There are actually 2 different "sticks". East coast sticks are long and narrow. West coast sticks are shorter, so they are boxed differently, but they're both 4 sticks = 1 pound. The same packaging is used for 1 pound blocks, called "Chef's Cut" around here.

The difference is because the much more recent California dairy industry bought newer equipment than was in use by the old dairy producers of the East Coast.

Butter dishes are usually made for East Coast sticks, and don't fit West Coast sticks well, but that's not a problem here in Southern California. Butter dishes are rarely seen here, the butter would quickly melt into a puddle.

The main problem I have with butter is due to the current craze for unsalted butter. The stores I shop at have piles of unsalted blocks, but very rarely salted ones. I like to serve curled butter at parties, which takes a block, but unsalted butter is worthless as a spread, it's just grease. At times I've had to use my heat gun to weld together four sticks.

Since I use butter rather slowly, I keep it in the door bin of the freezer compartment. It's still soft enough to cut pieces off with a knife.

So, the smallest increment marked is 6.66666 Tablespoons (ours) or 5 Tablespoons (yours). That doesn't sound nearly as convenient as our wrappers, marked out by Tablespoons, 1/4 cup, 1/3 cup and 1/2 cup (whole stick - 8 Tablespoons).

I suppose Australia uses a tablespoon of 4 teaspoons (20 ml) while ours is 15 ml (3 teaspoons) is because it's more compatible with metric. That does make more sense than UK tablespoons which are 3-1/2 teaspoons (18 ml), making calculations as difficult as possible.