This may help you to understand what is really...

This may help you to understand what is really happening.

http://finance.ninemsn.com.au/pfmanagingmoney/banking/8123472/how-long-cheques-take-to-clear

Note that in Australia all cheques go to a clearing house where cheques are exchanged by Australian financial institutions, this is the reason for the 3 day wait that usually occurs, as the cheques are not honored until it is in the hands of the financial institution that handles the payees account, the same applies to overseas institutions but the transaction period is longer due to the fact the cheque must be physically in the hands of the payees account before it can be honoured.
But your bank should have informed you of this to save you all the angst, you might consider ETF's in future they are virtually instant, point that out to your solicitors as well, perhaps they should have advised you of clearance times as well.