Today is the day Australia celebrates its founding, commemorating the arrival of the first fleet of 11 convict ships from Great Britain, and the raising of the Union Jack at Sydney Cove by its commander Captain Arthur Phillip, in 1788.
Australia is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. The name Australia is comes from the Latin Terra Australis (“southern land”), a name used for a hypothetical continent in the Southern Hemisphere since ancient times.
Australia is the world’s sixth-largest country by total area, with a land mass of over 2.9 million square miles. It is not only a country but a continent – the world’s smallest, and is also the world’s largest island. More than 80 per cent of Australians live within 60 miles of the coast. The interior of Australia (called the Outback) is dry with many deserts.
After the European discovery of the continent by Dutch explorers in 1606, Australia’s eastern half was claimed by Great Britain in 1770 and initially settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales beginning in 1788. By the 1850s, most of the continent had been explored and an additional five self-governing crown colonies established. On January 1, 1901, the six colonies federated, forming the Commonwealth of Australia.
Australia is now a “federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy” with Elizabeth II at its apex as the Queen of Australia. The Queen is represented in Australia by the Governor-General at the federal level and by the Governors at the state level, who by convention act on the advice of her ministers. In practice the Governor-General is a legal figurehead for the actions of the Prime Minister and the Federal Executive Council (both in the executive branch). There is also a bicameral legislature, or Parliament, and a judiciary, with judges appointed by the Governor-General on advice of the Federal Executive Council.
Australia has six states—New South Wales (NSW), Queensland (QLD), South Australia (SA), Tasmania (TAS), Victoria (VIC) and Western Australia (WA)—and two major mainland territories—the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and the Northern Territory (NT). In most respects these two territories function as states, except that the Commonwealth Parliament has the power to modify or repeal any legislation passed by the territory parliaments.
Each state and major mainland territory has its own parliament—unicameral in the Northern Territory, the ACT and Queensland, and bicameral in the other states. The states are sovereign entities, although subject to certain powers of the Commonwealth as defined by the Constitution.
Australia’s capital is Canberra, and its largest city is Sydney.
Sydney, is in New South Wales, Australia’s oldest and most populous state.
The famous Sydney Opera House seen from Harbour Bridge, Sydney, Australia
Queensland, the second-largest state in landmass, features the Great Barrier Reef running along its north-east coast. The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef on Earth, over 1,000 miles long. The capital of Queensland is Brisbane.
South Australia is known as the ‘Festival State’, with more than 500 festivals taking place there every year. The state also has 13 wine regions. Adelaide is the capital of South Australia.
Tasmania, with its capital in Hobart, is the smallest state in Australia.
Victoria is the smallest of the mainland states in area but the second most populous and the most densely populated. Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, is Australia’s second-largest city.
Western Australia is the largest state in area. The east of the state is mostly desert while to the west the state is known for some of the world’s most pristine coastline. About three-quarters of the state’s population lives in Perth, the capital.
The Northern Territory is sparsely populated. Darwin, on the northern coast, is the capital and Alice Springs the principal inland town.
Canberra, Australia’s largest inland city, is in the Australian Capital Territory.
Recently Australia experienced out-of-control wildfires driven by climate change. You can read more about it here. As PBS reported on January 6, 2020, “Raging fires have killed at least 25 people, destroyed 2,000 homes and killed or displaced up to 480 million animals since September 2019. The blazes are estimated to have burned an area double the size of the state of Maryland.”
On a lighter note, you can help celebrate Australia Day by having a Tim Tam Slam.
A “Tim Tam” is a chocolate cookie made by Arnott’s in Australia and widely known as “the unofficial biscuit of Australia.” Nearly 400 million Tim Tams are produced every year! A Tim Tam is composed of two layers of chocolate malted biscuit, separated by a light chocolate cream filling, and coated in a thin layer of textured chocolate.
Tim Tams were named by Ross Arnott after attending the 1958 Kentucky Derby and decided the winning horse had the perfect name for his new biscuit.
According to Wikipedia:
The Tim Tam Slam, Tim Tam Shotgun, Tim Tam Bomb, or Tim Tam Explosion is the practice of drinking a beverage through a Tim Tam. Opposite corners of the Tim Tam are bitten off, one end is submerged in the drink, and the drink sucked through the biscuit. The crisp inside biscuit is softened and the outer chocolate coating begins to melt. For best results, use a hot (not warm) beverage, and stuff the entire Tim Tam in your mouth once you feel the hot beverage touch your tongue through the Tim Tam. You have to be fast in putting it in your mouth or else it may break off into your drink.”
Want to see how to slam? This short and very amusing video will demonstrate.
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