Australia is huge. This is the first thing I have learned about our new home. Its total area is 7.7 million square kilometres.
Australia is about 30 times bigger than the UK, but its population is one-third that of the UK. It is also about three-quarters the size of the USA, but Australia's population is only about 7% of that of the USA.
This really useful website shows how Aus compares to other countries in size.
The state of Victoria, of which Melbourne is the capital, is about the same size as the UK but only has 5 million population as compared to 60 million in the UK. Even still it is Australia's most densely populated state! The Great Ocean Road is one of the state's biggest attractions - the famous 12 Apostles are a central feature of this National Park in western Victoria.
Victoria has quite a diverse landscape - it has desert in the north-west, but the mountains in the north-east are famous for their ski resorts. Not to mention the surf beaches!
The interesting thing about Melbourne is that the city is not Australia's wettest capital city! Sydney, Brisbane, Darwin and Perth all receive much higher annual rainfalls. However, Melbourne does have the highest number of rainy days. Click here for more Melbourne trivia.
One statistic I have in my mind which helps me understand the size of Australia, is that it is almost the same distance from Sydney to Perth as it is from London to Baghdad!
Four out of ten people living in Australia are immigrants or first-generation children of immigrants, so I guess we won't have too much trouble fitting in.
The Australian bank notes are actually made of plastic, which means it is no problem if you forget to empty your pockets before doing the laundry!
The good news is that our life expectancy will increase by about 3 years in Aus, but the bad news is that our average earnings are likely to go down...
Here are a few other interesting links for you to browse:
Detailed map of Australia
Map of the state of Victoria
Australian Geography and History
The Stolen Generations
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Monday, August 15, 2005
Slip Slop Slurp
So, you are in Melbourne and it is a hot summer's day. Us poor northern hemisphere types need somewhere to cool off... perhaps a place where good ice cream is not far away, or where there is a pool of water to dip your hot toes. Here are some of the best spots!
The Half Moon Fish & Chippery
Half Moon Bay
Blackrock
Middle Brighton Baths
251 The Esplanade
Brighton
Fairfield Boathouse
Fairfield Park Drive
Fairfield
Kanteen
The Pavilion
Alexandra Avenue
South Yarra
Portabella Café Bar
129a Beaconsfield Parade
Albert Park
Henderson House Cafe
45 Moreland Street
Footscray
The Pool Café
Aquatic Centre
Essex Street
Prahran
Parkdale Beach Café and Kiosk
Beach Road
Parkdale
Gilligans Fish & Chips
100 Western beach
GeelongPort
Pier Café
6 Pier Street
Port Arlington
The Half Moon Fish & Chippery
Half Moon Bay
Blackrock
Middle Brighton Baths
251 The Esplanade
Brighton
Fairfield Boathouse
Fairfield Park Drive
Fairfield
Kanteen
The Pavilion
Alexandra Avenue
South Yarra
Portabella Café Bar
129a Beaconsfield Parade
Albert Park
Henderson House Cafe
45 Moreland Street
Footscray
The Pool Café
Aquatic Centre
Essex Street
Prahran
Parkdale Beach Café and Kiosk
Beach Road
Parkdale
Gilligans Fish & Chips
100 Western beach
GeelongPort
Pier Café
6 Pier Street
Port Arlington
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
In Case of Emergency
East Anglian Ambulance Service here in the UK have launched a national "In Case of Emergency (ICE) "campaign with the support of Falklands war hero Simon Weston and in association with Vodafone's annual life savers award.
The idea is that you store the word "I C E" in your mobile phone address book, and against it enter the number of the person you would want to be contacted "In Case of Emergency".
In an emergency situation ambulance and hospital staff will then be able to quickly find out who your next of kin are and be able to contact them. It's so simple that everyone can do it. Please do.
Click here for more information!
The idea is that you store the word "I C E" in your mobile phone address book, and against it enter the number of the person you would want to be contacted "In Case of Emergency".
In an emergency situation ambulance and hospital staff will then be able to quickly find out who your next of kin are and be able to contact them. It's so simple that everyone can do it. Please do.
Click here for more information!
Sunday, May 15, 2005
Life and Death
My wonderful father, Ben Doyle, died on 7 May 2005. He had been treated for cancer in the last six months, but towards the end his heart gave out and he passed away quickly.
I was so lucky to see him the evening before he died, as I had come over for the weekend to celebrate my nephew Connor’s birthday. So I got to kiss him goodnight only hours before he passed away.Nothing prepares you for hearing the words that somebody close to you has died, but I was amazed to discover how many reserves of courage we all have inside us.
My mother was a superstar. She bore the loss of her husband of 51 years with grace and dignity, and gave me even more to feel proud of. Friends and the wider family came out of nowhere to support us, feed us, comfort us while we cried and share with us when we laughed (and we did, even in the midst of the sorrow).
Over 250 people came to pay tribute to Daddy on the two days of the funeral. As we sat in the front pew of the church on the Tuesday night a seemingly never-ending line of people filed past us, each shaking every family member’s hand, or hugging us if we knew them well. Many didn’t know what to say. Some were crying themselves. But all looked us in the eye, touched our hands and told us in words or in gestures that they shared our sorrow.
Now I understand why it is important to pay your respects like that. In the past I never quite knew whether to approach a family where, for example, I only knew one person. But we had groups of people I had never met before, explaining who they were (colleagues of my brother, co-workers of my mum, people who played bowls with my dad) and every single person meant so much to each of us. The family drew a lot of strength from these people who came to mourn with us.
