Tag Archives: Australia

Rugby League

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Rugby League

Remember, pass backwards and run fowards.

  • Rugby league is a ball contact sport, that involves passing and kicking an oval shaped ball.
  • Rugby league is a two team game; 13 players on each side.
  • In rugby league, players score by landing the ball on the goal line, and this is called a ‘try’.
  • Rugby league is most popular in Australia, New Zealand, England, Tonga, France and Papua New Guinea.
  • Rugby league’s proper name is ‘rugby league football’ although it is also known as ‘league’, ‘rugby’, ‘footy’, ‘The Greatest Game of All’ and ‘NRL’ (in Australia) which stands for ‘National Rugby League’.

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Rugby League
Image courtesy of Nottingham Trent University/Flickr
  • Rugby league is played on a grassy rectangular field 68 x 116 metres (223 x 380 ft), and requires a high level of fitness due to the amount of running needed to play the game, and strength, to tackle and pull down an opponent.
  • Rugby league is the national sport of Papua New Guinea.
  • Rugby league was first played in England in 1895, and was originally called Northern Rugby Football Union, after it broke away from the Rugby Football Union, and changed some of its rules.
  • Rugby league is often said to be the most rough team sport, and many injuries occur in rugby league, due to the tackling of opponents who are trying to run with, or pass the ball.
  • In rugby league it is common to have a ‘scrum’, a formation of up to six people from each team, arms interlocked and heads down, pushing against each other to get the ball (that is passed in from underneath), through to their own side.
Bibliography:
Rugby league, 2013, Wikipedia, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_league>

Yellow-bellied Sunbird

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Yellow-bellied Sunbird

Darting here and there…

  • The Yellow-bellied sunbird is also known as an ‘Olive-backed sunbird’ and a ‘Yellow-breasted sunbird’ and its scientific name is Cinnyris jugularis or Nectarinia jugularis.
  • Yellow-bellied sunbirds can be found from north-east Australia to south Asia, including parts of China, Philippines and Malaysia.
  • The yellow-bellied sunbird’s diet generally consists of nectar, and sometimes insects.
  • Yellow-bellied sunbirds are normally 11-12 cm (4.3-4.7 inches) in length, and are quick fliers and have fast beating wings.
  • Yellow-bellied sunbirds are a species of sunbird and belong to the song bird family, Nectariniidae, and although they look similar to a hummingbird, they are not related.

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Yellow-bellied Sunbird
Image courtsey of Val Laird
  • Yellow-bellied sunbirds have a curved beak and are yellow underneath, or on their ‘bellies’, and have an olive coloured back and brown coloured wings.
  • Male yellow-bellied sunbirds have an iridescent blue throat, face and upper chest.
  • Yellow-bellied sunbirds build woven nests of branches and plant material, and generally include an overhanging porch.
  • Female yellow-bellied sunbirds lay 1-2 green/blue coloured eggs.
  • Yellow-bellied sunbirds are significant pollinators of mangrove trees, their native habitat, although they have become accustomed to human populated areas.
Biliography:
Olive-backed sunbird, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive-backed_Sunbird>

ANZAC Day

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ANZAC Day

“Lest We Forget”

  • ANZAC Day is the remembrance day, and a holiday, for the Australian and New Zealand community to remember those “who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations”.
  • ‘ANZAC’ in ‘ANZAC Day’ stands for ‘Australian and New Zealand Army Corps’.
  • ANZAC Day is remembered on the 25th of April annually.
  • ANZAC Day is the anniversary of  the arrival of the Australian and New Zealand forces on the shores of Gallipoli on the 25th April 1915.
  • ANZAC Day commemorates those Australian and New Zealanders who fought in World War I, the first war with a significant number of Australian and New Zealand casualties.

