Mullet Haircut

Eric Bana

“Business at the front, party at the back” was the mantra for the crowd of Australians sporting a mullet haircut at an inaugural festival.

Random Bloke

More than 150 people showcasing the hairstyle popular in the 1970s and 80s flocked to a small town north of Sydney called Kurri Kurri, swishing their locks and parading their chops to cheering fans.

“It’s amazing what’s out there and Australia is the capital of the world for mullets.(Mmmm deadheat with possibly Alabama in the U.S.)

Yeeeeeeeeh Haaaa!!!!!

The Heart is a muscle Gang of youths

Gang of Youths was formed in Sydney, Australia in 2012.

Gang of Youths are an Australian indie rock group from Sydney. The band consists of principal songwriter David Le'aupepe (lead vocals, guitar), Max Dunn (bass guitar), Jung Kim (keyboards, guitar), Joji Malani (lead guitar) and Donnie Borzestowski (drums)

Their debut album, The Positions, peaked at No. 5 on the ARIA Albums Chart in May 2015 and was nominated for multiple ARIA Awards.

Gang of Youths second album Go Farther In Lightness  debuted at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart in August 2017 and was nominated for 8 awards at the ARIA Music Awards of 2017, winning four: Album Of The Year, Best Group, Best Rock Album and Producer of the Year (Gang of Youths & Adrian Breakspear).

Three tracks from Go Farther in Lightness were voted into the Triple J Hottest 100, 2017.

Their song, "The Heart Is a Muscle'", was used by Fox Sports (Australia) to promote the 2018 NRL season.

Captain Cook

Captain James Cook was born, 1728-1779, in Marton, Cleveland about 30 miles from the town of Whitby. An adventurer and navigator in the Royal Navy, Cook is best known as an explorer and most notably for reaching the south-eastern coast of the Australian continent on 19 April 1770 where his expedition became the first recorded Europeans to have encountered the Australian Eastern coastline.

Cook's early life and childhood was spent in the villages of Marton and later Great Ayton, as one of the five surviving children of a Scottish farm labourer, also named James Cook, and his Yorkshire born wife Grace Pace. The school at which the young Cook attended in Great Ayton is now a small museum. In 1741 Cook began to work for his father as a farm labourer but in 1745 at the age of 16 Cook moved to the coastal village of Staithes to work as an assistant in a grocery shop. This move gave Cook his first glimpse and experience of the sea which would prove to be so central to his future successes. The post did not last and his employer, aware of Cook's enthusiasm for life on the ocean and his determination to go to sea, took him to Whitby where he was introduced to the Walker family (Captain John & Captain Henry Walker - who independently owned ships); Quaker ship owners engaged in the coal trade between the North-East and London. Captain John Walker's ships traded between London and the North and it was on this route that Cook began his sailing career on board the Freelove carrying coal to London in 1747. He stayed with Captain John Walker, having positions on various ships and voyages from October 1746 to June 1755 (approximately 9 years later) when he was offered command of his own ship. By this point, however, Cook had decided to leave the relative safety of Whitby and at the beginning of The Seven Years War with France he volunteered with the Royal Navy on board HMS Eagle. After 2 years he joined HMS Pembroke where he first witnessed the ravaging effects of scurvy whilst crossing the Atlantic Ocean. In 1762, having risen to the rank of Master, Cook married Elizabeth Batts of Shadwell, 13 years his junior. He went on to be present at the captures of Louisburg and of Quebec, and, after the Seven Years War was over, he charted the coasts of Newfoundland. He was shuttling across the Atlantic every year, and that is when he insisted on best navy practice with regard to diet and the prevention of scurvy.








The routes of Captain James Cook's voyages. The first voyage is shown in red, second voyage in green, and third voyage in blue. The route of Cook's crew following his death is shown as a dashed blue line



Cooks' skills, dedication and intellectual reputation eventually brought him to the notice of the Royal Society which led to his appointment to lead HM Bark Endeavour in her epic voyage to the Pacific. Her mission was to carry Admiralty and members of the Royal Society to observe the transit of Venus from Tahiti and to explore the possibility of the existence of a Great Southern Continent. As a Whitby-built collier, solid and flat-bottomed and thus easy to beach and repair, the Endeavour was familiar to Cook and he took command, as lieutenant, on what was to carve the way for a two further monumental voyages. Each voyage not only furthered Cook's impressive career but were also pivotal in furthering scientific understanding and exploration. 

