Everything You Know About Australia is a Lie
Jay Martin
Guest Blogger
Heard about life in Australia?
Everything you’ve been told is a lie..
Unless you’re Aussie born and raised or you’ve spent some time Down Under, you probably have a very warped idea about what it’s like to live in Australia.
Below are a few of the most common and ridiculous stereotypes about Australia that just flat out aren’t true.
We cook shrimp on the barbecue.
Nobody in Australia has said, “Throw another shrimp on the barbie” in a serious manner before. Ever.
What some of you may know as “shrimp”, we refer to as “prawns”.
While Aussies love a good barbecue, and some of us may even like to cook prawns on there, we don’t use the word “shrimp” or ever use the aforementioned phrase, except in jest.
This popular misconception was all started by Paul Hogan’s TV commercial to promote Australian tourism to Americans back in the ‘80s.
We Drink Foster’s Beer
You can thank Foster’s marketing department for this one. They’ve somehow convinced the majority of the world’s population that Aussies drink, and actually enjoy, Foster’s beer.
You’ll be hard pressed to find Foster’s in bottle shops or on tap in pubs anywhere in Australia. Locally, the Foster’s Group chooses to promote their more popular beer brands – Carlton Draught and Victoria Bitter.
Everything Here Can (and Will) Kill You
While Australia does have its fair share of deadly wildlife, the likelihood of you encountering any while visiting here is extremely low. Sharks, jellyfish, and crocodiles each only account for around 1 death each year on average.
Have you heard about our bird-eating spiders? No need to worry about them though – nobody here has died from a spider bite since anti-venom was introduced way back in 1979.
Snakes account for around 5 deaths in Australia per year, but that number is minimal since thousands of bites are reported each year. So if you’re planning on doing some bushwalking or heading outback while you’re visiting, all you really need to be careful about are the snakes.. oh and the drop bears.
Jay Martin was born in Brisbane, Australia, but has spent his life traversing the world in search of excitement and freedom. From tearing up the slopes in Canada, the U.S. and New Zealand to backpacking across Europe and living the high-life in Asia, there’s always a new challenge on the horizon for this intrepid adventurer.
After graduating from the University of Queensland with a BBM (Marketing), and working at a few advertising agencies, Jay went out to start his own digital marketing firm. Assisting other businesses build their brands through the development of interesting and exciting content has helped him fine-tune his own passion for writing.
He is currently based between Hong Kong and Australia, with his job allowing him the freedom to travel and work from wherever his next escapade begins- as long as they have internet there.