Australia is the world's smallest continent and sixth-largest country. With
proportionately more desert land than any other continent, Australia has a low population
density. Lying completely in the Southern Hemisphere, Australia is bounded by the Indian
Ocean on the west and south and by the Pacific Ocean on the east. These oceans merge on
the north in the Arafura Sea between Australia and Indonesia and New Guinea, and on the
south in the Bass Strait. The coastline length, estimated at 19,200 km (12,000 mi), is
remarkably short for so large an area, a result of the relative lack of indentation.
Major inlets other than the Gulf of CARPENTARIA and the GREAT AUSTRALIAN BIGHT are few.
A self-governing member of the Commonwealth of Nations, Australia celebrated its
bicentennial in 1988z. It is a federation of five mainland states (NEW SOUTH WALES,
QUEENSLAND, SOUTH AUSTRALIA, VICTORIA, WESTERN AUSTRALIA) and one island state
(TASMANIA), as well as two territories (AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY, NORTHERN
TERRITORY). The country's name derives from the Latin terra australis incognita, meaning
"unknown southern land," which resulted from a confusion between Australia and Antarctica
on early world maps.
In many ways Australia is unusual among continents. It lacks major relief features and
has a high proportion of dry land. The continent's isolation from other landmasses
accounts for its unique varieties of vegetation and animal life, and for the existence of
a Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) culture among the Aborigines. Except for Antarctica,
Australia was probably the last continent to be inhabited by humans and the last to be
explored and settled by Europeans. It is the only continent comprising a single
nation-state.
Dutch explorers first sighted Australia in the early 17th century. Capt. James COOK
explored the east coast in 1770 and claimed the land for Great Britain. In 1778 the first
settlement (SYDNEY) was founded at an excellent harbor on the southeast coast. British
convicts played an important role in the territory's early history. The discovery of gold
and other ores attracted immigrants, but Australia remained a primarily agricultural
country until World War II.
Subsequent industrialization has been rapid, and today Australia ranks as one of the
world's most economically developed countries, although vast areas of the interior, known
as the Outback, remain all but uninhabited.
|