When I worked for Marine Turbine Technologies (MTT), I met an Australian production team filming a documentary on biodiesel. For three days, they filmed MTT’s turbine-powered pickup truck – nicknamed a “ute” in Australia – which could run on biodiesel. My time with the Aussie crew (and later binge-watching episodes of Bondi Beach) taught me there’s a lot more to this wild and wonderful country than the Sydney Opera House. So this week, World Geography Wednesday visits Australia!

To introduce your kids to Australia, I recommend watching “Tour Australia: Kakadu National Park”. Kakadu is the largest national park in Australia with eight different habitats and numerous alfresco Aboriginal Art galleries. I would love to see those in person!

We pulled out our maps of Oceania, Australia, and New Zealand. Then we read “Dingoes at Dinnertime” by Mary Pope Osborne and “Just Another Ordinary Day” by popular Australian cartoonist Rod Clement. We’d already seen “Finding Nemo” of course, but later in the week, we watched it just for fun.

Fun fact: Many of you know that the vast, central desert is called the Outback and that most Australians live along the coast in modern cities. But did you know the word “selfie” was actually invented by an Australian in 2002? They really love their slang!

Before the British arrived in the 1700s, Australia was inhabited mostly by Aborigines, the Native peoples of the mainland and many of its islands. They lived off the land, eating plants, animals, and insects. I wonder if they ate phasmids, a prehistoric-looking insect – nicknamed “tree lobsters” – that are nearly extinct…

Hard pass on the bugs, but I’d eat almost anything else Australian. Especially Macadamia nuts and Granny Smith apples, both named after the Australian people who cultivated them: John Macadam and Maria Ann Smith.

“…I signed by my initials, hoping people wouldn’t bother to wonder if the books were written by a man, woman, or kangaroo.” – P.L. (Pamela Lyndon) Travers

author of “Mary Poppins”

Enough learning; it’s time to eat!

Australians love to host a good “barbie”, which is slang for barbecue. And since most Aussies live on the coast, they eat a lot of seafood. I don’t have an outdoor grill (gasp!) but I’m good at improvising. So…shrimp on the barbie it is!

Foodie Police Disclaimer: I often simplify things to make it possible to prepare these meals on a school night. I’m just trying to give my kids a general understanding of what Australians eat.

Drinks and Nibbles

For starters, I served pumpkin soup topped with chopped Macadamia nuts and a drizzle of olive oil. Traditionally this would be made with a Queensland blue pumpkin, a large Australian variety. My kids aren’t big on soups, but they enjoyed it and ate it all.

Main Course

For the shrimp skewers, I marinated the shrimp in butter, lemon, garlic, onions, and fresh herbs. Then I broiled them for about three minutes per side. I also made grilled chicken breasts with a honey mustard glaze.

For more details, check out my YouTube video on how to cook shrimp on the barbie: World Geography Wednesday Visits Australia.

No barbecue is complete without salads, so I made two: a raw broccoli salad and a pasta salad with fresh veggies. For your barbecue, just make any salads your family likes and you can’t go wrong.

Dessert

I made two desserts because they went well together: Anzac biscuits and Pavlova. Anzac stands for “Australian and New Zealand Army Corps”. Loved ones would ship these cookies to ANZAC soldiers during WWI because they stored well. They also happen to be delicious! I’ve included the recipe below in case you’re interested.

Technically, both Australia and New Zealand claim the invention of Pavlova. It’s based on a very delicate meringue topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit. I’m not a baker, but it came out just fine! My son thought the chewy texture was suspicious, but my daughter devoured hers.

Anzac Biscuits

INGREDIENTS:

2/3 cup shredded coconut

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

pinch of salt

1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)

2 TBSP golden syrup or honey

1 ½ tsp baking soda 2 TBSP water

TOOLS:

measuring cup

measuring spoons

mixing bowl

large spoon

medium pan

cookie sheet

oven mitts

PROCESS:

Preheat the oven to 350˚. In a large bowl, mix the coconut, oats, flour, sugar, and salt.

Combine the butter and golden syrup in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the butter melts. Add the baking soda and water and stir until the baking soda dissolves.

Pour this mixture into the bowl with the flour mixture and mix well.

Roll the dough into 1” balls and place them on a cookie sheet a few inches apart. Flatten them into discs and bake for 15 minutes, or until light brown. Leave them on the cookie sheet to cool.

I hope you enjoyed this post on teaching kids about Australia! Follow me for more kid-friendly geography ideas.