Australian geography

The smallest continent in the world, Australis is one of the largest countries though, placed between the Pacific and Indian Oceans, in the Southern Hemisphere. Australian territory extends 4,000 km from west to east and 3, 200 km from north to south. In other words, it is about 15 times bigger than Spain.

Contrary to what many people probably think, its capital is not Sydney, but Canberra, a city of about 350, 000 habitants in the southeast of the country. Still, Sydney is the most important and biggest city, with more than 4, 500, 000 habitants.

Its territory is divided into 6 states, five of them in Australian mainland. The states are Western Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Austraila, Melbourne, New South Wales, and Tasmania. The most important cities of Australia are Perth in Western Australia, Darwin in Northern Territory, Brisbane in Queensland, Adelaide in South Australia, Victoria in Melbourne, Hobart in Tasmania, and Sydney and Canberra in New South Wales.

Source: Encyclopedia Britannica 2006.

Australia's brief history

James Cook landing in Botany Bay.

The first known explorations of Australia and the surrounding territories date back to the 16^th century, when the major European powers at the moment – Portugal and Spain – explored the area. It is believed, for instance, that a Portugese map of 1528 already showed Australia named as “Java la grande”. Another expedition, led by the Spanish Luis de Torres, sailed the Torres Strait, in the north of the island, whereas the Dutch Abel Tasman discovered Van Diemen’s land (Tasmania). Nonetheless, the best-known voyages were those of James Cook, who explored the territories on behalf of the British Admiralty, and landed in Botany Bay in 1770. This date is generally considered tby lots of manuals as the date of the discovery of Australia.

In 1788, the British government determined the colonization of the new land, not only as an strategy for control, but also due to the need to relieve British prisons after the loss of American colonies, which, until their independence, had served to send British convicts. That is, Australia was born as a penal colony. Subsequent British colonization policies and land laws for the conquest of the territory were framed in the belief that the colony was being acquired by occupation of a terra nullius (no man’s land), which marked the beginning of the dispossession and oppression that Australian aboriginals suffered under British control.

Australian flag, first flown in 1901.

British presence extended to Australia’s inland from the 1820’s onwards, although it was not until the periods of 1850’s, 1860’s and 1870’s that the country grew economically thanks to the wool and mineral industries. The first significant mineral discovered was copper, although much more remarkable was the discovery of gold in in 1851, which set the beginning of Australian Gold Rush.

Regarding politics, the colonies had achieved self-government in the 1850’s, but their federation had to wait until 1901, when the Commonwealth of Australia and the Australian constitution came into existence. Still, not until 1931 was Australia totally independent from the United Kingdom as a result of the Statue of Westminster (passed by the Commonwealth of Nations).   

Battle of Gallipoli.

When the First World War started, Australia sent about 300,000 soldiers to fight, which together with those sent by New Zealand formed the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC). They fought in the Dardanelles Campaign, in the landing of Gallipoli in 25^th April 1915, and this day has become the National Day for both countries. When war was declared again in 1939, Australia also responded sending soldiers to Europe, although the bombing of Pearl Harbour meant the redirection of the focus of resistance to the Pacific, as Australians feared a Japanese invasion. In this sense, the United States became a powerful ally, which, after the war, continued to exert its influence in Australian affairs, thereby diminishing British power over the country.

The Second World War generated an economic growth which continued until the 1970’s, but this prosperity was only enjoyed by the white section of Australian population. Aboriginals continued to be ignored and discriminated, as well as immigrants who suffered the consequences of the White Australia Policy (especially those of Asian origin) which only allowed immigrants from European descent to enter the country.

The dismantlement of the policy in 1973 completely transformed Australian society, as now about one-third of Australia’s new settlers come from Asian countries. Moreover, the 20^th century also saw the reconciliation between white Australians and Aboriginals, which culminated in the official apology for the Stolen Generations (see Aboriginal history and culture post) declared by the Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in 2008.

Source: 

- Encyclopedia Britannica 2006.

- Government of Australia - Fact sheet "White Australia Policy".

Animal and plant life.

