Australia is an independent Western democracy occupying an entire continent between the Indian and South Pacific oceans. It has a population of over 17 million people, most of whom live in major coastal cities. Australia has significant cultural and ethnic diversity, with over 200 ethnic groups represented. The landscape varies greatly from tropical rainforests to snowfields to deserts. Australia has six states and two mainland territories, each with its own capital city. Popular sports include Australian rules football, cricket, and beach activities. Famous locations include the Great Barrier Reef, Sydney Opera House, Bondi Beach, and Kakadu National Park.

2. Map & Geography

3. Facts at a glance
 An independent Western democracy with a population of more than 17.6 million.
 One of the world’s most urbanized countries, with about 70 per cent of the
population living in the 10 largest cities. Most of the population along the eastern
seaboard and the south-eastern corner of the continent.
 A multicultural society which has been enriched by nearly five million settlers
from almost 200 nations. Four out of 10 Australians are migrants or the first-
generation children of migrants, half of them from non-English speaking
backgrounds.
 The only nation to occupy an entire continent.About one third of the country lies in
the tropics. There are rainforests and vast plains in the north, snowfields in the
south east, desert in the center and fertile croplands in the east, south and south
west.
 Murray River is the longest of all Australian river systems, which drains about one
seventh of Australia and is used extensively for irrigation and hydroelectric power.
 The flag of Australia is the only one to fly over a whole continent. The small Union
Jack represents the historical link with Britain, the large seven-pointed star
represents the six States and the Territories, and the small stars form the Southern
Cross - a prominent feature of the southern hemisphere night sky.

4. Australia
Has six self-governing states and two mainland territories.
o New South Wales (NSW) (The first State)
o Queens land (QLD) (The Sunshine State)
o South Australia (SA) (The Festival State)
o Tasmania (TAS) (The Holiday Isle)
o Victoria (VIC) (The Garden State)
o Western Australia (WA) (The Wildflower State)
o Northern Territory (NT) (Outback Australia)
o Australian Capital Territory (ACT) (The Nation’s Capital)

5. The Australian States And Capital Cities
WA
NT
SA
QLD
NSW
TAS
VIC
Darwin
Perth
Sydney
Canberra
(ACT)
Adelaide
Hobart
Melbourne
Brisbane

6. It is the most populous and heavily industrialised State in
Australia.
It has highly urbanised population.
Sydney, the capital of NSW is Australia's largest city and one
of the world's great seaports.
It lies in the temperate zone and the climate is generally free
from extremes of heat and cold.
New South Wales

7. It lies in the south-east corner of Australia.
It is the nation's largest city after Sydney.
Most of the State falls within the warm, temperate belt of the
south-east corner of Australia, characterised by warm and dry
summers and cool to mild, wet, winters.
Rainfall is heaviest in the eastern highlands in western Victoria.
Victoria
Queens land
It is Australia’s second largest state.
It is known as Australia’s "sunshine state" although weather
conditions vary greatly between the coastal plain and the inland.
The wet season is from December to March, when the northwest
monsoons sweep down from Asia and cyclones are most
prevalent.

8. It is a land of generally low relief with the inland area largely
covered by plains, sand and gibber deserts.
The River Murray enters the sea in South Australia and is the
state's only major river.
It enjoys hot dry summers with relatively mild nights and cool
winters, with most rainfall occurring during May to August.
South Australia
Western Australia
It is is Australia’s face on the Indian Ocean.
Its capital Perth is closer to Singapore and Jakarta.
With distance from the coast, rainfall decreases and
temperature variations are more pronounced.

9. Time Zones
Aus Western Std Time
Aus. Central Std Time
Aus Eastern Std Time

10. Local Summer
1 Western Australia + 2.5 hours IST
2 Northern Territory + 4 hours IST
3 South Australia + 4 hours IST + 5 hours IST
5 New South Wales + 4.5 hours IST + 5.5 hours IST
6 Victoria + 4.5 hours IST + 5.5 hours IST
4 Queens land + 4.5 hours IST
6 ACT + 4.5 hours IST + 5.5 hours IST
7 Tasmania + 4.5 hours IST + 5.5 hours IST
4 Lord Howe Island + 5 hours IST + 5.5 hours IST
Daylight Saving
QLD, the NT and WA do not participate in Daylight Saving.

11. Daylight Saving Time
or
Summer Time
(as it is called in many countries)
 A way of getting more out of the summer days by advancing
the clocks by one hour during the summer.
 The sun will appear to rise one hour later in the morning
when people are usually asleep anyway, at the benefit of one hour
longer evenings when awake: The sunset and sunrise are one
hour later than during normal time.

