 6 States and 2 Territories
◦ Canberra – Capital
◦ New South Wales – Oldest State and where Sydney is
◦ Victoria – Smallest State and where Melbourne is
◦ Queensland – Brisbane
◦ South Australia
◦ Western Australia
◦ Northern Territory
◦ Tasmania
 2,941,300 Sq. Miles
 Population 22,949,849 (estimate of 2013)

 School Attendance is compulsory in most states from
ages 5-16
 99% adult literacy rate
 37 government funded universities, 2 private

 No Official State Religion

 Fourth highest life expectancy in the World
 Universal Healthcare since 1975
 Highest rates of skin cancer in the World
 Current system called Medicare instituted in 1984

 Flight or Cruise are main ways to travel to Australia
 If you are not a citizen, you must have a Visa to enter
 Australian law prevents bringing in drugs, steroids,
weapons, firearms and protected wildlife. Some
foods are also prohibited.
 Vaccinations are needed only if you visited or
traveled from a yellow fever infected country within
6 days prior.

 Seasons are opposite US
December-February is Summer
March – May is Autumn
June – August is Winter
September – November is Spring
 Northern states are warm much of the time
 Southern states have cooler Winters
 Australia is one of the driest continents

 No official Language
 English is the National Language
 Between 200 to 300 indigenous languages existed at
the time of first European contact
 Auslan is the Australian Sign Language for the Deaf

 Many foods originated in Australia:
◦ Macadamia Nuts
◦ Bush Tucker
◦ Pavlova
◦ Chicken Parmigiana
◦ Granny Smith and Pink Lady Apples
◦ Lamingtons (National cake of Australia)
They also enjoy emu, fish ‘n’ chips, tim tam, meat pies, fairy
bread, crocodile, barramundi and grilled kangaroo

Fish ‘n’ Chips
Christmas Pavlova

Kangaroo Meat
Granny Smith Apples

 140 species of marsupials –
◦ Kangaroo, wallabies, koalas and wombats
 Monotrems – Egg-laying mammals – only found in Australia -
Platypus
 The Dingo is the largest carnivorous mammal in Australia
 828 species of birds – about half found only in Australia
 24 of the world’s 25 most deadliest venomous snakes are
found in Australia
 5 species of endangered sea turtles
 4000 of the world’s 22000 types of fish
 Great Barrier Reef
 Kangaroo Island

Emu
Platypus
Weedy Sea
Dragon
Dingo

Satellite Image

 Adelaide Festival of Arts
 Rock Art – Aboriginal Art
 Kakadu National Park – History of Aboriginies

 Australian Rules Football (AFL)
 Australian Open – Tennis
 Melbourne Cup – Horse Racing
 Darwin Beer Can Regatta
◦ 35 years, started in 1974 – Family Day
◦ Boats built out of beer and soda cans
◦ Started after Cyclone Tracy devastated Darwin and the
workers drank a lot of cans of beer to fight the humid
climate. There was no recycling program so they decided
to build boats out of the cans and race them. It has
become a yearly tradition.

Australian Open Tennis
Melbourne Cup
Australian Football
Darwin Beer Can Regatta

 Sand Sculpting Championships
 Sydney Mardi Gras – Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras
 Lasseters Camel Cup
 Shinju Matsuri Festival of the Pearl

Gay and Lesbian Mardi
Gras in Sydney
Lasseter’s Camel Cup

 Penicillin (1940) – Howard Florey won the Nobel Prize
in 1945
 Pace Maker (1926) – Mark Lidwell
 Bionic Ear (1978) Graeme Clark invented the multi-
channel Cochlear Implant

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia#Language
 http://www.mardigras.org.au/about/
 http://www.camelcup.com.au/about-cup
 http://www.adelaidefestival.com.au/
 http://
www.surfersparadise.com/whats-on/major-events/australian-sand-sc
 http://
www.australianopen.com/en_AU/news/galleries/2013-01-27/201301
 http://www.beercanregatta.org.au/history
 http://www.sandstormevents.net/wp-
content/uploads/2012/08/goldcoast-2.jpg
 http://www.environment.gov.au/parks/kakadu/explore/rock-
art-nourlangie.html
 http://melbournecup.com/