Did you know that Australia is the driest country in the world? Roughly, the 3,200 kms which separate Darwin, in the north of the island, from Sydney, in the south, are vast plains. Indeed, Australia’s centres of life are placed in the coast for one important reason: central Australia and the western plateau are desert territories, so you could travel across the country from Sydney to Darwin without seeing a town. This area of aridity is commonly known as Australia’s outback.

This environment, together with Australia’s isolation from other continents, explains the singularity of its animal and plant life. Although Aborigines (the native inhabitants of the land) and, later, the European colonists caused the extinction of many native plant species, there is still one recognizable Australian plant species, the Eucalyptus, which is represented in the continent by more than 400 species.

Emu

Numbat

Australia’s fauna is also unique from the rest of the world. The country is home to the three existing types of mammals – monotremes, marsupials, and placentals –, more than 800 bird species, and more than 4, 000 fish species.

Platypus

Although the kangaroo and the koala are probably the best-known animals from this country, Australia is also known for its dingoes, numbats, Tasmanian devils or emus, a flightless bird. You can also find here the platypus, the only egg-lying mammal in the world, and 21 of the 25 deadliest snakes in the world. 

Koala

Dingo

.

Kangaroo

Click here if you want to know more about Australia's wildlife. 🐍

Sources:
- Encylopedia Britannica 2006.
- http://www.australia.com/en/facts/australias-animals.html

Australian Aboriginal history & culture

During the times of the British Empire, Australia was considered one of the “white” colonies (they were called "white" because most of the inhabitants were white colonists who had left the British Isles to start a new life in the new territories) together with South Africa, Canada and New Zealand. Today, approximately nine-tenths of Australian population are of European ancestry as the result of British and Irish immigrants. However, Australian population is also composed of Italians and, more recently, of people of Asian origin (China, the Philippines, Vietnam and Hong Kong).

The origins of this melting pot are found in immigration, but Australia already had a native population of its own, the Australian Aborigines, who had inhabitant the land for 50,000 years. In spite of this fact, Australia was declared Terra Nullius (no man’s land in English), with the consequence that Aboriginals were oppressed and persecuted almost to extinction, and their lands were taken. Unfortunately, not until the 1970s did negotiations started between the Australian government and the Aboriginals to return these lands and recognize the dispossession which had occurred.

White colonizers believed in their superiority over Aboriginals, which explains the policy of assimilation they implemented. Not only were their lands taken away, but also their children. Between 1910 and 1970 many children were removed from their families by force and sent to institutions were they had to assimilate to English white culture and language. This episode of Australian history  is known today as the Stolen Generations.

If you wan to know more about Australian Aboriginals watch the following video. If not, keep reading and learn about Aboriginal culture. 

As part of the reconciliation, Aboriginal culture has been promoted in recent years. One of the most known traditions of Aboriginal people is their belief in The Dreaming or Dreamtime, the time where the Aboriginals’ ancestors wandered the land, and, for them, the origin of the world. These ancestors were no ordinary people, but they were very powerful, and all of them were associated with an animal or a plant, hence the importance given by the Aboriginal community to nature.  Indeed, each tribe has a totemic animal to which they feel attached to. 

Their devotion for the land has influenced their traditional art, with many of their beliefs about the environment and the Dreaming expressed through paintings and mosaics, and symbols within these artworks. Most of their traditional songs also make reference to the Dreaming.

Aboriginal art culture is also known for its music, with the Didgeridoo, as the most recognizable instrument. A wind instrument, it is made from limbs and tree trunks howolled out by termites, and it is usually decorated with Aboriginal symbols. 

Australian Aboriginal literature was, at the beginning, mainly oral, which explains why the whitesettlers believed in the inferiority of these people. Literature was passed from generation to generation orally in the forms of songs, stories, and myths. Its function today continues to be mostly ceremonial, as it is mostly referred to the Dreaming and the relation between humans and the landscape. Therefore, the chief subject is the land, its creation, and the travels of the Aboriginal people.

Contemporary Aboriginal literature also exists in its written form, with Oodgeroo Noonuccal, Jack Davis or Sally Morgan as the most representative writers. 

