Everything You Need to Know About Australia — A Basic Fact Sheet

In this article, we’ll introduce you to Australia. We will be discussing all the basic facts that you need to know about it, to start with.

What is Australia?

Australia is a large island country (it’s also a continent) in the southern hemisphere. It’s made up of six states and two territories. It’s a relatively young country being that it has only been federated in 1901. The country is known for its multitude of unique wildlife and attractions.

Brief History

Australia’s history begins with the Aboriginal Australians who have lived here for at least 50,000 years. Then in 1788, the First Fleet (11 boats) have arrived at Botany Bay, establishing New South Wales as a penal colony. Later on, convicts were also sent to the other states except for South Australia which was established in 1836 as a free colony.

What kick started the economy here is the discovery of gold in 1851 (Bathurst and Ballarat). This has made Australia a desirable location. This was also when the first period of Chinese immigration to Australia had started.

The Federation of all of the states in 1901 has created the Commonwealth of Australia. In April 1915, the Australian corp, together with New Zealand’s took part in in the WWI Gallipoli campaign. This has become an important part of the Australian history. April 25 (date of first landing at Gallipoli) has become a day when Australians commemorate the sacrifice of its past and present Armed Forces. The end of WWII has signaled the influx of migrants to Australia.

States and Territories

Population

At the time of writing, Australia’s resident population is nearly at 26 million. Over a quarter of this population are people born overseas, most of whom had migrated from the U.K., New Zealand, and China. It is a known multicultural country so there’s a variety of languages, cultures, and customs that are being practiced in Australia everyday.

Government

Australia is both a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy. The national government is based in Canberra. 

Head of State (figurehead)

• The current head of state (only a figurehead) of Australia is Queen Elizabeth II.
• She is represented by a Governor General. Currently, it is David Hurley.
• The Governor General performs a range of ceremonial and constitutional duties.
• The Governor General is not subject to the directions from the Queen or the British Government.
• By convention, he acts only on the advice of the Ministers.
• He is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Australian Defence Force.

Prime Minister

• The current Prime Minister is Scott Morrison
• He’s the leader of the federal government and in practice is the head of Australia’s executive government
• Chair of the national Cabinet.

States and Territories Governments

• Led by the Premier (State) or Chief Minister (Territory).
• They are bound by the national constitution but they each have their own Parliament and Constitution Act.
• Where the law is within the constitutional powers of the Commonwealth, Commonwealth laws overrules State laws.
• They are in charge for matters such as education, public health, police, fire and ambulance services, as well as the local governments within their respective States/Territories etc.
  

Voting

National Symbols

The Australian Flag

• The Southern Cross stars represent the country’s geographic position in the Southern Hemisphere.
• The federation of the states and territories are represented through the large Commonwealth star.
• The Union Jack reflects it’s early ties to Great Britain.

National Colours

• Green and gold, as in the colour of the Golden Wattle, its national floral emblem

The Coat of Arms

• The shield with the badges of the six states symbolises the federation.
• It also consists of the national symbols: the kangaroo, the emu, and the Golden Wattle.

National Day

• Australia Day is celebrated yearly on the 26th of January.
• The date is the anniversary of the raising of the British flag at Sydney Cove in 1788.

National Anthem

Australia’s official national anthem since 1984 is Advance Australia Fair. Listen to it in the video below.

Wildlife

Because Australia has been isolated for hundreds of thousands of years, many of its animals and plants species are unique to the country. According to The Nature Conservancy Australia, more than 80 percent of the country’s plants, reptiles, mammals, and frogs cannot be found anywhere else in the world. Some of our most iconic ones are of course the kangaroos, koalas, platypus, Tasmanian devil, etc.

Skin Cancer

Australians enjoy a sunny climate pretty much all year round. This has a major drawback though, skin cancer. Australia has one of the highest incidence of skin cancer in the world. In fact, Melanoma is the third most common cancer here. You’d need to be mindful of protecting your skin from the sun specially when the UV level is high.

You can practice the following:

• Wear sun-protective clothing
• Apply some broad spectrum, water resistant SPF 30 sunscreen.
• Wear a hat
• Seek shade when you can
• Put on your sunglasses
• Know the UV levels

Enjoying the beach

One of the main reasons why tourists flock Australia are its beaches. Although a trip to the beach is fun, it can also be dangerous and unpredictable for people who are unaware of the present hazards. This is why it’s important to follow precautions to keep yourself safe.

The two main things that I think you must keep in mind are:

• To swim only between the red and yellow flags on patrolled beaches. This means that it is a supervised area of the beach and that a life saving service is operating.
• To always look for signs. Safety signs are put in place to warn people of permanent/ occasional hazards that are present in the beach.

Conclusion

As an immigrant here in Australia, you have chosen this land as your new home. In my opinion, it is only right that us migrants know at least the basic facts about our new nation. Doing so helps form some sort of a connection between us and our new country.

Resources

https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Web+Pages/Population+Clock?opendocument&ref=HPKI
https://www.natureaustralia.org.au/what-we-do/our-priorities/wildlife/wildlife-stories/10-weird-and-wonderful-wildlife-of-australia/
https://beachsafe.org.au/surf-safety/flags-and-signs
https://insiderguides.com.au/brief-guide-history-australia/
https://www.dfat.gov.au/about-australia/land-its-people/australias-national-symbols

Disclaimer All content and information in this post is for purposes of sharing my experiences only, does not constitute professional advice and does not establish any kind of professional-client relationship.

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