Similarly, others who could not be with us in person sent messages in many ways. Some called on the phone. Neighbours stopped us on the street. Sympathy cards and mass cards came by hand or by post by the dozen – we received over 150 cards from all over the world. We got emails and even text messages. Every one of the words we heard or read gave us strength and comfort.
Some people didn’t know what to say; we got a lot of standard lines like “I am sorry for your troubles” and “our thoughts and prayers are with you” and “my condolences” and simply “I don’t know what to say”. One neighbour, an old sparring partner of my dad’s, stopped me on the street to shake my hand and offer his sympathies but couldn’t say a word to me as he was crying silently as he stood there.
None of it mattered – all that mattered was that another human being was trying to connect with us, to say that they loved our dad, to say that they were sorry for our sadness, to sympathise and to let us know we are not alone. We remember every face in that crowd of people who came to the church. We pored over every word and every picture in the cards we received. I saved every email and even text message I got. It all mattered so very much to us.
If you are ever concerned about doing the right thing in a situation like this, the right thing to do is to make contact in some way and say you are thinking of the person who has been bereaved. Don’t worry if you don’t know what to say.
Don’t worry if you don’t think you can call - you could send a card or email or even a quick text message. It’s not impersonal at all – in fact it was good have the support coming through in lots of different ways.
For example, sometimes I couldn’t bear to talk either but a quick one-line text from an old mate or work colleague just asking “How are you doing?” or “I am thinking of you” at the strangest times of day gave me a little more strength to get through. Believe me when I say you will never say the wrong thing. All that will be remembered is that you cared enough to make contact.
I wouldn’t recommend this death business to anyone. Now, more than ever, I understand how it feels to have my heart broken. But death is a part of life and I was amazed to discover I had the strength and resilience to survive it.
If you get one message from my experiences, though, it is this: go now and tell the people closest to you that you love them. I am so very fortunate to know that my father heard those words from me before he died. Of course he know I loved him, but it is really comforting for me to know that I told him, many times over, while he was still with me. He was the most wonderful Dad in the world. I miss him.
I was so lucky to see him the evening before he died, as I had come over for the weekend to celebrate my nephew Connor’s birthday. So I got to kiss him goodnight only hours before he passed away.Nothing prepares you for hearing the words that somebody close to you has died, but I was amazed to discover how many reserves of courage we all have inside us.
My mother was a superstar. She bore the loss of her husband of 51 years with grace and dignity, and gave me even more to feel proud of. Friends and the wider family came out of nowhere to support us, feed us, comfort us while we cried and share with us when we laughed (and we did, even in the midst of the sorrow).
Over 250 people came to pay tribute to Daddy on the two days of the funeral. As we sat in the front pew of the church on the Tuesday night a seemingly never-ending line of people filed past us, each shaking every family member’s hand, or hugging us if we knew them well. Many didn’t know what to say. Some were crying themselves. But all looked us in the eye, touched our hands and told us in words or in gestures that they shared our sorrow.
Now I understand why it is important to pay your respects like that. In the past I never quite knew whether to approach a family where, for example, I only knew one person. But we had groups of people I had never met before, explaining who they were (colleagues of my brother, co-workers of my mum, people who played bowls with my dad) and every single person meant so much to each of us. The family drew a lot of strength from these people who came to mourn with us.
Similarly, others who could not be with us in person sent messages in many ways. Some called on the phone. Neighbours stopped us on the street. Sympathy cards and mass cards came by hand or by post by the dozen – we received over 150 cards from all over the world. We got emails and even text messages. Every one of the words we heard or read gave us strength and comfort.
Some people didn’t know what to say; we got a lot of standard lines like “I am sorry for your troubles” and “our thoughts and prayers are with you” and “my condolences” and simply “I don’t know what to say”. One neighbour, an old sparring partner of my dad’s, stopped me on the street to shake my hand and offer his sympathies but couldn’t say a word to me as he was crying silently as he stood there.
None of it mattered – all that mattered was that another human being was trying to connect with us, to say that they loved our dad, to say that they were sorry for our sadness, to sympathise and to let us know we are not alone. We remember every face in that crowd of people who came to the church. We pored over every word and every picture in the cards we received. I saved every email and even text message I got. It all mattered so very much to us.
If you are ever concerned about doing the right thing in a situation like this, the right thing to do is to make contact in some way and say you are thinking of the person who has been bereaved. Don’t worry if you don’t know what to say.
Don’t worry if you don’t think you can call - you could send a card or email or even a quick text message. It’s not impersonal at all – in fact it was good have the support coming through in lots of different ways.
For example, sometimes I couldn’t bear to talk either but a quick one-line text from an old mate or work colleague just asking “How are you doing?” or “I am thinking of you” at the strangest times of day gave me a little more strength to get through. Believe me when I say you will never say the wrong thing. All that will be remembered is that you cared enough to make contact.
I wouldn’t recommend this death business to anyone. Now, more than ever, I understand how it feels to have my heart broken. But death is a part of life and I was amazed to discover I had the strength and resilience to survive it.
If you get one message from my experiences, though, it is this: go now and tell the people closest to you that you love them. I am so very fortunate to know that my father heard those words from me before he died. Of course he know I loved him, but it is really comforting for me to know that I told him, many times over, while he was still with me. He was the most wonderful Dad in the world. I miss him.
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