The earliest-known example of live birth is a fossilised 380-million-year-old mother and embryo placoderm (prehistoric armoured fish). The extremely well-preserved fossil clearly reveals the presence of an embryo attached to its mother via an umbilical cord. Measuring 25 cm long, this remarkable specimen was uncovered in the Gogo area of Western Australia in 2005 by a team from Victoria, but its existence was not made public until 2008. Representing a new species, it was named Materpiscis attenboroughi, after British television wildlife presenter Sir David Attenborough.

A single-heel hang on a swinging bar was first performed by Angela Revelle (`Angelique’) in Australia in 1977.

Kay Cottee (Australia) is the first woman to sail around the world solo and non-stop. She departed from Sydney, Australia, on 29 November 1987 in her 11 m (36 ft) yacht First Lady and returned there 189 days later on 5 June 1988. Please note, this was achieved not within the rules of the World Sailing Speed Records Council (WSSRC), and therefore is not ratified by them, but as it is generally acknowledged to be the first, and they agree it should remain a CWR.

The first woman to row two oceans is Kathleen Saville (USA) who (in team with Curtis Saville, USA) rowed in Excalibur across the Atlantic East to West from Casablanca, Morocco to Antigua between 18 March and 10 June 1981, and the Pacific East to West from Callo, Peru to Cairns, Australia, between 4 July and 31 July 1985.

The very first National Sheep Counting Championships were held in Hay, New South Wales, Australia on 14-15 September 2002, in which hundreds of sheep run past competitors who try to guess a precise figure. Peter Desailly (Australia) beat 100 other entrants and took the inaugural title by correctly counting 277 sheep.

The first species of mammal shown to breathe through its skin, at least for part of its life, is the Julia Creek dunnart (Sminthopsis douglasi), a tiny species of Australian marsupial mouse. McGill University (Australia) physiologist Dr Jacopo Mortola (Canada) has discovered that although as an adult this shrew-like marsupial breathes through its lungs like other mammals, when first born it is so small – only 4 mm (0.15 in) long – that its muscles are too weak to inflate its lungs. Consequently, it absorbs Continue reading →

The greatest height climbed on a 5 m rope in one minute using just the hands from a seated position is 27.8 m (91 ft 2 in) and was achieved by Marcus Bondi (Australia) on the set of Australia Smashes Guinness World Records, at the Warringah Mall in Sydney, Australia, on 31 January 2010. The record was part of the TV series “Australia Smashes Guinness World Records”. Marcus broke the record that was set immediately before him by Kevin Shapiro (Australia) on the same show.

The record for the heaviest concrete block break on a bed of nails is held by Neal Hardy (Australia) who had 16 blocks weighing 532.3 kg (1173 lb 8 oz) placed on his chest and broken at Vikings Auditorium, Erindale, Canberra, Australia, on 16 February 2008.

The greatest attendance at any Rugby League match is 107,558 for the National Rugby League Grand Final played at Stadium Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on 26 September 1999, when Melbourne defeated St George Illawarra: 20 – 18. source, NRL stats: http://rl1908.com/NRL-Stats.htm

Grant Denyer (Australia) and AJ Hackett (New Zealand) bungee jumped from a helicopter hovering at 300 m (984 ft) above the water near Bondi Beach, NSW, Australia, on 11 November 2005. The cord stretched to 250 m (820 ft) during the attempt. I can confirm to you that the length of the bungy cord from end to end un-stretched was 60.5 meters and 33 ply. When fully stretched the bungy cord was 250m long. This is the measurement from the top of the bungy cord Continue reading →