Australia

Wonderland Topic : Australia Goal: prove that Australia is extraordinary. Nature (Flora and Fauna) Geographical Position Life Conditions The History Aborigines Wonders

Do you know that: Australia is the biggest island Its the 6 th large country in the world Its low and flat The climate i s hot and dry

The history of Australia Aborigines The first people in Australia were the Aborigines, who came more than 40,000 years ago.

Chinese and Dutch sailors discovered Australia first. Abel Tasman

Captain James Cook, the British sailor, when landed there in 1770 said Australia belonged to Britain.

The Relief Two-thirds of Australia, mostly in the centre and the west, is a desert.

Outback flat and hot centre 2/3 of Australia population : 1000,000 sheep or cattle stations (farms)

Uluru Ayers Rock in the middle of the desert 3 kms long and 348 metres high 600 mln years old

The Climate is sunny and dry. Australia's longest river, the Murray

The Great Barrier Reef the world's longest coral reef 2,000 kms long 15,000 years old 1,500 kinds of fish

Sydney Sydney is the oldest and biggest city, with 3.7 million people. It is a busy, modern centre of business.

Sydney Opera House looks like sails (1973)

Melbourne the second biggest city was the capital of Australia (from 1901 to 1927).

Modern cities are Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. Adelaide has a famous festival of music, theatre and film every two years. And in Perth about one-third of the families own a boat.

Canberra is the capital of Australia. It means a 'meeting place.

The Aborigines British people came to Australia in ,000 Aborigines lived in Australia.

At special times Aborigines came together in big groups. They painted their bodies, sang, danced and made music.

Extraordinary world If you want to see extraordinary animals, birds and plants, Australia is a good place to go.

Kangarooland The biggest of the fifty different kinds is the red kangaroo. They can jump more than four metres and travel at seventy kilometres an hour. Kangaroos eat grass and leaves and live in groups of about twelve.

Koala They live in eucalyptus trees, sleeping for eighteen hours, and eating one kilo of leaves, each day.

Echidna and platypus The platypus has a wide bill like a duck's and a wide flat tail.

The echidna eats ants.

Their babies are born from eggs but drink milk from their mothers.

Emu - the 2 nd largest bird 800 kinds of birds 2 metres tall Runs 50 kms an hour

Kookaburras cry sounds like laughing.

Eucalyptus can grow to 120 metres

Flying Doctors People in the outback can speak to a doctor by radio and get help by air.

Industry and Agriculture Australia is a rich country thanks to sheep, fruit and gold

Cattle stations cover one-quarter of Australia.

Famous Australians Mel Gibson Kylie Minogue Jason Donovan

Mel Gibson a film star « Brave Heart »