Australia

Australia is the only country which is also a continent. Australia is often called an island continent. Oz is the smallest continent of the world. It is situated between the Pacific and the Indian Ocean. Its official name is the Commonwealth of Australia. It is an independent member of the British Commonwealth of Nations. Its capital is Canberra. It is a federal state with a Governor General at its head. The Governor is the deputy of the British Queen. National currency is Australian dollars that means 100 cents.
Geography:
Western Australia takes up one-third of Australia and contains the city of Perth. South Australia with city of Adelaide. Queensland lies in the tropical north-eastern corner. New South Wales lying in the south east corner, is the most populous state. Victoria is in the south west corner. Tasmania is an island state, the smallest state.
Northern Territory lies in the north and centre of Australia. It is the least populated and lest developed of all the states and territories. Australian Capital Territory is the capital city of Canberra.
Most of Australia is low and flat. Australia can, however, be divided into three major land regions. They are, from west to east, the Western Plateau, the Central Lowlands and the Eastern Highlands.
Australian’s highest mountains are the Australian Alps in the extreme southern part of the Eastern Highland and in the States of Victoria and New South Wales. Mount Kosciusko, in the Snowy Mountains range, is 2,228 metres high. It and the surrounding mountains are popular destination for snow skiers.
Many of Australia’s rivers are dry at least part of the year and fill with water only during the rainy season. The Murray River is Australia’s longest permanently flowing river. It begins in the Snowy Mountains and empties 2,589 kilometres to the west near the city of Adelaide. Another significant river is the Darling River but it is dry for most of the winter. Australia’s only large permanent lakes have been artificially created. They include Lake Argyle in Western Australia and Lake Gordon in Tasmania. Both are used as reservoirs for conservation projects. Most of Australia’s natural lakes are dry for months or years at a time like lakes Lake Eyre, Lake Torrens and Lake Gairdner.
The Great Barrier Reef, a collection of a chain of more than 2,500 reefs, is the world’s largest coral reef and one of Australia’s most popular tourist attractions. It extends for just over 23,000 kilometres along Australia’s north-east and is composed of about 400 species of corals of many shapes and colours. Ayers Rock, located in central Australia, is also a popular tourist attraction. Located near the center of Australia, it is called the world’s biggest rock. It is about 2,4 kilometres long and 300 metres high and has many small caves. The walls of these caves are covered with rock painting made long ago by Aboriginal artists.
Some parts of Australia are completely dry. In central Australia there are three deserts - the Great Sandy Desert, the Gibson Desert and the Great Victoria Desert.
Industry:
Because Australia has rich mineral resources, much of Australia’s industry is centered around mining, as well as farming. It exports a great variety of minerals and metals (gold, silver, copper, zinc, lead, iron) all over the world. Australia’s farmers produce nearly all the food needed by the people. Crops are grown on only about 5 percent of the farmland, however the use of modern agricultural methods make this land highly productive. Much of the crop farming is located near the east and west coasts. Australia’s leading farm products are cattle, wheat and wool along with dairy product, fruit and sugar cane.
History:
The original inhabitants of Australia were a people called Aborigines. The first known European discovery of the continent by a Dutch navigator named Willem Jansz who briefly visited the northern coast in 1606, in 1642 and 1643, Dutch sea captain Abel Tasman, landed on the island which was eventually named after him, Tasmania. In 1770 James Cook of the British army became the first European to sight and explore Australia’s east coast.
Australia was originally the colony to which england deported convicts. They were actually the only white people ther for many years. The last convicts came to Australia in 1839. From 1800 free British immigrants formed the greater part of the population, but they were mainly men. That’s why Engaldn strated a campaign to get more women to Australia. After many years of continued exploration and settlement of Australia, a great increase in the population of Australia occurred between 1850 and1860 after the discovery of gold in the south-west. As most people did not find enough gold to pay their passage home so they stayed.
After the various colonies in Australia decided to unite into a single nation and united government, on January 1, 1901 the six colonies became states of a new nation, the Commonwealth of Australia.
People:
The country isn’t densely populated. The area is 17.7 million square km, the population only 17 million people. Large territories in the interior are very difficult to live in because they are rather dry. There is little rainfall there. Most people live in town on the coast. The biggest towns in Australia are Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. Most people are of British origin.
