On the day of Winter Solstice, Earth’s south pole is tilted away from the Sun. The Sun rises north of east, sets north of west and reaches 28 1/2° above the horizon at noon. This is, usually, the shortest day of the year. [Source]
Winter Solstice marks the shortest day and the longest night of the year and it will be the start of winter. Following the winter solstice, the days begin to grow longer and the nights becomes shorter. Usually the Winter Solstice in Australia starts on June 21, 2011 and ends on the same date.
