Why Do They Call It Down Under?

Many people refer to Australia as “Down Under”. But why? When you’re in space, you can’t tell what’s up and what’s down. Everything is relative. So how did this term come about?

Let’s talk about the name Australia first. Australia is officially called the Commonwealth of Australia. One of its neighboring country is, of course, the beautiful Indonesia! That’s where I was born! Yeay! Flying back to Australia, here’s a short history course on the name of Australia: The name is derived from the Latin term, Terra Australis meaning “land of the south”. This latin term dates back to the roman times of Terra Australis Incognita, the “unknown southern land”. British explorer Captain Matthew Flinders named the unknown land Terra Australis, which is now more known in its abbreviated form, AUSTRALIA!

Too much information?!?!?! Take a break and look at these gorgeous pictures taken by lomographers Down Under!

So back to the question, why do they call it down under? It’s quite simple actually. If you’ve ever seen a globe of the world, you’d notice that Australia is below the equator, positioning it ‘below’ many other countries on the globe. And yes, its permanent population is entirely below the equator. The term is not just used to refer to Australia. It’s also sometimes used to refer to New Zealand, or both.

Yeap that’s all to the name Down Under. Nothing more. So do the Aussies mind that their country is referred to as Down Under? Or would you prefer Oz? Any Aussie Lomographers here?

written by ilkadj on 2012-07-13 #lifestyle #australia #down-under #aussie #why #oz