Damon Mcknight
Australia is a continent made up of diverse landscapes, from dense rainforests to scorching deserts. The country's geological history is complex, with mountain ranges growing and faults moving over time. Tasmania, an island state of Australia, may have been a part of North America until the last billion years. The bulk of Australia has been together for a similar period, only to break out as the present landmass 55 million years ago. Australia is home to the world's oldest known material in Western Australia, and its eastern states are considered newcomers to the ancient continent.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Geologically | The composition varies depending on the state |
| Tasmania may have been a part of North America | |
| The world's oldest known material is from Western Australia | |
| The eastern states are relatively new | |
| The continent was formed 55 million years ago | |
| Energy Sources | Black coal (37.2%), brown coal (12%), natural gas (18.8%), hydro (6.5%), wind (11.1%), solar (13.3%), bio-energy (1.2%) and others (1.7%) |
| Total energy consumption: coal (28.4%), oil (37.3%), gas (27.4%), renewables (7%) | |
| Climate | Sunny, warm, and has open spaces |
| Dense rainforests in the northeast | |
| Subtropical rainforests near the mid-eastern coast | |
| Broadleaf rainforests in the southeast and Tasmania | |
| The Outback contains the country's largest deserts | |
| The Great Dividing Range is a 2,300-mile stretch of mountains | |
| The Great Barrier Reef is also located in Australia | |
| Ecosystem | Unique species such as the platypus, kangaroo, echidna, and koala |
| 516 national parks to protect plants and animals |
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What You'll Learn
Australia's Indigenous Peoples
Australia is a culturally diverse nation with a strong economy and a highly skilled workforce. It is the only country in the world that covers an entire continent. It has a unique ecosystem due to its remote location, with many species that are found nowhere else, such as the platypus, kangaroo, echidna and koala.
The earliest Aboriginal rock art, consisting of hand-prints, hand-stencils, and engravings, has been dated to 35,000 years ago. Around 20,000 years ago, Aboriginal artists began to depict humans and animals. According to Aboriginal mythology, the Dreaming is a sacred era in which ancestral totemic spirit beings formed The Creation. The Dreaming established the laws and structures of society and the ceremonies performed to ensure continuity of life and land.
The first documented European landing in Australia was in 1606 by the Dutch East India Company ship, captained by Willem Janszoon. Later that year, Luís Vaz de Torres sailed north through the Torres Strait, along New Guinea's southern coast. In 1788, the British began to settle in Australia, and conflict soon broke out over land ownership. The early treatment of Indigenous Australians by the colonists was marked by conflict and mistreatment. Aboriginal casualty rates increased as colonists made greater use of mounted police, Native Police units, revolvers and breech-loaded guns. In the 1860s, the rise of blackbirding saw South Sea Islanders coerced or abducted into indentured labour, mainly by Queensland colonists. From 1886, colonial governments began removing Aboriginal children from their families, justified on the grounds of child protection and forced assimilation.
In 1901, the Australian Constitution established a federal system of government, and the colonies joined to form a British commonwealth. In 2008, the Australian Parliament passed a motion of Apology to Indigenous Australians for past mistreatments and injustices, particularly the Stolen Generations.
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The British Settlement
In the mid-19th century, explorers such as Burke and Wills charted Australia's interior, and the spread of sheep and cattle grazing led to further conflict with Aboriginal tribes. The colonists' use of mounted police, Native Police units, and firearms led to increased Aboriginal casualty rates. Conflict was particularly intense in New South Wales in the 1840s and in Queensland from 1860 to 1880. The spread of British settlement also led to an increase in inter-tribal Aboriginal conflict as more people were forced off their traditional lands.
In 1851, gold was discovered in Australia, leading to a gold rush that brought thousands of new immigrants. By 1859, six separate colonies existed, and in 1901, these colonies joined to form a British commonwealth. The federation of the colonies resulted in the establishment of the Commonwealth of Australia, with a federal system of government based on the British (Westminster) tradition.
Australia became one of the first countries in the world to give women the right to vote in 1902. In 1908, the Australian Parliament passed a motion of Apology to Indigenous Australians for past mistreatment and injustices, especially the Stolen Generations, where Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their families.
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Australia's Natural Resources
Australia is one of the top mineral producers in the world. The country has a wide variety of natural resources, including minerals, petroleum, natural gas, and timber. The service sector of the nation is its strongest economic driver, employing about 75% of the nation's workforce and contributing 70% of the GDP. However, natural resources are integral to Australia's economy.
The most economically important mineral reserves are located in Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria. Western Australia is rich in iron ore, nickel, bauxite, diamonds, gold, mineral sands, and offshore natural gas. Queensland is a source of bauxite, bituminous coal, lead, mineral sands, zinc, and silver. New South Wales has reserves of bituminous coal, lead, zinc, silver, and mineral sands. Victoria has lignite and offshore oil and natural gas deposits.
