GEOfocus Australia - final script

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Turquoise = notes about images (but feel free to add more from Adobe Stock)

Blue = re-recorded audio

It's home to the world's largest coral reef system [L1], it’s the driest inhabited continent
on earth [L2], and it has more kangaroos than people [L3]. These are just 3 of the things
you will learn about Australia. [THUMBNAIL]

Welcome to the Geofocus channel. Today we’re going to focus on The Commonwealth of
Australia. [L4 - Flag] It’s debated whether Australia is the world’s largest island or the
world's smallest continent...or both (Text: The world’s largest island? The world’s
smallest continent? Both?) [L5] It’s home to a diverse population of over 25 million
people, [Montage L6 map with L7 background]with waves of migration extending back
over 50 thousand years [Add L8] - for almost as long as modern humans have lived
outside of Africa. (Text line 1: Population - over 25 million; Text line 2: Migration
extending back over 50 thousand years). [End montage]

The indigenous people of the Australian continent [L9] - Aboriginal Australians - arrived
on the continent between 50,000 and 65,000 years ago. Archaeological evidence attests to
this, for example - the world’s oldest axe [L10] was found in the Kimberly region of
Western Australia, thought to be almost 50 thousand years old.

[Start montage with 3D people (L_3D_1)]Australian aborigines (including Torres Strait

Islanders) currently make up around 2.8% of Australia's population <Text: Australian
aborigines (incl Torres Strait Islanders) - around 2.8% of Australia's population>. The rest
of the population consists of the descendants of immigrants, and current first generation
immigrants. `

The original immigrant population were from the UK and Ireland back when Australia
was a British penal colony (Text: Australia was originally a British penal colony). But not
all Australians are the descendants of prisoners. There has been lots of immigration since
those days, especially in the decades since WWII. This includes immigrants from a
variety of European, Middle Eastern countries, and East Asian countries, among others.

Today approximately 30% of Australia's residents were born outside of the country.
(Text: 30% of Australia's residents were born outside of the country).

Located in the southern hemisphere, over 4000 kilometres wide, and bound by 2 oceans
(The Indian Ocean & the South Pacific Ocean), Australia is home to a diverse array of
climates, landscapes, and terrains. Neighbouring countries include the island nations of
Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and Timor-Leste to the north, New Zealand to the
southeast, and French New Caledonia to the east. (Note about text: The parts highlighted
above don’t need to be written in extra text if they are clear from the map)

Australia can be divided into 4 main geographic regions:

The Western Plateau - with high mountains near the west coast, which get lower as you
move east towards the The Central Lowlands. Then there are the Eastern Highlands, also
known as the Great Dividing Range, because they separate most of the continent from
The Coastal plains, Australia's most populated region.

You may have heard of The Outback, the inhospitable wilderness of Australia which
Aussies usually call “The Bush”. It refers to any of the remote arid or desert regions
which cover much of the interior. It includes most of The Western Plateau and Central
Lowlands. (Again, you might be able to show those regions using the map without extra
text)

The northern half of Australia lies in the tropical zone, with humid tropical weather near
the northern coasts and even some tropical rainforests. But much of Australia is arid or
semi-arid. Deserts make up close to 20 per cent of Australia’s landmass, while 70 percent
of the mainland receives less than 500 mm of rain annually.

In the southern half of Australia, the climate varies from Subtropical to temperate along
the coasts, meaning that winters are generally mild or cool, while Inland Outback areas
can be downright cold at night in winter. But in summer, watch out! The hottest day ever
recorded in Australia was 50.7C in Oodnadatta, South Australia on January 2, 1960!

Despite these often high temperatures,there are some snap-capped ski mountains in
Australia. Because it is located in the Southern Hemisphere, Australia’s winter takes
place from May to September. This makes it a popular site for winter Olympians to train
during the summer months of the northern hemisphere.
Australia comprises Seven states, three internal territories, and seven external (island)
territories. (These three items can be separate, like bullet points or whatever)

In the northeast of the Australian mainland, you have the state of Queensland. It’s most
famous for The Great Barrier reef, the world's largest coral reef ecosystem comprising
over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands. And at 2,300 kilometres long, it practically
takes up the entirety of the state’s eastern coastline. Brisbane is the state’s capital and is
Australia’s 3rd largest city.

Next up is the state of New South Wales, located to the south of Queensland, and home to
Australia’s largest and most iconic city, Sydney (Text: Sydney: Australia’s largest city).
Non-Aussies often mistakenly think it’s the capital city, probably because it’s home to
some of Australia’s most popular tourist attractions, such as the Sydney harbour bridge,
and the Sydney Opera House.

The Australian Capital Territory is an enclave within New South Wales, and is home to
Canberra - Australia’s capital city. The Australian Capital Territory was selected to be a
neutral home to the nation’s capital, due to the rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne.
Canberra is a planned city, that was founded and built entirely for this purpose.
Construction began In 1908, and by 1938, Canberra officially became the nation’s capital.

