Australia in English

continent was not settled till Captain Cook discovered the east

coast in 1770. It was the first used as colony for convicts.

DISCOVERY OF AUSTRALIA

20 million people
HEAD OF STATE: Queen Elizabeth II represented by

Governor-General
FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Constitutional monarchy
PORTS: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane
LONGEST RIVER: the Darling (2,740 km)
HIGHEST POINT: Mount Kosciusko (2,230 m)
NATURAL RESOURCES: 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”

SOME FACTS

Pacific and the Indian Oceans. Australia is the continent, the

country and the island at the same time. Australia is located in the southern hemisphere.

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.

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.

is an independent federal state within the Commonwealth headed by

the British Queen. The Queen is represented by Governor General. The Head of Government is Prime Minister.

Capital: Canberra (since 1927)

young city.
Population is about 310,000 people.
Capitol Hill
Canberra Fountain

and wonderful places, unusual animals and amazing culture.

Australia is called

“ the upside down world”, because it lies in the Southern Hemisphere where winter comes in July and summer begins in December.

WELCOME

Australia is Ayers Rock (or Uluru). This huge rock is

348 metres high and 348 kilometres long, but what you see of Uluru is the top of the iceberg. There are another 2,100 metres under the ground. Uluru is 600 million years old. The best time to see it is at the end of the day, when its colour changes from yellow to gold, red and then purple. Uluru is a sacred place for Australia's native people, the Aborigines. They believe that it's full of spirits that created the world.

A number of short rivers flow from the Australian Alps

and Blue Mountains into the Pacific Ocean.

nature and their animals.

wattle, the acacia.

stretches along the east coast of Queensland. It’s made up

of over 2900 individual
reefs very close
to each other.

GREAT BARRIER REEF

land is desert. In some places it sometimes doesn't rain

for years! The driest and hottest place in Australia is the Simpson Desert. Summer temperatures here can be more than 50°C. The Simpson Desert is famous for its parallel sand dunes.