Australia

[Akhenaten]



New South Wales
The First State

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Established 26 January 1788

Coat of Arms

State Flag

Floral Emblem - Waratah (Telopea Speciosissima)

Faunal Emblem - Platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus)

State Bird - Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae)



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Tasmania
The Apple Isle

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Established 3 December 1825

Coat of Arms

State Flag

Floral Emblem - Tasmanian Blue Gum (Eucalyptus globulus)

Faunal Emblem (unofficial) - Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harrisii)



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Western Australia
The State of Excitement

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Established 12 June 1829

Coat of Arms

State Flag

Floral Emblem - Red and Green Kangaroo Paw (Anigozanthos manglesii)

Faunal Emblem - Numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus)

State Bird - Black Swan (Cygnus atratus)



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South Australia
The Festival State

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Established 28 December 1836

Coat of Arms

State Flag

Floral Emblem - Sturt's Desert Pea (Swainsona formosa)

Faunal Emblem - Southern Hairy Nosed Wombat (Lasiorhinus krefftii)

State Bird - Piping Shrike a.k.a. White Backed Magpie (Cracticus tibicen tyrannica)



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[Akhenaten]



Victoria
The Garden State

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Established 1 July 1851

Coat of Arms

State Flag

Floral Emblem - Pink Heath (Epacris impressa)

Faunal Emblem - Leadbeater's Possum (Gymnobelideus leadbeateri)

State Bird - Helmeted Honeyeater (Lichenostomus melanops cassidix)



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Queensland
The Sunshine State

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Established 6 June 1859

Coat of Arms

State Flag

Floral Emblem - Cooktown orchid (Dendrobium phalaenopsis)

Faunal Emblem - Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus)

State Bird - Brolga (Grus rubicunda)



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The Northern Territory
Outback Australia

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Established 1 January 1911

Coat of Arms

State Flag

Floral Emblem - Sturt's Desert Rose (Gossypium sturtianum)

Faunal Emblem - Red Kangaroo (Macropus rufus)

State Bird - Wedge-tailed Eagle (Aquila audax)



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Australian Capital Territory
The Nation's Capital

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Established 1 January 1911

Coat of Arms

State Flag

Floral Emblem - Royal Bluebell (Wahlenbergia gloriosa)

Faunal Emblem - Gang-gang Cockatoo (Callocephalon fimbriatum)



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Now yez've been told there's no excuse fer muckin' it up.

 

[carlitos]

Good stuff.

 

[BTMO]

I've shot and / or eaten several of those state faunal or bird emblems...

Just sayin'.

 

[Sideroxylon]

The ACT totally ripped off the NT's flag! It looks damn fine though.

 

[philkensebben]

Query - Why is WA not the 'sunshine state' rather than QLD? QLD, in my experience of about a years worth of living in Cairns, Port Douglas and Brisbane, seems perpetually blanketed in cloudy humid drizzle, whereas WA is a scorching dry heat in summer and cool sunny winter (generally).

Or is the most boring post ever?

 

[Akhenaten]

Query - Why is WA not the 'sunshine state' rather than QLD? QLD, in my experience of about a years worth of living in Cairns, Port Douglas and Brisbane, seems perpetually blanketed in cloudy humid drizzle, whereas WA is a scorching dry heat in summer and cool sunny winter (generally).

Legend(?) has it that the Sunshine State epithet is an attribute of the widely-held belief that the Sun shone out of Joh Bjelke-Petersen's arse, but I might just do a little bit of fact checking before I commit to a final answer.

From my own experience of many years living in South-east Bananaland and working in Sandgropia, I'd say teh Sunshine State is about right but WA should possibly be better identified as Ken-Hot-Eh?

Or is the most boring post ever?

Not a chance, my friend, and I'm in debt to you for providing the opportunity to find out some stuff and post it for the edification of the viewers.

 

[Sideroxylon]

Legend(?) has it that the Sunshine State epithet is an attribute of the widely-held belief that the Sun shone out of Joh Bjelke-Petersen's arse, but I might just do a little bit of fact checking before I commit to a final answer.

I can confirm having heard this rumour also. In addition it was said that QLD didn't implement daylight saving time because, in the premiers own words, he was not going to get out of bed an hour early for anyone.

 

[Akhenaten]

I can confirm having heard this rumour also. In addition it was said that QLD didn't implement daylight saving time because, in the premiers own words, he was not going to get out of bed an hour early for anyone.

Tru tok.

 

[Damien Evans]

I can confirm having heard this rumour also. In addition it was said that QLD didn't implement daylight saving time because, in the premiers own words, he was not going to get out of bed an hour early for anyone.

You can see why we have it in Victoria though, if we didn't from mid November to early January the sun would rise at around 4:30 in the morning, which is just uncivilised.

 

[Akhenaten]

You can see why we have it in Victoria though, if we didn't from mid November to early January the sun would rise at around 4:30 in the morning, which is just uncivilised.

Damn straight!

I traipse back up to The Land That Time Forgot™ now and then to stay with various rellos and despite having spent half my life up there it never ceases to amaze me that assorted wildlifes are making all manner of wakey-uppy noises at quarter-past the middle of the bloody night.


