- What is the capital of Australia?
a. Sydney b. Melbourne c. Canberra
- Which city is the oldest and largest?
a. Canberra b. Sydney c. Darwin
- Which is a popular Australian animal?
a. bear b. kangaroo c. fox
- Who are the Australian natives
a. Eskimos b. Aborigines c. Indians
- Who discovered Australia?
a. Columbus b. Captain Cook c. Lewis and Clark
- What is the official Language in Australia?
a. English b. German c. Spain
Australia is situated south of Asia, between the Pacific and the Indian Oceans. Australia is a continent, a country and an island at the same time. Australia is located in the southern hemisphere.
- OFFITIAL NAME : Commonwealth of Australia
- CAPITAL: Canberra
- TOTAL AREA: 7,700,000 sq.km
- POPULATION: 20 million people
- HEAD OF STATE: Queen Elizabeth II represented by Governor-General
- FORM OF GVERNMENT : Constitutional monarchy
- PORTS: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane
- LONGEST RIVER: the Darling (2,740 km)
- HIGHEST POINT: Mount Kosciusko (2,230 m)
- NATURAL RES O URCES: coal, zink, nickel, gold, wool
- NATIONAL HOLIDAY: Australian Day , 16 January (1788)
- MONEY: basic unit – Australian dollar
- NATIONAL SYMBOLS: Kangaroo and Emu
- NATIONAL ANTHEM: “Waltzing Matilda”
Captain James Cook discovered Australia in 1770. He was sent to discover the huge land that many people believed was south of the equator. He landed south of present day Sydney in New South Wales. He claimed this part of the land for the King of England.
In 1851 gold was discovered about 300 km west of Sydney. People rushed to the gold fields to find their fortunes. This attracted robbers called bushrangers.
The Aborigines are the Australian natives that had been living there for thousands of years before the first Europeans came to Australia in the 1600s.
The flag of Australia is the only one to fly over a whole continent. The small Union Jack represents the historical link with Britain, the large seven-pointed star represents the six States and Territories, and the small stars from the Southern Cross – a prominent feature of the southern hemisphere night sky.
Australia's coat of arms – the official emblem of the Australian Government – was granted by George V in 1912. The arms consist of a shield containing the badges of the six states. The supporters are native Australian fauna – a kangaroo and an emu. A yellow-flowered native plant, wattle, also appears in the design.
Canberra is the capital of Australia. It is very young city.
Population is about 310,000 people.
- Canberra is the capital of Australia. It is very young city. Population is about 310,000 people.
Capitol Hill
Canberra Fountain
Capital of New South Wales . Leading industrial city. Population: 3,200,000 people .
Sydney AMP Tower
St. Maria Cathedral
The Harbour Bridge
Sydney
Opera House
Capital of Victoria . The world’s most livable city. Population: 3.200.000
Old House
Melbourne Bridge
Train Station
Capital of Queensland . It is a year-round vocation place. Population is about 1,400,000 people.
Brisbane Skyscrapers
Brisbane Bridge
Brisbane
Capital of South Australia . A pretty and industrial city. Population: 1,100,000 people.
Gold Beach
Adelaide
Victoria Square Fountain
Capital of Western Australia . One of the best climates in Australia. Population: 1.200.000 people.
Perth Skyscrapers
King’s Park
Capital of island-state Tasmania . Winters are very cold. Population of about 200,000 .
Bay of Fires
Lavender Farm
Coles Bay
Remarkable Cave
Warumbungle NP
Crowdy Bay NP
Cockatoo NP
Crowdy Bay NP
It’s the world’s largest coral reef (over 2000 km). It stretches along the east coast of Queensland. It’s made up of over 2900 individual
reefs very close
to each other .
Australians really love nature. They try to protect their nature and their animals.
British
barbecue
Australian
kangaroo
barbie
roo
mosquito
mozzie
chicken
chook
candy
slippers
lollie
TV
thongs
tellie
girl
sheila
form
year
sheep
jumbuck
cinema
pictures
postbox
letterbox
trainers
runners
freeway
main road
The First people in Australia were Aborigines. They arrived there about 12,000 years before from southern Asia. They had very rich forms of art, painting, song, poetry and mythology. The lives of aborigines stayed almost the same for thousands of years until the Europeans came to live in Australia in 1778.
In 1770 J. Cook landed in eastern Australia and declared that it belonged to Britain. In 1778, the British government began sending the first prisoners to Australia. Overtime many people arrived from Britain and Europe. Life was difficult. There was very little water and the climate was very hard.
The Europeans suffered a lot in Australia but the Aborigines suffered a lot more. Europeans stole their land and killed thousand of Aborigines. They also brought new diseases with them. In parts of Australia, not one Aborigine survived. Today aborigines continue to live in Australia but there culture in under threat. In 1770, there were about 300,000 Aborigines. Now, there are 120,000. It is becoming harder and harder for them to continue their traditional way to live.
Today Australia is a modern, industrial country, independent from Britain since 1931. The Commonwealth of Australia consists of 6 states and two provinces. It is the world’s biggest producer of wool, bauxite and important producer of wheat, meat, sugar and fruit.
What do these numbers and dates refer to?
For example:
12,000 years ago: first people arrived in Australia
120,000 1970 300.000 7,700,000
20,000,000 1978 6 1931
- What is the capital of Australia?
a. Sydney b. Melbourne c. Canberra
- Which city is the oldest and largest?
a. Canberra b. Sydney c. Darwin
- Which is a popular Australian animal?
a. bear b. kangaroo c. fox
- Who are the Australian natives?
a. Eskimos b. Aborigines c. Indians
- Who discovered Australia?
a. Columbus b. Captain Cook c. Lewis and Clark
- What is the official Language in Australia?
a. English b. German c. Spain
Queensland
Hobart
Western Australia
Melbourne
Sydney
Tasmania
Perth
Victoria
Brisbane
South Australia
Adelaide
New South Wales
Adelaide
South Australia
Melbourne
Victoria
Sydney
New South Wales
Brisbane
Queensland
Perth
Western Australia
Hobart
Tasmania
Tell about Australia using the chart
- Geographical location : … south of Asia, between … and … Oceans. …in the southern hemisphere.
- Capital: …
- Total area: … square kelometres.
- Population: …people.
- Native Australians: …
- Principal towns: … Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane.
- World’s famous sights: …
- Principal industries: … wool, metals and mineral producer.
- Head of State … Queen … represented by …
- Animals: …
- National emblems: …