The first voyage (during which Cook circumnavigated and charted New Zealand) with HMS Endeavour and second and third on board HMS Resolution HMS Resolution saw Cook become the first man to circumnavigate the globe in both directions, from east to west then west to east respectively, and the publication of his personal journals gained him higher reputation still within the scientific community. His first voyage established the charting of the east coast of Australia and the entire coast of New Zealand, and the second, dispelling the notion of a Great Southern Continent, sailed south to Antarctica, achieving the first Antarctic Circle crossing in 1773.

The third of Cook's voyages, this time on-board HMS Resolution, in search of the North West Passage through the Bering Straits, ultimately ended in Cook's demise during a fight with the local inhabitants on the island of Hawaii in 1779.

Outback to the Capital

RDAA CEO Peta Rutherford and Keynote speaker Ita Buttrose

At the Rural Medicine Australia Conference on the Gold Coast

Peta Rutherford grew up in Wodonga, enjoying the best rural and regional life had to offer. She worked for Medicare for 10 years, and from there given an opportunity with Queensland Health which would move her from city living in Brisbane to experience remote living in Charleville and rural living in Kingaroy. Peta was a member of the team back in 2005/06 that worked on the Queensland Rural Generalist Pathway. This was in addition to a number of other medical workforce projects, including the medical recruitment campaigns for Qld Health, registrar training expansion that she undertook in four years working in QH Corporate 

https://www.facebook.com/SkyNewsAustralia/videos/better-health-services-the-key-to-reducing-indigenous-child-mortality/142521603570144/

A new adventure saw her move with her family out to Charleville to take on a hospital management role in the South West Health Service  District. This was a significant change from project and strategic planning work in corporate office to front line health service management of Charleville, Cunnamulla hospitals, Augathella, and Quilpie MPHS’, Morven and Thargomindah outpatients and Waroona Residential Aged Care facility. She learnt more about river systems and stock route maintenance than she ever thought she would need to, but with the 2009 Charleville floods, and the evacuation of the hospital and the aged care facility, it certainly came in handy.

Charleville Hospital Flood

After three years in Charleville, Peta moved her family to Kingaroy the peanut Capital to commence as the Cluster Operations Manager responsible for the facilities in the South Burnett region of Darling Downs Hospital and Health Service. During her four years there, she was a recommencement of surgical services at Kingaroy, initial planning for a new facility at Kingaroy, commenced a patient transport system to support South Burnett people accessing services at Toowoomba Hospital, and an expansion of the Kingaroy renal service. 

Now as the Chief Executive Officer of Rural Doctors Association of Australia, based in Canberra, she will apply her knowledge from over 20 years experience in the health sector, and her understanding having lived in these communities to advocate at a national level for improved access to services and for more care to be delivered locally where it is safe to do so. 

View of Canberra from Duntroon Royal Military college

Rural Doctors Association of Australia Website

Hunting Accidents

Hunting accidents According to the International Hunter Education Association, approximately 1,000 people in the US are accidentally shot by hunters every year, and just under a hundred of those accidents are fatalities. Most victims are hunters, but non-hunters are also sometimes killed or injured.

Fluorescent orange clothing has become standard equipment for hunters. It is even called "hunter orange." Because it looks so bright to humans (but not most game animals) and looks like nothing in nature, it prevents other hunters from mistaking a person for an animal, or shooting in your direction. Hunters who wear hunter orange are seven times less likely to be shot than those who don't wear it.

Assume every gun is loaded

Control the muzzle. Point your gun in a safe direction

Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot

Be sure of your target and beyond

There are many types of hunting, but only one real type of hunter. The true hunter is respectful of others and of their property. He has great respect for his prey, and will never, ever shoot when he doesn't reasonably expect to kill cleanly.

Respect the landowner and his property

Show respect to other hunters and non-hunters

Give respect to the wildlife and its habitat

Follow all state laws and regulations

Use equipment adequate for the game being hunted and be proficient with that equipment.

