Dear (geographically-challenged) Australians

[trixtah]

Despite the popular propaganda, most of NZ is not any further south than Australia is. Auckland (36°52S) is half a degree south of Canberra (35°18S), and 1½ degrees south of Sydney (34°S).

Wellington (41°17S) is 3½ degrees south of Melbourne (37°47S). Christchurch (43°31S) is not even a degree south of Hobart (42°54S). At 42 degrees, the length of a degree is 111km. Auckland is merely around 166km south of Sydney. ¾ of the country is thus in the same lats as the bottom half of Australia.

In other words, most of the people in NZ live in pretty much the same latitudes as most of the people in Australia. It is a bit colder in NZ over all, since it's surrounded by sea and is more mountainous. But it's not that cold.

(PS. I know plenty of Aussies who aren't so clueless - the ones on my flist, for example - but it amazes me to hear the same crap from people who should know better).

Comments

[ruth-lawrence.livejournal.com]

Have you noticed how very little of NZ is reported here, though?

I think I heard it mentioned once in a school course, too.

[trixtah.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, re paucity of reportage, although there's a reasonable amount in the SMH, I find (probably due to the number of kiwis in Sydney). But it's not as if there are many Australians who don't know a NZer. Of course, there are hardly any middle-class kiwis over 30 who haven't visited Oz. I would put the number of similar Aussies I've met who've travelled the other way at less than 20%.

I also have heard about 10x the amount of jokes about kiwis here than I ever did about Aussies back home. Interesting, that.

[ruth-lawrence.livejournal.com]

I didn't hear many of those jokes until recently, in truth...but then I tend to drift off if there are any ethnic jokes at all.

There are many Polynesians in my actual area, most of whom ore from NZ (Aotearoa, I know).

One of my brothers lives in Wellington, and the other is over there visiting now.

[goatsfoot.livejournal.com]

When I was in NZ I was really struck by the amount of Oz related news. And pleased at the really quite good and frank and critical reporting of Australia's treatment of refugees and indigenous people - so frank it would be only the domain of 'extreme' left reporting in Australia.

I also found being occasionally mistaken for a Kiwi amusing - once in a pub when I asked what the beers were - the guy was bemused until I said I was Australian!