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Main article: History of Australia

The first human habitation of Australia is estimated to have occurred between 42,000 and 48,000 years ago.[2] The first Australians were the ancestors of the current Indigenous Australians; they arrived via land bridges and short sea-crossings from present-day Southeast Asia. Most of these people were hunter-gatherers, with a complex oral culture and spiritual values based on reverence for the land and a belief in the Dreamtime. The Torres Strait Islanders, ethnically Melanesian, inhabited the Torres Strait Islands and parts of far-north Queensland; they possess distinct cultural practices from the Aborigines.

Lieutenant James Cook charted the East coast of Australia on HM Bark Endeavour, claiming the land for Britain in 1770. This replica was built in Fremantle in 1988 for Australia's bicentenary.

Lieutenant James Cook charted the East coast of Australia on HM Bark Endeavour, claiming the land for Britain in 1770. This replica was built in Fremantle in 1988 for Australia's bicentenary. The first undisputed recorded European sighting of the Australian continent was made by the Dutch navigator Willem Jansz, who sighted the coast of York Peninsula">Cape York Peninsula in 1606. During the 17th century, the Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines of what they called New Holland, but made no attempt at settlement. In 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast of Australia, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Britain. The expedition's discoveries provided impetus for the establishment of a penal colony there following the loss of the American colonies that had previously filled that role.

Port Arthur, Tasmania was Australia's largest penal colony.

Port Arthur, Tasmania was Australia's largest penal colony. The British United Kingdom formally claimed the western part of Australia in 1829. Separate colonies were created from parts of New South Wales: South Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851, and Queensland in 1859. The Northern Territory (NT) was founded in 1863 as part of the Province of South Australia. Victoria and South Australia were founded as "free colonies" — that is, they were never penal colonies, although the former did receive some convicts from Tasmania. Western Australia was also founded "free", but later accepted transported convicts due to an acute labour shortage. The transportation of convicts to Australia was phased out between 1840 and 1868.
The Indigenous Australian population, estimated at about 350,000 at the time of European settlement,[3] declined steeply for 150 years following settlement, mainly because of infectious disease, and forced migration, the removal of children and other colonial government policies, that some historians and Indigenous Australians have argued could be considered to constitute genocide by today's understanding.[4] Such interpretations of Aboriginal history are disputed by some as being exaggerated or fabricated for political or ideological reasons.[5] [6] This debate is known within Australia as the History Wars. Following the 1967 referendum, the Federal government gained the power to implement policies and make laws with respect to Aborigines. Traditional ownership of land — native title — was not recognised until the High Court case Mabo v Queensland (No 2) overturned the notion of Australia as terra nullius at the time of European occupation.

The Last Post is played at an ANZAC Day ceremony in Port Melbourne, Victoria, 25 April 2005. Ceremonies such as this are held in virtually every suburb and town in Australia.

The Last Post is played at an ANZAC Day ceremony in Port Melbourne, Victoria, 25 April 2005. Ceremonies such as this are held in virtually every suburb and town in Australia. A New Zealand Army Corps">Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZACs) at Gallipoli as the birth of the nation — its first major military action. The Gallipoli campaign is often erroneously portrayed as or conceived to have been a solely or mainly ANZAC campaign. The reality was that British deaths during the campaign were twice as high as those of ANZAC forces. Much like Gallipoli the Kokoda Track Campaign is regarded by many as a nation-defining battle from World War II.
The United Kingdom ended in 1986 with the passing of the Australia Act 1986, ending any British role in the Australian States, and ending judicial appeals to the UK Privy Council. Australian voters rejected a move to become a republic in 1999 by a 55% majority,[8] but the result is generally viewed in terms of dissatisfaction with the specifics of the proposed republican model rather than attachment to the monarchy. Since the election of the Whitlam Government in 1972, there has been an increasing focus on the nation's future as a part of the Asia-Pacific region.

