Australia national speedway team

Australia are one of the major teams in international motorcycle speedway with the country regarded as the birthplace of the sport in the 1920s. The current team is managed by former rider Mark Lemon, and captained by 2012 World Champion Chris Holder. Australia finished 3rd in the 2014 Speedway World Cup Final on 2 August in Bydgoszcz, Poland.

Speedway World Cup

The Australian national speedway team has won both the Speedway World Team Cup (1960-2000) and the Speedway World Cup (2001–present) on two occasions respectively, and were a major force at the turn of the 21st century. The team won its first World Team Cup in 1976 with captain John Boulger, Phil Crump, Billy Sanders, Phil Herne and reserve Garry Middleton, but had to wait over 30 years before winning three tournaments out of four, between 1999 and 2002. Key riding members of the title wins since 1999 include Jason Crump (undefeated through the 2001 World Cup rounds and Final), Leigh Adams, Ryan Sullivan and Todd Wiltshire who took part in all three wins, while Jason Lyons rode in two (1999 and 2002) and Craig Boyce rode in 2001.

Australia

Coordinates: 27°S 133°E / 27°S 133°E / -27; 133

Australia (/ɒˈstreɪliə/, /ə-/, colloquially /-jə/), officially known as the Commonwealth of Australia, is an Oceanian country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area. Neighbouring countries include Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor to the north; the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east.

For about 50,000 years before the first British settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who spoke languages grouped into roughly 250 language groups. After the European discovery of the continent by Dutch explorers in 1606, Australia's eastern half was claimed by Great Britain in 1770 and initially settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales from 26 January 1788. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades; the continent was explored and an additional five self-governing crown colonies were established. On 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. Since federation, Australia has maintained a stable liberal democratic political system that functions as a federal parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy comprising six states and several territories. The population of 24 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated in the eastern states and on the coast.

Australia (The Kinks song)

"Australia" is a song by the British rock band The Kinks, appearing on their 1969 album, Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire). It was written by the band's main songwriter, Ray Davies.

Lyrics and Music

In the song, the character Derek (who is featured in the story line of Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)) attempts to convince his father, Arthur, of the great opportunities available in Australia, where there's "no drug addiction" and you can "surf like they do in the U.S.A." Derek's advertisement is compared to John Smith, who campaigned for America in a similar manner, by author Thomas Kitts.

The song also features a jam sequence lasting for approximately half the song, which is atypical for The Kinks. In the Australian single edit, this section is removed by editing an earlier section of the song into another section during a drum beat, which is then followed by a fade-out.

Release

"Australia" was only released in most countries on the Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) album, where it was the closing track on side one. However, in Australia, a dramatically cut down version of the song was released as a single, with another Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) track, "She's Bought a Hat Like Princess Marina", on the B-side. However, the single was commercially unsuccessful.

Australia (Whore of the world)

Australia (Whore of the world) is a climate change protest song written by singer-songwriter John Gordon and released in late 2010. The song laments Australia's mining culture - especially coal mining in Australia and coal exports - likening the country to a 'mining whore'.

It has featured in a wide variety of Australian press and online media, including mining forums, and continues to garner attention due to its controversial and provocative message. Music press have hailed the song as one of the great contemporary Australian protest songs. The Melbourne Age went as far as to say that Midnight Oil's 'Blue Sky Mine' has nothing on 'Australia (Whore of the World)'. The Song has been banned by ABC Local Radio Southern Queensland (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) as being too provocative for a conservative audience. ABC Southern Queensland encompasses the Toowoomba and Darling Downs region which is the region where Gordon hails from originally and where he has performed the song at a number of anti-mining rallies. The song has however received airplay in other parts of Australia from the ABC, and has been showcased on the national flagship ABC Environment website. As of May 2011, Gordon is contesting the Toowoomba ruling with the case currently before the independent ABC Consumer and Audience review board.