You may try contacting or visiting the websites of some of the nurseries below. This Texas coast may be different from your Australian coast, so I don't know if my recommendations would hold up in your part of the world.

Good Luck

Bamboo Nurseries In Australia

P.S. Have you ever seen a Tasmanian Tiger running wild down there?

Kt

I'd suggest staying away from "mountain" bamboos as you start up since they often don't do well in very hot, long summers.

Almost any of the Phyllostachys would be ok.
And giant Bambusa, depending on what your lowest temps are.

In the Australian section of San Diego Quail Gardens, (San Diego says it is one of 5 regions in the world with a "Mediterranean climate", along with south coast of Oz) they have many giant clumpers, even a huge, mature Guadua clump.

But your best source would be to contact local nurseries and the Australian bamboo society.

Pseudosasa japonica, the Japanese arrow bamboo, is tolerant of salt spray and briny breezes. It will get 5 meters tall and make a nice grove. There are varieties such as "Tsutsumiana" (has swollen bulges between the nodes like a green onion) you can look into.

I'm looking at 7inches of snow in another day and we had snow 2 days ago, and 3 days before that-South Australia sounds pretty good to me...

Just put in a grove of Japanese arrow bamboo or Sasa palmata and your garden will look like it's in the tropics! heh heh. Really, both types give a tropicalesque flair with their palm-like fronds. The snow under it is, of course, a giveaway, but just look up and don't focus on the ground.

We have several inches of snow on the way here too.

I have a nice size grove of arrow I put in last year from a dig where they had 18feet tall culms and groves over 40feet by 20feet in area.It's very tropical looking, just missing some sand and beach chairs and a couple of Pinacolada's..I'll have to work on that.