Australia
Australia is an island continent. It is the only continent, which is also a country. It is situated in the southern hemisphere between the Pacific and the Indian Oceans.
HISTORY
Australia was discovered by the Dutch in the 17th century. James Cook explored the eastern coast (1770) and claimed the region for G. B. and named it New South Wales. Abel Tasman landed on the island, which was named after him.
The settlement of Australia began in 1778 with 1500 colonists from Britain - 800 were convits (they were sent there to relive of them from British prisons). In the middle of the 19th century hold was discovered and a lot of new immigrants came to the country. A number of population started rapidly growing. Up to 1945 were nearly all Australians of British origin.
Since the second world war have more than 3 million Europeans entered the country. In 1901 Australia became a new British dominium known as The Commonwealth of Australia, which is its official name.
Australia is a federation of 6 states:
- New South Wales
- Victoria
- South Australia
- Queensland
- Western Australia
- Tasmania
& 2 territories:
- The Northern Territory
- The Australia Capital Territory
POLITICAL SYSTEM
The head of Australia is the Governor General, who is the deputy to the British Queen. The real head of Australia is the Prime Minister (John Howard), who has the executive power.
The federal parliament has its seat in Canberra and it consists of 2 houses: The house of Represenatives and The Senate.
POPULATION
The population now is 16 million - about 50 000 full aborigines and 150 000 part aborigines. Most of the farmer live in the Northern Territory trying to preserve their old culture. The most densely populated area is S-E of Australia, where is ¾ of all Australia's population.
The larges cities here are Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and the capital Canberra. Another quite densely populated area is S-W of Australia - towns Perth, Fremantle.
PLACES OF INETEREST
Alice Springs - lies in the middle of the country.
Darwin - an important port in the North.
Coober Pedy - 95% of Australia’s opals, summer temperatures reach 45°C -> people live under the ground.
Ayers Rock - in central Australia, a massive red rock: 2,5 km long, 1,6 km wide, 348 m high, only 1/6 of it is above ground. It is spiritual place that belongs to the Aborigines (walls are covered with rock paintings made by Aboriginal artists).
Opera house - took 16 years to build, the Danish architect Jorn Utzon left the project before it was finishes.
The Great Barrier Reef - chain more than 2500 reefs - the world’s largest coral reef (2027 km long and has got an area of 207 000 km2). More than 350 species of corals of many shapes and colours, about 600 million years old, it’s growing in tiny quantities every day.
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