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FLY TO AU WITH MECONTENT1 Federation21.1 Coverment31.2 National Anthem42 Geography43 Climate64 History65 Economy96 Culcture116.1 Arts126.2 Media137 Sports148 Symbol161 FederationThe Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 when six independent British colonies agreed to join together and become states of a new nation.The birth of the nation is often referred to as federation. This is because the Constitution created a federal system of government. Under a federal system, powers are divided between a central government and individual states. In Australia, power was divided between the Australian Government and the six state governments.Australia has sixstates: New South Wales(NSW), Queensland(QLD), South Australia(SA),Tasmania(TAS),Victoria(VIC) andWestern Australia(WA)and two majormainlandterritoriestheAustralian Capital Territory(ACT) and theNorthern Territory(NT).1.1 Coverment Australia is aconstitutional monarchywith afederaldivision of powers. It uses aparliamentary systemof government withQueen Elizabeth IIat its apex as the Queen of Australia, a role that is distinct from her position as monarch of the otherCommonwealth realms. The Queen resides in the United Kingdom, and she is represented by her viceroys in Australia (theGovernor-Generalat the federal level and by theGovernorsat the state level), who by convention act on the advice of her ministers. Supreme executive authority is vested by theConstitution of Australia in the sovereign, but the power to exercise it is conferred by the Constitution specifically on the Governor-General.The most notable exercise to date of the Governor-Generalsreserve powersoutside the Prime Ministers request was the dismissal of the Whitlam Government in theconstitutional crisis of 1975.The federal government isseparatedinto three branches: The legislature: the bicameralParliament, defined in section 1 of the constitution as comprising the Queen (represented by the Governor-General), theSenate, and theHouse of Representatives; The executive: theFederal Executive Council, in practice the Governor-General as advised by the Prime Minister and Ministers of State; The judiciary: theHigh Court of Australiaand otherfederal courts, whose judges are appointed by the Governor-General on advice of the Council.Parliament House, Canberra1.2 National AnthemAdvance Australia Fair is the national anthem of Australia. A revised version of a late nineteenth century patriotic song, it was officially declared the national anthem on 19 April 1984.Peter Dodds McComickAustralians all let us rejoice,For we are young and free;Weve golden soil and wealth for toil,Our home is girt by sea;Our land abounds in natures giftsOf beauty rich and rare;In historys page, let every stageAdvance Australia Fair.In joyful strains then let us sing,Advance Australia Fair.Beneath our radiant Southern Cross,Well toil with hearts and hands;To make this Commonwealth of oursRenowned of all the lands;For those whove come across the seasWeve boundless plains to share;With courage let us all combineTo Advance Australia Fair.In joyful strains then let us sing,Advance Australia Fair.2 GeographyAustralia is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island ofTasmania, and numeroussmaller islands. Neighbouring countries include Indonesia,East TimorandPapua New Guineato the north; theSolomon Islandsand Vanuatuto the north-east; andNew Zealandto the south-east.Australias landmass of 7,617,930 square kilometres (2,941,300sqmi)is on theIndo-Australian Plate. Surrounded by the Indian and Pacific oceans,it is separated from Asia by theArafuraandTimorseas, and the Tasman Sealying between Australia and New Zealand. The worlds smallest continentand sixth largest country by total area. Australia -owing to its size and isolationis often dubbed the island continent,and is sometimes considered theworlds largest island.Australia has 34,218 kilometres (21,262mi) of coastline (excluding all off shore islands),and claims an extensiveExclusive Economic Zoneof 8,148,250 square kilometres (3,146,060sqmi). This exclusive economic zone does not include the Australian Antarctic Territory.ExcludingMacquarie Island, Australia lies between latitudes9and44S, and longitudes112and154E.TheGreat Barrier Reef, the worlds largest coral reef,lies a short distance off the north-east coast and extends for over 2,000 kilometres (1,240mi).Mount Augustus, claimed to be the worlds largest monolith,is located in Western Australia. At 2,228 metres (7,310ft),Mount Kosciuszkoon the Great Dividing Rangeis the highest mountain on the Australian mainland. Australias size gives it a wide variety of landscapes, with tropicalrainforestsin the north-east, mountain ranges in the south-east, south-west