AUSTRALIA The Native People

Australia is the world’s smallest continent and largest island, a relatively young nation established in an ancient land. Australia has a land area of 7,682,320 km and its coastline is 36,735 km long.

Aboriginal People Scientists believe that humans began to live on Australia 42,000 and 48,000 years ago. Today the native people are known as Australian Aborigines.

Australian Aboriginal Culture The core of the Aboriginal tribal culture is music, dance, ceremonies and story-telling. all these related to the land and nature in sacred ceremonies and rituals. There is also a strong connection to Spirits of the Dreaming.

Aboriginal Culture The Dreamtime

The Dreamtime Aboriginal dreamtime is the time of the Earth’s creation. In the beginning, the earth was formless and colorless. Dreamtime stories tell about Spirits (animals and humans) who shaped land, created life and the social laws The Dreamtime is central to the culture and society of the people, as everything was created during this sacred time.

The Dreamtime 2 concepts of time: The linear time of everyday life and the eternal time of the Dreaming. The Dreamtime stories vary among the different Aboriginal tribes, but many common themes and characters can be found throughout the entire continent. The Dreamtime mythology shaped their belief systems and their social systems. Oral tradition

The Rainbow Serpent The Rainbow Serpent is a common myth among the tribes. It is the story of land-formation. When the ground was still soft, the giant snake moved across the land, making the rivers and mountains. It lives inside a big underground waterhole. associated with the rainbows, rain, rivers, and deep waterholes The snake reveals itself to the people as a rainbow, as it moves from one waterhole to another. Sometimes the serpent blesses people and sometimes it brings death or suffering.

The Rainbow Serpent It represents the snake-like path of rivers and the colors created when sunlight strikes water. This creation story combines two important elements of life on Earth: water and light.

The Rainbow Serpent

Songlines, aka Dreaming tracks Songlines are paths across the land which mark the paths of the original Spirits during the Dreaming. The paths are recorded in traditional songs, stories, dance, and painting. A person can find his way across the land by singing the song, which tell the locations of landmarks, waterholes, and other natural phenomena.

Walkabout A walkabout is a ritual in which a teenage boy journeys alone into the wilderness for a long period of time, following songlines and performing rituals.

Walkabout

Didgeridoo The didgeridoo is an instrument developed by the Australian natives at least 1,500 years ago.

Australian Aboriginal Artwork

Aboriginal Artwork “dot painting”

Murujuga, aka Burrup Peninsula An area of N.W. Australia which is known for having the world’s most ancient rock carvings. Some could be over 30,000 years old.

Rock Carvings of Burrup Peninsula These ancient rock carvings are very important to the cultural legacy of the Aborigines, but today many of these ancient rock carvings are in danger of being destroyed by the gas company Woodside Petroleum.

The Aboriginal Myth of Captain Cook Another common myth across Australia is about a white man who arrives bringing gifts, but also great harm.

European Settlement The Dutch were the first Europeans to record seeing Australia, but they did not settle. More than 100 years later… James Cook sailed to Australia and claimed it for Great Britain (1770 AD)

Captain James Cook Capt. James Cook was a British explorer. He achieved the first European contact with the coast of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands (of US) mapmaker His ships were also the first recorded circumnavigation of New Zealand.

Australian Aboriginals Flag of Aborigines Today the Aboriginal people only make up about 2.7% of Australia's population. Foreign disease & fighting. Before European settlement, there were over 600 spoken dialects, today there are less than 200.

The Stolen Generations and Australian White Policy Today, Australia is mostly populated with white people of European descent. Two notable government policies increased the white population and decreased the indigenous black population.

Australian White Policy (1901-1973) The Australian White Policy (1901-1973)stopped all non-white immigration into the country, including Asians. (Though a select few Asians were allowed to enter Universities)

The Stolen Generations (1869-1969) “The Stolen Generations” (1869-1969): Aboriginal children removed from their natural families by the Australian gov’t and church missions.

Today’s Movie “Creamy”： 混血 Coppers - police

Movie suggestion Movie: Rabbit-Proof Fence 孩子要回家, about 3 girls who are stolen from their families and attempt to find their families.

The Commonwealth of Australia is made up of six states and three territories.

the 6 states of Australia: Capital: Canberra Western Australia   — the largest state South Australia          Queensland — the 2nd largest state New South Wales — the most populous Victoria                 — the 2nd most populous Tasmania                — the smallest state

II. 3 internal territories: the Northern Territory        the Australian Capital Territory   the Jervis Bay Territory  

Australian Penal Colony Great Britain made Australia into a penal colony (a colony for criminal prisoners) British criminals were sent to Australia

The National Flag Australia’s Coat of arms

I. primary industry rural and mining sectors --- Only 6% of Australia is cultivated for crops or used for intensive grazing. ---account for around 3/4 of total exports ---the leading position of Australian wool production --- the world’s largest coal exporter ---the world’s major supplier of wheat, meat, sugar and cotton  

II. secondary and tertiary industries Manufacturing represents more than 1/4 of the Australia’s total exports Food processing industry is the largest manufacturing sector The largest sector of the Australian economy is the tertiary industries. It employs more than 70% of the workforce and its share of the gross domestic product is about 60%.