Australia
Political information
Capital City
Largest City
Government
Independence from United
Kingdom
Population
Area
Currency
Canberra
Sydney
Federal parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy
Monarch – Queen Elizabeth II
Governor General – Quentin Brice
Prime minister – Julia Gillard
January 1, 1901 (Federation)
2011 estimate 22, 551, 875
7,617,930 km²
Australian dollar $
http://australia.gov.au/about-australia
http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/index.cfm
Interactive Map of the world - http://www.familyhistorysa.info/mapaustralia.html
Australian National Flag
http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/symbols/flag.cfm#fact
When the Australian colonies federated to form the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901, there was
an urgent demand for a new national flag as an emblem for the new country. An official competition for a
design was arranged, which attracted 32,823 entries. Five of these contained almost identical designs and
were placed equal first. Apart from later changes in the size of the stars and the number of points, they had
produced the present Australian National Flag.
The Australian National Flag consists of three parts set on a blue field. The first part is the Union Jack,
acknowledging the historical link with Britain. The second part is the Southern Cross (a constellation of stars
only visible in the Southern Hemisphere), representing Australia’s geographical location in the world. Finally,
the Commonwealth Star represents Australia's federal system of government. Originally, the Commonwealth
Star had six points (for the six states), but in 1908 a seventh point was added to represent the Territories of
the Commonwealth of Australia.
See also
Australian Aboriginal flag
The Aboriginal Flag was designed by Harold Thomas, an artist and member of the Arrernte
(Aranda) tribe of Central Australia in 1971. Black represents the Aboriginal people, red the
earth and their spiritual relationship to the land, and the yellow disk is the sun, the giver of
life. The Aboriginal flag was first raised in 1971, and adopted nationally in 1972 after it was
flown above the Aboriginal "Tent Embassy" in Canberra. On 14 July 1995 the flag was officially
recognised by the government.
Torres Strait Islanders flag
The flag, symbolising the unity of all Torres Strait Islanders, is emblazoned with a white Dhari
(headdress). The white five pointed star beneath it stands for the five major island groups and
the navigational importance of stars to these seafaring people. Green stripes represent the
land, black the people, and blue the sea. The flag, attributed to Bernard Namok of Thursday
Island, was formally adopted during the 1992 Torres Strait Islands Cultural Festival and
officially recognised by the government on 14 July 1995.
Program resources on Australia for Hindi Project: India Calling Sydney Region 2011
Australian National Anthem http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/symbols/anthem.cfm#tune
Advance Australia Fair was one of many Australian nationalistic songs written in the late-nineteenth century
as debates about the creation of the new nation were taking place in the different colonies.
Although it is thought to have been first performed in 1878 by Mr Andrew Fairfax in Sydney, possibly the most
significant early performance of Advance Australia Fair was at the inauguration of the Commonwealth of
Australia in 1901, where it was sung by a choir of 10,000. Advance Australia Fair was not considered the
national anthem, however, with this role going to the British anthem God Save the Queen [or King] for most
of the twentieth century.
A determined search for a truly Australian national anthem did not begin in earnest until the Melbourne
Olympic Games in 1956. The Australian Bureau of Statistics conducted a national opinion poll of 60,000
people in 1974 and in 1977 the Australian Electoral Office ran a poll for a tune for a national song in
conjunction with a referendum.
In the 1977 plebiscite, four songs were in contention for the official title:
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Advance Australia Fair
God save the Queen [or King] (the British anthem)
Waltzing Matilda (one of Australia's best-known national songs), and
Song of Australia (a popular national song written in 1859)
The results of the plebiscite were conclusive with 43.2 per cent (or 2,940,854 votes) going to Advance
Australia Fair. Next most popular was Waltzing Matilda with 28.3 per cent, despite its arguable status as the
best-known, best-loved and most iconic national song.
In 1984 the government announced that the tune of Advance Australia Fair together with modifications to
two verses of the lyrics would become the Australian National Anthem.
Commonwealth Coat of Arms http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/coat-arms/index.cfm
The Commonwealth Coat of Arms is the formal symbol of the Commonwealth of Australia and its ownership
and authority. King Edward VII made the first official grant of a coat of arms to the Commonwealth of
Australia in a Royal Warrant dated 7 May 1908.
The absence of specific references to the states in the shield in the 1908 Arms led to a number of alterations
approved on the recommendation of the Commonwealth Government by King George V. King George V
granted the second Commonwealth Coat of Arms in a Royal Warrant dated 19 September 1912.
Symbols of Australia’s six states appear together on the shield, which is the central feature of a coat of arms.
The border of the shield symbolises federation. The kangaroo and emu are the native animals that hold the
shield with pride.
A gold Commonwealth Star sits above the shield. Six of the star’s points represent the Australian states. The
seventh point represents the territories. A wreath of gold and blue sits under the Commonwealth Star. Gold
and blue are the Commonwealth Coat of Arms’ livery or identifying colours.
Australia’s floral emblem, the golden wattle, frames the shield and supporters. A scroll contains the word
‘Australia’.
