[Oz_Audio]

Sandgroupers = West Australians, because the state is a desert, all sand.
Croweaters = South Australians, because the state flag has crows on it.
Banana benders = Queenslanders, because the banans grow straight in QLD and someone has to bend them so they can sell them to the southern states.
New South Welshmen = From New South Wales, because enyone who lives their is about as interesting the the name.
Mexicans = Victorians, because they are South of the border.
Tasmanians = 2 heads and 2 rows of teeth, because they are all inbreed.
Territorians or Troy Dans = Northern Territory, because Troy is a TV personality who is commonly known as a #ock %ucking Cow Boy, he even has a Drink named after him and we have an all girl Counrty and Western band up here called the "Toe Sucking Cow Girls".

Also most people think we all sound the same, but our speach is different in each state, not as much as the US, more like the differences in France, subtle, but different.

Mark

[TG]

sandgroupers = West Australians, because the state is a desert, all sand.

Hey Wordsmith, we need an adjudication on this one - I'd always thought "sandgroupers" was something to do with the fish of that name that inhabits WA waters - but maybe I'm wrong.

I've never heard Victorians called Mexicans either.  Hmm. Not sure about that.  My dad reckons that in the armed forces during WWII Tasmanians were called Apple Islanders or Southern Pommies, and Northern Territorians were Topenders, but that's probably out of date.

As for our accents, they have suffered a great levelling due to the influence of US English over the last 50 years.  I work in a language library and we have the tapes of the first (and only) general survey of Australian speech, which was recorded in the 1960s by Mitchell & Delbridge.  Listening to them is amazing - Queenslanders & Victorians sound quite distinct - about as different as a Kentish & a Devon accent.