AUSTRALIA
• As of 2015, Australia has an estimated population of over 22 million people.• Australia is the world's 6th largest country by area.• The largest cities in Australia are Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.• A desert area known as the ‘outback’ covers much of the land.• The name ‘Australia’ comes from the Latin word ‘australis’, meaning southern.• It is estimated the humans have lived in Australia for around 45000 years.• The indigenous people of Australia are Australian Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders.
• The highest mountain on mainland Australia is Mt Kosciuszko, standing 2228m (7310ft) above sea level.
• The world's largest reef, the Great Barrier Reef, is found off the north-eastern coast of Australia.• Australia has a range of different landscapes, including urban areas, mountain ranges, deserts
and rain forests.• Australia is home to a variety of unique animals, including the koala, kangaroo, emu,
kookaburra and platypus. Although they usually keep to themselves, there are a range of dangerous snakes in Australia, such as the Brown Snake, Tiger Snake and Taipan.
• Australia hosted the 1956 (Melbourne) and 2000 (Sydney) Summer Olympics.
Australia is in the Southern Hemisphere.
Because it is south of the equator, the seasons in Australia are the opposite of those in Europe: it’s winter in Australia when it’s summer in Europe.
LOCATION
- It’s the 6th biggest country in the world.
- It’s an island, surrounded by water.
- It’s the smallest continent in the world.
Australia is composed of 7 territories:
Western Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, New South Wales,
Victoria + Tasmania, and Papua New Guinea.
James Cook discovered Australia in 1770.
Britain sent prisoners
and criminals to Australia.
Europeans sold the land
of Aborigines and killed
thousands of them.
HISTORY
Native Australians. The Aborigines have lived in Australia for over 40,000 years. Now they only represent 1% of the population. The total population of Australia is 22 million.
The capital city is Canberra.
CITIES
The biggest city is Sydney, where there is the famous
Sydney Opera House.
OTHER IMPORTANT CITIES
Melbourne
PerthAdelaide
Brisbane
Where are the majority of important cities in Australia?
GEOGRAPHY
Uluru (Ayers Rock) is the world’s largest monolith. It is sacred for Aborigines.
It is very popular with tourists because of its beautiful colours.
THE AUSTRALIAN FLAG
Union Flag
6th British colony.
The Commonwealth 7 pointed star represents the 7 territories.
Southern cross symbolizes the constellation.
The currency is the Australian dollar.
In Australia it is usually very warm, so Australians love sport and other outdoor activities. The most popular are:
surfing
swimming
scuba-diving cricket
TYPICAL ANIMALS
Koala Kangaroo
Dingo
Platypus
Sugar glider
Tasmanian devil
Wombat
Possum
Australia has also some very poisonous snakes and spiders. At school children have to learn first aid for snake and spider bites.
SOME AUSTRALIAN SYMBOLS
An Aborigine
Sydney Opera House
built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon
Bondi Beach, Sydney
Other names for Australia
• Oz• Down Under
Ayers Rock or Uluru
A didgeridoo
A boomerang
Kangaroos in the Outback
The Great Barrier Reef
Nicole Kidman, actress
Kylie Minogue, singer
AC/DC, music band
Elle Macherson, model
Hugh Jackman, actor