Program resources on Australia for Hindi Project: India Calling Sydney Region 2011
Australia’s National Colours
Australia’s national colours, green and gold, were popular and well loved by Australians long before they were
officially proclaimed by the Governor-General on 19 April 1984.
At international sporting events since before Federation, and of course at many since, the colours have been
associated with the achievements of many great Australian sports men and women.
As well as instilling national pride on the field, spectators often also don the official colours and cheer their
team waving green and gold boxing kangaroo flags. Back home in Australia, the green triangle and gold
kangaroo of the Australian Made logo is the most recognised country of origin symbol on Australian shop
shelves.
Prior to proclamation, Australia had no official colours and different combinations vied for the honour: red,
white and blue; blue and gold; and green and gold. The colours red, white and blue featured in the first Coat
of Arms of the Commonwealth in 1908 and are the colours of the Australian National Flag. Blue and gold have
heraldic significance, as the colours of the crest in the 1912 (present) Commonwealth Coat of Arms.
But it was the green and gold of Australia’s landscape, principally of many species of wattle, which won the
day. Green and gold is also represented on the Commonwealth Coat of Arms by the wattle which is an
ornamental accessory to the shield.
Australia's Floral Emblem
The golden wattle, Acacia pycnantha, Australia’s national floral emblem,
encapsulates the spirit of the Australian bush. The shrub or small tree grows in
the understorey of open forest, woodland and in open scrub in South Australia,
Victoria, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.
Like all emblems and symbols, the golden wattle captures an essence of Australia
that brings the colours, smells and textures of the Australian bush alive.
The flower has long been recognised as Australia’s premier floral symbol and was
officially proclaimed in 1988. In 1912, on the recommendation of the Prime
Minister, the Hon. Andrew Fisher MP, wattle was included as the decoration
surrounding the Commonwealth Coat of Arms and it has also been used in the
design of Australian stamps and many awards in the Australian honours system.
Golden wattle was honoured further with the proclamation in 1992 that 1 September in each year be
observed as National Wattle Day. This day provides an opportunity for all Australians to celebrate our floral
heritage, particularly through the planting of an Acacia species suitable
for the area in which they live.
Australia's National Gemstone
The opal is a rare and beautiful precious stone.
A very special series of geographical and climatic phenomena need to
coincide for the opal to form. The great desert regions of central Australia
provide such conditions and Australia produces over 90 per cent of the
world’s precious opal.
Program resources on Australia for Hindi Project: India Calling Sydney Region 2011
Australia ’s precious opals include the black opal (produced in Lightning Ridge, New South Wales), white opal
(majority of the world’s production occurs in Coober Pedy, South Australia), crystal opal and boulder opal
(mined in Central Queensland). The precious stone was proclaimed Australia’s national gemstone on 28 July
1993.
In Aboriginal legend, the mesmerising opal was a gift from the sky, from a rainbow that had touched the earth
and created the colours of the opal.
Flora and Fauna
The high diversity of flora includes large numbers of species in ecologically significant genera such as Acacia, Eucalyptus, Melaleuca,
Grevillea and Allocasuarina. Acacias tend to dominate in drier inland parts of Australia, while eucalypts dominate in wetter parts.
The most common vegetation types today are those that have adapted to arid conditions, where the land has not been cleared for
agriculture. The dominant type of vegetation in Australia—23 per cent—is the hummock grasslands in Western Australia, South
Australia and the Northern Territory. In the east eucalypt woodlands are prevalent, and in the west there are Acacia forests,
woodlands and shrublands. Tussock grasslands are found largely in Queensland.
In Australia there are more than 378 species of mammals, 828 species of birds, 300 species of lizards, 140
species of snakes and two species of crocodiles.
Among well-known Australian fauna are the monotremes (the platypus and echidna); a host of marsupials,
including the kangaroo, koala, and wombat, and birds such as the emu and the kookaburra and also the dingo
and introduced species of dog who came with traders over 3000 years ago. Australia is home to many
dangerous animals including some of the most venomous snakes in the world
Marsupials are an infraclass of mammals, characterized by giving premature birth. Close to 70% of the 334
extant species occur in Australia, New Guinea, and nearby islands.
National animal
The Red Kangaroo (Macropus rufus) is the largest of all kangaroos, the
largest mammal native to Australia, and the largest surviving marsupial.
It is found across mainland Australia, avoiding only the more fertile areas
in the south, the east coast, and the northern rainforests.
National bird
The Emu is an important cultural icon of Australia. It appears on the
coat of arms, various coins, features prominently in Indigenous
Australian mythology, and hundreds of places are named after the
bird.
The emu is the largest bird native to Australia and the only living
member of the genus Dromaius. It is also the second-largest extant
bird in the world by height, after its relative, the ostrich. There are
three extant subspecies of Emus in Australia. The Emu is common
over most of mainland Australia, although it avoids heavily
populated areas, dense forest, and arid areas.
Program resources on Australia for Hindi Project: India Calling Sydney Region 2011
Other native animals of Australia
The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native
to Australia, who may be considered one of Australia’s national animals.
