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_ANT AAebHY.—ASBrie@Outlinea@fi
The Commonwealth of Australia is a country in the Southem
Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the world's smallest continent
Australia, the major island of Tasmania and a number of other islands {
in the Southern, Indian, and Pacific
Oceans.
The name “Australia”
comes from the Latin “Australis”,
meaning of the South. Legends of
an “unknown land of the south” ;
(terra australis incognita) were |
already known in Roman times, but
they were not based on any actual
knowledge of the continent. The first
use of the word “Australia” in the
English language was in 1625.
The mainland of Australia
has been inhabited for more than 42,000 years by Indigenous
Australians
The first undisputed recorded European sighting of the Australian
mainland was made by the Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon, who
noticed the coast of Cape York Peninsula in 1606.
During the 17th century, the Dutch charted the whole of the
western and northern coastlines of what they called New Holland, but
no settlement was founded.
In 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast of
Australia, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Britain.
On 26 January 1788 the Crown Colony of New South Wales was
established at Port Jackson by Captain Arthur Phillip. This date was later
to become Australia's national
day, Australia Day.
Another five largely
self-governing colonies were
successively established over
the course of the 19th century.
On 1 January 1901, the six
colonies became a federation,
and the Commonwealth of
Australia was formed.WNustraliars\listony,
Captain James Cook was a
famous British explorer, navigator
and cartographer born at Marton
in North Yorkshire in 1728. He was
one of five children of James Cook,
@ Scottish farm labourer. At 13 he
began work with his father, who
managed the farm.
In 1745, when he was 16,
Cook left home to be apprenticed
in a grocery in the fishing village of
Staithes.
The shop's owner found Cook
not to be very good at trade. He
took the boy to the nearby port
town of Whitby and introduced him
to one of the local ship-owners. Cook was taken on as a merchant
navy apprentice. At that time he started studying algebra, navigation,
and astronomy, skills he would need one day to command his own
ship. After three-year apprenticeship he began working on trading
ships in the Baltic Sea.
In 1755 he was offered command of the collier brig Friendship
but within the month he joined the British Royal Navy. His naval
career had to start from the very beginning. But only two years later
he successfully passed his master's examination qualifying him to.
navigate and handle a ship of the King's fleet.
James Cook made three voyages to the Pacific Ocean,
achieving the first European contact with the eastern coastline of
Australia, the European discovery of the Hawaiian Islands,
andthe firstrecorded
circumnavigation
and mapping of
Newfoundland and
New Zealand.
Cook died in
Hawaii in a fight with
Hawaiians during his
third voyage in 1779.
F
James Cook,
Portrait by Nathaniel DanceThe Australian flag has three prominent
symbols. The Union Flag symbolizes Australia's
history as a collection of British colonies. The
large seven-pointed star below the Union Flag
is the Commonwealth or Federation Star which
represents the federation of the colonies of
Australia on 1 January 1901. The five white stars
tepresent the Southern Cross.
The National Anthem
“Advance Australia Fair" is the national anthem of Australia. It was officially
declared the national anthem on 19 April 1984. From 1788 to 1974 the official
anthem of Australia was “God Save the Queen" (or “King"). At present when the
Queen or members of the Royal family attend public events in Australia the Royal
Anthem “God Save the Queen” is played, too.
ADVANCE AUSTRALIA FAIR
Australians all let us rejoice,
For we are young and free;
We've golden soil and wealth for foil;
Our home is girt by sea;
Our land abounds in nature's gifts
Of beauty rich and rare;
In history's page, let every stage
Advance Australia Fair.
In joyful strains then let us sing,
Advance Australia Fair.
Beneath our radiant Southern Cross
We'll toil with hearts and hands;
To make this Commonwealth of ours
Renowned of all the lands;
For those who've come across the seas
We've boundless plains to share;
With courage let us all combine
To Advance Australia Fair.
In joyful strains then let us sing,
Advance Australia Fair.The Coat of Arms
Australia's Coat of Arms was
granted by King George V in 1912. It
consists of a shield which is a symbol
for the federation of the States in1901.
Above the shield there is aseven-
pointed gold star on a blue and gold
wreath. Two native Australian animals:
the red kangaroo and the emu support
the shield. On the background there
are sprays of golden wattle and the
word ‘Australia’ written on a scroll.
