Australia isn’t just outback, kangaroos & deadly animals. It’s a multicultural, urban nation with rich Indigenous history, quirky slang, world-class coffee, and plenty of myths that outsiders love to repeat.

Environment Myths

• Myth: Dangerous animals are everywhere
  Fact: While Australia has venomous creatures, you're more likely to be injured by a horse than a snake or spider. Most urban areas are safe, and wildlife encounters are rare unless you're in the bush or in remote regions.

• Myth: Kangaroos roam city streets
  Fact: Kangaroos are common in rural areas, but they don’t hop through downtown Sydney. You might spot them near bushland suburbs, but they’re not part of the daily commute.

• Myth: Australians ride kangaroos
  Fact: Kangaroos are abundant, but no one rides them. In fact, experts encourage eating kangaroo meat to manage populations.

• Myth: Koalas are bears
  Fact: Koalas are marsupials, not bears. They sleep up to 22 hours a day, but eucalyptus leaves don’t intoxicate them.

• Myth: Australia is always hot
  Fact: Melbourne winters average 14°C, and there are ski fields in NSW & Victoria.

• Myth: Australia is all outback
  Fact: 86% of Australians live in urban areas, with half in Sydney & Melbourne.

Food & Culture Myths

• Myth: Australians eat Vegemite all day
  Fact: Vegemite is a national staple, usually eaten thinly spread on toast with butter.  It is used in cooking a lot. Not many people eat it all day. (The author of this piece eats it every day!).

• Myth: Everyone throws shrimp on the barbie
  Fact: The phrase was popularised by Paul Hogan in a 1984 tourism ad. Australians actually say “prawns,” not shrimp, and barbecues are more likely to feature sausages, steaks, or lamb chops.

• Myth: Australians are all laid-back surfers
  Fact: While beach culture is strong, Australia is diverse and urban, most people live in cities and lead varied lifestyles.

• Myth: Australians speak only English
  Fact: Before colonisation, there were around 300 Indigenous languages. Today, one in five Australians speak another language at home, including Chinese, Arabic & Vietnamese.

• Myth: Australia has the best coffee in the world
  Fact: Italian migration shaped Australia’s espresso culture, and Melbourne is globally recognised for its cafés.

History & Identity Myths

• Myth: Captain Cook discovered Australia
  Fact: Indigenous Australians had lived there for tens of thousands of years, and Dutch explorers arrived well before Cook. He wasn’t even a captain at the time.

• Myth: All Australians descend from convicts
  Fact: While 164,000 British convicts were sent here, today’s population is multicultural, over 6 million migrants from Europe, Asia & beyond.

• Myth: Australia is just desert and Outback
  Fact: Over 80% of Australians live within 100 km of the coast in urban areas. Cities like Melbourne & Perth are vibrant and green.

• Myth: “Bogans” define Aussie culture
  Fact: The term “bogan” is complex, some embrace it, others reject it. Australia’s working class is diverse, educated & culturally rich.

• Myth: Sydney or Melbourne is the capital
  Fact: Canberra was built as a compromise capital in 1901.

Other Funny Myths

• Myth: Toilets flush backwards in Australia
  Fact: Toilets don’t care about hemispheres. The Coriolis effect is far too weak to influence something as small as a toilet bowl. The direction of flush depends entirely on the design of the toilet, specifically, the angle & placement of the jets that push water into the bowl. The Coriolis effect does influence large bodies of water and air (like cyclones spinning clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere & anticlockwise in the Northern Hemisphere), but not your bathroom plumbing.

• Myth: Everyone looks like Chris Hemsworth or Margot Robbie
  Fact: Australia is diverse, and 65% of adults are overweight.

• Myth: Australians use a lot of slang
  Fact: Words like “arvo” (afternoon), “brekkie” (breakfast), and “servo” (service station) are everyday language.

• Myth: Australians are friendly & welcoming
  Fact: For the most part, reputation holds true; warmth & mateship are central to Australian identity. But like any other country, we have 'those' that are less than welcoming. Hopefully, you meet more of one than the other!