Australia
- situated on the southern hemisphere
- the smallest continent
- surrounded by the Indian and Pacific oceans
- first discovered by the Portuguese, Spanish and Dutch navigators in the 17th century (Abel Tasman)
- for England it was discovered by Captain James Cook in 1770, he landed at Botany Bay (today Sydney)
- about 20 years later – there were established the first British colony New South Wales – it was a penal colony, because England deported it’s convicts to the new continent
- during 19th century – came many more immigrants from all over the world
- 1901 Australia became a British dominion and it was called the Commonwealth of Australia
- the original inhabitants = aborigines – the Australian blacks, they were hunters and they invented many peculiar weapons – e.g. boomerang.
- similarly as in Canada there were trends to assimilate the Australian blacks – it damaged their culture and their tribes
- the estimations there are about 150 000 of these people; they were forced to live in reservations, very often in Northern Territory, where are the worst conditions
- today there live about 17 million people
Political system
- Australia is the federation of 6 states and 2 territories (the third may be Norfolk isles)
- STATES:
- Western Australia – capital Perth
- South Australia – cap. Adelaide
- Queensland – Brisbane
- New South Wales – Sydney
- Victoria – Melbourne
- Tasmania – cap. Hobart, isle
- TERRITORIES
- Australian Capital Territory of Canberra
- Northern Territory
- the formal head – the British monarch (in the last referendum the Australians were voting to stay in the British Commonwealth
- government general – the representative of the queen
- each state has its own government called councils and constitution
- in Canberra: Federal Parliament, Federal Government, Federal Constitution
- Federal Government is headed by the Prime Minister, which is the most powerful person – today it is John Howard
Geographical characteristic
- dry climate
- little rainfall
- many deserts – the best known: The Great Sandry Desert (WA), The Gibson Desert (WA), The Great Victoria Desert (WA-SA)
- in the centre of Australia (in NT) – Ayers Rock – unique rock formation, the symbol of aborigines
- along the eastern coast there stretches the highest mountain range of the continent – it is called the Great Dividing Range
- in the south of these range there are the Australian Alps with the highest mountain of Australia – Mt. Kosciusko
- along the north eastern there is the sea reserve – the Great Barrier Reef
- because of the climate not many rivers
- some of the rivers are only temporarily – if it is too hot, they dry up
- the best known rivers (in the south east) – The Murray, The Darling
- temporarily lakes
- in the SA – Lake Gairdner, Lake Torrens, Lake Frome, Lake Eyre
Fauna
- as the continent was isolated from the others, during a long time there have evolved quite a few peculiar animal species
- the best known are marsupials
- the symbol of Australia – the koala bear, it lives in eucalyptus trees
- wombat
- possum
- kangaroo –they carry their youngs in pouches
- Platypus – it lays eggs like a reptile, but suckles it’s youngs like a mammal; it lives under the water, it has flat bill and webbed feet
- Echidna
- Ostrich Emu
- the wild dog Dingo
- the black swan
Australia is a highly developed country with developed industries (mining, food industries – meat dairy products; textile industry – wool) and agriculture. Australia is the biggest producer of wool and meat especially lamb (they breed sheep). It’s economically closely linked with strong economies of Asia and America.