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Little Facts

Geography

Australia consists of two land masses: mainland Australia and Tasmania. It is bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the east, the Indian Ocean to the west, the Arafura Sea to the north, and the Southern Ocean to the south. The nearest neighbour is Papua New Guinea, 200 kilometres north. Timor is 640 kilometres to the north-west. New Zealand is 1,920 kilometres east, and Antarctica is 2,000 kilometres due south.

Area

The area of Australia is 7,682,300 square kilometres. Australia is approximately twenty-four times the size of the British Isles.

Distances

Mainland east-west, 3,983 kilometres; north-south, 3,138 kilometres. Coastline, including Tasmania and offshore islands, 36,735 kilometres.

Climate

Climate varies because of the size of the continent. The temperature ranges from 23-26 degrees Celsius above the Tropic of Capricorn to 38 degrees Celsius in the arid plateaus and deserts of the interior.

Time zones

There are three time zones within the Australian continent. The eastern states - Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania - are 30 minutes ahead of South Australia and the Northern Territory and they are two hours ahead of Western Australia.

Population

The Australian population is estimated to be around 27 million. A striking feature of Australia's population is the large number of immigrants. Nearly one in three Australians was born overseas, and about half have at least one parent born overseas. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population is estimated at more than 800,000.

Powers

Australia's official name is the Commonwealth of Australia. Its form of government is a constitutional monarchy. The head of the state is King Charles III of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, who is also King of Australia. He is represented in Australia by the governor-general. The head of government is the prime minister, leader of the party or coalition of parties holding a majority in the federal parliament. Australia is a federation of six states and two mainland territories, and it also has a number of external territories, among them Norfolk Island, Christmas Island, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, and the Australian Antarctic Territory. Lord Howe Island is part of New South Wales, and Macquarie Island is part of Tasmania. The capital of Australia is Canberra.

The states are:

  • New South Wales - the capital is Sydney
  • Victoria - the capital is Melbourne
  • Queensland - the capital is Brisbane
  • South Australia - the capital is Adelaide
  • Western Australia - the capital is Perth
  • Tasmania - the capital is Hobart

The territories are:

  • The Northern Territory - the capital is Darwin
  • The Australian Capital Territory - Canberra

Currency

Decimal currency was introduced in 1966, with the Australian dollar (AUD) as the unit of currency, consisting of 100 cents (c). The currency has six coins and five notes in circulation.

Australia's World Heritage

  1. Australian Convict Sites
  2. Shark Bay
  3. Sydney Opera House
  4. Wet Tropics Queensland
  5. Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens
  6. Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park
  7. Purnululu National Park
  8. Gondwana Rainforests of Australia
  9. Greater Blue Mountains Area
  10. Lord Howe Island Group
  11. Heard and McDonald Islands
  12. Tasmanian Wilderness
  13. Macquarie Island
  14. Great Barrier Reef
  15. Australian Fossil Mammal Sites (Riversleigh/Naracoorte)
  16. Kakadu National Park
  17. K'gari (Fraser Island)
  18. Willandra Lakes Region
  19. Budj Bim Cultural Landscape
  20. Murujuga Cultural Landscape