Australia also has about one-fourth of the world's low-cost uranium reserves, with the largest deposits found in Queensland, the Northern Territory, Western Australia, and South Australia. While Australia is not self-sufficient in crude oil production, it supplies most of its domestic needs. In 2017, the country imported more petroleum than it exported, ranking 38th globally as an oil producer. However, during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, Australia boosted its oil reserves by purchasing crude oil from the United States Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Natural gas is another significant natural resource for Australia. The country has approximately 44 times more natural gas than it consumes annually, giving it about 44 years of natural gas supply. In 2019, Australia surpassed Qatar as the world's largest exporter of natural gas. Australia's natural gas reserves are found both onshore and offshore and are a crucial source of energy for the country, along with coal and uranium.
Hydroelectric generation is limited in Australia due to highly variable river volumes and level topography, except for Tasmania, which has a hydropower-centric economy. On the mainland, several major multiple-purpose dams have been constructed, such as the Snowy Mountains Scheme and Queensland's Burdekin Falls dam. More than four-fifths of Australia's electric energy comes from fossil fuels, with a significant portion generated by thermal stations using coal.
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The Australian Economy
Australia has one of the strongest-performing economies in the world. It has high levels of competitiveness and economic freedom, and was ranked tenth in the Human Development Index in 2022. As of 2022, it is ranked twelfth in the Index of Economic Freedom and nineteenth in the Global Competitiveness Report.
Australia has a highly skilled workforce and is a world leader in low-emission technology. The country is committed to advancing practical, scalable, and commercially viable technologies to drive the global transition to net zero. Through its Technology Investment Roadmap, Australia has invested $1.9 billion in future technologies. It also has some of the best wind and solar resources in the world and is building and investing in renewables at record levels. Renewables are expected to contribute 50% of electricity by 2030, and Australia has the world's highest level of household solar uptake, with one in four homes using solar power.
Australia is rich in natural resources and has a lot of fertile land, although more than one-third of the country is desert. Most cities and farms are located in the southwest and southeast, where the climate is more temperate. The country also has dense rainforests in the northeast. Australia's unique ecosystem is due to its remote location, and there are many animal species that are unique to the country, such as the platypus, kangaroo, echidna, and koala.
Australia maintains a strong relationship with neighbouring New Zealand, with free mobility of citizens between the two countries and free trade under the Closer Economic Relations agreement. Australia also maintains an international aid program, providing assistance to around 75 countries.
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Australia's Culture and Diversity
Australia is a diverse and culturally rich country with a population of about 25.4 million. It has a deeply integrated relationship with neighbouring New Zealand, with free mobility of citizens between the two countries. Australia also has strong ties with other countries, including the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States, and South Korea.
The country's diversity is shaped by three major contributors: a diverse Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, a British colonial past, and extensive immigration from various countries and cultures. The Aboriginal Australians developed a unique artistic and spiritual culture, with rock art dating back 35,000 years. The Aboriginal society was egalitarian, with authority resting with elders and group decisions made through consensus. The first documented European landing in Australia occurred in 1606 by the Dutch East India Company ship captained by Willem Janszoon.
Australia has attracted international tourists and ranked highly in the 2021 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report. The country's diverse population speaks over 200 languages, with English being the most common language. In 2021, just over 7 million people in Australia were born overseas, representing an increase in the proportion of overseas-born and second-generation migrants since World War II. The major countries of birth for overseas-born Australians include England, India, and China, with 21% born in non-English speaking countries.
The discovery of gold in the mid-1800s significantly increased migration to Australia, with over 600,000 people arriving between 1852 and 1860. This influx of migrants led to cultural and demographic changes, with the majority of the population today being descendants of migrants. Australia's top ancestries in 2021 reflected earlier waves of British and European migration, with Australian ancestry being the second most common overall and the most common for third-plus generation Australians.
The country's religious diversity includes Christianity as the major religion, with 43.9% of the population identifying as Christian across 19 different denominations. Other religions include Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism, while almost 8,000 Australians practise Aboriginal traditional religions. Additionally, 39% of Australians reported having no religion. Australia's cultural diversity is further reflected in its cuisine, with influences from various immigrant cultures, and its artistic scene, with a thriving film and television industry.
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Frequently asked questions
Geologically speaking, Australia is made up of a variety of materials, depending on the state in question. Tasmania, for example, is thought to have been a part of North America until the last billion years. The western Mirning Ocean was lost, followed by the collision of the Western Australian Craton (WAC) with the combined South Australian Craton (SAC) and North Australian Craton (NAC), which formed mountains and volcanoes.
Australia is one of the world's most ethnically diverse nations, with nearly a quarter of its population born outside the country. People from the United Kingdom, China, Vietnam, North Africa, and the Middle East have all made Australia their home.
Australia is the only country in the world that covers an entire continent. It has a diverse landscape, including dense rainforests in the northeast, fertile land in the southwest and southeast, and large deserts in the remote outback.
