2. Australia is situated south of Asia, between the Pacific and the
Indian Oceans. Australia is a continent, a country and an island
at the same time. Australia is located in the southern
hemisphere.
3. OFFITIAL NAME : Commonwealth of Australia
CAPITAL: Canberra
TOTAL AREA: 7,700,000 sq.km
POPULATION: 20 million people
HEAD OF STATE: Queen Elizabeth II represented by Governor-General
FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Constitutional monarchy
PORTS: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane
LONGEST RIVER: the Darling (2,740 km)
HIGHEST POINT: Mount Kosciusko (2,230 m)
NATURAL RESOURCES: coal, zink, nickel, gold, wool
NATIONAL HOLIDAY: Australian Day , 16 January (1788)
MONEY: basic unit – Australian dollar
NATIONAL SYMBOLS: Kangaroo and Emu
NATIONAL ANTHEM: “Waltzing Matilda”
4. The First people in Australia were Aborigines. They arrived there about
12,000 years before from southern Asia. They had very rich forms of
art, painting, song, poetry and mythology. The lives of aborigines
stayed almost the same for thousands of years until the Europeans
came to live in Australia in 1778.
In 1770 J. Cook landed in eastern Australia and declared that it belonged
to Britain. In 1778, the British government began sending the first
prisoners to Australia. Overtime many people arrived from Britain and
Europe. Life was difficult. There was very little water and the climate
was very hard.
The Europeans suffered a lot in Australia but the Aborigines suffered a lot
more. Europeans stole their land and killed thousand of Aborigines.
They also brought new diseases with them. In parts of Australia, not
one Aborigine survived. Today aborigines continue to live in Australia
but there culture in under threat. In 1770, there were about 300,000
Aborigines. Now, there are 120,000. It is becoming harder and harder
for them to continue their traditional way to live.
Today Australia is a modern, industrial country, independent from Britain
since 1931. The Commonwealth of Australia consists of 6 states and
two provinces. It is the world’s biggest producer of wool, bauxite and
important producer of wheat, meat, sugar and fruit.
5. The Aborigines
are the Australian
natives that had
been living there
for thousands of
years before the
first Europeans
came to Australia
in the 1600s.
6. Captain James Cook discovered Australia in
1770. He was sent to discover the huge
land that many people believed was south
of the equator. He landed south of present
day Sydney in New South Wales. He
claimed this part of the land for the King of
England.
In 1851 gold was discovered about
300 km west of Sydney. People rushed
to the gold fields to find their fortunes.
This attracted robbers called
bushrangers.
7. Australia's coat of arms – the official
emblem of the Australian Government –
was granted by George V in 1912. The
arms consist of a shield containing the
badges of the six states. The supporters
are native Australian fauna – a kangaroo
and an emu. A yellow-flowered native
plant, wattle, also appears in the design.
The flag of Australia is the only one to
fly over a whole continent. The small
Union Jack represents the historical
link with Britain, the large seven-
pointed star represents the six States
and Territories, and the small stars
from the Southern Cross – a
prominent feature of the southern
hemisphere night sky.
11. Sydney Opera House
Regarded as a 20th century architectural
masterpiece, the Sydney Opera House was designed and
built by architect, Jørn Utzon, to reflect the image of a
huge sailing ship. It houses multiple venues that together
host more than 1,500 performances each year.
Surrounded by the beautiful scenery of the Sydney
Harbour and the Royal Botanic Gardens, the famous
Opera House in is one of Australia’s most famous
landmarks.
13. Capital of New South Wales.
Leading industrial city.
Population: 3,200,000
people.
St. Maria Cathedral
The Harbour Bridge
Sydney
Sydney AMP Tower
Opera House
14. Kakadu National Park
Located in Australia’s Northern Territory, about
three hours north of Darwin, Kakadu is the country’s
largest national park. There is a lot to see in
including a large concentration of
Aboriginal rock art; some of which are estimated to be up
to 20,000 years old. This park is also home to many
different species of wildlife, including wallabies, dingoes
and crocodiles. In addition, Kakadu National Park, which
is home to one-third of Australia’s bird species, is a
birdwatcher’s dream.
16. It’s the world’s largest coral reef (over 2000 km). It
stretches along the east coast of Queensland. It’s
made up of over 2900 individual
reefs very close
to each other.
17. Great Ocean Road
The , which is located in Victoria, is
considered to be one of the most beautiful drives in Australia. This
243 km (151 mile) drive starts in Torquay, which is located about
100 km (60 miles) from Melbourne, and ends in Allansford. As it
travels along Victoria’s beautiful southwest coastline, the Great
Ocean Road passes by some of the most stunning scenery in
Australia, including The Twelve Apostles, which are pretty
limestone stack formations that rise out of the ocean near Port
Campbell National Park. There are also a number of places along
the Great Ocean Road where you can spot some of Australia’s
famous wildlife, including kangaroos, fur seals and emus.
