Australia Day: 15 photos that will have you dreaming of a trip Down Under

A Qantas A380 flies over Sydney, Australia

The Great Barrier Reef. Photo: PA Photo/Tourism Australia.

Rainbow Beach Horse Rides allows guests to take their horse for a ride into the ocean in Queensland. See rainbowbeachhorserides.com.au for more.

Block Arcade, Melbourne. The city's neighbourhoods are buzzing. Photo: Deposit

A jumping kangoroo at sunset. Photo: Deposit

The Bay of Fires conservation in Tasmania in Australia. Photo: Deposit

A sign advertising the last pub for 386 kilometers is seen on the outskirts of Windorah, Australia. Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

Outback road mirror reflection, Central Midlands. Western Australia: Photo by May,ll/ullstein bild via Getty Images

The Ghan traverses Australia north to south over three days. Photo: Australia.com

Beach, Gibson Steps, Victoria. The Great Ocean Road is one of the world's great driving routes. Photo: Tourism Australia

The gate of the Old Melbourne Gaol, Victoria's oldest surviving penal establishment, and the place where Ned Kelly was hanged. Photo: Deposit

Australian wildlife: A 700 kilogram crocodile called Rex is pictured at WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo in 2012. Rex was a so-called 'rogue' crocodile who was captured and placed into a crocodile farm near Darwin in the Northern Territory when his taste for local pet dogs drew him too close to the human population. Photo: WILLIAM WEST/AFP/GettyImages

Perth, Western Australia, reflected in the Swan River. Photo: Deposit

Uluru, Australia. Photo: Deposit

A Qantas A380 flies over Sydney, Australia

The Great Barrier Reef. Photo: PA Photo/Tourism Australia.

Rainbow Beach Horse Rides allows guests to take their horse for a ride into the ocean in Queensland. See rainbowbeachhorserides.com.au for more.

Gold Coast, Australia Photo: Deposit

Block Arcade, Melbourne. The city's neighbourhoods are buzzing. Photo: Deposit

A jumping kangoroo at sunset. Photo: Deposit

The Bay of Fires conservation in Tasmania in Australia. Photo: Deposit

A sign advertising the last pub for 386 kilometers is seen on the outskirts of Windorah, Australia. Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

Outback road mirror reflection, Central Midlands. Western Australia: Photo by May,ll/ullstein bild via Getty Images

The Ghan traverses Australia north to south over three days. Photo: Australia.com

Beach, Gibson Steps, Victoria. The Great Ocean Road is one of the world's great driving routes. Photo: Tourism Australia

The gate of the Old Melbourne Gaol, Victoria's oldest surviving penal establishment, and the place where Ned Kelly was hanged. Photo: Deposit

Australian wildlife: A 700 kilogram crocodile called Rex is pictured at WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo in 2012. Rex was a so-called 'rogue' crocodile who was captured and placed into a crocodile farm near Darwin in the Northern Territory when his taste for local pet dogs drew him too close to the human population. Photo: WILLIAM WEST/AFP/GettyImages

Perth, Western Australia, reflected in the Swan River. Photo: Deposit

Uluru, Australia. Photo: Deposit

Pól Ó Conghaile Twitter Email

January 26 2016 08:04 AM

January 26, is Australia Day. Our gallery shows just some of the reasons why you should consider heading Down Under.

Australia Day (australiaday.org.au) marks the anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet of 11 convict ships from Great Britain, and the raising of the Union Jack at Sydney Cove by its commander Captain Arthur Phillip, on January 26, 1788.

The day is widely celebrated with fireworks, barbecues, parties and flag-raising, but is also controversial - with some arguing that it should be moved from a date that also marks the invasion of indigenous communities and their land.

For potential visitors, of course, Australia Day pulls a focus on the amazing variety of landscapes and cultures in this bucket list destination.

Australia is home to Uluru and the Great Ocean Road. It boasts an epic outback, thunderous surf and the Great Barrier Reef - a 2,300km-long ecosystem that, as Sir David Attenborough recently reminded us, is visible from space.

Australia has four of the 10 most "liveable" cities in the world, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit, including Melbourne at No.1.

A Qantas A380 flies over Sydney, Australia

Adelaide (5), Sydney (6) and Perth (7) also feature in a list based on factors such as stability, healthcare, infrastructure and culture.

Irish visitors have been travelling Down Under since the earliest days of colonisation - not always making the trip by choice. Famously, the outlaw Ned Kelly's parents were Irish, his father arriving from Fethard, Co. Tipperary, via Van Diemen's land.

The number of Irish seeking work in Australia soared during the recession, peaking at 25,827 in 2011/12, but fell to 6,743 in 2015/16.

Australia has ramped up its call for Irish travellers to apply for its Working Holiday Maker (WHM) visa programme, reducing taxes from 32.5pc to 19pc on earnings up to $37,000 (€25,200) from January 1, 2017.