Sources:
- Encyclopedia Britannica 2006.
- http://aboriginalart.com.au/gallery/traditional.html
- http://www.australianstogether.org.au/stories/detail/the-stolen-generations
- http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/orgs/car/docrec/policy/brief/terran.htm

Aussie slang

Just as any other language, English also has language varieties according to the country or region. Let’s see how many words of Australian English you can recognize…

Ace!: Excellent! Very good!

Arvo: afternoon

Aussie: Australian

Barbie: barbeque

Bikkie: biscuit

Bloke: man, guy

Buckley's chance (you’ve got): no chance

Chook: chicken, husually a hen

Click: kilometer (It’s 20 clicks away”)

Coast big bikkies: expensive

Cut snake (mad as a): very angry

Docket: a bill, receipt

Doco: documentary

Exy: expensive

A fair go: a chance

(to be) flat out: very busy

G’day: hello!

Go troppo: go crazy

Good onya: well done

Grouse: great, terrific

Hooroo: goodbye

Kick the bucket: to die

Mate: friend

Macca’s: McDonald’s

Polly: politician

Reckon!: for sure

Sanger: sandwich

Stoked: please, delighted

Sunnies: sunglasses

Tucker: food

Now watch this video and learn some more words, and more importantly, learn how to pronounce them!

Sources:

- https://www.australianexplorer.com/slang/phrases.htm

- http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-27888329

- http://www.movingtoaustralia.com.au//australian-culture/moving-to-australia-australian-slang/

Australian cuisine

Australia’s multicultural society has influenced Australian cuisine, and so, you can find all types of dishes with different origins. Here are some examples of traditional Australian food:

Vegemite toast

Vegemite: it is probably the most famousAustralian food, and a great source of Vitamin B. It is made from brower’s yeast extract and various vegetables and spicy additives. It is usually eaten on a buttered toast for breakfast or as a snack, especially given to children. 

ANZAC Biscuits

ANZAC biscuits: cookies made from rolled oats, flour, sugar, golden syrup and desiccated coconut. They receive this name as it is believed they were sent to Australian and New Zealanders soldiers during the First World War. 

Chiko rolls

Chiko Roll: similar to spring rolls, chiko rolls are a snack made of crunchy pastry filled with meat and vegetables such as cabbage, carrot, green beans or beef. 

Lamingtons

Lamingtons: an Australian cake essentially made from sponge cake covered with chocolate and desiccated coconut. 

Pavlova: although its origins are still uncertain, this popular dessert (in New Zealand as well) consists of a crisp crust fully covered by meringue and topped with fruit and whipped cream. It is believed that the dessert was especially created for ballet dancer Anna Pavlova, hence its name.                                     

Meat pie

Pavlova 

Meat pie: from British origin, the meat pie usually contains minced meat and gravy. Onions, mushrooms or cheese are sometimes also used, and it is often eaten as a take-away snack. 

Fairy bread

Fairy bread: slice white bread cut into triangles. It is later buttered and covered with hundreds-and-thousands (sprinkles) to form a multi-color snack. 

Aussie barbie

The Aussie Barbie or Australian barbecue: Australians are famous for their love for barbecues, or “barbies” as they call them. They invite their friends and relatives to their houses and cook meat such as lamb, chicken, beef, or even kangaroo or emu, in any form from chops or steaks to ribs and sausages.

Witchetty grub

Bush tucker: although not a popular gastronomic tradition anymore, the bush tucker refers to the food native to the land, such as kangaroo, crocodile, witchetty grubs, emu, quandong, bush tomato, yams or macadamia nuts, which formed the daily sustenance of native inhabitants. Today, some of these foods have been incorporate into contemporary dishes, although they are still eaten in some remote Australian Aboriginal communities. 

After this tiny "lesson"on Australian gastronomy, if you are still hungry for knowledge, try the recipe for pavlova watching this video while you train your ear for Australian accent!

Sources: 

- http://travel.cnn.com/sydney/eat/40-foods-australians-call-their-own-651613/ 

- http://www.australian-information-stories.com/australian-bbq.html 

- http://www.movingtoaustralia.com.au//australian-culture/moving-to-australia-australian-food/ 

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anzac_biscuit

- https://whatscookingamerica.net/History/VegemiteHistory.htm

Some places to visit...

Great Barrier Reef.