There are the badges of the six
Australian States on the shield:
New South Wales - Golden Lion on a red St George's Cross on a silver
background with 8-pointed stars.
Victoria - White Southern Cross beneath an Imperial Crown, on a blue
background.
Queensland - light blue Maltese Cross with an Imperial Crown at its Centre,
on a white background.
South Australia - the White-Backed Magpie on a yellow background.
Western Australia - Black Swan swimming, on a yellow background.
Tasmania - Red Lion on a white background.
The Commonwealth of Australia is a constitutional monarchy with a
parliamentary system of government. Queen Elizabeth Il is the Queen of
Australia.
The Commonwealth Parliament consists of the Queen, the Senate (the
upper house) of 76 senators, and the House of Representatives (the lower house)
of 150 members. The party with majority support in the House of Representatives
forms Government, with its leader becoming Prime Minister.
The Commonwealth Parliament seats in Parliament House in the capital city
of Canberra.
PAGETHREE 3Canberra is Australia's largest inland city. The city is located at the
northern end of the Australian Capital Territory, 300 kilometres south-west of
Sydney, and 650 kilometres north-east of Melbourne.
The site of Canberra was selected for the location of the nation's capital
and its construction began in 1913.
The National Library of
Australia was founded in 1960. In
1968, a new building inspired by
the Parthenon was built for it on
the shores of Lake Burley Griffin.
Australian copyright law requires
that a copy of every book published
in Australia be deposited with the
National Library of Australia on 40km
of its shelves. The library's enormous
collection consists of books, journals,
pictures, maps, manuscripts, sound
recordings, microfilm and other
media.
Telstranlower,
Telstra Tower is a communications
tower. It is situated atop Black Mountain. It
rises 195 metres above the mountain summit.
Telstra Tower was opened in 1980. The
Tower is a landmark of Canberra and offers
panoramic views of the city and surrounding
countryside.Visitors can walk along both
inside and outside viewing galleries, visit a
telecommunications museum, a cafe, a gift
shop and Alto Tower Restaurant.ThelNationaliMuseum
The National Museum
of Australia first opened
its doors to the public in
March 2001. The museum is
located on Acton Peninsula
in the suburb of Acton.
Visitors can see nearly
every aspect of Australian
life and culture there.
They can learn a lot about
Australia's geography,
prehistoric history, Aboriginal
inhabitants, the first white
settlements, the country's
development and its future.
The museum building was designed by architect Howard Raggatt. The
building looks like the centre of a knot, with ropes or strips extending from it. It
seems that a huge ribbon has unrolled itself along the ground.
The architects of the museum said, “We liked to think that the story of
Australia was not one, but many tangled together. Not an authorized version
but a puzzling confluence.”
Canberra Stadium
{originally known as Bruce
Stadium) was constructed in
aie
Itis located in Bruce - the
Canberra suburb named after
Stanley Bruce, one of Australian
Prime Ministers.
The stadium can seat
25,000 people. It is primarily
used for rugby games. There
have also been held a lot of
soccer and baseball games
and athletic competitions
there.SYDNEY;
Sydney is situated on the south-east coast of Australia. It is the state
capital of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia. The city
is built around Port Jackson, which includes Sydney Harbour. It gave the city
its nickname - “the Harbour City". Sydney is often called the international
gateway of Australia. It is famous for its beaches and twin landmarks: the
Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge.
iiheySidneyJOperajtiouse
The Sydney Opera
House, one of the most
famous 20th century buildings,
is located in Sydney Harbour.
It is an expressionist modern
design of Jom Utzon, a Danish
architect. The construction
began in March, 1959 and
the Sydney Opera House
was formally opened by
Queen Elizabeth Il, as Queen
of Australia, on October 20,
1973.
The roof is formed by large concrete “shells” covered with 1.056 million
white and cream tiles. The building is supported on 580 concrete piers sunk up
to 25 metres below sea level.
ithe}SidneyjHarbounBridge
The Sydney Harbour Bridge
is the main crossing of Sydney
Harbour. The bridge was designed
by John Bradfield and officially
opened on 19 March 1932.
