Lucie Maliňáková

B ASIC INFO Capital: Canberra Area: 7. 6 million square kilometers Population: 22 million Languages: English Currency: Australian dollar 1 AUD = 1 8 CZK

P OPULATION the population of Australia constists of about 22 million people higher population lives in big cities 95% of population is of British and Irish origin the minorities: the Aborigines, Scottish, Italian and Chinese

O RIGINAL INHABITANTS = THE A BORIGINES arrived in Australia more than 40,000 years ago from Asia use many dialects lived in the shelter and they prefer hunting (kangaroo) or picking food (worms) DIDGERIDOO – a special musical instrument

body painting used for special ceremonies now they are just a minority of 380,000 inhabitants they have a lot of benefits, e.g. their health service and education are free of charge

M AIN CITIES CANBERRA the capital city with only people Why is Canberra the capital city? It is a compromise between rivals Sydney, Melbourn

S YDNEY it is on the east coast the largest city with 4 million people and 60 kilometres beaches the famous places: the Sydney Opera House, Bondi Beach called „The Paris of the Pacific “ in 2000 there were the Summer Olympic Games here

M ELBOURNE Second largest city Nation´s financial and commercial centre Centre of Australian football, cricket, horse racing, tennis and golf Many parks and gardens, museums, galleries,..

SYMBOLS FLAG Union Jack: the symbol of Great Britain Federation Star seven-pointed star representing the states and the territories Constellation of Southern Cross COAT OF ARMS ANTHEM Advance Australia Fair

G EOGRAPHY It is the smallest continent of the world The highest mountain is Mount Kosciuszko in the Australian Alps Many parts of the area are deserts and semideserts: the Great Victoria Desert the Great Sandy Desert

The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef of the world

HISTORY In 1606 Australia was discovered by the Dutch and Spanish explorers. In 1770 James Cook discovered and named it The New South Wales. The Australia was a British colony and therefore England sent criminals here, but after a while this British colony was overcrowded. In 1901 Australian union with the capital city Canberra was founded.

P OLITICAL SYSTEM Australia is a member of the Commonwealth the head of state: the British Queen, in practice the Governor General perfoms all functions in the Queen´s absence the head of government: Prime Minister subdivision: 6 states and 2 territories Northern Territory Capital Territory

Governor-General Quentin Bryce Prime Minister Tony Abbott

R ELIGION Australia has no state religion 67% of Australians are Christian The other: Roman Catholic, Anglican, Protestantism, Islam,..

S PORTS The most popular are Rugby and Cricket Rugby has 3 divisions: Rugby Union, Australian Rules and Rugby League

UNESCO SITES 19 UNESCO sites in Ausralia Sydney Opera House, Royal Exhibition Building, Australian Convict Sites, Great Barrier Reef, Kakadu National Park, Tasmanian Wilderness,…

N ATURE Typical plants: wattles and eucalyptus Typical endemic animals: platypuses, kangaroos, koalas and emus

F AMOUS PEOPLE Irwin Steve = „The Crocodile Hunter“ an Australian hunter of crocodiles and other wildlife Irwin was popular mainly for documentary serial The Crocodile Hunter he died in 2006 while filming an underwater documentary film

Nicole Kidman an Australian actress, singer and film producer in 2003 she won the OSCAR for the film "The Hours“ Films: Stepford Wives, Moulin Rouge, Just Go with It

S PECIALITIES Australia has the most dusty beaches in the word there are more sheep than people Pavlova - meringue topped with cream and fruit

Q UESTIONS FOR YOU What is the name of the original inhibitants? What are the most popular sports in Australia? What are the typical animals? Do you know any movie or documentary star?