KEEP SAFE AND HAPPY HUNTING

Australia

 

 Australia is essentially a Western culture influenced by the unique geography of the Australian continent, the diverse input of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the British colonisation of Australia that began in 1788, and the various waves of multi-ethnic migration that followed. The predominance of the English language, the existence of a democratic system of government drawing upon the British traditions of Westminster Government, Parliamentarianism and constitutional monarchy, American constitutionalist and federalist traditions, Christianity as the dominant religion, and the popularity of sports originating in (or influenced by) the British Isles, are all evidence of a significant Anglo-Celtic heritage. Australian culture has diverged significantly since British settlement in 1788.

The oldest surviving cultural traditions in Australia—and some of the oldest surviving cultural traditions on earth—are those of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Their ancestors have inhabited Australia for between 40,000 and 60,000 years, living a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. In 2006, the Indigenous population was estimated at 517,000 people, or 2.5 per cent of the total population

In 2014, 24.6% of Australians were born elsewhere and 43.1% of people had at least one overseas-born parent; the five largest immigrant groups were those from the United Kingdom, New Zealand, China, India, and Vietnam.

 

Australia encompasses a wide variety of biogeographic regions being the world's smallest continent but the sixth-largest country in the world. The population of Australia is concentrated along the eastern and southeastern coasts. The geography of the country is extremely diverse, ranging from the snow-capped mountains of the Australian Alps and Tasmania to large deserts, tropical and temperate forests.
Neighbouring countries include Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and the French dependency of New Caledonia to the east, and New Zealand to the southeast.

 

The Australian mainland has a total coastline length of 35,876 km (22,292 mi) with an additional 23,859 km (14,825 mi) of island coastlines.There are 758 estuaries around the country with most located in the tropical and sub-tropical zones. Australia claims an extensive Exclusive Economic Zone of 8,148,250 square kilometres (3,146,057 sq. mi). This exclusive economic zone does not include the Australian Antarctic Territory. Australia has the largest area of ocean jurisdiction of any country on earth. It has no land borders. The northernmost points of the country are the Cape York Peninsula of Queensland and the Top End of the Northern Territory. The western half of Australia consists of the Western Plateau, which rises to mountain heights near the west coast and falls to lower elevations near the continental centre. The Western Plateau region is generally flat, though broken by various mountain ranges such as the Hamersley Range, the MacDonnell Ranges, and the Musgrave Range. Surface water is generally lacking in the Western Plateau, although there are several larger rivers in the west and north, such as the Murchison, Ashburton, and Victoria river.

 

Giants Australia

The World was completely covered in giants on every continent before and after modern man appeared on the scene.
The Proof is everywhere, or was. On every continent, except South America, all (remains) were confiscated and vanished. ALL!

In one case in America, 60 skeletons 10 to 12 feet tall were found in a cave by some farmers. Every single one vanished. And in their place were put fake artifacts and the heights were changed to between 6 and 8 feet, everywhere.
Only old stories of eye witnesses are left to dispute the “Official Story”.

“There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare [children] to them, the same [became] mighty men which [were] of old, men of renown.” Gen 6:4

In old Pleistocene river gravels near Bathurst, N.S.W. huge stone artifacts-clubs, pounders, adzes, chisels, knives and hand-axes-all of tremendous weight, lie scattered over a wide area.

A fossicker searching the Winburndale River north of Bathurst discovered a large quartzitised fossil human molar tooth, far too big for any normal modern human. A similar molar of chert fossilisation was also recovered from ancient deposits near Dubbo, N.S.W. Prospectors working in the Bathurst district over 40 years ago frequently reported coming across large human footprints in shoals of red jasper.

Some of these have been rediscovered over the years and give every appearance of being of great antiquity. The point raised by these discoveries is that there once existed on the Australian continent giant tool-making hominids who preceeded the aborigines (Austroloids)by many thousands of years. For, it is certain that the aborigines were never the first inhabitants of this continent. Even they admit in their ancient folklore that this land was inhabited by many races of man, as well as giants, long before them.

