English World
Australia
Australia is the smallest continent, and the sixth largest country in the world, placed between the Indian and Pacific oceans.
Estimated population - 18,322,000 (1985)
Area - 7,686,810 sq km
Capital - Canberra
Largest city - Sydney, closely followed in population by Melbourne
States - There are five continental states in the nation (Queensland , New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Western Australia) as well as the Northern
Territory and the Australian Capital Territory (an enclave within New South Wales, containing Canberra). Australia's external territories include Norfolk Island, Christmas Island, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and the Australian Antarctic Territory.
The Land
The Australian continent is on the whole exceedingly flat and dry. From the narrow coastal plain in the west the land rises abruptly in what, from the sea, appear to be mountain ranges but are actually the escarpments of a rough plateau that occupies the western half of the continent.
There are no permanent rivers or lakes in the region. In the southwest corner of the continent there is a small moist and fertile area, but the rest of Western Australia is arid, with large desert areas.
Off the coast of NE Queensland is the Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral reef.
Fauna and Flora
Australia, remote from any other continent, has many distinctive forms of plant life - notably species of giant eucalyptus - and of animal life, including the kangaroo, the koala, the flying opossum, the wallaby, the wombat, the platypus, and the spiny anteater; it also has many unusual birds.
People
Most Australians are of British and Irish ancestry and the majority of the country lives in urban areas.
The indigenous population, the Australian aborigines, estimated to number as many as 350,000 at the time of the Europeans' arrival, was numbered at 386,049 in 1996.
Although still more rural than the general population, the aboriginal population has become more urbanized, with some two thirds living in cities. In Tasmania the aboriginal population was virtually wiped out in the 19th cent.
Religion
There is no state religion in Australia. The largest churches are the Anglican and Roman Catholic.
Government
The executive power of the commonwealth is vested in a governor-general (representing the British sovereign) and a cabinet, presided over by the prime minister.
The parliament consists of two houses. British intervention in Australian affairs was formally abolished in 1986.
Economy
Most of the rich farmland and good ports are in the east and particularly the southeast. Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane , and Adelaide are the leading industrial and commercial cities.
Australia's chief industries include mining, food processing, and the manufacture of industrial and transportation equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, machinery, and motor vehicles.
Mineral resources: coal, iron, bauxite, copper, tin, lead, zinc, and uranium; the country is an important producer of opals and diamonds.
The country is self-sufficient in food, and the raising of sheep and cattle and the production of grain have long been staple occupations. Tropical and subtropical produce - citrus fruits, sugarcane, and tropical fruits - are also important, and there are numerous vineyards and dairy and tobacco farms.
Its chief export commodities are metals, minerals, coal, wool and beef (of which it is the world's largest exporter), mutton, cereals, and manufactured products.
Short History
Skeletal remains indicate that aborigines arrived in Australia more than 40,000 years ago, probably migrated from Southeast Asia.
In 1688 the Englishman William Dampier landed at King Sound on the northwest coast. Little interest was aroused, however, until the fertile east coast was observed when Capt. James Cook reached Botany Bay in 1770 and sailed N to Cape York, claiming the coast for Great Britain.
In 1788 the first British settlement was made - a penal colony on the shores of Port Jackson, where Sydney now stands. By 1829 the whole continent was a British dependency.
Australia was long used as a dumping ground for criminals, bankrupts, and other undesirables from the British Isles.
Sheep raising was introduced early, and before the middle of the 19th cent. wheat was being exported in large quantities to England. A gold strike in Victoria in 1851 brought a rush to that region. Other strikes were made later in the century in Western Australia.
Australia developed rapidly. By the mid-19th century systematic, permanent colonization had completely replaced the old penal settlements.
The constitution was drafted in 1897-98, and approved by the British parliament in 1900.
It was put into operation in 1901; under its terms, the colonies of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, and Tasmania were federated in the Commonwealth of Australia. The Northern Territory was added to the Commonwealth in 1911.
Font:
www.factmonster.com/ce6/world/A0856772.html
Visit:
Geoscience Australia, site of the Australian Government
|
