Introducation of Australia

Australia is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the world’s smallest continent and a number of islands in the Southern, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Neighbouring countries include Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north; the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and the French dependency of New Caledonia to the northeast; and New Zealand to the southeast.

The continent of Australia has been inhabited for over 40,000 years by Indigenous Australians. After sporadic visits by fishermen from the north and by European explorers and merchants starting in the seventeenth century, the eastern half of the continent was claimed by the British in 1770 and officially settled as the penal colony of New South Wales on 26 January 1788. As the population grew and new areas were explored, another five largely self-governing Crown Colonies were successively established over the course of the nineteenth century.

On 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated and the Commonwealth of Australia was formed. Since federation, Australia has maintained a stable liberal democratic political system and remains a Commonwealth Realm. The capital city is Canberra although the current population of around 20.5 million is concentrated mainly in the large coastal cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide.

The high quality of life in the country’s effervescent largest city is enhanced by one of the world’s great harbors, but there is far more to Australia city-wise than just Sydney. Its big rival, Melbourne, is blessed with a more European ambience, with trams and pavement cafes as much a part of the experience as the buzzing sports and cultural scene, while coastal Darwin, Perth and Brisbane offer other worlds to explore.

Away from the cities, Australia’s stunningly diverse landscape boasts everything from vast, barren deserts, where kangaroo and emu bound through the arid surroundings, to tropical rainforests, rugged mountains and pristine beaches, such as world-class Bondi, Cable Beach and Whitehaven. Then, of course, there’s the epic monolith of Uluru (Ayers Rock) and the Great Barrier Reef, where another undiscovered world opens up beneath the surf. With tourist numbers up and interest in Australia never higher, this is the perfect time to bury those anachronistic Crocodile Dundee cliches and discover the real Australia.