Australia
Australia, or the Commonwealth of Australia, as it officially called, is situated on the island continent. It also occupies the
Island of Tasmania and some minor islands round the coast of the continent
It is a highly developed industrial-agrarian country. Its area is about 8 million square km. It is the only state in the world that occupies the territory of a whole continent
The capital of Australia is Canberra, which became the capital only in 1927, but the largest city is Sydney, a port in south-east Australia and the capital of the state of New South Wales. Other important cities are Melbourne and Brisbane in the east, and Perth on the west coast.
From 1787 to 1867 Australia was a place where criminals were sent from Britain. That is why the official language of Australia is English. Although there is no law saying that Australians have to speak it! Australian English is similar to English in other parts of the world. The Australian accent is distinctive, and there are some words and expressions which are unique.
Almost one half of Australian territory is occupied by deserts and semi deserts. For quite a long period of time it was thought to be useless for economic development. But it is rich in coal, iron ore, bauxite, uranium, lead and many other mineral resources.
For almost a century the production and export of sheep wool was the basis of the economy of the country. Now the most important industries are oil, chemical, ore mining, radio electronics, and food industry. The country exports agricultural products and raw materials.
As for the nature, the commonest trees of Australia are the eucalyptus and the Australian acacia or mimosa, the national emblem of the country. Such unusual animals as a kangaroo or a koala-bear originate from Australia. Australia has 700 different kinds of birds - and 400 of them are only found in Australia!
Australia is one of the most unusual and exotic countries of the world. A significant feature of modern Australian society is the representation of a lot of cultures drawn from many funds by its people.