19. Fraser Island
This beautiful island, which is located in
Queensland, boasts rainforests, sand dunes, more than
100 freshwater lakes and pretty colored sand cliffs.
, which is just a short ferry trip from Hervey Bay, is
also considered to be the largest sand island in the world.
This island boasts another unusual claim to fame — its
dingoes are considered to be some of the most pure in all
of Australia, as they have not had as many chances to
crossbreed with dogs as their mainland cousins have had.
21. Capital of South Australia. A
pretty and industrial city.
Population: 1,100,000 people.
Victoria Square Fountain
Gold Beach
Adelaide
22. Capital of Western Australia.
One of the best climates in
Australia. Population:
1.200.000 people.
King’s Park
Perth Skyscrapers
24. Government Independent Catholic
Each Australian State and Territory oversees its
own education system, and there are small variations
between the education systems of each State and
Territory.
There are two main education sectors within each
State-Government Schools and Non- Government
Schools. Non-Government schools are classified as either
Catholic schools or Independent schools. Most
Independent schools have a religious affliation, but some
are non-denominational. All Government schools are
non-denominational.
25. Prep Primary and Secondary
Australia children usually attend a Preparatory year
of school ( often called Prep or Kindergarten), followed
by Primary school and then Secondary school (often
called highschool). Schools go to year 12. Including the
Pre-school year, most students are at school for 13 years.
Students usually start in Preparatory school around
the ages of four or five. Entry age requirements can be
vary by more than 6 months between schools and States.
Primary and Secondary schools are mostly in
separate locations, but some Catholic schools and many
Independent schools have Primary and Secondary schools
on the same campus.
26. Curriculum
At Primary school level thre is an emphasis on
English reading and writing, mathematics and the Study
of Society and the Environment (SOSE). Students usually
also have music, sport, drama, computer studies, science,
art, and learn a language (LOTE). Often there are many
extra curricular activities offered outside of classtime,
such as choir, orchestra, chess or sport.
In the early Secondary years student continue to
study English and Mathematics and other core subjects.
As they progress through their Secondary years, students
must study English, but can start to select which other
subject they study and they begin to specialise in certain
areas of learning.
27. Teartiary Education
Tertiary education in Australia is different to many
other countries in that is divided in two sectors;
Vocational Education and Training (VET) and Higher
Education.
All countries have a higher education which people
usually associate with universities but Australia is one of
just a few countries that have a vocational education
sector where a trainee is assesssed by his or her acquisition
of competencies, and focuses on the development of
skills relevant to a trade or field of skilled specialization.
In fact, Australia’s VET sector is internationally
recognized as providing world’s best practice in vocational
training, and qualifications from Australian VET
institutions are recognized worldwide.
28. Higher Education
Australia’s higher education sector is world class and and all
Australia’s universities have highly active and comprehensive
ingternational programs. Universities of Australia have been
welcoming international students for more than a century, and
today most campuses boast an ethnic mix in the student body of
50 or more nationalities.
Cultural sensitivity tolerance of religious observance and
freedom of expression are proudly promoted and encouraged by
all Australian universities. Although every Australian university is
autonomous and sets its own standards and course offering, each
belongs to a unified national system which ensures that at
undergraduate level,all Australian university degrees are nominally
of equal quality.
30. Trends in the use of
Technology in Australian schol
In a bid to prepare students for competing flavorably in
the digital world, the Australian Government has supported the use
technology in Australian schools. Consequently, schools in
Australia have not been left behind in the quest for consolidating
the use of technology in teaching and learning.
Several schools in Australia have spearheaded the use of
technology in their curriculum.This led to selection of seven
Australian schools to participate in Microsoft’s Worldwide
Innovative Schools program in 2011. Microsoft Worldwide
Innovative Schools Program involves helping teachers and leader
schools on the effective use of technology in teaching and learning.
31. Bring your Own Device Policy
According to the Australian Library Survey,
conducted by Softlink, one third of Australian schools
encourage students to bring their own device. The
department of Education and Communities in in NSW
has a formal Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy for
the first time 2014. Students in most public high schools
in years 8 and 9 encourage to bring a tablet, an iPad or a
laptop if they messed out in a government laptop.
Electronics,Whiteboards,Cameras Software
The use of technology in learning and teaching
accomodates the wide range of students, and presents
unparalleled oppurtunities for interaction with both the
learning devices and fellow students. A range of software
32. and phohtograpic devices presents students with
countless ways of expressing their creativity and
talents, and oppurtunities to collaborate.