Post on 24-Dec-2015
Welcome to Australia
Australia
General Information
• Population: 21,007,310 (53rd)• Land Size: 7,686,850 km² (6th)• Currency: Australian Dollar (AUD)• Independence: January 01, 1901• Capital: Canberra• Largest City: Sydney
Physical Geography
Great Barrier Reef
Deserts• Make up about 20% of Australia
Ayers Rock
History
Prior to European settlement in the late 1700's and early 1800's, the Australian mainland was inhabited by around 250 individual nations of indigenous Australians .After sporadic visits by fishermen from the north and then European discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606, the eastern half of Australia was later claimed by the British in 1770 and initially settled through prison transportation to the colony of New South Wales.
History
On January 1, 1901, the six colonies became a federation, and the Commonwealth of Australia was formed. Since federation, Australia has maintained a stable liberal democratic political system and remains a Commonwealth realm. The new country took advantage of its natural resources to rapidly develop agricultural and manufacturing industries and to make a major contribution to the British effort in World Wars I and II. In recent decades, Australia has transformed itself into an internationally competitive, advanced market economy.
History• Australia's original inhabitants migrated from
southeast Asia.• Descendants are called Aborigines • Geography influenced where people settled
Aborigines
• Original inhabitants of Australia
Europeans in Australia• 1700’s the British came to Australia • Many were sent as convicts • 1901The Commonwealth of Australia is established
Arrested Aboriginals Australia Day
Impact of European Settlement• The British forced the Aborigines into the country's
interior • Today 1% of Australia's population is Aborigine
European Impact on Australia• The British would trade with the Aborigines• Land and resources were disrupted• New South Wales established as a prison colony• Originally over One Million aborigines were living in
Australia pre European colonization.• Cleary Europeans had a great impact on Australia
both good (ex: government) and bad (affecting resources)
World War Two
Government
• Since Australia was colonized by Britain, what type of government do you think Australia has?
• Australia is a Constitutional Monarchy –which means they have a parliament and a prime minister
Australia and New Zealand
• Australia and New Zealand belong to the Commonwealth of Nations. These were countries once considered British Colonies
Commonwealth Nations
n BLUE= Commonwealth of Nations member states Light Blue= Commonwealth of Nations member state dependencies Orange= Applied or interested non-member states, some of them without historic constitutional association Green= Non-member states that were British protectors or under some other type of British administration
Australia's Economy• GDP- $1.57 Trillion• GDP Per Capita- $42,000
Resources and Tourism• Australia has relied heavily on tourism • Agriculture is the traditional base of the regions
economy
Religion
• Religions: Catholic 26.4%, Anglican 20.5%, other Christian 20.5%, Buddhist 1.9%, Muslim 1.5%, other 1.2%, unspecified 12.7%, none 15.3% (2004)
Economy
•Based on the export of wool-low and slow•discovery of gold in 1851-high and fast
• mining has, overall, been the most important sector of the Australian economy. A large portion of Australian money comes from their export commodities: coal, gold, meat, wool, aluminum, iron ore, wheat, machinery & transport equipment.
•By the late 20th century-prosperous Western-style mixed economy.
Economy•Robust business and consumer confidence
and high export prices for raw materials and agricultural products are fueling the economy, particularly in mining states.
•Australia's emphasis on reforms, low inflation, a housing market boom, and growing ties with China have been key factors behind the economy's 16 solid years of expansion.
•Australia's budget has been in surplus since 2002 due to strong revenue growth.
School
• School attendance is compulsory throughout Australia, starting at 6 years and ending at 15 years (16 years in South Australia and Tasmania and 17 years in Western Australia and Queensland), contributing to an adult literacy rate that is assumed to be 99%.
• The Programme for International Student Assessment, coordinated by the OECD, currently ranks Australia's education as the 8th best in the world: a significantly better ranking than the OECD average.
A multicultural society
•In the last thirty years, Australia has liberalized its immigration policy and opened its borders to South East Asia.
•This has caused a real shift in self-perception as Aussies begin to re-define themselves as a multi-cultural and multi-faith society rather then the old homogenous, white, Anglo- Saxon, Protestant nation.
A multicultural society
• Since 1945 more than six million people from across the world have come to Australia to live.
• Today, more than 20 per cent of Australians are foreign born and more than 40 per cent are of mixed cultural origin.
• 226 languages are spoken in Australian homes - after English, the most popular are Italian, Greek, Cantonese and Arabic.
• All kinds of food, festivals and faiths
Bikini Atoll