History
Politics
Fast Facts
Environment & Weather
Crime & Dangers
History
- Australia is is the world’s sixth-largest country by total area
- The population is 23,504,792
- Australia was first inhabited by indigenous Australians (Aborigines) over 40,000 years ago
- There is some debate as to when it was first discovered by Europeans, however it is believed that Dutch explorers were the first around 1606.
- It was claimed by Captain James Cook for Great Britain in 1770 and the first settlement was established by the British on the 26 January 1788
- The first settlement was established as a penal colony in New South Wales. Other penal colonies were subsequently established in Tasmania and Norfolk Island.
- On 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated, forming the Commonwealth of Australia
- The six colonies became states. They are New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland. There are two terriories, being The Norther Territory and the Australian Capital Territory.
Politics
- The capital of Australia is called Canberra and is located in the Australian Capital Territory
- Australia is a constitutional monarchy and the official head of state is the current queen of England, Queen Elizabeth II
- The Queen delegates her powers to the Governor General. The current GG is Peter Cosgrove
- In reality the GG is a ceremonial role
- The Federal Parliament is made up of the House of Representatives (lower house) and the Senate (upper house)
- Members of Parliament are elected by the people of Australia and voting is compulsory. Elections for the lower house and for half of the senate seats is held every 3 years.
- The Government is the political party who wins the majority of seats in the Lower House. The leader of that political party becomes the Prime Minister of Australia. The current PM is Tony Abbott from the Liberal Party. The other major party is Labor.
- The 6 States have a similar form of Government with the leader referred to as the Premier. Queensland does dot have an Upper House.
- The powers and responsibilities of the Federal Government is set out in the Constitution of Australia. The states have similar Constitutions.
- The Federal Government has responsibility for such things as income and company tax, the military, foreign relations and immigration.
Fast Facts
- The official Language is English. However over over 200 different languages and dialects are spoken in Australia including 45 Indigenous languages. The most common non-English spoken languages are Italian, Greek, Cantonese, Arabic, Vietnamese and Mandarin.
- The world’s highest proportion of migrant settlers in a developed nation with over 25% of Australians born in another country.
- The currency is the Australian Dollar (AUD)
- Australia is divided into three separate time zones: Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) covers the eastern states of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria,Tasmania & the Australian Capital Territory. AEST is equal to Coordinated Universal Time plus 10 hours (UTC +10). Australian Central Standard Time (ACST) covers the state of South Australia, the town of Broken Hill in western New South Wales and the Northern Territory. ACST is equal to Coordinated Universal Time plus 9½ hours (UTC +9½). Australian Western Standard Time (AWST) covers Western Australia. AWST is equal to Coordinated Universal Time plus 8 hours (UTC +8).
- In summer, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT turn their clocks forward one hour to Daylight Saving Time (DST). Daylight Saving Time begins at 2:00am (AEST) on the first Sunday in October and ends at 3:00am (Australian Eastern Daylight Time) on the first Sunday in April.
- Daylight saving is not observed in Queensland, the Northern Territory or Western Australia.
- The largest cattle station in the world is Anna Creek Station in South Australia at over 34,000 square kilometres is the world’s largest cattle station. It is even larger than Belgium.
Environment & Weather
- Australia is located in the Southern Hemisphere. Given its size and location, the environment and geography is varied.
- A large part of the country is desert and as such the majority of the population is located on the coast with most people living on the eastern side of the country.
- The Great Dividing Range is a mountain range that runs down the east coast of Australia. The highest peak being Mount Kosciusko with a height of 2,228 m. Snow and ski fields are located in Victoria and NSW.
- tropical Rain forests can be found in the north of the country, in particular some spectacular forest in Queensland. Sub-tropical rain-forest can be found in the Southern States.
- The longest river is the Murray River at 2,508 kilometers (1,558 mi) in length. The Murray starts in the Alps in NSW and flows through to South Australia making up part of the border with NSW, Victoria and SA.
- The Southern States experience four seasons, Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring. Of course these seasons occur in reverse compared to the Northern Hemisphere. The far north of the country experiences more tropical weather. They have what is referred to as a dry season and a wet season. Therefore during the summer states summer, they will have a wet season where it can rain constantly and floods and cyclones are frequent. The dry season during the southern states winter is the best time to visit where rain is rare.
Crime & Dangers
- Australia is a relatively safe country with the worlds 14th lowest murder rate pr 100,000. Despite this or because of the low rate certain murders are reported around the world. This is especially the case where it involves a foreigner.
- When visiting Australia you should take the same precautions as you would in your home country. Don’t venture into less desirable neighborhoods and take caution when out and about late at night especially in the nightclub districts.
- Keep valuables with you at all times, however DON’T take your passport and all of your cash and credit cards to the beach
- Public transport is generally safe
- DON’T hitch hike
- DON’T go for walks on your own in the bush and ensure you let someone know of your intended route and return time when bush walking. Personal location devices can and should be rented from various National Parks.
- When visiting the beach, make sure you swim between the flags erected by the life savers. Even on calm days the surf can be extremely dangerous.
- It is true that Australia has a number of dangerous animals such as snakes, sharks, spiders and crocodiles. However very few people die as a result and most deaths are as a result of misadventure and in remote areas.
- Too avoid injury or death follow these simple rules. DON’T swim at night. DON’T swim up north where crocodiles exist and take note of warning signs. DON’T swim up north when it is Stinger (Jelly fish) season. DON’T travel in the bush alone and always stick to the paths. Take care when exploring caves and be careful when collecting firewood.
