1. Australia and New Zeland
Hana Koťátková, 6.B

2. Basic information - Australia
both the world’s largest island and smallest continent, only continent which is a single country
located south of Asia between the Indian and Pacific oceans
made up of six states and two territories
New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia, and Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory
Official language of Australia is English
20 million people
Capital city: Canberra

3. system of government
a federal state ( 6 independent states and 2 teirtories)
Commonwealth of Australia – the official title
the current formal head is Queen Elizabeth II.
her representative at the national level is Governor General, but in state level it is governor
the federal government is led by the prime minister (it holds the real power)
the government in individual states is led by the premier
the parliament - the federal legislative body
- has its seat in the capital
- two chambers - the Senate and House of Representatives
voting is compulsory (they are fined if they do not vote and don‘t give a satisfactory reason)

4. History
Australia was settled by Aboriginals about 50,000 years ago - mostly hunter‑gatherer culture + more than 250 languages
the fist Europeans to discover Australia in the17th century were Dutch
in 1770 Australia was claimed for Britain by James Cook
the fist colony was established in today’s Sydney Harbour in 1788
was originally settled as a prison colony
gold was discovered and many people moved there
Australia became an independent nation in 1901 when the six colonies agreed to become a federation
Canberra was declared as the federal capital in 1927

5. geographical features
a hot and dry centre – mostly deserts
tropical regions in the north with heavy rain
the south is milder with hot summers and cool winters
Bushfires and droughts are a common feature
Landforms:
Uluru - Ayers Rock in the centre of the country
the Great Barrier Reef - the world’s largest coral reef, lies along the coast of Queensland
the Mount Kosciuszko - the Australia’s tallest mountain, 2,228 metres high
the Murray River - the Australia’s longest river

6. Australian flra and fauna
Typical Australian vegetation is grass and eucalyptus trees
the climate and geographical isolation of the continent – unique animal species as marsupials like the kangaroo, the koala bear, the Tasmanian devil or the platypus (an egg‑laying mammal)

7. individual states New South Wales the oldest and most populous state
Sydney - Australia’s largest city
Tasmania
the smallest state and also an island (much colder climate)
Western Australia
the largest state, a lot of natural resources (e.g. iron ore, diamonds, coal)
Victoria
quite a small state but it has many people
Melbourne -the capital of Victoria, is the second largest Australian city, a cultural centre
South Australia
quite dry and famous for its wines

8. popular sports and pastimes + Famous people
cricket - the most popular summer sport, a bat‑and‑ball game
rugby (popular in the eastern state), football (rest of the country) – both games has oval ball
Australia has ideal conditions for divers and surfers
Patrick White - the fist Australian to win the Nobel Prize for literature
Peter Carey - an internationally successful novelist
Sidney Nolan and Brett Whiteley - well‑known Australian painters
Nicole Kidman and Mel Gibson - prominent Australian actors

9. Basic infromation - New Zealand
an island nation located in the South Pacific, situated 2,000 km from Australia
Aotearoa - The Maori name for New Zealand, commonly translated as “land of the long white cloud”
4 million people
2 offical languages - English and Maori
consists of two main islands and several small islands
The North Island - has a sub-tropical climate - warm to hot summers (from December to February) and cool mild winters (June to August)
- volcanoes, hot mud springs and hot watersprings
The South Island - more mountainous (The Southern Alps run through the middle – includes highest peak Mount Cook (Aoraki) which is 3,754 m hight
- larger than the North Island, but has only one quarter of the country’s population (colder + a lot of earthquakes)

10. government a part of the British Commonwealth
a constitutional monarchy and the head of state is the monarch of the United Kingdom
her representative is the Governor General
the head of government is the prime minister
parliament is single-chambered (unicameral)

11. New Zealand’s history
Maori fist settled in New Zealand in the 13 th century (no human settlement before) - came by canoes + their civilization was based around tribal communities
the Dutchman Abel Tasman was the fist European to reach the island
James Cook visited the island in the second half of the 18th century, then whalers and sealers from Britain, France and the USA would visit to trade with the Maoris in the late 18th century
the Musket Wars - a series of inter-tribal conflicts in the early 19th century (use of muskets)
Maori chiefs and British officials signed the Treaty of Waitangi - it gave sovereignty to the British Crown
became the fist country in the world to give women the vote (1898)
New Zealand gained dominion status
participated in both World Wars

12. New Zealand’s wildlife
many species that are unique of birds, animals and plants (for millions of years New Zealand has been isolated)
the Kiwi – flightless bird, the symbol of the country
the Kakapo - the only type of parrot which is unable to fly
the Tuatara - looks like a lizard but is actually separate type of reptile, lives only in New Zealand -

13. popular sports and pastimes + famous people
Rugby Union - the most popular sport (one of the top rugby nations in the world)
cricket - a popular summer sport
netball, basketball and tennis
a very strong sailing nation (has won the America’s Cup twice)
Russell Crowe and Sam Neill - actors +Lucy Lawless (actress, played Xena)
Peter Jackson – thedirector of The Lord of the Rings trilogy
Edmund Hillary - a mountaineer who was the fist to climb Mount Everest