Insight 8: The Railway

In the early days, as with many new countries, Australia prided itself on developing a railway system. Cities linked with cities, which linked with smaller towns, and it grew bigger and bigger. So what went wrong?

The motorcar! As cars and trucks grew increasingly more reliable, there were fewer passengers on the passenger trains, and most significantly, less goods to transport. It simply became cheaper to transport goods by road. And slowly, slowly, the railways began closing down. They simply weren’t economical. The 1950, 60, and 70s saw it all decline. But, as usual, there are quaint reminders.

The left photo is a disused country train station. The right photo is an equally disused ‘trestle’ bridge. Trains once rumbled past these places, but that was decades ago.

Insight 6: The Deserts

Australia is actually mostly desert. It is dry, and not a place anyone would like to live in. Consequently, very few people live there.

So, Australia is a huge country, but with so many deserts, we only have a relatively small population. Most of Australia lives on the much nicer east coast, which has a long mountain range, more rainfall, and some beautiful beaches.

The desert, or ‘outback’ or ‘bush’ as we call it, had a strong influence on our history and culture, and if Australians want to look ‘traditional’ they often use elements of desert dress, food, and often aboriginal culture. You will still all these sort of objects in all the tourists shops.

Still, the deserts are interesting, and many tourists visit some parts of it, especially ‘Uluru’ or Ayer’s Rock (right), one of the largest rocks in the world. Think about seeing it yourself, one day.

Insight 5: The Suburbs

The urban design of Australia is very different to Taiwan – very different indeed.

For a start, Australia’s cities have ‘zoning’, where our houses are groups together, shops are grouped together, factories are group together, and so on. This creates ‘suburbs’ – large areas with houses and gardens, and the suburbs go on, and on, since we have so much land.

Gardening is a national hobby, and the landscape is peaceful, beautiful, and very clean. However, coming from Taiwan, you might also find it boring. Well, I found it peaceful and relaxing. Different cultures; different ways of seeing things. Who’s right? Who’s wrong. Hmmmmmm…..

Insight 3: Farmland

Australia is certainly a big country, and has lots of fertile land. This means that it is an agricultural country. Agriculture – that is, growing crops or raising animals – has, historically, always been one of the major industries. Last year I drove from Brisbane to Melbourne – a huge distance – and I was struck by just how much farmland there was. It seemed endless. Cows, sheep, horses, and crops (pineapples, sugar cane, vegetables, cotton, and others). Much of this is exported. Here in Taiwan, you probably eat Australian cheese, Australian beef, and wear Australian wool.

Is this good or bad? Hmmmm. Australia is generally much more expensive than Taiwan, but the milk, meat, and chicken is by far cheaper. Milk is only $25 NT/litre. You can drink it like water. Whole roast chickens are only $200 NT. And it all tastes great. However, some complain at how expensive the electronic goods are, and how primitive the technology is (compared to Taiwan). And it can be seen as too rural, as well. To me, it is peaceful and beautiful. To others, dusty and boring.

There’s good and bad in everything. I have included a photo of a beautiful (or dusty and boring) farm sent to me by my brother. It looks picture perfect, right, but would you really want to live there?