Much of Australia’s city life is on its east coast. Many people here work in offices and factories. This is sharp contrast to life country, which is often centered around sheep raising. Most cattle raising take place in the interior of Australia, also called „the outback“. Many cattle ranches, called stations, have their own small aeroplanes because of the isolation of the ranches and the great distance the workers must travel. But many families who do not own a plane get to town only a few times a year. A great number of children don’t attend school but receive their lessons from a radio program called „School of the Air“. Students mail in their homework to be graded.
Aborigines, the native Australians, are Australia’s most notable minority group and they are Australian Negroes. The Aborigines number about 160,000 and live mostly in the northern coastal areas and on small islands. Most of them no longer live the nomadic, tribal life of their ancestors. Because they have suffered from various forms of prejudice, discrimination and extreme poverty, special government welfare, housing and education programs were formed to assist aboriginal people.
Fauna and flora
Most of Australia has a continental climate, but there is also warm and subtropical climate. The continent is in the southern hemisphere which means that Australia has summer when we have winter and vice versa. The tropical forests in the north and north-east are displaced by savannas and grasslands. The south-east is covered with forests of eucalyptus and other evergreen trees.
Kangaroos are strange pouched animals-they are the same now as in prehistoric times. This is so because of Australia’s long isolation from other continents. There are no really dangerous animals, but Australia had a number of peculiar animals. Kangaroos are strange pouched animals. Coalas live in eucalyptus trees and feed mainly at night on leaves and shoots of eucalyptus tress.
The platypus is probably the world’s strangest animal. It has a bill and webbed feet like a duck and lays eggs like a hen, but it is a mammal. Emu are large birds about 6 feet high. They cannot fly. Another strange animal is the anteater.
Cities
Australia’s most elegant city is Melbourne. The city has many beautiful parks. The sights include the original cottage of Australia’s discoverer, Captain Cook. He landed in a place later called Botany Bay. Nowadays it forms the southern part of Sydney. It is a beautiful port, the biggest Australian town with the typical building of the Opera House. The geographical centre of Australia is a place called Alice Springs.
Sydney has a population of 3,700,000. It is Australia’s largest and oldest city, and it is built around the harbour, named Port Jackson. Captain Cook called it this when he sailed to the area in 1770. Sydney wasn’t planned from the start, as many later Australian cities were. It has a tight, congested centre without wide boulevard. But it is a very modern city, with the most energy and style of all Australian cities. In Sydney, the buildings are higher, the colours are brighter and the nightlife more exciting. North of the harbour is more residential, and the south is more industrial. The two shores are joined by the sydney harbour bridge, which was built in 1932. The city centre is south of the harbour. Sydney’s most famous building, the Opera House, was opened in 1973. Designed in the 1950s by a young Danish architect, Joern Utzon, it is supposed to look like sails in the wind. It took 16 years to build.
The best place to go shopping is Georges street and Pitt Street. The post office is on martin place. The climate in New South Wales is generally warm, though it can get a little cold in winter. There are some of the best beaches in the world, notably Bondi Beach and manly. Tourist offices are open five days a week from 9 am to 5 pm. 
HISTORY
Australia is the smallest and least densely populated continent on the Earth. The population of Australia is about 17 million of inhabitants and extens about 8 milion km2. The official language is English
It was discovered by the Dutch explorer W. Jansz. He landed on the west coast of the Cape York Penunsula. During the 17th century Abel Tasman discovered Tasmania, New Zealand, Tonga and Fiji. It was called New South Wales. In 1788 the British government established  the first convict colony. In 19th century many setllers went there because of gold. The second huge wave of Europian setllers came to Australia since 1945 because of war. But the first and original inhabitants of Australia are called „Aborginies“ speaking hundred languages, who are famous with their boomerangs. Many Aborginies died in 18th century protecting their land before first white settlers. Today only about 100 000 survive. Australian government has recently given them some land back. It lies between the Pacific Ocean in the east and the Indian Ocean in the west.
Its nearest neighbour in the north is New Quinea, in the east New Zealand; Tasmania in the south is an island of the same size as England. Along the east coast we can see the Great Barrier Reef, the biggest coral reef on the Earth, one of the greatest tourist atraction in Australia. 
GEOGRAPHY
Australia lies in southern hemisphere. The Australian climate varies from warm to subtropical. Two fifths of Australian continent lie within the tropical belt and three fifths of Australia lie in the subtropical belt. About  80 % of Australian areas suffer from drought, so that’s why are many deserts there. There are 4 great deserts in central Australia: the Great Sandy Desert, Gibson Desert, Great Victoria Desert and Simson Desert.
