AUSTRALIA

Veronika Čujová 2.CJuraj Podolinský 2.C

History

• 1606- first ship and its crew reached the Australian coast (Willem Janszoon, Dutchman)

• James Cook – charted the Australian East coast and called it New South Wales (included East coast of Australia and New Zeland)

• 26th of January – „Australia Day“ (Sydney was founded – 1788)

• Big prison for criminals (1788-1823)• 1901 - the Commonwealth of Australia

Aborigines

• The oldest living cultural history in the world (40,000 years, 250 languages)

• Different culutre, lifestyle ...• Living in harmony with the nature• Not integrated into Australian society• Still live in tribal communities• Feed with hunting or harvesting the crops

• Smallest, flattest continent but the biggest island

• Only nation covering a whole continent• Same size as the USA• The most of citizens live at the coast • Unique natural scenery• All of the worlds temeprature zones

Facts about Australia

• Six states: New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia

• Two major mainland territories – The Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT)

• Constitutional monarchy (Queen of Australia – Queen Elizabeth II.)

SydneyCanberra

Melbourne

BrisbaneAdelaideHobartDarwin

• Official:• Flag• Coat of Arms• National Anthem (Advance Australia Fair)• National colours (green and gold)• National Floral Emblem (Golden Wattle-Acacia

pycnantha) • National Gemstone (Opal)

Symbols

• Unofficial:• National animal – Red Kangaroo• National bird – Emu

• Australian Icons:• Sydney Opera House• Uluru (Ayers Rock)• Akubra Hat

• Rich fauna and flora• Unique animal and plant species• Underwater world – high biodiversity, 4,000

kinds of fish• 800 kinds of birds (400 of them are unique

types)

Koala

Dingo

Kangaroo

Wombat

Platypus

• The largest system of coral reefs and islands on the Earth

• 2,000 km (can be seen from the space)• Consists of about 3,000 coral reefs, islands,

islets and lagoons• In 1981 was included in the UNESCO

Biosphere Reserve

Great Barrier Reef

Economy

• Well-developed economy, high living standard

• Important is the service sector, metallurgy and agriculture

• Rich natural resources of coal, uranium (export)

Population

• About 22 milion people

• 95 % British or Irish origin

• The most of people live in big cities

• No official state religion - predominantly Christian country (64%)

• National language – English

• Slang – widespread, popularAlso known as „Strine“ – rich, colourfulTheir slang is about their lucky attitude towardslife (favourite slang word: „G day“)

Festivals and events

• The most popular festivals:Melbourne International Film FestivalPerth International Arts FestivalBig Day Out (the biggest summer festival)Henley-on-Todd Regatta (Alice Springs)Canberra Ballon Festival

Henley-on-Todd Regatta

Sport

• Australia seems to be the sports and outdoor activities capital of the world („The Aussie national religion“)

• The most popular spectator sports: Rugby Union, Rugby League, Australia Rules football

• Favourite: cricket, golf, tennis, soccer, hockey

Beach culture

• Australia has some of the most wonderful beaches in the world (10,685)

• All are public and for everyone

• The first surf life-saving club ine the world (saved more than 530,000 lives)

Thanks for listening

Sources: the Internet, English magazines