Australia. Something of Interest

Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is 2000 km in length. It is not only the most extensive reef system in the world, but the biggest structure made by living organisms. Drilling on the reef has indicated that the coral may be more than 500 metres thick. Most of the reef is about two million years old, but there arc sections dating back 18 million years.

Coral is formed by a small, primitive animal, a marine polyp of the family Coelenterata. Some polyps, known as hard corals, form a hard surface by excreting lime. When they die, the hard "skeletons' remain and these gradually build up the reef. New polyps grow on their dead predecessors and continually add to the reef. The skeletons of hard corals are white; the colours of reefs come from living polyps.

Coral needs a number of preconditions for healthy growth. The water temperature must not drop below 17.5øC, the water must be clear to allow sunlight to penetrate, and it must be salty.

One of the most spectacular sights of die Barrier Reef occurs for a few nights after a full moon in late spring or early summer, when vast number of corals spawn at the same time. The tiny bundles of sperm and aggs are visible to the naked eye and the event has been likened to a gigantic underwater snowstorm.

The Melbourne Cup

The greatest horse race in Australia, the prestigious Melbourne Cup, the centre of the city's Spring Racing Carnival is held on the first Tuesday in November. Although its position as the bearer of the largest prize for an Australian horse race is constantly under challenge, no other race can bring the country to a standstill.

It's a public holiday in the city's metropolitan area. For about an hour during the lead-up to the race, people all over the country get touched by Melbourne's spring racing fever. Serious punters and fashion-conscious racegoers pack the grandstand and lawns of the Victorian Racing Club's beautiful Flemington Racecourse, those who only bet once a year make their choice and organise Cup syndicates with friends, and the race is watched or listened to on TVs and radious in pubs, clubs and houses across the land. Australia virtually comes to a halt for the three or so minutes when the race is actually run.

The two-mile (3.2 km) flat race attracts horses and owners from Europe and the Middle East. Many people say that to be in Melbourne in Noverber and not to go to the Cup is like going to Paris and skipping die Louvre, or turning your back on the bulk in Pamplona.

Australia Guinness Recordsnew!

In 1988 there were 2,157 starters in the Australian Bicentennial Caltex Bike Ride from Melbourne to Sydney.