12. People

13. Australian Aborigines
•The word Aborigine is derived from Latin and means "from the
beginning".
•It is name given to the native Australians by the Europeans. They
prefer to call themselves as Koori.
•They were first human inhabitants of Australia and have one of
the oldest civilizations in the world.
•They are dark-skinned people belonging to the Australoid group
who probably came from Asia.
•They came to Australia around 60,000 years ago. They may have
walked and sailed here from Asia.
•They were nomadic hunter-gathers who roamed from place to
place to hunt animals and gather fruits, nuts and yams which they
ate.
•There were around 300,000 aborigines in about 250 tribal groups
before the first white settlers came. Each group had its own
territory, traditions, beliefs and language.

14. Famous Australian Personalities
•Poets : Henry Lawson, C.J.Dennis…..
•Authors : Tom Collins, Miles Franklin…..
•Artists : Tom Roberts, Norman Lindsay…..
•Scientists & Inventors : James Harrison(Refrigeration) …..
•Legends : Don Bradman, Bruce Kingsbury…..
•Recreation : Football, Cricket…..
•Music : John Broomhall, John Williamson…..
•Entertainers : Nicole Kidman, Bryan Brown…..

15. National Holidays
Australia Day:
January 26th (holiday often taken on the nearest Monday to this date to make
a long weekend) Jan 26th 1788 was the day the First Fleet arrived in Sydney
Harbor to establish European settlement.
Religious holidays:
Good Friday, Easter Monday, Christmas (Dec 25th), Boxing Day (Dec 26th)
Anzac Day:
A national holiday, April 25th (unless that falls on a Sunday?). To remember
those who died serving their country. April 25th, 1915 was the date of the
first landing of ANZACs at Gallipoli.
Other holidays (varies depending on State):
New Year's Day (Jan 1st), Queen's Birthday (June), Labor Day.

16. Sports
Australian Rules Football
This is the main football code played in Vic, SA, WA and Tasmania. The Australian Football
League consists of 10 teams based in Melbourne, plus Geelong, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and
Adelaide.. Pre-season night competition begins the end of February. Main season is end of
March to August, with finals series in September. Reigning premiers are the West Coast Eagles.
Cricket
•The most widespread summer sport is cricket. Australia plays regulars Tests against England
(for the Ashes), NZ, India, the West Indies, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa.
•Many men and boys play club cricket on the weekends (usually Saturday).
•Women's cricket has been established quite a long time (first Test versus England in 1934) but
continues to be a minority sport for women.
• There are about 100 club sides in Melbourne.
•The Australian women's team is the best in the world
Baseball
There is the ABL (Australian Baseball League). It is only 3-5 years old. There are 8 teams -
Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sydney, 2 from Melbourne, Adelaide, Waverley and Perth. The
season consists of 14 games of regular season played in January and February of each year.
[SW]

17. Basketball
NBL consists of 16? 18? teams. Season is usually from March/April until September. Each
team is only allowed 2 imports (i.e. non Australian citizens). NBL was created in the late 70's
and has expanded since then, with several of the original teams either leaving or being
renamed/relocated. [SW]
Horse Racing
Is everywhere. Traditionally Australians love to gamble.
The Melbourne Cup is the biggest race of the year. There is a holiday for it in Melbourne.
Netball
There are over 1/2 million registered netball players in Australia, so it is by far the most
popular women's sport
Softball
Is the most popular women's summer sport.
Other Sports
Field hockey is very popular for both men and women, and we do well in International
competition. Many people play squash. Other sports played include badminton, volleyball,
table tennis, yachting, rowing, swimming, cycling... Soccer.

18. Places

19. One of Australia's greatest assets is the magnificent reef
which runs along virtually the entire coast of Queensland.
The Great Barrier Reef

20. The Blue Mountains are located to the west of
Sydney. They form part of the Great Dividing Range
which stretch as far as Victoria all the way to north
Queensland.
The Blue Mountains

21. Fraser Island
Fraser Island - Situated on the eastern coast of Queensland, it
is the largest sand island in the world.
It is world heritage listed as from 1992 in recognition of the
beautiful dunes, rainforest and freshwater lakes.
Tourists flock to Fraser Island to see its amazing beaches as
well as its lakes and amazing rainforests.

22. Sydney Opera House
Sydney Opera House is instantly recognizable as one on
the landmarks of the world. It is one building that have
come to represent Australia and Australians.

23. Sydney Harbour Bridge
One of the most famous sights in Australia made of steel;
the bridge has massive hinges at the base of the pylons to
allow the bridge to expand in the warmer weather.

24. Bondi Beach – Sydney
Bondi – The famous Bondi Beach is situated in Sydney’s
eastern suburbs Bondi Beach is one of Australia’s most
famous beaches.

25. One of the brightest jewels in the whole array of the
Australian wilderness situated near Darwin.The coastal
floodplains, scenic splendor, ancient Aboriginal culture and
paintings and an incredible array of fauna and flora all
coming together to make up Kakadu.
Kakadu National Park

26. Wave Rock – Perth
Wave Rock has been formed over the years by centuries
of wind and water erosion. It is a huge granite outcrop that
looks just like a wave that is about to break. Its sandy
colours are made up of reds, copper brown and beige.