Anirudh Kathirvel, a nine-year-old Indian-origin boy is Australia’s new spelling champion after he won the 50,000 dollars ‘The Great Australian Spelling Bee competition. Anirudh, born in Melbourne to a Tamilian couple won 50,000 dollars education scholarship along with an impressive 10,000 dollars’ worth goods for his school. Anirudh Kathirvel claimed the prize after he rightly spelled words such as exorbitant, continuum, Guernsey, ricochet and camaraderie during the competition.
In the first challenge, Speed Spell, a fast-paced spelling bee, another Indian-origin participant Harpita and Marko were knocked out. The next round saw Harrison and Mica losing, sending Kathirvel and Grace to the final round. After a tense fight, Kathirvel came out on top after Grace stumbled on the word “ratatouille”.
Interesting Facts About Australia
- Australia is the 6th largest country in the world, occupying an entire continent of some 7.6 million square kilometres.
- It has the world’s 3rd largest ocean territory, spanning three oceans and covering around 12 million square kilometres.
- The largest cities in Australia are Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.
- The indigenous people of Australia are Australian Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders.
- Australia was the second country in the world to allow women to vote (New Zealand was first).
- Australia is the only continent in the world without an active volcano.