The Beauty of Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the mainland of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous other islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.N4 Neighbouring countries include Indonesia, East Timor, and Papua New Guinea to the north, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia to the north-east, and New Zealand to the south-east.


For around 40,000 years before European settlement commenced in the late 18th century, the Australian mainland and Tasmania were inhabited by around 250 individual nations of indigenous Australians. After sporadic visits by fishermen from the immediate north, and European discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606, the eastern half of Australia was claimed by the British in 1770 and initially settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales, founded on 26 January 1788. The population grew steadily in the following years; the continent was explored, and during the 19th century another five largely self-governing Crown Colonies were established.


On 1 January 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 population is just over 21.3 million, with approximately 60% concentrated in and around the mainland state capitals of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide. The nation's capital city is Canberra, located in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).


Technologically advanced and industrialised, Australia is a prosperous multicultural country and has good results in many international comparisons of national performance such as health care, life expectancy, quality-of-life, human development, public education, economic freedom, and the protection of civil liberties and political rights.

SYDNEY

The Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne was the first building in Australia to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004.

Port Arthur, Tasmania was Australia's largest gaol for transported convicts.

Perth, Western Australia is one of the most isolated regional capital cities in the world.

Parliament House in Canberra was opened in 1988, replacing the provisional Parliament House building opened in 1927.

The official residence of the Governor-General of Australia MELBOURNE

Brisbane, Queensland is Australia's third most populous city.

The Australian War Memorial

The Barossa Valley wine-producing region of South Australia. Fewer than 15% of Australians live in rural areas.

Performance of Aboriginal song and dance in the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney

Landscape of Cradle Mountain in Tasmania

The koala and the eucalyptus forming an iconic Australian pair

Australian rules football originated in Victoria and is a very popular sport.