AUSTRALIA

GENERAL INFORMATION
Commonwealth Of Australia
23 230 000 inhabitants
7 692 024 km²
1788 – first settlers arrived
1901 – Federation Of Australia – dominion
1986 – Australia Act – remaining ties severed, factual independence
 HISTORY
Australis – southern (land)

65 000 years ago – Indigenous Australians

1606 – Willem Janszoon – first recorded European landing – New Holland

1770 – James Cook – New South Wales

26.1.1788 – Commodore Arthur Phillip – First Fleet, penal colony of NSW, it

included Tasmania

1825 – Tasmania and Western Australia separated

1836 – Southern Australia separated

1851 – Victoria separated

1859 – Queensland separated

 HISTORY
By 1900 majority of citizens were born in Australia and want atleast partial independence → 1901 – Federation of Australia with capital city
Melbourne

1914 – participation in the World War I, together with New Zealand – Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, defeat at Gallipoli – first major
military operation

After WWII – Australian government encourages immigration from Europe, since the 1970s from other parts of the world

1986 – Australia Act of 1986 – Australian Government doesn‘t need to consult the British government
NATURE
Biggest island/smallest and driest continent

Southern hemisphere – flipped seasons

Great Barrier Reef – world‘s largest coral reef

Variety of landscapes – tropical rainforest, mountain ranges, bush and outbacks

Endemic species
ECONOMY
Very rich in natural resources, exporters of gold, coal, oil or iron ore

Over 5 millions tourists every year

Agriculture – 4th largest wine exporter, sheep farming – 100 000 000 sheep

Car industry tradition – production has been stopped in 2017

Underdeveloped railway system → road transport is essential

CULTURE
Australian english

Aboriginals

After WWII – 6.5 millions immigrants, orientation on USA

Music industry – AC/DC, Nick Cave, Wolfmother, Redgum,

Gotye

Film industry – Mel Gibson, Hugh Jackman, Heath Ledger,

Russel Crowe, Liam Hemsworth, George Miller, Steve Irwin

Cricket, rugby, surfing

INTERESTING BITS AND BOBS
The Great Emu War

The rabbit issue

Second country that allowed women to vote

Founding of Canberra

Ugg boots

It is illegal to have more than 50 kg of potatoes in Western Australia

90% of Australians live on the coast

Uluru is the biggest monolith in the world