Yarralumla is a southern suburb of Canberra, located around 3.5 kilometers (2.2 miles) away from the city. Although the formal suburb was established in 1928, the land has been known as Yarralumla for a much longer time, at least since 1834, when the area owned by Sydney merchant Henry Donnison was given the name in a land survey. The word “Yarralumla” comes from an aboriginal word meaning “echo.”

The streets in Yarralumla have the names of governors and botanists, such as Hopetoun Circuit, named for Australia’s first governor-general, and McGillivray Street, named for botanist Donald McGillivray.

Yarralumla stretches along the southwest bank of Lake Burley Griffin. The lake was created in the early 1960s by blocking the Molonglo River with a dam. Many Canberrans are drawn to the lake, to enjoy the outdoors and have some fun. On a recent visit, I was struck by the sunny yellows all around me.

Like the Canberra suburb of O’Malley, Yarralumla is home to more than 30 embassies and high commissions. Eight of the countries represented in Yarralumla feature yellow in their flags.   

By the way, all these products are Size A4, which measures 210 mm × 297 mm (8.27 in × 11.7 in). It is the most commonly available paper size in most of the world’s countries (except for the United States and Canada).
 
You might also find yourself buying rubbers at Officeworks, which are what Australians sometimes call erasers.

School started in late summer here and we’ll soon be entering autumn, not fall. The first day at my daughter’s school was the fifth of February, which would be written here as 05/02/2019, putting the day before the month.

Her first stop that day was tutor group, which is loosely equivalent to our homeroom. In her school, however, the tutor plays a much more significant role than does a homeroom teacher. We have no real equivalent in the United States to what Australians mean by a tutor in the school. This person is kind of a combined teacher, mentor, and advocate.

The school subjects are much the same, except that my daughter takes Maths, not Math. Her assignments, tasks, and tests are part of her assessment. She is accessed with marks rather than grades.

At lunchtime, she goes to her school’s canteen instead of a cafeteria.  Students purchase the food and leave with it, to eat somewhere else on the campus.

I’ve always enjoyed school shopping, particularly the ads. This ad from several years ago was one of my favorites back in the States. This one is an Australian example. Comparing the two led me to conclude that Australians are much nicer people.