Автор: Филатова В.С. МОУ СОШ 5

History of Australia. The east coast of Australia was discovered by captain Cook in It was then first used as a colony for convicts. Other settlements of a few three settlers began to appear. Of these settlements Sydney was the most important; but other smaller settlements for convicts were in Tasmania, at Brisbane, and on the Swan River in Western Australia. The early settlers were very cruel (жестокий) to the aborigines. They were killed or driven away from their lands. The discovery of gold in 1851 brought many people to Australia and the character of the colony began to change. But still, the raising (разведение) of sheep was for a long time the most important occupation for the Australians. Towards the end of the 19th century, the Australian colonies began to discuss some form of union. They formed a federation, the new constitution was introduced on January 1, 1901; and the birth of the new nation was celebrated.

The Commonwealth of Australia. The Commonwealth of Australia is a federal state within the Commonwealth. Its territories are the continent of Australia, the island of Tasmania and a number of smaller islands. It has an area of about 8 million square kilometers. The continent is mostly a great plain with mountains in the east and south-east. The western part of the continent forms a plateau which occupies half of the continent. The Central Lowlands is very dry. Through the eastern part of these Central Lowlands run Australia.s greatest rivers, the Murray and the Darling. A number of short rivers flow from the Australian Alps and the Blue Mountains into the Pacific Ocean. Australia has several different climatic regions, from warm to subtropical and tropical. The winds from the sea bring heavy rainfalls, especially in tropical summer. The climate in the west is very dry and more than half of Australia gets very little rain. In the south-west and east the winds bring rain in winter.

The tropical forests in the north and north-east are displaced by savanna or grassland. In the south-east and on the sides of the mountains there are forests of eucalyptus and other evergreen trees. There are two hot deserts in the central and western parts of the continent. There are many wild animals in Australia. Some of them, such as the kangaroo, the dingo and the koala are not found in any other country of the world. Australia has been called.the land of differences. and.the continent of contrasts.. There are many ways in which it is different from other countries. Australia was separated from the other continents and her animals developed differently. Of these, the strangest of all are the water-loving platypus and the echidna. Australia is also the home of the kangaroos. The koala is a tree-loving, comical-looking animal that lives on the leaves of eucalyptus trees. It will eat nothing more. The dingo is the only killer among the native animals. Most of them now live in mountains or hills. The native birds of Australia are very interesting. The emu, for example, which with kangaroo, is represented on the Australian coat-of-arms, is the next-tallest bird in the world after the ostrich.

The capital of Australia is Canberra. There are 5 big cities in Australia: Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane. There are about 15 million people in Australia. The Commonwealth of Australia consists of six states and two territories: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, the Federal Capital Territory and the Northern Territory. The Commonwealth of Australia is a self-governing federal state. Formally the head of the state is the king or queen of England represented by the Governor-General. The Federal Parliament consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The federal government of the country is headed by the Prime Minister.

Автор: Филатова Виктория Сергеевна. Учитель английского языка МОУ СОШ 5