Green Island - Cairns Queensland Australia

Green Island is 27 km offshore from Cairns in North Queensland. Most visitors travel to Green Island on commercial charter boats from Cairns. Commercial charter boats depart from the Reef Fleet Terminal at the end of Spence Street. Travel time to the island varies between 50 and 60 mins.
Commercial helicopter and seaplane services also operate to and from the island.

The island and reef are part of the traditional sea country of the Guru-Gulu Gungandji Aboriginal people. They know the island as Wunyami. Today the Guru-Gulu Gungandji people maintain a close connection with the island.
Green Island has been a popular tourist destination for more than a century. The island became a national park in 1937, a marine park in 1974 and part of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area in 1981. The surrounding waters form part of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and Great Barrier Reef Coast Marine Park and are within in the Scientific Research (Orange) or Marine National Park (Green) zones.

Green Island resort offers facilities for day visitors as well as luxury overnight accommodation.

Green Island draws more than 300,000 people each year from all over the world. Due to this high level of visitation Green Island is important to the regional economic base and is a significant recreation and tourism destination in the region.

Australian snakes

Its ok Skippy I know CPR

Have a go Anna!

Snakes on a plane

Coal seam gas, shale gas and fracking in Australia

Coal seam gas (CSG) and the gas that comes from shales are chemically very similar. They generate the same amount of heat and CO₂ when burned in your heater or at an electricity power plant. And both coal seam gas and shale gas produce about half the CO₂ of brown coal.

Fracture stimulation of coal and shale reservoirs, also known as fracking, consists of injecting a high-pressure mix of water, sand and chemicals into the reservoir.
The high-pressure water creates fractures in the reservoir. After the fracture is created, the injector pumps are shut off, the water flows back into the well, the sand stays in the fractures keeping them propped open and gas starts to flow via the fractures to the well bore.
Fractures created by this process are designed to grow tens of meters in height above the point in the well bore where they are initiated.
There is a slight risk that this fracking process can break out of the gas reservoir and grow into distant shallower aquifers.

The oil and gas industry say that contamination of a shallow aquifer via fracture stimulation has never happened in the 1.5 million fracking jobs that have been performed in the past 60 years.

However, the New York Times recently reported a case where this might have happened. Interestingly, the Times says an unusual conduit was required in the above case; the fracture stimulation did not leak directly into the aquifer, but to a nearby improperly abandoned standard well bore.
Shale reservoirs are deeper than CSG reservoirs, and are thus further away from the shallow surface aquifers on which many communities and rural properties rely. This mitigates risks associated with the fracking process.
A more realistic – but less sensational – community concern is over industrial activity. Drilling and fracking wells requires heavy equipment, which is brought in on several dozen large trucks.
Drilling and fracking a well can be a busy and noisy process that can last a few days for shallow coal seam gas wells to several weeks for the deepest shale wells. It can be quite disruptive to those living nearby.

The Australian shale gas reservoirs currently being evaluated are in remote South Australia, the Northern Territory and Western Australia. This remoteness tends to minimise the community impact.

 

Where is Manus island ?

Located in the north, Manus Island is the smallest province in PNG with an area of 2,100 square kilometres. As of a 2011 Census, it had a population of 50,321.

Manus is a traditional name for a group of fishing people who inhabit coastal areas of Manus Island.  The name Manus differentiates them from other groups with differing customs and languages.

These people were good seafarers and traders.  There is a traditional story that they arrive in the Admiralty Islands some hundred of years ago sailing in 200 canoes from the east.

The offshore immigration detention centre on Papua New Guinea's Manus Island, which is set to be expanded under the Australian federal government's new asylum seeker policy, is one of the most controversial processing centres in the Australian network.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd sealed the deal with his counterpart, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, in Queensland on Friday 19th July 2013 in a mutually beneficial pact: PNG will take in asylum seekers in exchange for a wide range of economic and social benefits, including funding assistance for education and health reforms, as well as security. The pact is reported to costs billions of dollars.

The Admiralty Islands are a group of eighteen islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the south Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-covered islands form part of Manus Province, the smallest and least-populous province of Papua New Guinea. The total area is 2,100 km² (810 sq mi). Many of the islands are atolls and uninhabited.

