Saturday, July 04, 2009
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AS Flag  Australia —  (ô strāl´yə)
About The People
Did You Know...... Australia is a federation of six states (New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, Queensland, South Aust  »» More

Fashion... Australians general follow European and Western trends for clothing. In Winter jumpers or sweaters a  »» More

Socializing... Australians have a good sense of humor and anything is a topic for humor. Australians have a sense o  »» More

Family... More than 85% of Australians live in urban areas, mostly on the east coast. Sydney and Melbourne are  »» More

Sports & Recreation...
The national sport Australian-rules football ( "Aussie Rules") a combination of rugby and socce  »» More

World Region: Oceania
Australia Area Maps
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Statistics
Capital Cities... Canberra  »» History of Canberra
Population: 20,434,176
GDP: $766,800,000,000 (USD)
Total Area: 7,686,850 (sq km) 2,967,893 (sq mi)
Currency: Australian dollar (AUD)
Australia History

Australia was uninhabited until stone-culture peoples arrived, perhaps by boat across the waters separating the island from the Indonesia archipelago more than 40,000 years ago. Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, and English explorers observed the island before 1770, when Captain Cook explored the east coast and claimed it for Great Britain (three American colonists were crew members aboard Cook’s ship, the Endeavour).

On January 26, 1788 (now celebrated as Australia Day), the First Fleet under Capt. Arthur Phillip landed at Sydney, and formal proclamation of the establishment of the Colony of New South Wales followed on February 7. Many but by no means all of the first settlers were  »» More

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