Australia

Geography
The continent of Australia, with the island state of Tasmania, is approximately equal in area to
the United States (excluding Alaska and Hawaii). Mountain ranges run from north to south along
the east coast, reaching their highest point in Mount Kosciusko (7,308 ft; 2,228 m). The western
half of the continent is occupied by a desert plateau that rises into barren, rolling hills near the
west coast. The Great Barrier Reef, extending about 1,245 mi (2,000 km), lies along the northeast
coast. The island of Tasmania (26,178 sq mi; 67,800 sq km) is off the southeast coast.

Government
Democracy. Symbolic executive power is vested in the British monarch, who is represented
throughout Australia by the governor-general.

History
The first inhabitants of Australia were the Aborigines, who migrated there at least 40,000 years
ago from Southeast Asia. There may have been between a half million to a full million
Aborigines at the time of European settlement; today about 350,000 live in Australia.

Dutch, Portuguese, and Spanish ships sighted Australia in the 17th century; the Dutch landed at
the Gulf of Carpentaria in 1606. In 1616 the territory became known as New Holland. The British
arrived in 1688, but it was not until Captain James Cook's voyage in 1770 that Great Britain
claimed possession of the vast island, calling it New South Wales. A British penal colony was set
up at Port Jackson (what is now Sydney) in 1788, and about 161,000 transported English convicts
were settled there until the system was suspended in 1839.

Free settlers and former prisoners established six colonies: New South Wales (1786), Tasmania
(then Van Diemen's Land) (1825), Western Australia (1829), South Australia (1834), Victoria
(1851), and Queensland (1859). Various gold rushes attracted settlers, as did the mining of other
minerals. Sheep farming and grain soon grew into important economic enterprises. The six
colonies became states and in 1901 federated into the Commonwealth of Australia with a
constitution that incorporated British parliamentary and U.S. federal traditions. Australia became
known for its liberal legislation: free compulsory education, protected trade unionism with
industrial conciliation and arbitration, the secret ballot, women's suffrage, maternity allowances,
and sickness and old-age pensions.
People, culture and lifestyle
Australia’s diverse culture and lifestyle reflect its liberal democratic traditions and values,
geographic closeness to the Asia–Pacific region and the social and cultural influences of the
millions of migrants who have settled in Australia since World War II.

Australia is a product of a unique blend of established traditions and new influences. The
country’s original inhabitants, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, are the
custodians of one of the world’s oldest continuing cultural traditions. They have been living
in Australia for at least 40 000 years and possibly up to 60 000 years.

The rest of Australia’s people are migrants or descendants of migrants who have arrived in
Australia from about 200 countries since Great Britain established the first European
settlement at Sydney Cove in 1788.

In 1945, Australia’s population was around 7 million people and was mainly Anglo–Celtic.
Since then, more than 6.5 million migrants, including 675 000 refugees, have settled in
Australia, significantly broadening its social and cultural profile.

Today Australia has a population of nearly 23 million people. At 2009, abou 25.6 per cent of
the estimated resident population comprised those born overseas. Australian Bureau of
Statistics projections from the 2006 census of the numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander people suggest and Indigenous population of 575,552 people at 30 June 2011.

Many of the people who have come to Australia since 1945 were motivated by a commitment
to family, or a desire to escape poverty, war or persecution. The first waves of migrants and
refugees came mostly from Europe. Subsequent waves have come from the Asia–Pacific
region, the Middle East and Africa.

Migrants have enriched almost every aspect of Australian life, from business to the arts, from
cooking to comedy and from science to sport. They, in turn, have adapted to Australia’s
tolerant, informal and broadly egalitarian society.

Shared values
The defining feature of today’s Australia is not only the cultural diversity of its people, but
the extent to which they are united by an overriding and unifying commitment to Australia.

Within the framework of Australia’s laws, all Australians have the right to express their
culture and beliefs and to participate freely in Australia’s national life.

At the same time, everyone is expected to uphold the principles and shared values that
support Australia’s way of life. These include:

 respect for equal worth, dignity and freedom of the individual

 freedom of speech and association
 freedom of religion and a secular government
 support for parliamentary democracy and the rule of law
 equality under the law
 equality of men and women
 equality of opportunity
 peacefulness
 a spirit of egalitarianism that embraces tolerance, mutual respect, and compassion for
those in need. Australia also holds firmly to the belief that no one should be
disadvantaged on the basis of their country of birth, cultural heritage, language,
gender or religious belief.