People sometimes call
the bridge “the Coathanger"
because of its arch-based
design. It is the largest steel arch
bridge in the world. The top of the
bridge rises 134 metres above the
harbour.MELBOURNE
Melbourne is the second most populous
city in Australia. It is situated around Port Phillip
Bay in the south-east of the country.
Melbourne is the state capital of Victoria.
Melbourne was founded by the settlers in 1835
around the Yarra River.
Melbourne is the largest centre of
commerce, industry and cultural life. The city
is offen called Australia's “sporting and cultural
capital".
In Melbourne grand Victorian buildings
can often be seen side by side with modern
ones.
ihe University,
ofsMelbourne
The University of Melbourne was
founded by Hugh Childers in 1853. It is the
second oldest in Australia. In 1855 classes
startedwith only three professors andsixteen
students. Now the University has almost
40,000 students. The motto of the University
is “Postera Crescam Laude" (“We grow in
the esteem of future generations").
TiheyShrinelofiRemembrance
The Shrine of Remembrance
is one of the largest war memorials
in Australia. It is considered to be
Australia's major memorial to all
the 60,000 Australians who died
in World War |. The foundation
stone was laid on 11 November
1927 and the Shrine was formally
opened on 11 November 1934.THEComm \MONWEA
WESTERN
AUSTRALIAQUEENSLAND
:
Brisbanee |’
|
TASMANIA,
| =AUSTRALIA'S FAUNA
Australia’s fauna is really unique. It happened
because of the continent's long geographic isolation.
Once Australia was part of the supercontinent
Gondwana, which also included South America,
Africa, India and Antarctica. After Gondwana broke
up Australia started drifting away.
The unique climate and the geology
of the continent influenced the evolution
of the present-day fauna greatly. About
83% of mammals, 89% of reptiles, 90% of fish
and insects and 93% of amphibians that
live on the continent can be found only in
Australia.
In Australia there live a lot of animals
called the marsupials. They are a group of
mammals that raise their young in a pouch.
The most famous representatives of the
marsupials are kangaroos, koalas, wombats,
possums, wallabies, etc.
A very interesting group of animals
are the monotremes. These mammals lay
eggs instead of giving birth to live young.
Two of the five known living species
of monotreme occur in Australia: the
platypus and the short-beaked echidna.
Since human settlement, many
mammals have been introduced to
Australia. The first was the Dingo brought
to Australia about 5000 years ago.
When Europeans settled Australia they
released many species into the wild,
including the Red Fox, Brown Hare, and
the European Rabbit.mhe)}Kangaroo
The word kangaroo comes from the Guugu Yimidhirr language
(“gangurru"). A kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae
(having very long limbs). Early explorers described kangaroos as creatures that
had heads like deer (without antlers), stood upright like men, and hopped like
frogs. The stories about the “two-headed" mother kangaroos also sounded
like tales.
Kangaroos can be 2 metres tall and weigh 90 kg. They have large,
powerful hind legs, large feet adapted for leaping, a long muscular tail for
balance, and a small head. Kangaroos are the only large animals to use
hopping as a means of locomotion. They usually travel at about 20-25 km/h.
Kangaroos are large herbivores, eating grass and roots,
and they chew cud. Many species are nocturnal and
crepuscular. They spend the days idling quietly and cad
the cool evenings, nights and mornings moving
about and feeding.
Like all marsupials, kangaroos have a pouch
called a marsupium. The joey will usually stay in
the pouch for about nine months before starting
to leave the pouch for small periods of time. It is
usually fed by its mother until reaching
18 months.
Kangaroos live about 4
4-6 years, with some living ~ieel
until they are about 23. oh y, a
mhe\ Wombat
Wombats look like small bears. They have short leggs and a very short
tail. Wombats are about one metre in length and they usually weigh 20 to 35
kg. Their fur can be light brown, grey or even black.
Wombats are herbivores, they eat grasses, sedges, herbs,
bark and roots.
x Wombats are marsupials. A baby wombat called
® a joey stays in a pouch for nine to eleven months
" ~s (weighing between 3.5 and 6.5 kilograms). When
it is around 12 to 15 months old its mother stops
feeding him.
