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Australia
is a huge country, a popular tourist/vacation
destination and one of the most significant
economies of the world. There are so many things
about Australia that sometimes escape the
consciousness and attention of people. If you want
to know the country really well, it would be helpful
if you would look at it in a simple and informative
way: through an outline. First, when you say
Australia, it refers to the continent called such
and a country, officially named Commonwealth of
Australia. It is unique in that it comprises a
continent plus several adjoining and nearby islands
like Tasmania. Geographically, Australia is the
smallest continent in the planet, but it is one of
the biggest countries at the same time. |
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It sits comfortably ‘down under,’ or in the
southern hemisphere, bordering the Pacific Ocean and
the Indian Ocean.
Indigenous Australians have
inhabited the mainland for about 42,000 years. Dutch
explorers discovered the continent in 1606. In 1770,
the eastern part of the continent was claimed by
Great Britain and made it a penal colony. From New
South Wales, many other areas were explored
subsequently, creating five other self-governing
Crown Colonies.
Any Australia outline will not be complete without
touching on the states and the territories. The
continent-nation is comprised of major states:
Western Australia, Queensland, Northern Territory,
South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria,
Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania (arranged
from the biggest to the smallest). |
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The respective capital cities are
Perth, Brisbane, Darwin, Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne,
Canberra and Hobart. Territories include the Jervis Bay,
Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Norfolk Island, Australian
Antarctic Territory, Christmas Island, Coral Sea Islands
territory, Cocos Islands and Heard & McDonald Islands.
Canberra is Australia’s capital city. It is the government
seat, where the Parliament House could be located. Numerous
Australian government agencies and departments, as well as
the High Court of Australia, are found in the city.
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The federal
government is basically Canberra’s biggest single
employer. In terms of
economy, Australia ranks 14th to 15th in lists of
International Monetary Fund and World Bank based on
gross domestic product. Many industries actively
contribute to national revenues, namely,
agriculture, communications, energy, mining,
transport and tourism. The Australian Securities
Exchange is one of the biggest stock exchanges in
the world. It was formed from the combination of the
Sydney Futures Exchange and the Australian Stock
Exchange in 2006. Infrastructure wise, Australia is
one of the most developed. |
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Australians enjoy the comfort
and reliability of well-developed transport, healthcare,
water supply, sanitation, energy and communication
infrastructures. Many global businesses logically find the
continent-nation as among the best places to conduct
business. Indeed, Australia is modern, yet a large portion
of the continent remains to be further explored and
developed. |
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