Englischreferat-Australien
1. Leading facts (population, territories...)
2. History of a Australia (aborigines...)
3. Environment (plants, animals...)
4. Sights (The Opera house in sydney...)
1. Leading facts:
At first and I think you know that, I would like to tell you that Australia is a country as well as a continent!
The capital of Australia is Canberra, but the largest city is Sydney; both cities are situated in the south-eastern of Australia.
In Australia you talk many different languages but the national language is English.
The HDI, Human Development Index of Australia is 9 point 70, that is the second best HDI of the world! For comparison Germany has got place number 22.
Australia has a population of round about 21 million people.
In Australia you pay with „Australian dollars“, 1 Australian dollar = 100 cent.
Australia is divided into five territories which play nearly the same rule as our „Bundesländer“.
A big territory in the west is called Western Australia, in the middle you have got in the north the Northern territory and in the south South Australia, the eastern part of the continent is divided in three districts. The largest one in the north is Queensland, than you have a bit smaller one the New South Wales and the smallest one in the south is called Victoria.
The last leading fact to mention is that you find Australia on the southern hemisphere, the west coast is boarded on the Indian Ocean, the East Coast is adjoining to the Atlantic.
2. History of Australia:
A big point of the Australian history are the “Aborigines”. Everyone knows these native inhabitants of Australia. They lived in small woodbarraks as “hunters and collectors” for thousands of years before the time of European settlement in the late 18th century started.
At first it has been the Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon . The Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines of Australia during the 17th century. They called Australia "New Holland”, but they made no attempt to settle down there. The English discovery of Australia started in 1770. The British explorer James Cook sailed along the east coast of Australia and mapped it.
The following years English-settlers came and settled down there. Finally the British Crown Colony of New South Wales was formed on 26 January 1788, the other territories of Australia were claimed by the British in the following years and so Australia was dependent on the United Kingdom.
Soon the English and other European settlers discovered the enormous natural deposit of gold and so there began a real gold rush in Australia in the early 1850s.
In the next 150 years the indigenous population of Australia suffered a lot under the European settlers, they were repressed in their way of live and also displaced from their territories. During that time of European settlement the Aborigines were declined step by step. Historians are talking about this suppression of the Aborigines as “The Stolen Generations” and some historians even consider it like a kind of genocide. But it last until 1967! Only yet the Australian people, the politicians and the government of Australia had enough respect to Aborigines. In 1967 there was a referendum and the people of Australia started to build up a partnership with the Aborigines.
During these 150 years there was also another development. The Australian people wanted to get independent from Great Britain. In 1855 and 1890 one after another of the different colonies achieved the privilege to have their own “Responsible Governments”. On the first January 1901 the “constitution of independence” was subscribed. Now Australia was independent.
Today Australia is a constitutional monarchy. They have a parliamentary system of government with the British Queen Elizabeth II on the top, but she has got only represental tasks. The state power is as in Germany distributed in the legislature, the executive and the judiciary.
- Environment, Animals
About 85% of flowering plants, 84% of mammals), more than 45% of birds and 89% of in-shore, temperate-zone fishes are endemic, what means that you find them only in Australia.
I have parted the theme environment of Australia into two parts and I would like to begin at first with the animals.
Animals:
In Australia are as many different animals as in Europe. The most famous Australian animals are the Kangaroos and the big birds - the Emus. Both animals you find on the coat of arms, so they are a kind of “official symbols”. Also special for Australia and very popular is the Koala Bear, a small bear which lives on trees and has got a very pretty skin and a funny face. Furthermore I want to tell you that there are 755 different species of reptiles!!! That’s the greatest occurrence of the world!
And now I don’t want to forget the biggest danger of Australia, the “Aga-toad” (Kröte). This toad normally lived only in south-America, but as there was a big vexation of a special beetle in Australia and the Aga-toad was settled down there to kill the beetles. At first the people celebrated the arrive of the toad, but then things happened very quickly. The Aga-toads did not only kill the beetles, but spread out there and today the Aga-toads are a serious danger for the humans beings and every life in Australia. It is because this toad has a mortal poison which may kill an Alligator in seconds. And so the animals and the people of Australia fight against this toad. The humans fight with weapons and tricks and the animals themselves with their tricks. Some birds, a snake-species and another species of toads which are all themselves not dangerous for human beings or the other animals found ways to kill the toad. They kill it by using tricks as turning the toad around and bite it first in the stomach, or their organism learned to neutralize the poison of the Aga-toad. It is still a very dangerous problem.
But now to the other theme: The plants:
All over Australia you have different clime-zones and therefore different plants. The most famous and well known plants which seem to be typical for the vegetation of Australia are the Eucalyptus and Acacia trees. Of these trees you find round about 600 different species in Australia. By the way, the Koala Bear eats only Eucalyptus leaves, that is the reason why you will find these two specialties anytime together.
In North-Queensland and in the central of Australia, where the clime is very hot and dry, you may find another very special tree, it is the “Baobab-tree”, the “Flaschenbaum”. This tree has got a very fat trunk in which it is able to keep a lot of water, that way it has adapted to the dry clime.
So that’s it to my third theme: environment!
- Important Sights seeing:
Natural sights:
Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is located in front of the coast of Queensland in north-east Australia. It is the world's largest reef system stretching for over 2,600 kilometres. Because of its largeness and because of the very clear water the Great Barrier Reef can be seen from outer space! The Great Barrier Reef is the home of a wide diversity of life. You will find there a variety of colorful corals, a lot different species of sea turtles , of whales, dolphins and unusual colored fishes. In 1981 the Great Barrier Reef was selected as a World Heritage Site and it is also labeled as one of the seven natural wonders of the world. A large part of the reef is protected, but there are also big parts opened for tourists. The reef is a very popular destination, especially as a paradise of divers.
The Ayers Rock
The Ayers Rock also named “Uluru” is a large sandstone in the Northern Territory. It has got a Girth from about 9 kilometers. And it’s 348 meters high.
The big sandstorm which has also a cultural significance for the “Aṉangu”, the traditional landowners, was originated from rubble with the neighbored Rockies “Kata Tjuta” and that’s 500 million years ago! For tourists it is a great popular sightseeing point. It is so impressive because this big rock is lying central in the flatland like someone had thrown this big stone at that place. The second wondering thing is its color, the main time it looks orange and in the evening it glows like the sun.
And now I’d like to tell you something about the (by human built wonders).
Opera House in Sydney
The Opera House in Sydney is a multi- performing arts centre. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon. He started with the first plans for the building in 1957 and then it took the long time from 1959 until 1973 to build this opera house.
This monument is so impressive and famous because of its special design. The important part of the building is the roof which is designed as some shells standing one after the other just as if they want to open themselves.
There is no doubt that the Sydney Opera House is masterpiece of architecture and that it is a symbol for not only Sydney, but the whole country and continent.
by C-end
