Australia Day is a public holiday down under, commemorating the founding on 26 January 1788 of the colony of New South Wales. Every year on this date the nation comes together to celebrate what's great about Australia and being Australian.
So what better way to celebrate the occasion than by highlighting some of the most incredible Guinness World Records titles that have been set by exceptional and extraordinary Aussies over the past few months?
Largest cricket lesson
Australians are known for their love of cricket and last month they smashed a world record playing the sport.
Ahead of the first Victoria Bitter One Day International match between Australia and New Zealand, Cricket Australia hosted the world's largest cricket lesson and invited 488 people.
The participants were primarily local school kids and they were led in the class by Aussie team coach Darren Lehmann and Australian Test cricketer Peter Siddle.
iFLY - Multiple wind tunnel record attempts
Indoor skydiving company iFLY celebrated the recent opening of their third centre in Australia with three spectacular successful Guinness World Records attempts at their venues across the country: Most head spins in a wind tunnel in one minute, Most 360 horizontal spins in a wind tunnel in one minute(individual) and Longest distance ran on the wall of a vertical wind tunnel in one minute.
Brett Sheridan, CMO of iFLY’s parent company ISA Group, commented on the team’s accomplishments: “We couldn’t be more thrilled with the results. Our team has been in training for at least the last six months and to smash these records is an amazing achievement and testament to the skill level of our iFLY family.”
Most apples held in the mouth and cut by chainsaw in one minute (blindfolded).
In October we revisited an attempt by Chayne “The Space Cowboy” Hultgren for our Classics video series on YouTube.
We saw the extreme performance artist successfully chop five apples from his mouth with a deadly blade, adding yet another world record to his collection of nerve-shredding titles.
Read more: Video - Watch Australian daredevil’s terrifying attempt at blindfold chainsaw world record
Tallest inflatable waterslide
In March Freestyle Slides (USA) unveiled a mammoth 22.4 m tall drop slide to thrill the guests of pop-up water park Xscape at the City in Perth, Australia.
The slide is named the Hybrid XL because it is a fusion of Freestyle’s land and sea slide technology, and it is absolutely huge – taller than a four-storey town house.
Most consecutive boxing rounds
Businessman Rod Walker recently completed a staggering 127 consecutive fights at the North Sydney Leagues Club, in Sydney, Australia.
The inspiring 59-year-old set himself the challenge in a bid to raise a whopping $250,000 for Fusion - a not-for-profit Christian Youth and Community organisation that helps families across Australia.
The father-of-five went up against 23 different opponents during the attempt, ranging from professional boxers and celebrities to everyday Aussies. His challengers even included retired Australian rugby union footballer Phillip Waugh.