The larger islands in the center of the group are Manus Island and Los Negros Island. The other larger islands are Tong Island, Pak Island, Rambutyo Island, Lou Island, and Baluan Island to the east, Mbuke Island to the south and Bipi Island to the west of Manus Island. Other islands that have been noted as significant places in the history of Manus include Ndrova Island, Pitylu Island and Ponam Island.

Emu Australia

"Major emu migrations occur about one year in seven. 

"The southward movement of tens of thousands of emus in certain seasons is one of Australia's greatest examples of wildlife migration

The Emus’ migration routes are also influenced by climate. As they can find more food in humid regions the birds wander always to places were rain was falling down recently. It’s not yet clear how Emus orientate themselves and can detect rain from several hundred kilometers away. Researchers believe this is a combination of sighting distant rain cloud formations, smelling rain, and hearing the far-off sound of thunder from distances the human ear cannot.

In Western.Australia, the 100-year-old fence, now called the State Barrier Fence, is the longest manmade structure in the state and is visible from space. It runs for 1170km through the state's southwest, from the Zuytdorp cliffs north of Kalbarri to east of Ravensthorpe.
Originally erected to keep rabbits from spreading westward, the fence is undergoing a multi-million dollar upgrade to protect more agricultural lands in the southwest from 'pest' species, including wild dogs, dingos, emus and kangaroos. It includes major plans for a new barrier, up to 700km long, through pristine woodlands leading down to Esperance, and $5 million has been put aside for that.

Viv Read, invasive species director for WA's agriculture department, says the plan is a response to the region's farmers, who complain of a rising incidence of wild dog attacks and crop damage from flocks of emus. "Extending the fence is a non-lethal way of controlling vermin and the alternative is baiting, shooting or trapping.
"The primary purpose and major benefit of the State Barrier Fence is to minimise emu impact on cropping areas," Viv says. "Major emu migrations occur about one year in seven. 


   

Whitsunday Islands

The Whitsundays 74 Island Wonders, located in the heart of the Great Barrier Reef, on the tropical coast of Queensland, Australia.
with the area being one of the most popular yachting destinations in the Southern Hemisphere.
Explore from the bow of a sailboat… cruise through the islands and drop anchor for a quick snorkel and wake up to a sunrise over world famous Whitehaven Beach. Or enjoy the spoils of a mainland resort with Coral Sea views at Airlie Beach, yet another 74 island wonder.

The Whitsunday Islands are a collection of continental islands of various sizes off the central coast of Queensland, Australia, situated between just south of Bowen and to the north of Mackay, some 900 kilometres (560 mi) north of Brisbane.
The island group is centred on Whitsunday Island, while the group's commercial centre is Hamilton Island.

The traditional owners of the area are the Ngaro People and the Gia People (Birri Gubba Language Group), the Juru Clan of which has the only recognised Native Title in the Region

Racial Discrimination in Australia

 

The Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (RDA) is a statute passed by the Australian Parliament during the Prime Ministership of Labor Gough Whitlam.



The RDA makes racial discrimination unlawful in Australia.

All across Australia, there are people and organisations doing great things to reduce and prevent racism. Many schools, students and teachers have already demonstrated their commitment to countering racism through their involvement in developing and implementing anti-racism education initiatives.

The Racism. It Stops with Me campaign isn’t about reinventing the wheel: they want to learn from past achievements and challenges. Their consultations have told them that it’s often the people working on the ground within local communities or specific environments who have the best understanding of the issues and ideas of how to overcome them. They believe that the most effective way to make a difference in the incidence of racism is to encourage and coordinate these efforts.
Over the next three years, we will:

• Ask organisations to commit to the campaign and develop their own anti-racism activities
• Ask individuals to become part of a community of people who are committed to leading by example
• Offer advice and assistance to supporters in implementing their anti-racism activities
• Provide a central coordination point for activities happening across Australia
• Develop materials to assist in the promotion of anti-racism messages
• Develop education tools for a range of audiences
• Share good practice examples for others to learn from and build on
• Facilitate linkages and partnerships between our supporter organisations.

By doing this, we hope to create a culture where people are able to identify racism and have the confidence and tools to act appropriately when it does occur. 

New Anti-Hate Spray puts the power of hate removal in your hands. Specifically formulated to combat racism, homophobia and any other discrimination, Anti-Hate Spray will leave your community clean and hate free.

