A U S T R A L I A

The continent of Australia is situated south-east of Asia proper. About 240 kilometres off the south-east coast lies Tasmania, a large island belonging to Australia. The Great Dividing Range along the east coast includes Mount Kosciusko (2230 metres) height in New South Wales. The western plateau rises to 600 metres and contains arid areas in the Great Sandy and Great Victoria Deserts. The northwest part of Western Australia and Northern Territory are also arid. The north-east has heavy rainfall and Cape York Peninsula has jungle. The Murray River rises in New South Wales and flows 2574 kilometres into the Indian Ocean.
Australia’s landmass is 7 628 300 square kilometres and its population of around 18,5 million people is part of the British Commonwealth.
According to the census 2000, 76% of Australian are Christian, with Anglicans accounting for about 26% of the population, Roman Catholics about 26% and other Christians about 24%. Australian ethnic divisions consist of Caucasian (95%), Asian (4%) and Aboriginal (1%). Australia has two official languages: English, indigenous languages (original inhabitants of Brazil and Venezuela).
The leading industries are mining, industrial and transport equipment, food processing, textiles, chemicals, iron and steel. The chief agricultural products are beef, wool, mutton, wheat, barley, sugar cane, fruit, cattle, sheep and poultry. Bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, gold, diamonds, natural gas and petroleum are the major mineral resources. Politically the Commonwealth of Australia is a federation of the following states and territories: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory and Australia Capital Territory

AUSTRALIAN NATURE

Due to its isolation, Australia has a lot of unique wildlife. We can find there some very interesting animals that, except in zoos, do not live anywhere else in the world, for example, kangaroos, koalas, emus or cockatoos. The name kangaroo applies to about 45 different species, including smaller kinds, which are called “wallabies”. The larger ones, sometimes over two meters tall, are able to over six meters in one jump. The cute koalas were once hunted for their coat, but are now a protected species. They live in trees, are about 40 cm tall and sleep most of time.

This is thanks to their food – a leaf from eucalyptus tree – which contains a drug that makes them sleepy.
Eleven of the world’s top 15 poisonous snakes call Australia home, including the Fierce snake, Taipan snake and Brown snake, which are considered the world’s three most dangerous. Also some of the Australian spiders are very venomous and their bite is deadly.
Australia’s countryside can be divided into two main areas. One is the inner land that is very dry and sandy. Almost no vegetation grows here and very few people live in this area. Most of population is in the second area – along the shoreline, mostly on the east coast. Hard leafed evergreen plants like eucalyptus or palm trees dominate Australia’s vegetation. Rain Forests cover about 9% of the continent. The country is also well known for its beaches, which are very popular among Australians and foreign tourists. In Queensland, the most tropical part of Australia, is a set of coral reefs. It is called the Great Barrier Reef and is the biggest reef in the world. HISTORY

Australian history goes hand in hand with its original inhabitants who are called aborigines. Discoveries of aboriginal art indicate that they may have inhabited Australia for more than 176 000 years, and they had arrived by watercraft. The country has always been separated by at least sixty kilometres of water. The Sydney region, which local aborigines called Warrane, has been inhabited for at least 50 000 years. The west and north coasts of Australia were visited quite frequently by Europeans in the 17th century, but the east coast was first seen in 1770, when well known Captain James Cook came here, claimed the whole east coast for King George III and called it New South Wales.
In the beginning, the whole area was a colony where Great Britain would send its convicts. Free settlers did not begin arriving until 1793. Ever since then, the population of Australia has increased. Transportation of convicts stopped in 1840. Shortly afterwards Sydney was declared a city. In 1901 the six British colonies in Australia formed a federation to become the Commonwealth of Australia. Since that date, the period of modern development started. Sydney continued to grow and by 1925 became a metropolis of 1 million people. ABOUT CAPITALS

Canberra is the capital of Australia, with a population 307 700 people. The federal government is run from Canberra; the city was founded in 1928. The name of the city is an Aboriginal word meaning “Meeting Place”.
Sydney has a population of around 3,9 million people, is the capital city of New South Wales and the oldest city in Australia. In 1850, its first university was built. The shores of Sydney Harbour are 240 kilometres long.

