For about 50,000 years before the first British settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who spoke  roughly 250 different languages.

MM

The first European discovery of the continent was by Dutch explorers but Australia's eastern half was claimed by Great Britain in 1770, after Captain James Cooks exploration, and was initially settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales from 26 January 1788.

MM

The population grew steadily in subsequent decades. The continent was explored and an additional five self governing crown colonies were established. On 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. Since federation, Australia has maintained a stable liberal democratic political system that functions as a federal parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy comprising six states and several territories. The population of 24 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated in the eastern states and on the coast.

MM

British Settlement

In 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain. With the loss of its American colonies in 1783, the British Government sent a fleet of ships, the "First Fleet", to establish a new penal colony in New South Wales. A camp was set up and the flag raised at Sydney Cove, Port Jackson in 1788, a date which became Australia's national day, Australia Day. The first settlement led to the foundation of Sydney, and the exploration and settlement of other regions.

MM

A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land, now known as Tasmania, in 1803, and it became a separate colony in 1825. The United Kingdom formally claimed the western part of Western Australia (the Swan River Colony) in 1828. Separate colonies were carved from parts of New South Wales, South Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851, and Queensland in 1859. The Northern Territory was founded in 1911 when it was removed from South Australia. South Australia was founded as a "free province" - it was never a penal colony. Victoria and Western Australia were also founded "free", but later accepted transported convicts. A campaign by the settlers of New South Wales led to the end of convict transportation to that colony; the last convict ship arrived in 1848.

MM

The indigenous population, estimated to have been between 750,000 and 1,000,000 in 1788, declined for 150 years following settlement, mainly due to infectious disease. Thousands more died as a result of frontier conflict with settlers. A government policy of "assimilation" beginning with the Aboriginal Protection Act 1869 resulted in the removal of many Aboriginal children from their families and communities. The Federal government gained the power to make laws with respect to Aborigines following the 1967 referendum.

MM

Traditional ownership of land was not recognised until 1992.

MM

Geography

Australia's is surrounded by the Indian and Pacific oceans, it is separated from Asia by the Arafura and Timor seas, with the Coral Sea lying off the Queensland coast, and the Tasman Sea lying between Australia and New Zealand. The world's smallest continent and sixth largest country by total area, Australia, owing to its size and isolation, is often dubbed the "Island Continent",and is sometimes considered the world's largest island.

MM

The Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral reef, lies a short distance off the north-east coast and extends for over 1,240 miles.

MM

Australia's size gives it a wide variety of landscapes, with tropical rainforests in the north east, mountain ranges in the south east, south west and east, and dry desert in the centre. It is the flattest continent, with the oldest and least fertile soils. Desert or semi arid land commonly known as the outback makes up by far the largest portion of land. The driest inhabited continent, its annual rainfall averaged over continental area is less than 500 mm. The population density, 2.8 inhabitants per square kilometre, is among the lowest in the world, although a large proportion of the population lives along the temperate south eastern coastline.

MM

Nature

Australian forests are mostly made up of evergreen species, particularly Eucalyptus trees in the less arid regions. Wattles replace them as the dominant species in drier regions and deserts. Among well known Australian animals are the Platypus and Echidna and a host of Marsupials, including the Kangaroo, Koala, and Wombat, and birds such as the Emu and the Kookaburra. Australia is home to many dangerous animals including some of the most venomous snakes in the world. The Dingo was introduced by Asian people who traded with Indigenous Australians around 3000 BC.

MM

Many animal and plant species became extinct soon after first human settlement.

MM

Language

Although Australia has no official language, English has always been the established national language. Australian English differs slightly from other varieties of English in grammar and spelling. General Australian serves as the standard dialect. According to the 2011 census, English is the only language spoken in the home for close to 81% of the population. The next most common languages spoken at home are Mandarin (1.7%), Italian (1.5%), Arabic (1.4%), Cantonese (1.3%), Greek (1.3%), and Vietnamese (1.2%). A considerable proportion of first and second generation migrants are bilingual.

MM

Over 250 Indigenous Australian languages are thought to have existed at the time of first European contact, of which less than 20 are still in daily use by all age groups. About 110 others are spoken exclusively by older people. At the time of the 2006 census, 52,000 Indigenous Australians, representing 12% of the Indigenous population, reported that they spoke an Indigenous language at home. Australia has a sign language known as Auslan, which is the main language of about 5,500 deaf people.

MM

Religion

Australia has no state religion. Section 116 of the Australian Constitution prohibits the federal government from making any law to establish any religion, impose any religious observance, or prohibit the free exercise of any religion. In the 2011 census, 61.1% of Australians were counted as Christian, including 25.3% as Roman Catholic and 17.1% as Anglican. 22.3% of the population reported having "no religion"; 7.2% identify with non-Christian religions, the largest of these being Buddhism (2.5%), followed by Islam (2.2%), Hinduism (1.3%) and Judaism (0.5%). The remaining 9.4% of the population did not provide an adequate answer.

MM

Before European settlement, the animist beliefs of Australia's indigenous people had been practised for many thousands of years. Mainland Aboriginal Australians' spirituality is known as the Dreamtime and it places a heavy emphasis on belonging to the land.

The Penitentiary at Port Arthur, Tasmania.

Parliament House, Canberra.

Sydney Opera House.

Uluru (Ayers Rock) in the Northern Territory.

Kangaroos are found in Australia and Tasmania,

as well as on surrounding islands.

The tree dwelling Koala

The Laughing Kookaburra