Australia

AustraliaBy Joseph

Australia

Geography of Australia• Australia is a country located in the Southern

Hemisphere near Indonesia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu.

• It is an island nation that makes up the Australian continent as well as the island of Tasmania and some other small islands.

• Australia is considered a developed nation and it has the world’s thirteenth largest economy.

History of Australia

• Due to its isolation from the rest of the world, Australia was an uninhabited island until about 60,000 years ago.

• At that time, it is believed that people from Indonesia developed boats that were able to carry them across the Timor Sea. Europeans did not discover Australia until 1770 when Captain James Cook mapped the island’s east coast and claimed it for Great Britain.

Government of Australia

• Today Australia, called the Commonwealth of Australia, is a federal parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm.

• It has an executive branch with Queen Elizabeth 2 as head of government. The legislatives branch is a bicameral Federal Parliament consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Australia’s Winter Games Medal Winners

• 1994 Steven Bradbury, Kieran Hansen, Andrew Murtha and Richard Nizielski, Bronze in Short track speed skating, Men’s 5,000m relay.

• 1998 Zali Steggall Bronze in Alpine skiing Women’s slalom.• 2002 Steven Bradbury, Gold in Short track speed skating

Men’s 1,000m. Alisa Camplin Gold in Freestyle skiing Women’s aerials.

• 2006, Dale Begg-Smith Gold in Freestyle skiing Men’s moguls, Alisa Camplin Bronze in Freestyle skiing Women’s aerials.

• 2010, Torah Bright Gold in Snowboarding Women’s halfpipe, Dale Begg-Smith Sliver in Freestyle skiing Men’s moguls, Lydia Lassila Gold Freestyle skiing Women’s aerials.

Economics and Land in Australia

• Australia has a strong economy due to its extensive natural resources, well developed industry and tourism.

• The main industries in Australia are mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing chemicals and steel manufacturing.

• Agriculture also plays a role in the country’s economy and its main products include wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits, cattle, sheep and poultry.

Source Information

http://geography.about.com/od/australiamaps/a/australia-geography.htm

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