and east, and dry desert in the centre.It is the flattest continent,with the oldest and least fertile soils; desertor semi-arid land commonly known as theoutbackmakes up by far the largest portion of land. The driest inhabited continent, only its south-east and south-west corners have atemperate climate.Thepopulation density, 2.8 inhabitants per square kilometre, is among the lowest in the world,although a large proportion of the population lives along the temperate south-eastern coastline.3 ClimateThe climate of Australia is significantly influenced by ocean currents, including theIndian Ocean Dipoleand theEl NioSouthern Oscillation, which is correlated with periodicdrought, and the seasonal tropical low-pressure system that produces cyclonesin northern Australia.These factors cause rainfall to vary markedly from year to year. Much of the northern part of the country has a tropical, predominantly summer-rainfall (monsoon) climate.Thesouthwest corner of the countryhas a Mediterranean climate.Much of the southeast (including Tasmania) is temperate.4 HistoryHuman habitation of the Australian continent is estimated to have begun between 42,000 and 48,000 years ago,possibly with the migration of people byland bridges and short sea-crossings from what is nowSouth-East Asia. The first recorded European sighting of the Australian mainland, and the first recorded European landfall on the Australian continent, are attributed to the Dutch navigatorWillem Janszoon. He sighted the coast of Cape York Peninsulain early 1606, and made landfall on 26 February at thePennefather Rivernear the modern town ofWeipa on Cape York.The Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines and named the island continent New Holland during the 17th century, but made no attempt at settlement. William Dampier, an English explorer and privateer, landed on the north-west coast of New Holland in 1688 and again in 1699 on a return trip.In 1770,James Cooksailed along and mapped the east coast, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain.With the loss of its American colonies in 1780, the British Government sent a fleet of ships, the First Fleet, under the command of CaptainArthur Phillip, to establish a newpenal colonyin New South Wales. A camp was set up and the flag raised atSydney Cove,Port Jackson, on 26 January 1788,a date which became Australias national day,Australia Dayalthough the BritishCrown Colonyof New South Wales was not formally promulgated until 7 February 1788. The first settlement led to the foundation ofSydney, the establishment of farming, industry and commerce; and the exploration and settlement of other regions.A British settlement was established inVan Diemens Land, now known as Tasmania, in 1803 and it became a separate colony in 1825.The United Kingdom formally claimed the western part ofWestern Australia(theSwan River Colony) in 1828.Separate colonies were carved from parts of New South Wales:South Australia in 1836,Victoriain 1851, and Queensland in 1859.TheNorthern Territorywas founded in 1911 when it was excised from South Australia.Agold rushbegan in Australia in the early 1850sand theEureka Rebellionagainst mining licence fees in 1854 was an early expression of civil disobedience.Between 1855 and 1890, the six colonies individually gainedresponsible government, managing most of their own affairs while remaining part of theBritish Empire.The Colonial Office in London retained control of some matters, notably foreign affairs, defence,and international shipping.On 1 January 1901,federation of the colonieswas achieved after a decade of planning, consultation and voting.The Commonwealth of Australia was established and it became adominionof the British Empire in 1907. The Federal Capital Territory (later renamed the Australian Capital Territory) was formed in 1911 as the location for the future federal capital of Canberra. Melbourne was the temporary seat of government from 1901 to 1927 while Canberra was being constructed.The Northern Territory was transferred from the control of the South Australian government to the federal parliament in 1911.In 1914, Australia joined Britain in fighting World War I, with support from both the outgoingCommonwealth Liberal Partyand the incomingAustralian Labor Party.Australians took part in many of the major battles fought on theWestern Front. Of about 416,000 who served, about 60,000 were killed and another 152,000 were wounded. Many Australians regard the defeat of theAustralian and New Zealand Army Corps(ANZACs) atGallipolias the birth of the nationits first major military action.TheKokoda Track campaignis regarded by many as an analogous nation-defining event duringWorld War II.BritainsStatute of Westminster 1931formally ended most of the constitutional links