The most famous building in Sydney is the Opera House, which was built in 1973 and cost 100 million dollars. The oldest part of the city is called The Rocks. Melbourne, the capital city of Victoria has a population of 3,2 million people. It is Australia’s second largest city and the only city in the country, in which trams are still used. About 30% of the people living in this city were born overseas. It has one of the largest Greek populations outside Greece in the world and a large Italian community.
Brisbane has a population of over 1,5 million people and is the capital of Queensland. It dates from 1902 and has a sub-tropical climate with average temperatures between 15 and 25 degrees Celsius. Perth is the capital city of Western Australia. About 1,3 million people live there. About 80% of all people from Western Australia live in Perth. Of all capital cities, it was the slowest growing – only 300 people lived here in the first year. Adelaide was named after Queen Adelaide, who was the wife of King William IV. It’s the capital of South Australia, which is the driest of all Australian states and territories. The population of Adelaide is 1,1 million and it was established in 1873. It’s now Australia’s fifth largest city just after Perth. Adelaide is known for its botanical garden that is the biggest in Southern Hemisphere and for the production of some of the best wines in Australia. Hobart is the capital of Tasmania, which is the smallest of all seven states. It’s the second oldest of all Australian capitals and was established in 1803. The population of Hobart is around 200 000 people. Australia’s first legal casino was opened here.
Darwin has a population of 82,400 people and is the capital of Northern Territory. With such a small population, Darwin is the smallest of all the capital cities. During World War II, women, children and older man were evacuated from Darwin because the first Japanese attacked on Australia was the bombing of Darwin Harbour. On Christmas Day in 1974, Cyclone Tracy hit the city and destroyed most of the buildings in the city.

N E W Z E A L A N D

New Zealand’s landmass is 269 000 square kilometres and its population of around 3,8 million people is the Independent member of the British Commonwealth.
The main islands of New Zealand lie in the South Pacific about 2 090 kilometres east to Australia. They are North Island (Northland), South Island (Southland), Steward Island and Chatham Island.

Including remote islands to the north Ross Dependency to the south, the span of New Zealand is from the tropic to Antarctica. New Zealand is a country of rare seismic beauty: glacial mountains, fast-flowing rivers, deep, clear lakes, hissing geysers and boiling mud. There are also abandoned forest, reserves, long, deserted beaches and a variety of fauna, such as the kiwi, endemic to its shores. Any number of vigorous outdoors activities – hiking, skiing, rafting and of course, that perennial favourite bungy jumping – await the adventures. You can swim with dolphins, gambol with newborn lambs, whalewatch or fish for fattened trout in the many streams. The people bound in a cultural that melds European with Maori ancestry are resourceful, helpful and overwhelmingly friendly. The extraordinary place names – try Te Awamutu, Whangamomona or Paekakariki for tongue-trippers – are resonant and with a modicum of practise, easy to pronounce.
New Zealand ethnic divisions consist of 88% European and 12% Maori and Polynesian. Majority of people are Christian (81%). Wellington and Auckland on North Island are the chief ports. South Island has picturesque Southern Alps. There are 15 peaks over 3 000 meters, the highest being Mt. Cook. Snow-topped mountains, smoking volcanoes, deep fiords, boiling geysers, caves and golden beaches are among the scenic attraction. New Zealand is a independent member of the British Commonwealth. The British Crown is represented by the Governor-General. The members of the House of Representatives are elected by universal suffrage. New Zealand is largely depended on agricultural products (wool, meat, butter, cheese) for export income. Food processing is the largest industry. The pulp and paper industry on North Island is partly powered by natural steam from volcanic areas.

WELLINGTON

The capital city of New Zealand, with its population 345 000 inhabitants situated on a splendid harbour at the southern tip of the North Island. Wellington is a lively city of culture and arts (with festivals almost every month), and great ethic restaurants and cafes. It’s also home to the country’s government and national treasures.

Building of interested include the modernist Beehive (the executive wing of parliament), the old Government Building (one of the largest wooden building in the world), the National Library (hosing the most comprehensive of books in the country) and the Katherine Mansfield Memorials (the property, where the famous author was born in 1888).

Steward Island

New Zealand’s third largest island, Steward is an ornithologist’s delight: tuis, parakeets, kakas and bellbirds about. The kiwi, rare in both the North and South Island is common over much of this islands, particularly around beaches. A good network of walking tracks and huts exist in the northern part of the island, but the south is forgettable, being undeveloped and isolated. The people (less than 400 all up) are hardy, taciturn and suspicious of mainlanders. The weather is changeable and accommodations is basic; there are, however, excellent-value homestays on the island.

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Australia and New Zealand