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Australia |
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Languages |
English |
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Capital |
Canberra |
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Other main cities |
Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth,Adelaide |
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Area (km2) |
7,741,220 |
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Population |
18,250,000 |
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Currency |
Australian Dollar |
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| History of Australia |
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The Commonwealth of Australia (Australia and Tasmania) lies south east of Asia and is the worlds 6th largest country and smallest continent. Aboriginal and other minority languages are spoken in ethnic communities but English remains the official language of the nation.
The folklore of Australia's original inhabitants, the Aborigines, suggests that they have always lived there, but scientific evidence suggests they migrated to the area some 40,000 years ago.
The nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples are known for their adaptation to some of the harshest Australian environments. The aborigines had strong community ties with numerous distinct languages, circumstances that made multi-lingualism common.
The Dutch made the first European landing in 1606 (at the Gulf of Carpentaria) and had named their 'discovery' New Holland by 1616. Great Britain claimed the land in 1770 as New South Wales during Captain James Cooks voyage and a penal colony was established.
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