Australia and New Zealand

19. Australia and New Zealand

Australia

1. LOCATION AND BORDERS

• Australia is a continent between the Indian and the Southern Pacific Ocean (the smallest continent)

• it is an island

• Australia is in southern hemisphere (nickname The Land Down Under)

2. PARTS AND SYMBOLS

6 STATES

• New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia

2 TERRITORIES

• Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory

SYMBOLS

• flag - dark blue with the flag of UK in the upper left hand corner

- the lower left hand corner contains a seven pointed star known as the Commonwealth star = each of the star’s points represents on the of the six sovereign states, and the seventh represents all of the territories

- the rest of the flag is a picture of Southern Cross constellation, which can only be seen in the southern hemisphere (one small stare and four larger ones)

• coat of arms

• golden wattle

• national anthem - Advance Australia Fair

3. HISTORY

• Australia was settled by Aboriginals (indigenous Australians) about 50 000 years ago

• Aboriginal culture was mostly hunter-gathered and about 250 languages were spoken there

• Australia was at first discovered by the Dutch in 17th century

• in 1770 James Cook, British explorer, claimed Australia for Britain - in 1788 was the first colony established in today’s Sydney Harbour

• Australia was originally settled as a prison colony

• in 1850s gold was discovered in Australia and many people moved there

• in 1901 Australia became an independent nation - six colonies agreed to become a federation

• in 1927 Canberra was declared as the federal capital

4. GEOGRAPHY

• climate - quite different from the rest of the world = it is the driest inhabited continent on earth, and the centre of the country has one of the lowest rainfall rates in the word

• hot and dry centre - the centre is mostly desert

• tropical regions in the north with heavy air

• the south is milder with hot summers and cool winters

• bushfires are a common feature in the Australian environment

• mountains - Snowy Mountains, Kata Tjuta - highest peak of it is Mount Olga = holy place for natives, the highest mountain of Australia is Mount Kosciuszko

• rivers - the longest one is the Murray River, other ones are Georgina, Finke

• lakes - the biggest lake is Lake Eyre = the lowest natural point, other lakes are Blue Lake, Dove Lake

• national parks - national park Kakadu (prehistorical cave paintings, petroglyphs), national park Uluru-Kata Tjuja (Rulu) = UNESCO

• Great Barrier Reef - the largest coral reef in the world, which lies along the coast of Queensland = also UNESCO

• animal species in Australia - thanks to the climate and geographical isolation of the continent there are unique animals such as kangaroo, koala bar, Tasmanian devil, platypus

- most venomous snakes in the world

• typical vegetation in Australia - grass, eucalyptus grass

5. POLITICAL SYSTEM

• a federation of independent states (democratic)

• official title is the Commonwealth of Australia

• formally the head of state is monarch of UK - Queen Elizabeth II., who is represented by Governor General

• the federal government is led by the prime minister, the government in individual states is led by the premier

• voting in Australia is compulsory

• if voter doesn’t give a satisfactory reason for not taking a part in an election, he or she is fined