ETA: Forgot the ad:

 

[Akhenaten]

Query - Why is WA not the 'sunshine state' rather than QLD? QLD, in my experience of about a years worth of living in Cairns, Port Douglas and Brisbane, seems perpetually blanketed in cloudy humid drizzle, whereas WA is a scorching dry heat in summer and cool sunny winter (generally).

Or is the most boring post ever?

Right then . . .

I've done some research and discovered approximately nothing.

It seems that these slogans are pretty much the result of nothing more than whatever the tourist industry marketing gurus come up with, sometimes guided by and sometimes completely ignoring the vox populii. They aren't officially sanctioned by government with the exception of their use in government-sponsored tourism promotions and their appearance on vehicle number plates, although even these uses are largely driven by popular opinion.

It's probably important to point out that these slogans should not be confused with official state mottos, which are under the direct purview of the government. Queensland's state motto is "Audax at Fidelis" (Bold but Faithful). Western Australia manages to get by without one, probably because Latin frightens and confuses them.

In any case, it seems that in the case of Western Australia I've relied too much on memory and it turns out that the Sandgropers have actually been through a couple of slogan changes since the last time I looked.

Since the 1980s Western Australia has gone from being "The State of Excitement" to "Home of the America's Cup" (cringe) and then "The Golden State". All of these appeared on the state's number plates during their 15 minutes of fame until the practice was abandoned in the early 1990s. Nowadays all you get is a simple "Western Australia".

In tourism circles, the current (since about 2009) catch-cry is "The Real Thing". Here are some promotional videos which feature this slogan.

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I'm not entirely sure that Russell Morris deserves to be forgiven for selling out like that, although a bloke's got to eat, I suppose.

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The origins of Queensland's "Sunshine State" are - like most things in that strange, far-off land - lost in the mists of time.

In terms of number plates, the Banana Benders have two choices - the traditional "Sunshine State" or the slogan campaigned for by the state's former premier, Peter Beatty - "The Smart State". The latter was the only slogan available until public ridicule and interstate guffaws forced the government to concede and allow the choice. I can't find any figures for the take-up percentages, but I think we can probably take a stab at "The Smart State" being a very long second.

In terms of tourism promotion, a popular slogan for many years was "Queensland - Beautiful one day, perfect the next". This was, to a certain extent, usurped by the somewhat ambiguous "Where Else But Queensland" for over a decade until Someone In Charge realised the alternative meaning of this phrase in the southern states and in September 2010 premier Anna Bligh introduced Tourism Queensland's new (and current) brand - "Queensland, Where Australia Shines".

Here's an example:

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Talk about re-inventing the wheel.

 

[Akhenaten]

Speaking of Russell Morris . . .

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[Hallo Alfie]

Just a quick aside, I doubt Russell Morris would have owned the rights and royalties to the Real Thing; I understand it was written by Johnny Young (of Young Talent Time fame) and produced by Molly Meldrum.

Segway....?

 

[Giraffe107]

It's somewhat disturbing that the Tasmanian shield has tassie tigers on it- doesn't instil a great deal of confidence.

I have no idea why Qld has a deer on our shield.

The "State of Excitement" is a pretty lame slogan.

And SA surely you have more interesting birds than a bloody magpie!

 

[Giraffe107]

I do quite like the NT flag, it has a much more interesting design than the others.

 

[MG1962]

Just a quick aside, I doubt Russell Morris would have owned the rights and royalties to the Real Thing; I understand it was written by Johnny Young (of Young Talent Time fame) and produced by Molly Meldrum.

Segway....?

Word for word what I was going to say

 

[Akhenaten]

Just a quick aside, I doubt Russell Morris would have owned the rights and royalties to the Real Thing; I understand it was written by Johnny Young (of Young Talent Time fame) and produced by Molly Meldrum.

Segway....?

Word for word what I was going to say.

Good point. I'll cancel the planned protest removal of teh Real Thing as my ring tone.

 

[MG1962]

Good point. I'll cancel the planned protest removal of teh Real Thing as my ring tone.

Well you could still drop some hate on the oils for doing the cover version lol

 

[Akhenaten]

It's somewhat disturbing that the Tasmanian shield has tassie tigers on it- doesn't instil a great deal of confidence.

Perhaps it's too soon to give up hope. Efforts continue into the present to sequence the complete thylacine genome and there remain those who have confidence that the animal can be cloned back from extinction by using DNA from preserved specimens.

At any rate, the 'tiger' is a unique and world-famous symbol of the island state - so much so that it features in the current state government logo which is used increasingly nowadays in preference to the coat of arms.

I have no idea why Qld has a deer on our shield.

The red deer is a traditional heraldic critter and is used in this case to represent Queensland's links to the old world. It's use is also justified as recognition of Queen Victoria's gift of a small herd of deer from her own estates to the foundling colony.

The "State of Excitement" is a pretty lame slogan.

It's yods better than "Home of the America's Cup", at least. I'm not too sure about "The Real Thing" either, just quietly, and I reckon they were on more of a winner with "The Golden State"

I suppose they're all a bit corny, when you get right down to it.

And SA surely you have more interesting birds than a bloody magpie!

I think they ate them all.