Stone the Crows, It’s Australia Day! Let’s Celebrate

Crikey! It’s the 26th of January, so that means it’s Australia Day and time to celebrate some of the best things to come out of the land Down Under.

Kylie Minogue

The highest-selling Australian female artist, pint-sized Kylie has carved out an incredible career over four decades.

She rose to fame in 1988 with an enormous perm and an even bigger hit – Locomotion.

Labelled the Singing Budgie by critics early in her career, the former Neighbours star transformed herself from smiley Ramsay Street teenager to the Princess of Pop.

Kylie has sold 80 million records worldwide and is a fashion icon – thanks to those unforgettable gold hotpants.

Iconic swimwear

The beach-loving Aussies have given the world not one but two iconic swimsuits. The first is the racer-back, unveiled by sock-maker Alexander MacRae in 1927. The tight-fitting sleeveless all-in-one was banned from some beaches for revealing too much shoulder.

Things got even racier in 1959 when MacRae’s firm, Speedo, launched its men’s brief-style swimmers. The iddy biddy trunks left little to the imagination and became an instant hit on the beach and poolside, earning the popular nickname ‘budgie smugglers’.

The mullet

While the ancient Greeks invented the mullet, no other nation has taken the hairstyle to its heart quite like Australia.

Since becoming famous in the 70s and 80s, the hairstyle has never fallen out of fashion in Oz (some say this is for practical reasons, as the mullet stops the back of the neck getting sunburnt).

Every year in Australia, there’s a festival, Mulletfest, to celebrate the iconic hairdo, and a national fundraiser – Mullet for Mental Health – where people grow and shape their mullet to fundraise for charity.

Aussie slang

Australians have adapted the English language to suit their plain-speaking nature and physical surroundings. But to an outsider, the Aussie ‘lingo’ can be baffling.

Memorable phrases and words Australia has given the world include:

- Stone the crows! (translation: oh my goodness, you’re kidding me!)

- Ya flamin’ galah (you idiot)

- Drier than a Pommy’s bathmat (that thing’s never seen a drop of water in its life)

- You little ripper (brilliant)

- Crack open a tinny (get me a beer)

- Schnitty (chicken schnitzel)

- Dag (refers to someone who’s unfashionable; can be an insult or term of endearment). 

From all of us here at Leslie & Co., thanks for reading. And if you have a favourite Australian, let us know at @leslieandcompanyuk