Condobloke]

Watch desert floodwaters gushing towards Lake Eyre

As outback Queensland floods, animated satellite imagery shows the floodwaters gushing towards Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre in South Australia.

www.weatherzone.com.au

Watch desert floodwaters gushing towards Lake Eyre​

Anthony Sharwood
08 Apr 2025, 5:00 AM GMT


If you’re one of those people who finds it hard to envisage the scale of things in Australia’s vast outback, here's a to-scale map of the British Isles over the relevant area.

Thanks Weatherzone.com.au

 

[KGIII]

Worth watching:

That can be a bit tough to watch if you have that trait we call empathy.