Text 13. Australia

Australia, the world’s largest island and its smallest continent, is sometimes called “a land of contrasts”. And indeed, it is a vast wonderful country 2400 miles from east to west and nearly 2000 miles from north to south with scenery ranging from sandy Great Victoria desert to snow capped mountains of the Great Dividing Range housing famous ski resorts.

Along the coastal strips, it is a paradise of blue skies and golden beaches, and in the vast loneliness of the interior – a place of searing heat and thirst, a kingdom of the dust. The climate of Australia varies from warm to subtropical. Being in the Southern Hemisphere, Australia has summer when we have winter. During the summer months the average temperature is about 26.6 degrees C.

The Continent, including Tasmania is skirted by 36735 km of the coastline, containing not only comfortable harbours, but sometimes sheer cliffs, the scene of many shipwrecks.

It was a land which captain Cook rediscovered in 1770 and at that time Australia was inhabited by the Aborigines, some 300000 of them divided into about 5000 tribes and speaking some 7000 dialects had been living there for at least 40000 years.

Australia was colonised gradually, first it was a place, where British Empire sent its prisoners to exile. But then the discoveries of gold in 1851 trigged an outbreak of gold fever.

Diggers flocked to the rich fields and the population of Australia greatly increased. Nowadays it is about 14.5 million people.

Australia is famous, first and foremost, for its unique animal world. People in the other countries, who cannot name a single Australian city, can always name a symbolic Australian kangaroo, beloved coala, whimsical wombat or funny platypus. The Australian animal kingdom is superbly rich and varied, part of it is extremely ancient, hence the Australia’s title – “the land of living fossils”. Australian wildlife encompasses as well deadly snakes and insects, huge sharks and sting-rays, frilled-necked lizards and a lot of other living creatures.

If we speak about the economy of the country, we should mention that Australia has developed agriculture. The cultivated lands are joy to behold. The cane-fields, pineapple farms and other crops of the north and east do the plains of Queensland where the ripe wheat turns gold. Juicy fruits are abundant: mangoes, papaws, bananas, even their names sound delicious, don’t they?

Western Australia is a sheep and cattle country. Wool and beef bring in big cheques. Some stations as vast as kingdoms produce a great deal of Australian national wealth. They have always been a backbone of the state’s prosperity, and become a strong incentive for the development of Australian industry. Speaking about it, we must mention firstly that Australia has a lot of valuable mineral deposits and mining is hugely important for the economy too. Australia has copper, coal, uranium, gold, oil, bauxite and other minerals. Australian industry nowadays is highly developed, its factories produce machinery, scientific equipment, chemicals, furniture and clothing, locomotives, fertilizers, heavy and light engineering products, etc.

The largest cities are Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Darwin. The capital of Australia is Canberra, a city about halfway between Sydney and Melbourne. Australians call it a curious capital because it combines powerful federal government and small business, modern architecture and rural charm. First time travelers can spend fascinating hours seeing Parliament House, War Memorial, National Library and other buildings of official and cultural importance.

And, perhaps, some words about Sydney, Australian oldest and most cosmopolitan city, cradle of the nation. Here Captain Cook landed and here the first settlement was founded. Today Sydney is a bustling metropolis with a population rushing towards 4 million. It can be compared with San Francisco, Rio. It is a skyscraper, but the most spectacular building on the harbour foreshores is not a skyscraper, it is Sydney Opera House. There are a lot of sandy beaches along the coastal line, perfect place for swimming, surfing, sunbathing, jogging or simply watching the people pass by. Therefore, Sydney is a big tourist centre, alive and thriving.