between Australia and the UK. Australiaadopted itin 1942,but it was backdated to 1939 to confirm the validity of legislation passed by the Australian Parliament during World War II.The shock of the United Kingdoms defeat in Asia in 1942 and thethreat of Japanese invasioncaused Australia to turn to theUnited Statesas a new ally and protector.Since 1951, Australia has been a formal military ally of the US, under theANZUStreaty.After World War II Australia encouraged immigration from Europe. Since the 1970s and following the abolition of theWhite Australia policy, immigration from Asia and elsewhere was also promoted. As a result, Australias demography, culture, and self-image were transformed.The final constitutional ties between Australia and the UK were severed with the passing of theAustralia Act 1986, ending any British role in the government of the Australian States, and closing the option of judicial appeals to thePrivy Councilin London.In a1999 referendum, 55% of voters and a majority in every state rejected a proposal to become arepublicwith a president appointed by a two-thirds vote in both Houses of the Australian Parliament. Since the election of theWhitlam Governmentin 1972,there has been an increasing focus in foreign policy on ties with other Pacific Rimnations, while maintaining close ties with Australias traditional allies and trading partners5 EconomyAustralia is a wealthy country; it generates its income from various sources including mining-related exports, telecommunications, banking and manufacturing.It has amarket economy, a relatively high GDP per capita, and a relatively low rate of poverty. TheAustralian dollaris the currency for the nation, including Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independentPacific Island statesofKiribati,Nauru, andTuvalu. With the 2006 merger of the Australian Stock Exchange and the Sydney Futures Exchange, theAustralian Securities Exchangebecame the ninth largest in the world.Ranked third in theIndex of Economic Freedom(2010),Australia is theworlds twelfth largest economyand has thefifth highest per capita GDP(nominal) at $66,984. The country was ranked second in the United Nations 2011Human Development Indexand first inLegatums 2008Prosperity Index.All of Australias major cities fare well in global comparative livability surveys; Melbourne reached first place onThe Economists 2011, 2012and 2013worlds most liveable citieslists, followed by Adelaide, Sydney, and Perth in the fifth, seventh, and ninth places respectively.Total government debt in Australia is about $190 billion 20% ofGDPin 2010. Australia has among the highest house prices and some of the highest household-debt levels in the world.Over the past decade, inflation has typically been 23% and the base interest rate 56%. The service sector of the economy, including tourism, education, and financial services, accounts for about 70% of GDP.Rich in natural resources, Australia is a major exporter of agricultural products, particularly wheat and wool, minerals such as iron-ore and gold, and energy in the forms of liquified natural gas and coal. Althoughagricultureand natural resources account for only 3% and 5% of GDP respectively, they contribute substantially to export performance. Australias largest export markets are Japan,China, the US, South Korea, and New Zealand.Australia is the worlds fourth largest exporter of wine, and the wine industry contributes $5.5 billion per year to the nations economy.CBD of Sydeny: one of important bussiness centers of Southern hemisphereAustralia major cities and ports: citiesCanberra, Sydeny, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, Adellaide. portsSydeny(biggest in AU), Melbourne, Adellaide, Belly Bay, Fremantle, Newcastle, Townsville, Perth.6、AUDemographicsFor almost two centuries the majority of settlers, and later immigrants, came from the British Isles. As a result the people of Australia are primarily of British The 2011 Census asked respondents to provide a maximum of two ancestries with which they most closely identify. The most commonly nominated ancestry wasEnglish(36.1%), followed by Australian (35.4%),Irish(10.4%),Scottish(8.9%), Italian(4.6%),German(4.5%),Chinese(4.3%),Indian(2.0%),Greek(1.9%), and Dutch(1.7%).Because Australias census doesnt ask for racial background, it is unclear how many Australians are descendants ofEuropeans. Estimates vary from 85% - 92%. Asian Australiansmake up 12% of the population.In 2011, 24.6% of Australians were born elsewhere and 43.1% of people had at least one overseas-born parent; the largest immigrant groups were those from the UK,New Zealand,China,India,Italy,Vietnam, andPhilippines.Over 80 percent of Australias population isof European ancestry, and most of the rest are of Asian