4. AUSTRALIA:

Geography: Australia is the smallest and youngest continent, with the lowest population density. It is often said that Australia lies at the edge of the world, divided from other continents by long distances. Australia is located south-east of Asia. The Indian Ocean is west and the South Pacific (Coral and Tasmania Seas) is east. Tasmania lies 240 km south. The nearest are Indonesia and Papua-New Guinea in the north, Solomon Islands, Fiji and New Zealand are in the east. Its area is 7.7 million square kilometres. Australia is an island continent. The Great Dividing Range along the eastern coast (The Australian Alps) has the highest Australian mountain, Mt. Kosciusko. The western plateau rises to 607 m with arid areas in the Great Sandy and Great Victoria Deserts. The north-east has heavy rainfalls (it is an area often visited by destructive hurricanes) and Cape York Peninsula has jungles. Rivers that flow permanently are to be found only in the north, east, and in Tasmania. The longest -  Murray River - 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. Australia has summer when we have winter and vice versa. The tropical forests in the north and north-east are displaced by savannah or grassland. The south-east is covered with forests of eucalyptus and other evergreen trees. The animals of Australia are numerous and some of them, like kangaroo, koala bear, dingo, platypus, Tasmanian devil or barking lizard can’t be found elsewhere.

People: The population of Australia is some 16 million. Around 85% people live in urban areas mainly along the south-east coast. Deserts and the tropical northern part are predictably uninhabited. 95% of inhabitants are of British origin, 3% are made by other European ethnic groups and 1.5% are aborigines. Australian English and aboriginal languages are spoken here.

History: Aboriginal people lived there at a Stone Age level for a long time. They did not know how to work the soil nor how to rear livestock. They had no plants suitable for cultivation and no original Australian animals were suitable for domestication. Thus, the Australians never became farmers or herdsmen. They made their tools and weapons only of wood and stone. The sole source of food was hunting and gathering. Men used to catch birds, snakes, crocodiles, and women with children used to pick fruits, caterpillars, ants, eggs and dig for roots. The dingo wild dog was the sole animal that became domesticated. The Australians were divided into about 650 tribes that spoke about 500 different languages. Each tribe usually had its own dialect, name and customs, its own territory and hunting grounds. Captain James Cook explored the eastern coast in 1770 when the continent was inhabited by a variety of different tribes. It became a convict colony in the 18th century when immigration increased because gold was found there. The independence was proclaimed in 1901.

National Economy: 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, although only 9% of land is arable. Other agricultural items are barley, oats, hay, sugar, wine, fruit and vegetables. Natural riches contain mainly bauxite, coal, copper, iron, lead, nickel, silver, tin, uranium and zinc ores. Among the main trading partners belong Japan, the USA, the UK and New Zealand. Currency used in Australia is the Australian Dollar. In Australia there are many big cities. Sydney is the oldest. Brisbane is the third largest. Adelaide lies in the southern part of the country. There are two universities and a car-manufacturing factory here. Melbourne is one of the most beautiful cities. There are a lot of museums, galleries and parks. Perth is an important industrial city. Other important cities are Darwin, Alice Springs and Hobart.
Government type and administration: 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).The Federal Parliament has its seat in Canberra and is divided into the Senate and the House of Representatives. Australia is a member of the important international organisations: UN, OECD and the British Commonwealth.