Apart from a tendency among men of a certain age to wear knee-high socks with shorts, these people are just like you and me…
The people are immensely likable—cheerful, extrovert, quick-witted, and unfailingly obliging. Their cities are safe and clean and nearly always built on water. They have a society that is prosperous, well ordered, and instinctively egalitarian. The food is excellent. The beer is cold. The sun nearly always shines. There is coffee on every corner. Rupert Murdoch no longer lives there. Life doesn’t get much better than this.
— Bill Bryson, In a Sunburned Country
National Holidays:
New Year’s Day (January 1)
Australia Day (January 26)
Good Friday (Friday before Easter)
ANZAC Day (April 25)
Labour Day (varies by state & territory; usually 1st Monday in March, May, or October)
Queen’s Birthday (2nd Monday in June)
Christmas (December 25)
Boxing Day (December 26)
Other Holidays:
Commonwealth Day (2nd Monday in March)
Sorry Day (May 26)
Mabo Day (June 3)
Regional Holidays:
Canberra Day (March)
Queensland Day (June 6)
Foundation Day (Western Australia, June)
Picnic Day (Northern Territory, August)
Proclamation Day (South Australia, December)
Sporting Events and Festivals:
Regatta Cup (Tasmania, February)
Melbourne Cup (New South Wales, November)
Adelaide Cup (South Australia, March)
Geelong Cup (Victoria, October
Royal Queensland Show Day (August)
Darwin Show Day (July)
