2023学年完整公开课版AustraliaAnintroduction

Australia:Anintroduction

Inlandarea,AustraliaisthesixthlargestnationafterRussia,Canada,China,theUnitedStatesofAmericaandBrazil.Ithas,however,arelativelysmallpopulation.

Australiaistheonlynationtogovernanentirecontinentanditsoutlyingislands.Themainlandisthelargestislandandthesmallest,flattestcontinentonEarth.Itliesbetween10°and39°Southlatitude.

Thehighestpointonthemainland,MountKosciuszko,isonly2228metres.ApartfromAntarctica,Australiaisthedriestcontinent.

Australiaisthedriestinhabitedcontinentonearth.Itsinteriorhasoneofthelowestrainfallsintheworldandaboutthree-quartersofthelandisaridorsemi-arid.Itsfertileareasarewell-watered,however,andtheseareusedveryeffectivelytohelpfeedtheworld.Sheepandcattlegrazeindrycountry,butcaremustbetakenwiththesoil.SomegrazinglandbecamedesertwhenthelongcyclesthatinfluencerainfallinAustraliaturnedtodrought.

TheAustralianfederationconsistsofsixStatesandtwoTerritories.Mostinlandbordersfollowlinesoflongitudeandlatitude.ThelargestState,WesternAustralia,isaboutthesamesizeasWesternEurope.

Naturalenvironment

Australiahasaremarkablediversityoflifeformsseennowhereelseintheworld.Australianplantsandanimalsevolvedinisolationfromotherpartsoftheworld.Whenthesuper-continentofGondwanalandsplitupabout160millionyearsago,AustraliajoinedAntarcticaanddriftedtowardstheSouthPole,whereglaciersformedabarrierbetweenitandotherlandmasses.

Overthepast45millionyears,AustraliahasmovedawayfromAntarcticatowardstheequatorandbecomewarmerandmorearid.About35millionyearsago,eucalyptsbegantodisplacethedenseforestsofthecool,dampTertiaryera.

TodayAustralianeucalyptsaccountformorethanhalfofalleucalyptsfoundthroughouttheworld.

ThemarsupialsnativetoAustraliahaveadifferentchromosomestructurethanmammalsinotherpartsoftheworld.Typically,theysuckletheiryounginapouch.

Liketheeucalypts,marsupialsoccupiedawiderangeofecologicalnichesinAustralia.Thefirstkangaroomarsupialsseemtohaveappearedabout15millionyearsago.Theyvaryenormouslyinsizeandadaptation.Aspeciesoftropicalkangaroolivesintrees,butmostkangaroosaretough,efficientusersofdrybush.

Astheworldclimatewarmedandglaciersmelted,oceansgraduallyrosetotheircurrentlevelandthelandbridgestoNewGuineaandTasmaniawerecut.Coralscolonisedafloodedcoastalplain,formingtheGreatBarrierReefofQueensland.

Ancientplantsstillgrowinthewild.Large'Antarctic'treefernsarecommonindamp,shadedgulliesonthesouthsidesofridges.Cycadpalmsformanunderstoreytotall,silveryspottedgums(eucalypts)alongthesouth-eastcoast.Rarerelicsfromearliergeologicalerasarefoundinsmall,specialhabitats,suchasdesertcanyons.

Pressureonnativehabitatsfromagricultureandintroducedpestslikethefoxandrabbithaveresultedinextinctionsofsomenativespeciesinthepast200years.Australianowhasastrongscientificandlegalframeworktodealwiththeseissues.Australianscareabouttheiruniqueenvironment.

History

Morethan60000yearsbeforethearrivalofEuropeansettlers,AboriginalandTorresStraitIslanderpeoplesinhabitedmostareasoftheAustralianEuropeansettlementin1788.However,therewereanestimated300000IndigenousAustralianslivingonthecontinent.

Untilrecently,WesternhistoriansfocusedonearlyEuropeancontactwiththeAustraliancontinentduringthe16thand17thcenturies.

InrecentyearsthisapproachhasbeenbalancedbytherecognitionthatAsianandOceanicexplorersandtradershadcontactwithIndigenousAustralianpeoplelongbeforetheEuropeanexpansionintotheeasternhemisphere.

AftertheAmericanWarofIndependence,BritainlookedtoestablishnewpenalsettlementstoreplacethenorthAtlanticcolonies.TheFirstFleetof11shipswith1500aboard,halfofthemconvicts,arrivedatBotanyBayinJanuary1788.SydneygrewfromthatfirstBritishpenalsettlement.

TransportationofBritishconvictstoNewSouthWalesceasedin1840,butcontinuedtoWesternAustraliauntil1868.About160000convictsarrivedover80years.Thatcompareswithfreesettlerarrivalsashighas50000ayear.

Duringthe1850s,settlementwasboostedbygoldrushes.Scarcityoflabour,thevastnessofthebush,andnewwealthbasedonfarming,miningandtradeallcontributedtothedevelopmentofuniquelyAustraliansocialinstitutionsandsensibilities.

In1901theAustraliancoloniesfederatedtobecometheCommonwealthofAustralia.AsinCanada,theBritishmonarchremainsthemonarchofAustralia,whichisnowanindependent,democraticnationwithatraditionofreligioustoleranceandfreespeech.

Immigration

Australia'sculturallydiversesocietyincludesitsIndigenouspeoplesandsettlersfromcountriesallaroundtheworld.

ImmigrationisanimportantfeatureofAustraliansociety.Since1945,oversixmillionpeoplefrom200countrieshavecometoAustraliaasnewsettlers.MigrantshavemadeamajorcontributiontoshapingmodernAustralia.Peoplebornoverseasmakeupalmostonequarterofthetotalpopulation.

Thefederalgovernmentsetsimmigrationintakenumbersonayearlybasis.Australia'simmigrationpoliciesarenon-discriminatoryandallapplicantstomigratemustmeetthesameselectioncriteria.

AreaandpopulationofAustralianStatesandTerritories

State/Territory

Areainsquarekilometres

(mainlandonly)

Population*

State/Terr.

Capital

Queensland

1723936

3.64m

Brisbane(1.65m)

NewSouthWales

800628

6.61m

Sydney(4.15m)

AustralianCapitalTerritory(JervisBayTerritory)

2358

(72)

0.32m

Canberra(0.32m)

Victoria

227010

4.82m

Melbourne(3.49m)

Tasmania

64519

0.47m

Hobart(0.20m)

SouthAustralia

978810

1.51m

Adelaide(1.11m)

WesternAustralia

2526786

1.90m

Perth

(1.38m)

NorthernTerritory

1335742

0.20m

Darwin(0.11m)

AUSTRALIA

7659861

19.47m

12.41m

Sources:area—Auslig;population—AustralianBureauofStatistics

*Estimatedresidentpopulationasat30June2022.

Economy

Australiahashadoneofthemostoutstandingeconomiesoftheworldinrecentyears.Asahigh-growth,low-inflation,lowinterestrat