Wombats dig large burrow systems with
the help of their front teeth and powerful claws.
Although mainly crepuscular and nocturnal,
wombats sometimes walk out to look for food
on cool or cloudy days.The Koala
The Koala is a marsupial native to Australia. The word "koala" comes
from one of the Aboriginal languages (the Dharuk word gula) and it means
“no drink" (the Koala actually does drink water, but only rarely). Koalas
are herbivores. They eat eucalyptus leaves, which contain a lot of water,
therefore there is no need for the Koala to climb down for a drink.
Early European settlers to Australia called the Koala the Native Bear,
and the Koala is still sometimes called the Koala
Bear, but it is not a member of the bear family.
Koalas' weight varies from about 14 kg
for a large, southern male, to about 5 kg for
a small northern female. Their fur is thick, not
soft and nice.
A baby Koala is called a joey. At birth
the hairless, blind, and earless joey crawls into
the mother’s pouch and attaches itself to one
of the two teats. Young stay in the pouch for
about six months, only feeding on milk. During
this time they grow ears, eyes, and fur. The
baby Koala willremain with the motherriding
on her back, and feeding on both milk and
gum leaves until it is 12 months old.
The Echidna
Echidnas are mammals typical only for Australia. The Echidna isnamed
after a monster in ancient Greek mythology. They look much like anteaters,
hedgehogs or porcupines.
The Echidna's body is covered with coarse hair and spines. Their
snouts have the functions of both the mouth and nose. Echidnas have very
short, strong limbs with large claws. Short-beaked Echidnas are 30 to 45
centimetres in length and weigh 2 to 5 kg. They eat ants and termites. Long-
beaked Echidnas are larger (up to 16.5 kg). Their favourite
food is worms and insect larvae.
Echidnas are monotremes. The female
lays a single soft-shelled, leathery egg and puts
it directly into her pouch. The young echidna,
called a puggle, remains in the pouch for 45 to
55 days sucking milk. Its spines start to develop
at that time. Then the mother places the puggle
into a nursery burrow, returning every five days
for seven months.
(D PAGE TWELVEThe Emu A
The Emu is the largest bird native to
Australia. Itis also the second-largest bird in the
world by height (up to 2 m), after the ostrich.
Emus weigh between 30 and 45 kilograms.
The soft-feathered, brown, flightless birds can
travel great distances at a fast, economical
trot and, if necessary, can sprint at 50 km/h.
Emus eat plants, seeds and insects,
including grasshoppers and _ crickets,
ladybirds, ants and others.
The Emu females lay 10 to 15 very large,
thick-shelled, dark-green eggs every second
or third day. The eggs are about 134 x 89 mm and weigh 700 to 900 g.
The male builds a nest from bark, grass, sticks and leaves and begins
to incubate the eggs. He does not eat or drink, he stands only to turn the
eggs about 10 times a day. After 56 days the chicks are hatched. They are
about 25 cm tall and have brown and cream stripes for camouflage.The
male defends the chicks, teaches them how to find food and stays with
them until they are 18 months old. Emus usually live for 10 to 20 years.
The Platypus
The Platypus is one of the strangest creatures in the animal kingdom. It
is a semi-aquatic mammal that lives in eastern Australia and Tasmania. The
name Platypus means “flat foot" in Greek. The Platypus was first discovered
at the end of the 18th century. A lot of people thought this strange egg-
laying, duck-billed mammal to be a hoax. It looked like somebody had sewn
a duck's beak onto the body of a beaver-like animal.
The body and the broad, flat tail of the Platypus are covered with
brown fur. Platypuses are usually 40-50 cm long and weigh about 1-2.5
kg. The Platypus is a carnivore. It eats worms and insect larvae, freshwater
shrimps and crayfish that it digs out of the riverbed with its snout or catches
while swimming.
The Platypus is a monotreme. The female Platypus lays one
to three small eggs that are about 11 mm in diameter. The
incubation period lasts for about 10 days. The newly
hatched youngs are blind, hairless, and they are fed
by the mother's milk for three to four months.
The Platypus is a venomous animal. The male
has a spur on the hind foot which produces poison.
The poison can kill smaller animals and causes
severe pain to people.