Continuing south on our journey around the Australian mainland is Victoria state, where
the country’s second largest city Melbourne serves as the state capital (Text: Melbourne:
The country’s second largest city). Victoria is famous for The Great Ocean Road, a
243km stretch of road with amazing views over the southern shore, with natural
landmarks such as the 12 apostles - a collection of limestone stacks in the sea. Despite the
name, there were never actually 12 of them - only 8 to begin with, and now 7 after one
collapsed back in 2005. No worries, a couple of VBs and you’ll see start seeing the extra
ones!

Next up is South Australia, with its capital city Adelaide. South Australia is the nation’s
biggest wine-producing region by volume, with just under half of all of Australia’s wine.

Directly above South Australia is the Northern Territory. Its capital city Darwin is the
smallest, wettest, and most northerly of the Australian capital cities (Text: Darwin is the
smallest, wettest, and most northerly of the Australian capital cities). In the southern part
of the Northern Territory lies the iconic Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock, a large
sandstone rock formation sacred to the local native population of the Anangu people.
<Text: Uluru (Ayers Rock)>

Located on the western side of the continent, the state of Western Australia is by far
Australia’s largest state, making up almost a third of the total landmass. Known for its
natural beauty and uninterrupted shorelines, Western Australia is a popular destination for
road-trippers and explorers. The capital city is Perth, home to 2 million people.

About 30 million years ago Australia separated from the supercontinent Pangea, causing
its wildlife to develop and evolve in isolation. This has resulted in some of the more
unusual creatures on Earth, such as The Koala, Kangaroo, and Platypus. British scientists
in the 18th century first thought the platypus was a hoax played upon them by other
scientists, and that it was actually a duck’s bill attached to the body of an otter.
The animals that Australia is most famous for are Kangaroos - and there are actually
more of them than there are people, nearly outnumbering humans by 2 to 1 (Text:
Kangaroos outnumber humans by 2 to 1). However, this statistic may change shortly, as
the Australian government has made efforts to cull the population as they are troublesome
and are considered pests.

The cutest animal you might find in Australia is the Quokka, which has gone viral all
over the internet. These adorable little creatures are found mainly on Rottnest island, just
off the coast of Western Australia, a short boat trip from Perth.

While the quokka may be harmless, Australia is also home to some potentially dangerous
creatures. You can find 21 of the world’s 25 deadliest snakes (Text: Deadly snakes), 2
deadly species of spider (Text: Deadly spiders), a multitude of jellyfish, and crocodiles.
Even the friendly-looking kangaroos have been responsible for human deaths.

But there’s no need to panic. Contrary to popular belief, the most dangerous animals in
Australia are not sharks, spiders, or snakes, but rather horses, cows, and dogs.

One ancient type of dog, The dingo is the animal responsible for the world’s longest
fence. The fence was constructed to keep the dingos out of the more fertile southeast of
Australia, in order to protect livestock such as sheep and cows. It is 5,614 km long and
stretches from the coastline of South Australia to just west of Brisbane in Queensland.
The predominant language spoken in Australia is English, with Australian English having
its own unique accents and characteristics. You can learn all about Australian English in
my video on the subject which you can find in the description of this video.

Before British colonial settlement, at least 250 aboriginal languages were spoken. Today,
however, only 46 languages remain, with only 11 of them having over 1,000 speakers.
(Text: Today only 46 languages remain, with only 11 of them having over 1,000
speakers). This is attributed to the harsh laws in the 19th and 20th century which banned
aboriginals from speaking their native languages in public, as well as the Stolen
Generation in which children of mixed aboriginal-European background were forcibly
taken from their aborignal mothers and “resocialized”.

Other interesting facts about Australia … (I may have to record this if I missed it while
filming)

Believe it or not, Australia is the country with the biggest population of wild camels in
the world (over one million!), even though camels are not native to Australia. (Text:
Australia has the biggest population of wild camels in the world). They were imported
from India, Afghanistan, and Arabia in the 19th century. Today, Saudi Arabia actually
imports camels from Australia to help meet the demand for camel meat.

Former Prime Minister Bob Hawke holds the world record for downing a yard of ale
(containing 1.4 liters of beer) in 11 seconds while studying at Oxford University. He is
currently the only known world leader to also hold a record in drinking alcohol. Pretty
fitting for Australia!
Australia has a mountain called Mount Disappointment - named after a trip by two
British explorers in 1824 who had hoped to view Port Phillip Bay, the pair were
disappointed by the many trees blocking their view, as well as one of them suffering a
painful injury adding another 5 days to their journey. Thus, they named the mountain
after how they felt about their hiking trip.

Outro comments:

Australia is a country and a continent that sparks the imaginations of people all over the
world. It’s amazing for its huge size and its stunning and varied nature and wildlife. But
it’s also impressive because of the people, and their friendly, laid-back nature.

Now over to you! What did you find most interesting about Australia in this video? And
if you're from Australia, what else do you want us to know about your country?

If you liked this video, then hit the like button, and have a nice day.