States and territories

Main article: States and territories of Australia

States and territories of Australia

States and territories of Australia Australia consists of six states, two major mainland territories, and other minor territories. The states are New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia. The two major mainland territories are the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory.
In most respects, the territories function similarly to the states, but the Commonwealth Parliament can override any legislation of their parliaments. By contrast, federal legislation overrides state legislation only with respect to certain areas as set out in Section 51 of the Constitution; all residual legislative powers are retained by the state parliaments, including powers over hospitals, education, police, the judiciary, roads, public transport and local government.
Each state and territory has its own legislature (unicameral in the case of the Northern Territory, the ACT and Queensland, and bicameral in the remaining states). The lower house is known as the Legislative Assembly (House of Assembly in South Australia and Tasmania) and the upper house the Legislative Council. The heads of the governments in each state and territory are called premiers and chief ministers, respectively. The Queen is represented in each state by a governor; an administrator in the Northern Territory, and the Governor-General in the ACT, have analogous roles.
Australia also has several minor territories; the federal government administers a separate area within New South Wales, the Norfolk Island">Norfolk Island, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and several largely uninhabited external territories: Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands and the Australian Antarctic Territory.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Australia

Climatic zones in Australia.

Climatic zones in Australia. Australia's 7,686,850 square kilometres (2,967,909 square miles) landmass is on the Indo-Australian Plate. Surrounded by the Indian, Southern and Pacific oceans, Australia is separated from Asia by the Arafura and Timor seas. Australia has a total 25,760 kilometres (16,007 miles) of coastline and claims an extensive Exclusive Economic Zone of 8,148,250 square kilometres (3,146,057 square miles). This exclusive economic zone does not include the Australian Antarctic Territory.
Climate is highly influenced by ocean currents, including the El Niño southern oscillation, which is correlated with periodic drought, and the seasonal tropical low pressure system that produces cyclones in northern Australia.
By far the largest part of Australia is desert or semi-arid. Australia is the driest inhabited continent, the flattest, and has the oldest and least fertile soils. Only the south-east and south-west corners of the continent have a temperate climate. The northern part of the country, with a tropical climate, has a vegetation consisting of rainforest, woodland, grassland and desert. The Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral reef, lies a short distance off the north-east coast and extends for over 2,000 kilometres (1,250 miles). The world's two largest monoliths are located in Australia, Mount Augustus in Western Australia is the largest and Uluru in central Australia is the second largest. At 2,228 metres (7,310 feet), Mount Kosciuszko on the Great Dividing Range is the highest mountain on the Australian mainland, although Mawson Peak on the remote Australian territory of Heard Island is taller at 2,745 metres (9,006 feet).

Economy

Main article: Economy of Australia

Melbourne's population is approximately 3.7 million, the second largest in Australia

Melbourne's population is approximately 3.7 million, the second largest in Australia Australia has a prosperous, Western-style France. The country was ranked third in the United Nations' 2005 Human Development Index and sixth in The Economist worldwide quality-of-life index 2005. In recent years, the Australian economy has been resilient in the face of global economic downturn. Rising output in the domestic economy has been offsetting the global slump, and business and consumer confidence remains robust. Australia's emphasis on economic reform is often claimed to be key factor behind the economy's strength. In the 1980s, the Labor Party, led by Prime Minister Bob Hawke and Treasurer Paul Keating, started the process of economic reform by floating the Australian dollar in 1983, and deregulating the financial system.[12] Since 1996, the Howard government has continued the process of micro-economic reform, including the partial deregulation of the labour market and the privatisation of state-owned businesses, most notably in the telecommunications industry.[13] Substantial reform of the indirect tax system was implemented in July 2000 with the introduction of a 10% Goods and Services Tax, which has slightly reduced the heavy reliance on personal and company income tax that still characterises Australia's tax system.
The Australian economy has not suffered a South Korea and New Zealand.[16] Areas of concern to some economists include the chronically high current account deficit and also high levels of net foreign debt.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Australia

Golden Summer, Eaglemont (Eaglemont, Victoria) by Arthur Streeton (1889) is an early example of the rich tradition of Australian landscape painting.

