Australia:
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Aboriginal settlers arrived on the continent from Southeast Asia about 40,000 years before the first Europeans began exploration in the 17th century. No formal territorial claims were made until 1770, when Capt. James COOK took possession in the name of Great Britain. Six colonies were created in the late 18th and 19th centuries; they federated and became the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. The new country took advantage of its natural resources to rapidly develop agricultural and manufacturing industries and to make a major contribution to the British effort in World Wars I and II. In recent decades, Australia has transformed itself into an internationally competitive, advanced market economy. It boasted one of the OECD's fastest growing economies during the 1990s, a performance due in large part to economic reforms adopted in the 1980s. Long-term concerns include pollution, particularly depletion of the ozone layer, and management and conservation of coastal areas, especially the Great Barrier Reef. --
CIA World Factbook |
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We do not yet have any articles for Australia.
We know there is someone in Australia who will step up and
tell us about this great country. All you need is good photos and
a love of Australia, its people, traditions, and natural
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and indigenous people of the world are represented here, so please
help us. We believe you will agree that this mission is an important
one. Meanwhile, you can use the links above or below to:
- Read the Australia Profile
- View the Australia Flag
- Use either the MS Virtual Earth GIS map of Australia
or the Google GIS map of the country
- See the Australia map used in the CIA
World Factbook
- Check out Australia Web Resources
- Shop for Australia Books or Music in
our Amazon Store
- Get the latest Australia news
- Get the latest Australia weather
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