11 WEIRD Things I Had Never Seen Before Coming to Australia (2024)

I don't know what monster was putting that much Vegemite on a piece of toast, but that was enough for a family.

The toilet thing originated because traditionally the toilet was an outhouse somewhere in the backyard. As it moved inside, they still preferred it to be separate from the main bathroom, likely for the reasons you described. I’m probably not alone in saying I definitely prefer my toilet seperate to my bathroom.

The great thing about having a GP, is that it’s one doctor who keeps track of all your different ailments and treatments from specialists and can spot links between them and find a common cause. Often finding the source of the many seemingly separate ailments and treating that instead of multiple symptoms. It’s also helpful seeing one person who you’ve met in person multiple times who knows your health history. It makes it easier to open up about more sensitive subjects and often times results in them asking different and better questions they might not have if they didn’t have a personal rapport with the patient.

I'm an Aussie and I just want to say this is the best weird things about Australia video I have seen. It was educational, informative and enjoyable. Thank you!!

The bottle shops being separate from grocery stores is not to limit alcohol consumption. It’s because supermarkets employ minors, who are not legally allowed to sell alcohol. Also the customers in bottle shops are sometimes already drunk and we don’t want drunk people in grocery stores.

You didn't mention that Australian schools also usually have swimming lessons which are often compulsory. Many drowning victims in Australia were born overseas or come from different cultures. Swimming is a huge part of Australian culture and it's really important to know how.

I moved to OZ in my thirties (one of the best decisions of my life) and was surprised by many of these things as well. One I absolutely appreciate is the health system with the GP. Not only this doctor can refer you to the proper specialist, not the one you think you need, but they know your full medical history. Having a GP you trust is priceless.

Having a wheelie bag for school seems so strange to me, but I agree it’s a good idea. Especially for school kids carrying around books etc.

Australians don't just put their hard rubbish on the side of the road like she has said. Once every year as a general rule the local councils have a rubbish collection for large items. Residents place their rubbish outside by the side of the road for the council to collect. This is often large items that cannot be put in the weekly bin collection. People often throw out, chairs, lounge suites and tables, fridges and other large items. They are placed outside a few days before the council is due to collect them. Often some people will drive around and take good things before the council arrives. They will fix these good things and sell them. Basically, Australians don't just throw things on the sides of the road. These are arranged yearly council rubbish collections.

Most Aussies don't store Vegemite in the fridge, all it does is make it difficult to spread

As an Aussie, I too am fascinated by our native animals. They never cease to make me pause, admire and care for all of them feathers fur and fin.

Your comment regarding how safe it is to go see an Aussie Rukes match, compared to going to see a soccer match, made me proud to be an Aussie. Thank you for pointing that out 🙂

I'm an Aussie and I STILL get excited when I see a kangaroo in the wild, and I love all our amazing birds too. It's such a thrill when you see one of the less common ones like a Crimson Rosella or Eastern Rosella or King Parrot.

It is better to have the toilet separate. You should NEVER have the toothbrush in the same room as your toilet. Plus, if someone wants to take a long bubble bath… others can still go to the loo.

We also have compulsory swimming lessons in most schools & if we have a home pool it must be fully fenced. These measures have saved thousands of lives, mostly children, since being introduced, in the 1970s ☺️ when I see home pools overseas I never see a fence 😓

If nobody else already said it, "Nipper" is old slang for a child, I think it comes from "Ankle biters" which is also slang for children.

In Australia a grocery store needs to have a licence to sell alcohol, this also means they have to hire only workers who are 18 years or over. To compensate for this, most grocery stores separate their liquor into a separate store to one side, this store often has a separate name too, but is owned by the grocery store

When trying Vegemite for the 1st time, spread it VERY lightly on your buttered toast. It's also good as a flavoring in stews/soups with red meat

I was born in Australia and live on a property and even though i have a resident mob of roos on my property i still get excited everytime I see them. I love how unique all our wildlife is

Yes, Vegemite has always been a light spread across the toast, The heavy spread is often used as a practical joke for people that have never tried it. I was born and still live in Australia and I still love seeing our wild life. Once when I was out gold detecting, paying attention only to the ground in front of me, When a large rock that i was standing next to, got up and hopped away. Scared the daylights out of me, id come across a snoozing Roo and disturbed its slumber. I hope you enjoy your time here, Cheers!