Australia - Overview
Australia coastline in the north is bordered by the Arafura
Sea and the Timor Sea. The Coral Sea and Tasman Seas border
the country to the east, the Southern Ocean to the south and
the Indian Ocean to the west. The whole coastline around Australia
spans 36,738km.
Australia is the largest island in the world, however, the smallest
continent. The majority of the population is found on the east
and southeastern coast. The country is extremely varied offering
large desert areas, popular beach and surfing coastlines, low
plains with lakes and rivers, extensive mountain ranges and
amazing green rainforests.
The most famous areas in Australia include, the Cape York peninsula,
which boast huge green rainforests in the north. The Great Barrier
Reef can be found off the north east coast, spanning 2000km
of coral. The Blue Mountains are a fabulous mountain range found
to the west of Sydney and the epic Uluru, otherwise known as
Ayers Rock is a superb tourist attraction in central Australia.
There is a whole range of wildlife and abundance of plants to
explore. You will know Australia for its kangaroos, koala bears,
red back spiders, crocodiles, sharks and a vast array of spiders.
The didgeridoo and the boomerang are famous icons of the country
too.
Canberra is the capital city but the most famous place to visit
is Sydney, which boasts many fantastic sites, such as, the Sydney
Opera House, Harbour Bridge and a multitude of cafes, bars,
restaurants and shops.
Captain Cook founded Australia back 40,000 years ago, when there
was an Aboriginal majority. The first Europeans to settle in
Australia were in 1606 and by 1868 Britain had sent 160,000
convicts over. Eventually, Britain had claimed the continent.
Today, there is much of a divide between the Aboriginis and
the modern Australian population. The country is a constitutional
monarchy and gained independence from the UK in 1901.
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