Australia is the smallest, the youngest continent, with the lowest population density. It is the largest island in the world. It is situated in the southern hemisphere, it means that the Australians has summer when we have winter. Australia is washed by the Indian Ocean in west and the south Pacific in east. Its area is 7.7 million sq. k. The Great Dividing Range along the eastern coast (The Australian Alps) has the highest Australian mountain, Mt. Kosciusko. There are two deserts: the Great Sandy and Great Victoria Deserts. The longest river, the Murray Rivers, flows from New South Wales to the Indian Ocean, the second longest river is the Darling. There are three big lakes here: Lake Eyre, Lake Torrens and Lake Gairdner. The Australian climate varies from warm to subtropical. The south-east is covered with forests of eucalyptus and other evergreen trees. The nearest island are Tasmania and King Island. The animals of Australia are numerous and some of them, like the kangaroo which is also the emblem of Australia, koala bear, dingo or Tasmanian devil can’t be found elsewhere. There are also many lizards.
The population of Australia is some 17 million. Around 85% people live in urban areas mainly along the south-east coast. Deserts and the tropical northern part are mostly uninhabited. 95% of inhabitants are of British origin and 3% are made by other European ethnic groups. Australian English and aboriginal languages are spoken here. Captain James Cook explored the eastern coast in 1770 when the continent was inhabited by a variety of different tribes.
Main industries are iron, steel, textiles, electrical equipment, chemicals, cars, aircraft, ship and machinery. Australia belongs to the top exporters of beef, lamb, wool and wheat. Currency used in Australia is the Australian Dollar. In Australia there are many big cities. The capital of Australia is Canberra, but the oldest and biggest one is Sydney. The Olympic games took place there and I think it was the best Olympic games which i saw. There are two interesting and very well known places in Sydney: The Sydney Opera House, it is a swan-shaped and The Harbour Bridge. The third largest city is Brisbane. Melbourne is one of the most beautiful cities and you can swin with dolphins there and there are a lot of museums, galleries and parks. Perth is an important industrial city.
The official title is The Commonwealth of Australia and it is a British dominion. It has a democratic, federal system and the head of state is Queen Elizabeth II. represented by the Governor – General. The head of government is the Prime Minister. The Commonwealth of Australia consists of six states: New South Wales (capital Sydney), Victoria (Melbourne), Qeensland (Brisbane), South Australia (Adelaide), Western Australia (Perth), Tasmanian (Hobart) and two territories: The Australian Capital Territory (a part of the country surrounding Australia’s capital Canberra) and Northern Territory (thinly populated). National flag consist of the British Flag symbol and a larger blue field with 5 white stars arranged there.
If the Australians are ill, they phone the flying Doctor service. – Doctors fly in aircraft and have also other duties besides emergency calls. They visit isolated communities, advise by radio where the illness isn’t serious enought.
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