AUSTRALIA
Australia is the world´s only island continent lying in the Southern hemisphere. It is a member of the British Commonwealth and according to the Constitution, Queen Elizabeth II is formally Queen of Australia and is represented by a Governor-General, who exercises the regal power.
The Australian flag is dark blue with the flag of the UK in the top left corner and a large seven- pointed star in the lower left side, which has a point for each six states and one for the territories. On the right side of the flag is the “southern cross” star constellation (you can only see in the southern hemisphere) – one smaller star and four larger ones making a cross.
Australia is a federation of 6 states – Western Australia, South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania and 2 territories – The Northern Territory and The AustralianCapital territory.
The majority of 17 million inhabitants live in the large cities on the coast – in Sydney(the biggest city of Australia), Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, because two-thirds of the country, mostly in the centre and the west, is desert. The only big city in the interior is the capital- Canberra.
Captain James Cook discovered the eastern part of the country in 1770. He landed in Botany. Today you can see a big monument there. He named the area New South Wales – at present this is the most developed part of Australia.
About 90 per cent of the population come from European backgrounds, around 7 per cent from Asia and only around 2 per cent are the original inhabitants Aborigines. Australian´s lifestyle reflects this predominantly Western origin of its people, having a similar lifestyle to Western Europe and North America. Aboriginal culture was, and still is, a culture based on a deep and strong spiritual life and traditions, which link them to the ancient land around them. They are famous for their art – cane drawings, painting and engraving on rock, and their curved stick called boomerang that flies in a circle and comes back to you when you throw it.
The flat, hot centre of AUS is called the “outback”. This area is more than 2/3 of the country but its population is less than 100,000. Many people live on sheep or cattle stations, which are enormous large.
Australia is the greatest producer of wool in the world and this wool is valued for its high quality. Sheep were brought from Europe soon after the first immigrants settled. It was found that sheep could exist in such dry climate as the Australian interior has. Agriculture has always been very important to the economy, with cereal crops, maize, fruit, vegetable, sugar-cane and livestock producing wool, meat and dairy products. There are significant mineral resources including coal, copper, iron, lead and zinc.
Koala bear is a typical animal of AUS. It feeds on the leaves of eucalyptus, which is a distinctive tree for this country. Another native animal is the kangaroo.
The people of Australia like to live outdoors. Most of the big cities are situated near the sea. The climate is mild and makes outdoor life easy. During the hot summer days the inhabitants are given opportunity to refresh themselves in the sea and to relax on the sandy beaches – Bondi, Manly or Palm Beach. The most popular sports are surfing, rugby , Australian football, tennis and swimming.
SYDNEY is the busiest centre of Australia. It is the main port and has more than 3 mil. inhabitants. One of the world´s most recognisable building – the Sydney Opera House – stands in the bay near HarbourBridge. The roof looks like sails. The visitors are offered to visit the theatre, the concert halls and restaurants in here.
One of the best known landmarks is Uluru, or Ayers Rock, a massive sandstone rock, the biggest monolith in the world, lying in the middle of the desert. The best time to see it is at the end of the day, when its colour changes from yellow to gold, red and then purple. It is a special place for Aborigines.
Great Barrier Reef is the longest coral reef widely visited because of its underwater beauty by divers but other tourists too.