One of the main tourist destinations of Australia and one of the seven wonders of the natural world, the Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef on Earth, home to an abundance of marine life and about 3,000 individual reef systems. Placed almost parallel to Queensland coast, it stretches over 3,000 kms, and it goes from 15 kms to 150 kms wide off shore and around 65 kms in some parts. The reef houses more than 400 species of coral, coral sponges, mollucs, rays, dolphins, around 1,500 species of tropical fish, more than 200 kinds of birds, and about 20 different reptiles including sea turtles and giam clams. There are currently around 820 operators and 1500 vessels and aircraft which organise tours in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. As a curiosity, did you know that it is the only living thing which is observable from the moon?

Learn more

Sydney Opera House.

Built between 1957 and 1973, Australia's probably most iconic building was designed by the Danish architect Jørn Utzon, winner of the prestigious Pritzker Price of architecture. It is located in Bennelong Point, in Sydney's harbour, and placed to scale in relation to the Harbour Bridge, the sandstone cliff face, the Circular Quay and the Macquarie Street.
Although its construction sparked public debate due to its engineering problems and costs, it now has an indisputable place among Australia's more recognizable locations. Today, it has 1000 rooms, it conducts around 3,000 events each year, and it has an audience of 2 million people annually thanks to the different tpes of performances it hosts.

Learn more
What's on (Sydney's Opera House events programme)

Blue Mountains.

Inscribed in the World Heritage List of 2000, Blue Mountains is a region located in the state of New South Wales, which can be visited any time of the year. The area offers about 140 kms of  native bushland, stunning rock formations, such as the famous Three Sisters, underground caves, like
the Jenolan Caves, and walking trades which give you the possibility of enjoying the area's most impressive streams, waterfalls, valleys and forests. You are also offered the opportunity complete the trades with the aid of local guides, such as the Darug guide,  with whom you will discover Australian Aboriginal heritage too. And for those not so keen on hiking, Blue Mountains Botanic Garden will reveal a 1,000 kms of thousands of plants from the southern hemisphere, such as the Wollemi Pine.

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Uluru Mountain (Ayers Rock).

Discovered in 1873 by William Goose, Uluru Mountain, as Australian Aboriginals call it, is more commonly known among Australians as Ayers Rock. A significant landmark of Australia's landscape, Uluru lies west to the Simpson Desert, near to the "Red Centre" of Australia and about 335 kms southwest from Alice Springs. It was created around 600 millions ago, and, although originally sat at the bottom of the sea, it now stands 348 metres above sea level. The mountain is around 3,6 kms long and 1,9 kms wide. Also placed in the UNESCO World Heritage List, it is considered an island mountain, as its existence is the remniscient of an ancient mountain range which disappeared due to erosion. Considered a sacred place and home of the mother Earth by Aboriginal people, the rock is famous for its changing colours depending on the time of the year and the time of the day.

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12 Apostles.

Located in Victoria's coastline, the 12 Apostles are a set of rocks created by the erosion of the limestone cliffs, which started around 10-20 million years ago. Waves and wind erosion started the creation of several caves on the cliffs, which eventually became arches, to later collapse and be transformed into the 45 metres tall columns we can see today. A "living" entity on its own, the wind and the weaves continue to erode the rocks. From the 12 original columns, only 8 are standing today, the two last ones collapsing in 1990, (the famous London Bridge) and in 2005. 12 Apostles provides stunning and impressive views, which, if you feel brave enough, you can only enjoy more cloasely thanks to the numerous self-guided walks around the area.

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Fraser Island.

The largest sand island in the world, Fraser Island stretchever over 123 kms in length and 22 kms at its widest point. It was formed with sand brought from the southeastern coast of Australia and the Antarctica (when the two lands were not separated), the result of the erosion of the ranges which existed about 700 million years ago. The island is home to more than 47 species of mammals, 354 species of birds and 79 species of reptiles, and it also harbours forty perched dune lakes and some barrage lakes such as Lake Wabby, the deepest of the island. Its native inhabitants are the Butchulla community (Aboriginal people). However, there are only a handful of descendents from the Butchulla people today due to European settlement and the subsequent conflicts which arose between the two communities.

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