Looking at Icons of the two countries today, and noticed some very interesting “things” (people, places and events) that are listed as national icons.
| Australia | England |
| Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags | Alice In Wonderland |
| Aerogard | The Angel Of The North |
| Aeroplane jelly | The Archers |
| AFL | The Works Of Beatrix Potter |
| Akubra hat | Big Ben |
| Alice Springs Camel Cup | Blackpool Tower |
| Anzac Day | The Bobby |
| Arnott’s biscuits | Bonfire Night |
| Backyard cricket | Bowler Hat |
| ‘Banjo’ Paterson | Brass Bands |
| Banksia | Brick Lane |
| Barbeque | Buckingham Palace |
| Birdsville Track | The Bulldog |
| Boiling the billy | The Novels Of Charles Dickens |
| Bushfire | Cheddar Cheese |
| Canning Stock Route | Chicken Tikka Masala |
| Captain Starlight | The Co-Operative Movement |
| Charles Kingsford Smith | Coronation Street |
| Coat of Arms | Cricket |
| Corroboree | A Cup Of Tea |
| Cradle Mountain | Damien Hirst’S Shark |
| Crocodile | Doctor Who |
| Crossing the Nullarbor | The Domesday Book |
| Daintree Rainforest | English Eccentricity |
| Damper | Eden Project |
| Don Bradman | The Fa Cup |
| Dot paintings | Fish And Chips |
| Douglas Mawson | Fox-Hunting And The Ban |
| Drizabone coat | Full English Breakfast |
| Drought | English Garden |
| Emu | Glastonbury Festival |
| FJ Holden | Globe Theatre |
| Flannel flower | Hadrian’S Wall |
| Flies | The Hay Wain |
| Flood | Hedges |
| Frill-necked lizard | Henry Moore’S Sculptures |
| Gallipoli | Hms Victory |
| Gibb River Road | Holbein’S Henry Viii |
| Gold | The Iron Bridge |
| Great Barrier Reef | James Bond |
| Gum tree | Jerusalem |
| High country cattleman | The King James Bible |
| Hills Hoist | The Lake District |
| Homestead | Land Rover |
| Indian Pacific | Lindisfarne Gospels |
| Kakadu | The Lord Of The Rings |
| Kangaroo | Ls Lowry’S Figures |
| Kelpie | Magna Carta |
| Koala | Marmite |
| Kookaburra | The Mini |
| Lamingtons | Miniskirt |
| Melbourne Cup | Monty Python |
| Merino sheep | Morris Dancing |
| Mortein | Mrs Beeton’S Book Of Household Management |
| Mt Kosciuszko | Narrowboats On Canals |
| My country | Notting Hill Carnival |
| Nancy-Bird Walton | Oak Tree |
| Ned Kelly | Ordnance Survey Maps |
| Opera House | The Origin Of Species |
| Platypus | Oxbridge |
| Qantas | The Oxford English Dictionary |
| Roadtrain | The Pantomime |
| Royal Flying Doctor Service | Parish Church |
| School of the Air | The Peak District |
| Surf lifesaver | The Phone Box |
| Surfing | The Pint |
| Sydney Harbour Bridge | Pride And Prejudice |
| The anthem | The Pub |
| The Australian flag | Punch And Judy |
| The boomerang | Queen’S Head Stamp |
| The Bush | Queuing |
| The bushranger | Roast Beef And Yorkshire Pudding |
| The convict | The Robin |
| The desert | Robin Hood |
| The didgeridoo | Rolls-Royce |
| The Digger | The Rose |
| The Drover | The Routemaster Bus |
| The Eureka Flag | Rugby |
| The Ghan | The Scouts |
| The Gold Miner | Seaside Pier |
| The Man from Snowy River | English Sense Of Humour |
| The Outback | Sgt. Pepper’S Lonely Hearts Club Band |
| The picnic | Sherlock Holmes |
| The Shearer | The Spitfire |
| The Southern Cross | Ss Empire Windrush |
| The swagman | St George’S Flag |
| Toyota Landcruiser | Stiff Upper Lip |
| Twelve Apostles and Great Ocean Road | Stonehenge |
| Two-up | Sutton Hoo Helmet |
| Uluru | The Thames |
| Ute | The Black Cab |
| Vegemite | Tower Of London |
| Verandah and corrugated-iron roof | The Tube Map |
| Victa lawnmower | The V-Sign |
| Waltzing Matilda | The Weather |
| Water tank | Westminster Abbey |
| Wattle | White Cliffs Of Dover |
| Windmill | Wimbledon |
| Wombat | Winnie-The-Pooh |
| Zinc sunscreen | York Minster |
Sources:
More Icons at: Icons of Queensland