Common Wealth of Australia
Common Wealth of Australia
Common Wealth of Australia
AUSTRALIA
IS PART OF THE WORLD’S
SMALLEST CONTINENT
BEFORE
BUT NOW…
• Many modern atlases and geography experts
now consider the long-established continent of
Australia to be better defined
as Australia/Oceania, which then combines and
includes all of (Australia), the large island groups
of New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Fiji,
Solomons, and the countless volcanic and coral
islands of the south Pacific Ocean, including
those of Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia.
In short, OCEANIA is now one of the most
diverse and fascinating areas on the planet.
AUSTRALIAN COAT OF ARMS
CANBERRA
SYDNEY
MELBOURNE
BRISBANE
PERTH
ADELAIDE
DARWIN
HOBART
-the largest and most populous city in
Australia and the state capital of
New South Wales
-has a reputation as an international
centre for commerce, arts, fashion,
culture, entertainment, music, education
and tourism.
is the capital and most populous
city in the state of Victoria, and
the second most populous city
in Australia
is the capital and most populous
city in the Australian state of
Queensland and the
third most populous city in
Australia
A resident of Brisbane
is commonly known as a
"Brisbanite"
the capital and largest city of the
Australian state of
Western Australia and the
fourth most populous city in
Australia. The Perth metropolitan
area has an estimated population
of 1,659,000
A resident of
Adelaide is known as
an "Adelaidean"
the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia.
Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population
of 124,800, making it by far the largest and most
populated city in the sparsely populated Northern
Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's
capital cities. It is the smallest and most northerly of
the Australian capital cities, and acts as the
Top End's regional centre.
the state capital and most populous city of
the Australian island state of Tasmania.
Founded in 1803 as a penal colony, Hobart
is Australia's second oldest capital city
after Sydney
States
New South Wales,
Queensland,
South Australia,
Tasmania,
Victoria, and
Western Australia
MAINLAND TERRITORIES
the Northern Territory
and the
Australian Capital Territ
ory
(ACT)
LANGUAGE
-English (79%) , Italian (1.6%) Greek (1.3%) and Cantonese (1.2%)
GOVERNMENT
-Federal parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy
- Governor-GeneralQuentin Bryce
CURRENCY
PEOPLE
Oz, Aussie/ Ozzie and Aborigines/ Australian ( native people)
Australia is a constitutional monarchy with a federal division
of powers. It uses a parliamentary system of government
with Queen Elizabeth II at its apex as the Queen of Australia,
a role that is distinct from her position as monarch of the
other Commonwealth realms. As the Queen resides in the
United Kingdom, the executive powers vested in her by
the Constitution are normally exercised by her viceroys in
Australia (the Governor-General at the federal level and by
the Governors at the state level), who by convention act on
the advice of her Ministers
(10.8 million):
mining--1.6%;
manufacturing--9.1%;
retail trade--10.7%;
construction--9%.
The Super Pit gold mine
in Kalgoorlie, Australia's
largest open cut mine
C
L
I
M
A
T
E
ANIMALS
KOALA’S
WOMBAT’S
EMU
KOOKABURA
EUCALYPTUS
HIBISCUS
ACACIA
Demography
Most of the estimated 22 million Australians are descended from
colonial-era settlers and post-Federation immigrants from
Europe, with almost 90% of the population being of European
descent. For generations, the vast majority of immigrants came
from the British Isles, and the people of Australia are still mainly
of British or Irish ethnic origin. In the 2006 Australian census, the
most commonly nominated ancestry was Australian (37.13%),
[182] followed by English (31.65%), Irish (9.08%), Scottish
(7.56%), Italian(4.29%), German (4.09%), Chinese (3.37%),
and Greek (1.84%)
Australia has no state religion. In the 2006 census, 64% of
Australians listed themselves as Christian, including 26% as
Roman Catholicand 19% as Anglican. About 19% of the
population cited "No religion" (which includes humanism,
atheism, agnosticism, and rationalism), which was the fastest-
growing group from 2001 to 2006, and a further 12% did not
answer (the question is optional) or did not give a response
adequate for interpretation. The second-largest religion in
Australia is Buddhism (2.1%), followed by Islam (1.7%),
Hinduism (0.8%), andJudaism (0.5%). Overall, fewer than 6%
of Australians identify with non-Christian religions.[212] Weekly
attendance at church services in 2004 was about 1.5 million:
about 7.5% of the population.[213]
Religion does not play a central role in the lives of much of the
population.
School attendance is
compulsory throughout
Australia. All children receive
11 years of compulsory
education from the age of 6
to 16 (Year 1 to 10), before
they can undertake two more
years (Years 11 and 12),
contributing to an adult
literacy rate that is assumed
to be 99%
Since 1788, the primary basis of Australian culture has been
Anglo-Celtic Western culture. Distinctive cultural features have also
arisen from Australia's natural environment and Indigenous cultures.
Since the mid-20th century, American popular culture has strongly
influenced Australia, particularly through television and cinema. Other
cultural influences come from neighboring Asian countries, and
through large-scale immigration from non-English-speaking nations