Aborigines were the first people to live in Australia. They came to this country about 40.000 years ago and make up about 1,5 per sent of Australia’s population. They were always careful to protect nature. Everything changed in 1788, when the British took all the land for the English Crown and so English is the official language of Australia. Aborigines were often hunted and killed be the white men and so they often felt , they had lost their culture and lots of them became alcoholics. From the 1970s the situation has become better, but there are still many problems to be solved.
Today there are 18 million people in Australia and more than 80% of these live on the coast.. There are 7 states called Western Australia, Northern Territory, South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. The capital city is Canberra and not the famous towns Melbourne and Sydney. Sydney is the largest and oldest city in Australia and the most spectacular building is the opera house. Other beautiful places in Australia are the Ningaloo Reef, the Great Barrier Reef, Ayers Rock and Kakadu National Park.
If you think on Australia, you think on many animals like koala bears, kangaroos and sharks.
Australia is also a country of adventurer, emigrants and gold diggers. Many Austrian people emigrated to Australia and live there.
Australia is also a great place for a holiday. You can go swimming, fishing, cycling, horse-riding, play tennis, climbing and any more. And you can do these things all year round because the climate is moderate.