Australia By Elizabeth & Sammy-Jo

The Australian Flag The Australian Flag is a mixture of the English Union Jack and the stars that represent Australia. The five star formation is called the Southern Cross. See diagram of flag on next slide.

Fast Facts Australia has an area of 7,692,024 km². In land area, Australia is the sixth largest nation after Russia, Canada, China, the United States of America and Brazil. It has, however, a relatively small population. Australia’s capital is Canberra. Australia’s population is around 23 million people (2010).

More Fast Facts The highest mountain on mainland Australia is Mt Kosciuszko, standing 2228m (7310ft) above sea level. Australia has over 750 different reptile species, more than any other country in the world. There are about 23 zoos in Australia.

Even More Fast Facts New South Wales is in the south-east part of the Australian continent. Botany Bay is NSW is where the First Fleet landed. Prior to the arrival of Captain James Cook in 1770, New South wales was inhabited by Indigenous Australians for at least 40,000 years. The First Fleet, comprising 11 ships and around 1,350 people, mostly convicts was when the first lot of Europeans mainly English and Irish, came to Australia to live.

Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef of 900 islands stretching for over 2,600 kilometres over an area of approximately 344,400 square kilometres. Over 1500 species of tropical fish, 400 different types of coral, 200 types of birds and 20 types of reptiles are just some of the life forms which inhabit the reef.

Australian States and Territories There are 2 territories and 6 states. 1. Queensland - QLD 2. New South Wales - NSW 3. Victoria - VIC 4. South Australia - SA 5. Western Australia - WA 6. Tasmania - TAS 7. Northern Territory - NT 8. Australian Capital Territory – ACT (which is situated inside NSW)

Australian Capitals Sydney - NSW Melbourne – VIC Brisbane - QLD Perth - WA Adelaide - SA Darwin – NT Hobart - TAS Canberra - ACT