heritage, with a smaller minority ofIndigenous background. Following the abolition of theWhite Australia policyin 1973, numerous government initiatives have been established to encourage and promote racial harmony based on a policy ofmulticulturalism.In 200506, more than 131,000people emigrated to Australia, mainly fromAsiaandOceania.The migration target for 201213 is 190,000,compared to 67,900 in 199899.6 CulctureSince 1788, the basis of Australian culture has been strongly influenced byAnglo-CelticWestern culture. Distinctive cultural features have also arisen from Australias natural environment and Indigenous cultures. Since the mid-20th century,American popular culturehas strongly influenced Australia, particularly through television and cinema. Other cultural influences come from neighbouring Asian countries, and through large-scale immigration from non-English-speaking nations.6.1 ArtsAustralian visual arts are thought to have begun with thecave paintings,rock engravingsandbody paintingof its Indigenous peoples. The traditions of Indigenous Australians are largely transmitted orally, through ceremony and the telling of Dreamtimestories.From the time of European settlement, a major theme in Australian art has been the natural landscape,seen for example in the works ofArthur Streeton,Tom Robertsand others associated with theHeidelberg School,andAlbert Namatjira.The countrys landscape remains a source of inspiration for Australian modernist artists; it has been depicted in acclaimed works by the likes ofSidney Nolan,Arthur Boyd,Fred Williams,Margaret PrestonandClifton Pugh.Australian artists influenced by modern American and European art includesurrealistJames Gleesonandpop artistMartin Sharp.Contemporary Indigenous Australian artis the only art movement of international significance to emerge from Australiaand the last great art movement of the 20th century; its exponents have includedEmily Kngwarreye. Art criticRobert Hugheshas written several influential books about Australian history and art, and was described as the worlds most famous art critic byThe New York Times. TheNational Gallery of Australiaand state galleries maintain Australian and overseas collections.Australia has one of the worlds highest attendances of art galleries and museums per head of populationfar more than Britain or AmericaMany of Australias performing arts companies receive funding through the federal governmentsAustralia Council.There is a symphony orchestra in each state,and a national opera company,Opera Australia,well-known for its famoussopranoJoan Sutherland.At the beginning of the 20th century,Nellie Melbawas one of the worlds leading opera singers.Ballet and dance are represented byThe Australian Balletand various state companies. Each state has a publicly funded theatre company.Australian literaturehas also been influenced by the landscape; the works of writers such asBanjo Paterson,Henry Lawson, andDorothea Mackellarcaptured the experience of the Australianbush.The character of the nations colonial past, as represented in early literature, is popular with modern Australians.In 1973,Patrick Whitewas awarded theNobel Prize in Literature,the first Australian to have achieved this.Australian winners of the Man Booker Prizehave includedPeter CareyandThomas Keneally;David Williamson,David Malouf, andJ. M. Coetzee, who recently became an Australian citizen, are also renowned writers,andLes Murrayis regarded as one of the leading poets of his generation6.2 MediaTheAustralian cinema industrybegan with the 1906 release ofThe Story of the Kelly Gang, which is regarded as being the worlds firstfeature-lengthfilm;but both Australian feature film production and the distribution of British-made features declined dramatically after World War I as American studios and distributors monopolised the industry,and by the 1930s around 95% of the feature films screened in Australia were produced inHollywood. By the late 1950s feature film production in Australia had effectively ceased and there were no all-Australian feature films made in the decade between 1959 and 1969. Thanks to initiatives by theGortonandWhitlamfederal governments, theNew Wave of Australian cinemaof the 1970s brought provocative and successful films, some exploring the nations colonial past, such asPicnic at Hanging RockandBreaker Morant,while the so-called Ocker genre produced several highly successful urban-based comedy features includingThe Adventures of Barry McKenzieandAlvin Purple.Later hits includedMad MaxandGallipoli.More recent successes includedShine andRabbit-Proof Fence.Notable Australian actors includeJudith Anderson, Errol Flynn,Nicole Kidman,Naomi Watts,Hugh Jackman,Heath Ledger,Geoffrey Rush, andCate Blanchettcurrent joint director of theSydney Theatre Company.