Australia

Australia is the only country in the world that is also a continent. It is the sixth-largest
country and the smallest continent. Australia lies between the South Pacific Ocean and the
Indian Ocean.

About 65,000 years ago the first settlers arrived in the continent. They were the earliest sea
travelers. Before European arrival in the early 17 th century there were from 300,000 to a
million aborigines on the continent. They spoke more than 200 different languages but none
of them had a written language.

Willem Janszoon (a Dutch navigator) is considered the first European who landed on the
coast of Australia in 1606. He named it ‘New Holland’. In1642 another Dutch navigator Abel
Tasman made a voyage during which he discovered an island that was later named
Tasmania.

In 1770 a British explorer James Cook arrived in Australia and explored the eastern coast
of the continent. He named these lands ‘New South Wales’ and proclaimed them British
property.

Europeans began to settle in the continent in 1788 when a British colony was founded
there. The British government decided to send prisoners to their new colony. So, the fleet
of 11 ships arrived with the first prisoners, guards, and senior staff in January of 1788.
These people founded the first European settlement which later was named Sydney. And
the date of the 26th of January became Australia’s national day (or Australia Day).

Over the next century, other settlements were established at the places of modern
Brisbane, Melbourne, Hobart, and Perth. Over the next 80 years Australia took about
160,000 prisoners.

In 1850s gold deposits were found in Australia. The gold rush began. It brought thousands
of immigrants to Australia from the British Isles, continental Europe, North America, and
China.

At the end of the 19th century Australia had six independent colonies: Tasmania,
Queensland, Western Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. In 1901
the colonies united to form the Commonwealth of Australia.

After World War II many people were left homeless in their countries. At the same time
Australia needed a labour force to develop its economy. These reasons led to a post-war
immigration to Australia. Newly arrived immigrants found employment in a booming
manufacturing industry and government-assisted programmes.

The arrival of immigrants from two hundred countries fundamentally changed all aspects of
Australian society and made Australia one of the most multinational countries in the world.

The name of the country comes from the Latin word Australis which means ‘southern’. The
country’s official name is the Commonwealth of Australia. It is a federation of states.
Australia has six states – New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania,
Victoria, and Western Australia – and two major mainland territories – the Northern Territory
and the Australian Capital Territory. The latter one was formed from New South Wales in
1911 to provide a location for the proposed new federal capital of Canberra.

Australia is a constitutional monarchy like Great Britain. The British Monarch, Queen
Elizabeth II, is also Queen of Australia and the country’s head of state. But the queen has
little power in the Australian government. She serves mainly as a symbol of a long historical
tie between Great Britain and Australia.

The flag of Australia consists of a blue field with the Union Jack (it also symbolises a
historical connection between Great Britain and Australia), a large white seven-pointed star
(the Commonwealth Starwhere six points represent the six states of Australia and one
represents the territories), and five white stars (representing the Southern Cross which is a
symbol of Australia’s location in the southern hemisphere).

Australia is a country with modern factories, highly productive mines and farms, and busy
cities. Income from exports enables Australians to have a high standard of living.From a
former colony, Australia turned into a highly developed country with one of the highest
immigration rates.

Vocabulary:

settler – поселенец homeless – бездомный

Dutch navigator – голландский мореплаватель labour force – рабочая сила

discover – открывать, обнаруживать employment – работа

explorer – исследователь propose – предлагать

proclaim – объявлять, провозглашать represent – представлять, обозначать

property – собственность hemisphere – полушарие

prisoner – заключенный mine – шахта

establish – основывать income – доход

deposit – месторождение enable – давать возможность

gold rush – золотая лихорадка turn into – превращать(ся)

the Commonwealth - содружество rate – показатель, уровень