Australia today is a multiethnic society and the product of more than two centuries of immigration. Laws forbid racial and other forms of discrimination and protect freedom of religion.

Although the majority of the population are Australian born, more than 75% of Australians identified with an ancestry other than Australian in the 2011 Census. About 2% of Australians come from Indigenous backgrounds and about 43% have at least one parent who has born overseas. 30% of the population were born in another country. Of the overseas born, the major countries of birth are England, New Zealand and China. About 8.5% of Australians were born in non-English speaking countries. In all, Australians come from over 200 birthplaces.

What is vilification on the basis of race or religion?

Vilification is different from discrimination. While discrimination involves unfair treatment, vilification is a public act that incites others to hate you or your group (or have serious contempt for, or severely ridicule you) because of your race or religion.
This sort of hatred can show up in a number of ways including hate speeches, leaflets, graffiti, websites, public abuse or media remarks.

Example

• Posters and graffiti inciting hatred of Jewish people are put up outside a synagogue.
• A spectator at a football match urges supporters to abuse a Muslim woman and to take off her hijab (veil).

 

 

Finding Nemo

Clown fish are found on the offshore islands of north-western Western Australia and from the northern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland.

Clownfish are typically very bright, orange fish that have three white stripes, one at the head, middle and tail. If you look really closely, you may notice that there are thin black lines around the white stripes. Also, the tips of their fins have a thin black rounded stripe.

Clownfish can grow to be from 2 to 5 inches long. The males tend to be significantly smaller than the females. However, there are various types of clownfish that range in colours from blue to yellow.

Clownfish live in a "symbiotic" relationship with certain anemones. This means they benefit from living with the sea anemone, and the sea anemone benefits from the presence of the clownfish. They are the only fish that are able to live in sea anemones and not get stung by their tentacles. Clownfish are very active fish and are extremely aggressive. Because they are quite active, the clownfish are thought to be "clowning around". They defend their territory and the sea anemone that they live in. Clownfish eat the leftovers from fish on the anemone and algae. The leftovers include copepods, isopods and zooplankton.

Clownfish have a few ocean predators, but their greatest threat is humans. People who catch clownfish and keep them as pets in aquariums are making a mistake. There are only ten out of more than one thousand types of anemone that are able to host these fish. Many people put the fish in a tank with the wrong anemone. In captivity, the clownfish can live from 3 to 5 years. In the wild, they live 6 to 10 years.

Australian Megafauna

The term "megafauna" is usually applied to large animals (over 100 kg). In Australia, however, megafauna were never as large as those found on other continents, and so a more lenient criterion of over 40 kg is often applied^.

Australian megafauna are a number of large animal species in Australia, often defined as species with body mass estimates of greater than 30 kilograms, or equal to or greater than 30% greater body mass than their closest living relatives. Many of these species became extinct, it is thought by many scientists, that with the arrival of humans (around 48,000-60,000 years ago), hunting and the use of fire to manage their environment may have contributed to the extinction of the megafauna. Increased aridity during peak glaciation (about 18,000 years ago) may have also contributed to the extinction of the megafauna.

Australia has a few remaining native megafauna, such as the Red Kangaroo, Emu and Estuarine Crocodile, whilst the oceans that surround our continent are home to the largest living marine megafauna, like the Blue Whale, Giant Squid, Whale Shark and Leather-back turtle. However, Australia didn’t always have so few native megafauna, instead our island continent was once home to the largest ever monotremes (egg-laying mammals), marsupials (pouched mammals), lizards and birds. Evidence of these extinct megafauna can be found across Australia as fossilised remains found in deep dark caves, eroding from river and creek banks, in ancient swampy peat bogs and dried-up salt lakes, and even eroding from old beach dunes.

Australian Lions
Thylacoleo ("pouch lion") is an extinct carnivorous marsupial that lived in Australia 2 million to 46 thousand years ago. Some of these "marsupial lions" were the largest mammalian predators in Australia of that time, with Thylacoleo carnifex approaching the weight of a small lion.

