Country Name
Australia, or formally Commonwealth of Australia.
Location
Located in the southern hemisphere, surrounded by the West and the South by The Indian Ocean, and from the East by the Pacific Ocean. 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, and it is separated also from Antarctica by the Antarctic Ocean.
Australia shares maritime borders with East Timor, Indonesia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and New Caledonia (France).
Capital
Canberra.
Reason for Naming
The name Australia is derived from the Latin Terra Australis "southern land", a name used for a hypothetical continent in the Southern Hemisphere since ancient times. Until the early 19th century, Australia was best known as "New Holland", a name first applied by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in 1644 The explorer Matthew Flinders named the land Terra Australis, which was later abbreviated to the current form.
Flag
The flag of Australia was first adopted in 1901. But the current flag was used in 1934 and in 1954 the flag was considered the national flag of Australia.
The flag is composed of a blue background with the Union Jack located on the upper hoist quarter and a 7-pointed white star in the lower hoist corner.
There are three prominent symbols on the Australian flag, The Union Jack,
the Commonwealth Star, and the Southern Cross.
The Union Jack Flag represents the history of Australia as a British colony.
The Commonwealth Star or Federation Star represents the unity of
the six federating colonies.
The Southern Cross is a constellation of 5 stars that can only be seen from the southern hemisphere and is a reminder of Australia’s geography.
* Flag Facts:
- The flags of Australia and New Zealand are similar and both feature a blue background including a Union Jack and the Southern Cross constellation.
- It is recommended to fly the flag only during daylight hours. If the flag is flown at night, it must be illuminated.
- It is also recommended to not fly two flags on the same flag pole.
- Australia has an email service that provides citizens with information on when to fly the flag.
- September 3 has been designated as Australia’s Flag Day.
Language
Although Australia has no official language, English has always been entrenched as the de facto national language.
Australian English is a major variety of languages with a distinctive accent and lexicon and differs slightly from other varieties of English in grammar and spelling. General Australian serves as the standard dialect.
Religion
Australia has no state religion; 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 Some of them are Christian (Catholics), and atheists, and there are also followers of Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, and Judaism.
Currency
Australian Dollar (AUD).
Time Zone
Australia has multiple time zones. But it has 5 standard time zones, Not all states and territories use Daylight Saving Time. +08:00 GMT to +10:30 GMT. The states that use DST are the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania, and Victoria. Western Australia, Queensland, and Northern Territory don't use DST.
Government Regime
Democratic parliamentary federation.
Climate
The climate of Australia is significantly influenced by ocean currents, including the Indian Ocean Dipole and the El Niño–Southern Oscillation, which is correlated with periodic drought, and the seasonal tropical low-pressure system that produces cyclones in northern Australia. These factors cause rainfall to vary markedly from year to year. Much of the northern part of the country has a tropical, predominantly summer-rainfall (monsoon). The southwest corner of the country has a Mediterranean climate. The southeast ranges from oceanic(Tasmania and coastal Victoria) to humid subtropical (upper half of New South Wales). The interior is arid to semi-arid.
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