March 24, 2022
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A couple years ago, Australia debuted a nostalgic game celebration of Aussie life - relasing new $1 coins for people to find/collect: one coin for every letter of the alphabet, each featuring a classic cultural icon. They're now on "version 2." We've collected these coins from both games to discover new Aussie things.
On my first day of work at UNSW, I went into the post office on campus to mail a letter from my son to his classmates back in America. I saw a little tube for sale with "The Great Assie Coin Hunt" written on it. I thought it would be a fun way to explore Australian culture, so I bought a set for each of the kids. When I got home that evening, we poured through each coin, googling for more than half of the coins about things we'd never heard of, and writing a shopping list of things we wanted to try the next time we went to the store.
Topics featured on both versions of the Great Aussie Coin Hunt - A through M:
- A = Australia Post (the mail service provider here)
- A= Akubra (wide-brimmed hat, an Aussie version of a cowboy hat)
- B = Boomerang (a flat tool, traditionally an Aboriginal hunting weapon)
- B = BBQ ("barbie" - pronounced "baaabie"; cooking with fire / smoke)
- C = Cricket (a very popular game I don't understand but will learn)
- C = Cherry Ripe (cherry and coconut bar coated in dark chocolate)
- D = Didgeridoo (cylindrical or conical wind instrument, traditionally Aboriginal)
- D = Dingo (a type of ancient dog [or wolf] in most parts of Australia)
- E = Esky (popular brand of portable coolers, now generically means any cooler)
- E = Emu (second-largest bird on Earth, big deal in Aus and appears in iconography)
- F = Footy (Australian Rules Football - it's whole own intense thing with short shorts).
- F = flies (a big enough problem that the "Aussie Salute" is a whole thing)
- G = G'Day (good day in Australian English, common way of saying "hello")
- G = Great Barrier Reef (largest living structure on Earth, visible from space, ancient)
- H = Hills Hoist (height-adjustable clothesline - they're everywhere, our bldg has 3)
- H = Home and Away (Aus soap opera that made Chris Hemsworth famous)
- I = Iced Vovo (cookie with raspberry jam and coconut, tastes kind of like poptarts)
- I = Ironbark (dark-colored, resilient species of Eucalyptus tree)
- J = Jackaroo & Jillaroo (boots seen on basically everyone in Australia!)
- J = Jolly Swagman (transient laborer, occupies a culturally significant role)
- K = Kangaroo (marsupial from macropod or "large foot" family; our experience)
- K = Koala (marsupial animal - not a bear!
- L = Lamington (small square-shaped sponge cake dipped in chocolate & coconut)
- L = Lyrebird (medium-large birds notable for their aural mimicry & tail feathers)
- M = Meat Pie (savory pie, filled w different meats, often served with tomato sauce)
- M = Milo (chocolate-flavored malted power, typically mixed in a drink)
Coins N through Z:
- N = Neighbours (Aussie soap opera, cancelled this year after 37 seasons)
- N = Nobby's Nuts (brand of nuts with tagline, "nibble nobby's nuts")
- O = Outback (remote, sparsely populated, vast area of Australia)
- O = [Sydney] Opera House (a world-famous, distinctive building for performing arts)
- P = Platypus (semi-aquatic egg-laying mammal, endemic to Aus)
- P = Pavlova (crunchy exterior and soft interior meringue-based dessert)
- Q = Quokka (small animal the size of a cat; in the macropod/marsupail family)
- Q = Queen Victoria Market (largest open-air market in Southern Hemisphere)
- R = Royal Flying Doctor Service (non-profit air medical service for rural/remote Aus)
- R = Redback Spider (highly venomous Aus spider, related to black widows)
- S = Surf Life Saving ("clubbies" - volunteer coastal lifeguards & competitive surfers)
- S = Sydney Harbour Bridge (iconic, heritage-listed steel arch bridge)
- T = Thongs (Australian for "flip-flops")
- T = Tim Tam (chocolate biscuit [cookie]: creme center w 2 wafers dipped in chocolate)
- U = Ute (utility vehicle - a popular ugly car-truck that my husband wants to buy).
- U = Ulysses Butterfly (large blue butterfly)
- V = Vegemite (thick, dark brown yeasty paste eaten on toast)
- V = Victa lawnmower (Aus brand...feels like a strech...maybe not many "V" options!)
- W = Weet-Bix (popular whole-grain breakfast cereal)
- W = Witchetty Grub (large, white moth larvae; staple of traditional diets)
- X = Xantippe (rural place in Western Aus, only place in Aus that starts with X)
- X = Xanthorrhoea (ancient, hardy and resilient, slow-growing grass trees)
- Y = Yowie (bigfoot-like creature of Aboriginal myth)
- Y = Yabby (blue Australian crustacean, similar to lobster or crawfish)
- Z = Zooper Dooper (Aus brand of freezer pops)
- Z = Zinc (sun protectant that is safer than other chemicals for ocean life / coral)
