News.com.au has a new article on the Austrailan fans and Episode II. Here's an excerpt:

Thousands of fans cheered as the familiar Star Wars fanfare played in cinemas across Sydney at 12.01am today.

Hoyts at Fox Studios and Greater Union at Castle Hill were completely sold out, with more than 2000 at both venues for the midnight screenings.

The Star Wars-mad crowd was so pumped, the comic book store across the way even brought in extra staff in case.

But for some the day began very early, with a group from fanforce.com lining up outside Fox Studios Hoyts at dawn.

Using their cloaks to shield themselves from the rain, the Jedi drew a few strange looks from security as they engaged in furious (toy) lightsabre battles around Bent St.