The kookaburra is a large kingfisher native to Australia
and New Guinea, the name is an aboriginal word from
Wiradjuri “guuguubarra”, which sounds like its call.
Kookaburras are best known for their unmistakable call,
which sounds uncannily like loud, echoing human
laughter.
Wombats are Australian marsupials; they are
short-legged, muscular quadrupeds, approximately
1 metre (39 in) in length with a very short tail. They are found in forested,
mountainous, and heathland areas of south-eastern Australia and
Tasmania. The name wombat comes from the Eora Aboriginal community
who were the original inhabitants of the Sydney area.
Dangerous Australians
Native to Australia brown snakes and are considered to
be one of the most dangerous snakes in the country; even
young snakes are capable of delivering a fatal bite.
Funnel-webs are one of the three most dangerous spiders
in the world and are regarded by some to be the most
dangerous and are commonly known as the notoriously
dangerous Sydney funnel-web spider.
The Australian Dingo or Warrigal is a free-roaming primitive dog unique to the
continent of Australia, specifically the outback. Its original ancestors are
thought to have arrived with humans from Southeast Asia thousands of years
ago, when dogs were still relatively undomesticated and closer to their wild
Asian Gray Wolf parent species. Dingoes have been known to attack humans
and can kill small children.
Program resources on Australia for Hindi Project: India Calling Sydney Region 2011
Australia's Land Mass
Australia is the sixth largest country in the world. Its ocean territory is the world’s third largest, spanning three
oceans and covering around 12 million square kilometres. Australia is the smallest of the world’s continents.
It is also the lowest, the flattest and (apart from Antarctica) the driest.
Australia comprises a land area of about 7.692 million square kilometres.
Although this is just five per cent of the world's land mass (149.45 million square kilometres), Australia is the
planet's sixth largest country after Russia, Canada, China, the United States of America and Brazil. It is also the
only one of the largest six nations that is completely surrounded by water.
Australia’s land mass is:
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almost as great as that of the United States of America
about 50 per cent greater than Europe, and
32 times greater than the United Kingdom.
Geographical and Climatic Features
The highest point on the Australian mainland is Mount Kosciuszko, New South Wales, at 2228 metres above
sea level. The lowest point is the dry bed of Lake Eyre, South Australia, which is 15 metres below sea level.
The mainland and Tasmania are surrounded by many thousands of small islands and numerous larger ones.
Nearly 40 per cent of the total coastline length comprises island coastlines. As an island nation, coastlines play
an important role in defining national, state and territory boundaries.
Nearly 20 per cent of Australia’s land mass is classified as desert. As well as having a low average annual
rainfall, rainfall across Australia is also variable. The rainfall pattern is concentric around the extensive arid
core of the continent, with rainfall intensity high in the tropics and some coastal areas.
Climatic zones range from tropical rainforests, deserts and cool temperature forests to snow covered
mountains.
Within this climate, our plants and animals have evolved on a geographically isolated continent, through a
time of a slowly drying climate, combined with continuing high variability. The uniqueness of much of
Australia's flora and fauna is thus at least partly due to these features of our climate.
Australia is one of the most urbanised and coast-dwelling populations in the world. More than 80 per cent of
Australians live within 100 kilometres of the coast.
Water
Australia is the driest inhabited continent on earth, with the least amount of water in rivers, the lowest runoff and the smallest area of permanent wetlands of all the continents.
One third of the continent produces almost no run-off at all and Australia’s rainfall and stream-flow are the
most variable in the world.
Program resources on Australia for Hindi Project: India Calling Sydney Region 2011
Human activity continues to exert pressure on marine environments. Pollution is the most serious problem
and the vast majority of marine pollution is caused by land based activities—soil erosion, fertiliser use,
intensive animal production, sewage and other urban industrial discharges.
Australia currently has 65 Ramsar (an international convention that provides the framework for conservation
of wetlands) listed wetlands covering 7.5 million hectares and more than 850 of national importance.
Australia’s marine environment is home to 4000 fish species, 500 coral species in the northern reefs alone, 50
types of marine mammal and a wide range of seabirds. It is estimated that as many as 80 per cent of marine
species found in southern Australian waters occur nowhere else
Biodiversity
Australia is one of the most biologically diverse countries on the planet. It is home to more than one million
species of plants and animals, many of which are found nowhere else in the world, and less than half have
been described scientifically.
About 85 per cent of flowering plants, 84 per cent of mammals, more than 45 per cent of birds, and 89 per
cent of inshore, freshwater fish are unique to Australia.
Australia is richly endowed with marsupials— there are more than 140 species.
At least 18 exotic mammals have established feral populations in Australia, with cats and foxes responsible for
the decline and extinction of several native animals.
At least 2700 non-native (introduced) plants have established populations in Australia. Sixty-eight per cent of
these introduced plants are considered a problem for natural ecosystems.
http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/animals/NativeAnimalFactSheetsByTitle.htm
References
http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/teachers/lesson_activity/symbols_activity/index.cfm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
http://ozoutback.com.au/flags/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Australian_floral_emblems
Program resources on Australia for Hindi Project: India Calling Sydney Region 2011