Banjo,
Indeed the compass only points to the North, or more correctly ‘magnetic north’ which differs from ‘true north’
The compass card is divided into 360 degrees so any direction can be read off it.
The trouble with finding North by the sun is that the Sun’s position varies with the seasons, in fact it varies by the day.
The Polonisean navigators were very skilled and used the stars, sea currents, cloud formations, the direction of waves and other natural occurrences to navigate over quite long distances.
There is evidence that the Indians of the Pacific North-West of the USA once sailed to the Hawaiian Islands and vice-versa.

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Dear Is Mise,

.

You indicate :

« I’d still like to know how the average Australian is going to be better off by the country becoming a Republic.

Will mortgage rates drop?
Will the cost of living stabilise or go down?
Will petrol prices go down?
Etc. »
.

The federal constitution lays down the rules of how Australia is to be governed. It's the supreme law of the country
.

We're all responsible for running our own lives and the country, within those guidelines, individually and collectively.

The concerns you mention are part of that responsibility. Some can be managed by each individual. Others can only be managed, either totally or partially, on the collective level, by our elected parliamentary representatives and the executive branch of government.

You ask how the average Australian is going to be better off by the country becoming a Republic.

It will allow us to install a new constitution that corresponds to our country as a truly sovereign nation and provide us with badly needed individual human rights protection as well as recognition of our indigenous peoples and several other changes that need to be made.

Our present constitution was established as the supreme law of the penal colony of Australia by an act of the UK parliament with the assent of Queen Victoria and took effect on 1 January 1901. It has since proven impossible to amend due to faulty design and has stagnated to the point of becoming petrified.

Our all-important national instrument of supreme law is grossly deficient and no longer provides the protection it should.

The general population is largely unaware of the situation and ignores the risk exposure it represents for each of us individually and to all of us collectively. As long as there are no major problems, they think we are all properly protected.

As ttbn points out, their mistrust of our politicians is such that they systematically oppose any suggestion of constitutional change.

The system is completely blocked.

We’re careering full steam ahead and there’s no stopping us now.

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Dear Banjo Paterson,

Thank You.

Banjo,
Nebulous, but you have Fojxy’s thanks.
What will happen if a State wishes to remain a monarchy?

Dear Banjo,

We often hear the old adage - "If it ain't broke ..."

The problem with our Constitution is that it no longer
serves us as you point out. Public resistance to
constitutional reform is a product of the fact that
people are naturally reluctant to change a system that
they do not understand.

Many Australians complain about their dienchantment with
our political system. The great paradox of this is that
Australians are highly susceptable to fear-mongering
about constitutional change by those same politicians in
whose interest it is to maintain the status quo.

Disillusionment with the current system needs to translate
into action - and the courage to discuss alternatives.

Would a new Republican, modern Constitution, allow the States, if they so chose, to leave the Republic?