Australia

From TinWiki.org

Australia is one of the seven continents of planet Earth.

The Commonwealth of Australia is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising a large mainland which separates the Indian and Pacific Oceans and includes the island of Tasmania as one of six states and two territories. Territories are state-sized areas governed mainly by the Federal government.

Known as the smallest continent, it is the sixth largest country - in terms of land mass it has 7,686,850 square kilometers. In the world it is behind Russia, Canada, the United States, China and Brazil in land mass.

In terms of population it ranks number 53 in the world with just over 21.3 million.

1 The Flag Of Australia
2 Map
3 History
4 Also On tinWiki
5 ATS Discussion Threads
6 External Sources

[edit]

The Flag Of Australia

Australian Flag

[edit]

Map

Australia map

[edit]

History

Australia has been inhabited for more than 40,000 years by indigenous Australians, who make up approximately 3 per-cent of the present population, encompassing a myriad of communities, languages and cultures. Traditional ownership of land was not officially recognized until 1992 when the High Court of Australia overturned the legal fiction of Australia as Terra Nullius (empty land) at the time of European occupation.

Dutch explorers first charted the north and west of the continent in 1606, and continued exploration throughout the seventeenth century, without attempts at settlement.

In 1770 James Cook sailed down the east coast of Australia, which he named New South Wales, and claimed the entire continent as a British Dominion which was to be settled initially in Sydney Harbor by a military government using British convict labour.

During the middle nineteenth century the population greatly expanded as a result of various gold and gem stone rushes, agricultural development and trade.

Australia participated in the 1914-18 World War, with heavy casualties in the European theater and at Gallipoli in the attempted occupation of the Turkish Dardanelles.

The 1939-45 World War was more regional in character for Australia, with protracted conflict against Japan throughout New Guinea, Indonesia and other parts of South East Asia. A much closer official alliance with the United States resulted, culminating in 1951 with the ANZUS treaty.

[edit]