There is one special desert with with red sand – Ayers Rock, the largest piece of the stone in the world.  The North East suffers  from heavy rainfalls and Cape York Peninsula is covered with jungles. The tropical forests in the north and north – east is covered with foersts of eucalyptus and other evergreen trees. In the Pacific Ocean there is the Great Barrier Reef. It is on the east of the north coast. The east coast is bordered by Australian Cordilleras. Its highest point is Mt. Kosciusko (2.228 m) which lies in the Australian Alps. In the cenral Australian Lowlands there are Great Artesian Basin and the Lake Eyre Basin. In the Lake Eyre there is the lowest point of the continent. It is 16 metres below the sea – level. This lake is the largest in Australia. The second largest lake is the Lake Torrens and then Lake Gairdner. The largest Australian  river is Murray and the second one is the Darling, flows to the Murray.
 FAUNA + FLORA
Australian continent was isolated by oceans for many years and it had developed its own unique flora and fauna:
The spectrum of Australia’s native flowers is enormous and nowadays is a huge interest in their cultivation (= pěstování) and conservation (= ochranu) with National parks and Reserves troughout the country growing. Australia’s best known native trees are the gum= eucalypt and the wattle = acatia.
Australian eucalypts are growing in many other countries: e.g.  Central Asia, California. One species, jarrah (= blahovičník), is among world’s hardest woods and is used for railway ties (= pražce). The word „ecucalypt“ is derived from the Greek: EU = well, KALYPTO = I cover.
The wattle or acacia is loved and has become recognized as Australia’s national floral emblem. There are more than 600 species of wattle, most of them native to Australia and all produce striking golden blossom.  

unique animals for Australia:
Kangaroo is regarded (= považován) as the National Emblem.There are about 45 million kangoroos in Australia.
Koala bears is the most popular marsupial(= vačnatec) in the world. The koala sleeps a great deal in the day and in between its snaps (= spánek) it eats about one kilogram of eucalyptus leaves a day.
Platypusys (= ptakopysk) a small furry animal which has brak and feet like a duck and a flat tail, it is adapted for life in the water where it feeds mainly on insects, worms (= červ).
Kookaburras (= ledňáček) is the world’s largest kingfisher and everyone’s favourite bird. It is well – known for its extraordinary laughing call, taken over as the signal of Radio Australia.  Othe Australian animals are phalangers (= kuskus), wombats, dingos, gliders (= vakoplšík), echidnas (= ježura), emus parrots, black swans, etc. Some animals were brought to Australia. They are sheep and rabbits. Now rabbits are a big danger for Australian farmers.

The official title of Australia 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. She is represented by the Governor General.
Australia is divided into six states: New South Wales (Sydney), Victoria (Melbourne), Queensland (Brisbane), South Australia (Adelaide), Western Australia (Perth), Tasmania (Hobart);  and three territories: Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory, Coral Sea Islands territory. The capital of Australia is Canberra. Canberra is the seat of the Federal Parliament. It is divided into the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Australian national flag consists of the British flag symbol and a larger blue field where is 6 stars. But in Australia there are much larger cities than Canberra. They are for example:
 Sydney is the oldest city in Australia and the capital of  New South Wales. It is the largest Australian city, a major port in the South Pacific and major trading centre. Sydney’s best-known landmark is The Sydney Opera House, which stands on the harbour surrounded by water on three sides. It was designed by danish architect Utzon. Opera House was completed in 1973. It contains a concert hall for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, a large theathre for Australian Opera and Ballet and a small theathre for plays, a cinema, a library and exhibiton halls. It is a real centre of art.
Another very famous thing in Sydney is steel arch bridge designed by Ralph Freeman and completed in 1932. It is also to climb the Bridge with professional team to the top.
Other cities: Darwin, Alice Springs, Melbourne, Brisbane and Hobart etc.
Austalia belongs to hihgly developed countries of the world. It is rich in gold, silver, iron, oil, coal etc. It is also the greatest producer of wool in the world.
 
AUSTRALIA:
Geography:
Australia is smallest, 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 Leas) is east. Tasmania lies 240 km south. Nearest is Indonesia, Papua New Guinea on north, Solomon, Fiji and New Zealand are on east. Its area is 7.7 million sq. k. 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 have 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 Murray Rivers 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 the kangaroo, koala bear, dingo, platypus, Tasmanian devil or barking lizards 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:
People lived there at a Stone Age level. They did not know of 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 the18th century when immigration increased because gold was found here. The Commonwealth 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 ands zinc ores. Among the main trading partners belong Japan, the USA, the UK, 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 Commonwealth.