Giant kangaroos
Procoptodon (Giant Short-faced Kangaroo) was the largest kangaroo to ever live, standing 8 feet tall and possessing a truly bizarre body-shape. Unlike modern day kangaroos Procoptodon had an extremely short face, almost human-like, enormously long and strong forearms, robust and muscular legs and a short thick tail. Procoptodon was not built for excessive hopping, in fact, it would have used its long arms, strong legs and thick tail to balance itself whilst it pulled down large branches from trees, stripping them of their new leaves to feed such a bulky body. Fossils of this giant have been found in the Winton district, preserved as fragmentary teeth and a possible pelvis.

Marsupials

Marsupials are characterised, by the presence of a pouch in which they rear their young.

Australia has the world's largest, and most diverse range of marsupials.

Numbat's long tongue used for catching termites

The carnivorous marsupials order Dasyuromorphia, are represented by two surviving families, the Dasyuridae with 51 members, and the Myrmecobiidae with the numbat as its sole surviving member.

Tamanian Tigers in captivity 1930's

The Tasmanian Tiger was the largest Dasyuromorphia and the last living specimen of the family Thylacinidae however, what appears to have been the last known specimen died in captivity in 1936.

Tasmanian Devil

The world's largest surviving carnivorous marsupial is the Tasmanian Devil, it is the size of a small dog and can hunt, although it is mainly a scavenger. It became extinct on the mainland some 600 years ago, and is now found only in Tasmania.

Quoll (native cat)

There are four species of quoll, or native cat, all of which are threatened species.

Marsupial Mole

There are two species of Marsupial Mole Notoryctemorphia that inhabit the deserts of Western Australia, these rare blind and earless carnivorous creatures, spend most of their time underground,little is known about them.

Bilby                                              Sugar Glider                                   Bandicoot

The Sugar Glider,the bandicoots and bilbies Peramelemorphia,are marsupial omnivores. There are seven species in Australia, most of which are endangered. These small creatures share several characteristic physical features: a plump, arch-backed body with a long, delicately tapering snout, large upright ears, long, thin legs, and a thin tail. The evolutionary origin of this group is unclear, because they share characteristics from both carnivorous and herbivorous marsupials.

The Koala does not normally need to drink, because it can obtain all of the moisture it needs by eating leaves.Herbivorous marsupials are classified in the order Diprotodontia, and further into the suborders Vombatiformes and Phalangerida. The Vombatiformes include the Koala and the three species of wombat. One of Australia's best-known marsupials, the Koala is an arboreal species that feeds on the leaves of various species of eucalyptus.

Baby Wombat

Wombats, on the other hand, live on the ground and feed on grasses, sedges and roots. Wombats use their rodent-like front teeth and powerful claws to dig extensive burrow systems; they are mainly crepuscular and nocturnal.

Little Pygmy Possum

 The Phalangerida includes six families and 26 species of possum and three families with 51 species of macropod. The possums are a diverse group of arboreal marsupials and vary in size from the Little Pygmy Possum, weighing just 7g, to the cat-sized Common Ringtail and Brushtail possums. The Sugar and Squirrel Gliders are common species of gliding possum, found in the eucalypt forests of eastern Australia, while the Feathertail Glider is the smallest glider species. The gliding possums have membranes called 'patagiums' that extend from the fifth finger of their forelimb back to the first toe of their hind foot. These membranes, when outstretched, allow them to glide between trees.

Kangaroo flexing his muscles

Finally the macropods are divided into three families, the Hypsiprymnodontidae, with the Musky Rat-kangaroo as its only member, the Potoroidae, with 11 species; and the Macropodidae, with 45 species. Macropods are found in all Australian environments except alpine areas.

Tasmanian Betongs

The Potoroidae include the bettongs, potaroos and rat-kangaroos, small species that make nests and carry plant material with their tails.

Mountain Wallabies

The Macropodiae include kangaroos, wallabies and associated species; size varies widely within this family. Most macropods have large hind legs and long, narrow hind feet, with a distinctive arrangement of four toes, and powerfully muscled tails, which they use to hop around. The Musky Rat-kangaroo is the smallest macropod and the only species that is quadrupedal not bipedal, while the male Red Kangaroo is the largest, reaching a height of about 2 m and weighing up to 85 kg.