Australia is a large country in the Southern Hemisphere, settled by Aboriginal Australians over 45,000 years ago. Europeans arrived in the 17th century, and the country was eventually united as the Commonwealth of Australia. Today, it is a well-developed country with many tourist attractions, including cultural hubs, natural wonders, and exotic islands. Flights and ships connect Australia to the rest of the world.
Australia is a huge nation in the Southern Hemisphere, encompassing its own continent. It covers 2,989,000 square miles (7,741,200 square km), making it nearly twice the size of the state of Alaska and the sixth largest nation on Earth. It is found near New Zealand, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and a number of Polynesian island nations.
Australia was first settled by people at least 45,000 years ago, with some research suggesting the date is closer to 70,000 years ago. Land bridges formed at this time due to lower sea levels allowed humans to cross into Australia from nearby islands, navigating smaller sections of sea when needed. Over the next tens of millennia the landscape of Australia would change dramatically, both from human intervention, through burning and hunting, and from climate change. Aboriginal Australians would form a complex society, with interconnected groups and a highly developed spiritual system. Beginning around 3000 BC, Aboriginal groups began to experience a growth in the development of new technologies, including simple agriculture and the use of more advanced tools.
Europeans finally sighted Australia in the early 17th century, although there is evidence to suggest that for a few hundred years prior to this, Europeans were aware of the continent’s existence. As early as the early 15th century, the Chinese may have been aware of Australia, as evidenced by annotations on some maps. In the 17th Captain Cook charted much of the Australian coast, claiming the area for Great Britain during his expedition.
In 1788, the colony of New South Wales was formed, largely to help relieve overcrowding in the British penal system. More colonies would be established over the next sixty years, covering most of Australia. In the mid-19th century gold was discovered in Australia and immigrants from all over the world began arriving to take part in the gold rush.
At the dawn of the 20th century the continent was united as the Commonwealth of Australia, under the British crown. In the 20th Great Britain severed many ties between the nations and during the Second World War Australia accepted the separation. In the aftermath of World War II, and with the fear of invasion the Japanese had instilled in them, Australia began to massively promote immigration. The population exploded, with Aboriginal groups suffering substantially from the new settlers and White Australia’s incredible racist act, eventually being abolished in the 1931s. The last vestiges of British power in Australia were removed in the 1970s, although Queen Elizabeth II remains the monarch.
Australia is a huge and very well developed country, and as such has enough going on to keep any tourist happy for a lifetime. From the cultural hubs of Perth to Melbourne to Sydney, to incredible diving and surfing on the Great Barrier Reef, to the wines of the Barossa Valley and beyond, to the Daintree rainforest lowland, the Snowy Mountains, to the exotic island of Tasmania, Australia it will never let you down.
Flights arrive daily in all major Australian cities from hubs around the world. Ships also connect Australia to the rest of the world, especially nearby islands.
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