Golden Summer, Eaglemont (Eaglemont, Victoria) by Arthur Streeton (1889) is an early example of the rich tradition of Australian landscape painting. The primary basis of Australian culture up until the mid-20th century was Anglo-Celtic, although distinctive Australian features had been evolving from the environment and indigenous culture. Over the past 50 years, Australian culture has been strongly influenced by American popular culture (particularly television and cinema), large-scale immigration from non-English-speaking countries, and Australia's Asian neighbours.
Australia has a long history of visual arts, starting with the Australia Council. There is a symphony orchestra in each capital city, and a national opera company, Opera Australia, first made prominent by the renowned diva Dame Joan Sutherland; Australian music includes classical, jazz, and many popular music genres.
Australian literature has also been influenced by the landscape; the works of writers such as Banjo Paterson and Henry Lawson captured the experience of the Australian bush. The character of colonial Australia, as embodied in early literature, resonates with modern Australia and its perceived emphasis on egalitarianism, mateship, and anti-authoritarianism. In 1973, Patrick White was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, the only Australian to have achieved this; he is recognised as one of the great English-language writers of the 20th century. Australian English is a major variety of the language; its grammar and spelling are largely based on those of British English, overlaid with a rich vernacular of unique lexical items and phrases, some of which have found their way into standard English.
Australia has two public broadcasters (the United States. This ranking is primarily due to the limited diversity of commercial media ownership in Australia. Most Australian print media in particular is under the control of either News Corporation or John Fairfax Holdings.

Australian rules football was developed in Melbourne, Australia and is played at amateur and professional levels.

Melbourne, Australia and is played at amateur and professional levels. Melbourne. Melbourne each January. The F1 Australian Grand Prix is also held in Melbourne, usually towards the end of March each year. Corporate and government sponsorship of many sports and élite athletes is common in Australia.
Televised sport is popular; some of the highest rating television programs include the summer Olympic Games and the grand finals of local and international football competitions.[23]

References

^ Sidney J. Baker, The Australian Language, second edition, 1966.
^ Gillespie, R. (2002). Dating the first Australians. Radiocarbon 44:455-472
^ Smith, L. (1980), The Aboriginal Population of Australia, Australian National University Press, Canberra
^ Tatz, C. (1999). Genocide in Australia, AIATSIS Research Discussion Papers No 8, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, Canberra
^ Windschuttle, K. (2001). The Fabrication of Aboriginal History, The New Criterion Vol. 20, No. 1, September 20.
^ Sheehan, P. (2002). Our history, not rewritten but put right, The Sydney Morning Herald, November 25.
^ Bean, C. Ed. (1941). Volume I - The Story of Anzac: the first phase, First World War Official Histories 11th Edition.
^ Australian Electoral Commission (2000). 1999 Referendum Reports and Statistics
^ Parliamentary Library (1997). The Reserve Powers of the Governor-General
^ a Australian Government. (2005). Budget 2005-2006
^ Department of the Environment and Heritage. About Biodiversity
^ Macfarlane, I. J. (1998). Australian Monetary Policy in the Last Quarter of the Twentieth Century. Reserve Bank of Australia Bulletin, October
^ Parham, D. (2002). Microeconomic reforms and the revival in Australia’s growth in productivity and living standards. Conference of Economists, Adelaide, 1 October
^ Australian Bureau of Statistics. Labour Force Australia. Cat#6202
^ a b c d Australian Bureau of Statistics. Year Book Australia 2005
^ Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (2003). Advancing the National Interest, Appenidix 1
^ Australian Bureau of Statistics, Population Growth - Australia’s Population Growth
^ Department of Immigration, Multicultural and Indigenous Affiars. (2005). The Evolution of Australia's Multicultural Policy
^ Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2001 Census, A Snapshot of Australia
^ Parliament of Australia, Senate (2005). Inquiry into Australian Expatriates
^ Department of Immigration, Multicultural and Indigenous Affiars. (1995). Pluralist Nations: Pluralist Language Policies?
^ NCLS releases latest estimates of church attendance, National Church Life Survey, Media release, 28 February 2004
^ Australian Film Commission. What are Australians Watching?, Free-to-Air, 1999-2004 TV

Source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia (GFDL)

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