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  • ANZAC Day was first acknowledged on the 30th April, 1915 in New Zealand, with a half day holiday, and the 25th of April became an official public holiday in New Zealand in 1920.
  • ANZAC Day was officially named ‘ANZAC Day’ in 1916, and in Australia became a public holiday in all states of Australia by 1927.
  • Many ANZAC Day services are held at dawn, all over Australia and New Zealand, and generally consist of the ‘Last Post’ played on the bugle, one minute silence, the ‘Rouse’ or ‘Reveille’ played on the bugle, the fourth stanza of the poem ‘For the Fallen’ and the national anthem.
  • On ANZAC Day, wreaths, often consisting of rosemary, and sometimes laurel and poppies, are laid at war memorials by dignitaries; relatives of those that have fought in war; or by those who wish to show respect.
  • On ANZAC Day, many veterans wear medals to show their participation, or bravery and courage, in the war they fought, and will often participate in an ANZAC Day parade.
Bibliography:
The ANZAC Day Tradition, n.d., Australian War Memorial,  <http://www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/anzac/anzac_tradition.asp>

Blue Swimmer Crab

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Blue Swimmer Crab

Clickety Click, Clickety Click… big nippers.

  • Blue swimmer crabs are also known as blue manna crab, flower crab, blue crab, sand crab and ‘blueys’.
  • The scientific name of the blue swimmer crab is Portunus armatus, originally Portunus pelagicus.
  • Blue swimmer crabs are large crabs native to the Indian and Pacific Ocean, and the middle east coast of the Mediterranean.
  • Male blue swimmer crabs are blue with white spots and female crabs are a dull green brown.
  • The main body, or carapace, of blue swimmer crabs can grow up to 25 cm (9.8 inches) in width.

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  • Blue swimmer crabs can’t live very long out of water.
  • Blue swimmer crabs bury themselves in the sand or mud for most of the day.
  • Blue swimmer crabs feed at high tide, mainly on fish, worms, molluscs and, crustaceans.
  • Blue swimmer crabs are often caught for its meat, as it is very sweet.
  • Male blue swimmer crabs are believed to become more territorial in cold waters than warm waters.
Bibliography:
Portunus Pelagicus, 2013 Wikipedia,<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portunus_pelagicus>

Lilly Pilly

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Lilly Pilly

It is not a lily…

  • Lilly pilly is also known as lillpilli, brush cherries and satinash.
  • Lilly pilly is a flowering plant from the family Myrtaceae, the family of myrtles.
  • Lilly pillies are split into three genera, Syzygium, Waterhousea, Acmena.
  • Lilly pillies are evergreen trees and shrubs.
  • Lilly pilly plants generally have white, fluffy flowers and produce small red, pink or purple fruit that are edible.
Lilly Pilly, Red, Berries, Bunch, Green, Australia, Plant, Berry, Ten Random Facts Lilly Pilly
Image courtesy of Val Laird
  • Lilly pilly is native to Africa, South East Asia and the Pacific.
  • Lilly pilly fruit is sometimes used in jams and jellies.
  • Lilly pilly is sometimes confused with the eugenia species.
  • There are 62 species of lilly pilly native to Australia.
  • The lilly pilly psyllid is a pest that feeds on lilly pilly and causes pimples on the leaves.
Bibliography:
Syzygium, 2013 Wikipedia,<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syzygium>

Milo

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Milo

Healthy flavoured beverage.

  • Milo is a powered flavouring that is put in hot or cold water or milk to make a chocolate flavoured drink.
  • Milo started being produced in the 1930s during the Great Depression, to help children to get enough nutrients in their diet.
  • Milo was invented by an Australian, Thomas Mayne who was a Nestlé engineer and and an industrial chemist.
  • Milo was named after a man from Greek mythology, ‘Milo’, who had great strength.
  • Milo was first launched to the public at the Sydney Royal Easter Show in 1934 in Australia.

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  • Milo was first made in Australia, and is now produced and sold in a number of countries around the world by the Nestlé company, with slight variations to the product, depending on the country.
  • Milo is made from malted barley and cocoa, and also contains milk solids and sugar.
  • Milo can become addictive if eaten in quantities of 15 teaspoons or more per day, due to the theobromine content, a chemical similar to caffeine, that is found in cocoa.
  • Malaysians are said to be the biggest consumers of Milo in the world.
  • Milo is high in calcium, iron and vitamins A, B1, B2, and C.
Bibliography:
Milo (Drink), 2013 Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milo_(drink)>
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