Australia - a short introduction

Table of Contents

Abstract

Facts

Land and Resources

Geology

Climate and Temperature

Important cities of Australia
Sydney
Canberra
Melbourne

Religion

Language
Pidgin English
The Flash Language
The American Influence
Strine

Business Culture – Tips and Tricks
Greetings and courtesies
Decision making
Women in higher positions
Punctuality and Meetings
Business Attire

Government

Natural Resources

Economy

Agriculture

(www.agriculture.asn.au/)

Foreign Trade

Tourism

National Holidays

The Australian National Anthem
Advance Australian Fair

An Australian joke
A Texas Farmer in Australia

A typical Australian meal
Honey macadamia salad

Resources

Abstract

Australia with its six states and its two territories is the remotest of the settled continents. The name Australia comes from the Latin expression “Terra Australis Incognita”, which simply means “Southern land”.

It was originally part of the ancient continent of Gondwanaland. Australia emerged as a separate continent about 100 million years ago, when Antarctica broke away and drifted southwards. Australia is still a moving island.

The first Europeans in Australia were almost certainly the Portuguese. The first confirmed visit was undertaken by the Dutch in 1616. In the following years Great Britain sent their convicts to Australia. In total, Britain transported 130.000 convicts to Australia also for the most trivial crimes.

There were about 300.000 Aborigines in Australia when the Europeans arrived. Today about 200.00 Aborigines live in Australia.

The major cities of Australia are Sydney, which is the largest city, Canberra, which is the capital of Australia and Melbourne.

The Australians are very friendly, outgoing and informal people. It’s easy to come into contact with them and you won’t have problems to finding a way to handle them in business deals.

Australia is a federal parliamentary democracy, an independent self-governing state and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The constitution is based on the British parliamentary traditions; the head of the state is the British sovereign.

Australia is very rich in natural resources and also has a large industry. Today, agriculture accounts for only 3 percent of the GDP, the gross domestic product. The most important economy factor is the service sector, first of all the financial service sector which accounted in the 1990s for more than 60 percent of the Australian gross domestic product.

But also, tourism has increased during the last years because of the cheaper long haul flights and the all inclusive tourism offers which are becoming more and more interesting even for the European. In Australia more and more tourism sights, national parks... opens every year.

Facts

Australia (full name: Commonwealth of Australia) is a federal state on the southern hemisphere. Together with Tasmania (an island) it covers a total area of 7 mil. square kilometres.

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The Commonwealth of Australia is made up of six states:

- New South Wales
- Queensland
- South Australia
- Tasmania
- Victoria
- Western Australia

and two territories:

- The Australian Capital Territory
- The Northern Territory

Canberra (in Capital Territory) is the capital of Australia.

The Population of Australia is about 19.357.594 Mio (July 2001).

Time zone: GMT +10:00

Land and Resources

Australia is not only the remotest of the settled continents it is also the flattest and, except for Antarctica, the driest. The average elevation is about 300m and only 6 per cent of its area is above 610 m. The vast interior of Australia, known to white Australians as the Outback, is made up of plains and low plateaus. The most densely populated areas of Australia are the coastal plains in the east, south-east, and south-west.^[1] (Encarta 98, [1])

Geology

Originally Australia was part of the ancient continent of Gondwanaland. Gondwanaland had earlier formed part of the super continent of Pangaea. The oldest known rock formations are between 3 and 4.3 billion years old. Australia formed as a separate continent about 100 million years ago, when Antarctica broke away and drifted southward. Australia is still moving, northwards, away from Antarctica and is in the process of merging with Asia. Its life as a separate continent will be relatively short, in geological time.^[2] (Lonely Planet Australia)

Climate and Temperature

Although the climate of Australia varies from tropical (monsoonal) in the north to cool temperate in Tasmania, the majority of the country is hot and dry. The sea influences the climate beyond the coast. About two-thirds of continental Australia receives less than 500 mm of rain a year, and one-third is desert with less than 250 mm of rain annually.

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The tropical northern coastal region has two main seasons: a hot wet season with summer rains falling mainly in February and March and a warm dry winter season characterized by the prevalence of south-easterly trade winds.

In the south states dry winds often come from the interior, this can suddenly increase the temperature considerably. South-eastern Australia, including Tasmania, has the highest incidence of bushfires in the world, along with California in the United States and Mediterranean Europe. In 1994 bushfires swept through New South Wales and destroyed hundreds of homes in suburban Sydney. (Encarta 98, [1], Lonely Planet [2])

Important cities of Australia

Sydney

Sydney is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, in south-eastern Australia. Sydney is Australia's oldest and largest city and is a major economic, cultural, and administrative center.

Sydney is the industrial, commercial, financial, and tourist capital of Australia and is one of the most significant financial centers in the Asia-Pacific region.

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Sixty of Australia's largest corporations have their headquarters in Sydney, and the Sydney stock exchange is the largest in Australia.

Because Sydney is Australia's major commercial center, public and private sector administration occupies much of the workforce.

Manufacturing, however, continues to be important: metals, machinery, clothing, processed food, electronic equipment, motor vehicles, ships, and refined petroleum are some of the wide range of Sydney's manufactured products.

Sydney also handles most of Australia's foreign trade.

Sydney also has an important Airport, at Kingsford Smith, which is the busiest air terminal in the country and two main ports (Port Jackson and Botany Bay)

The city is also served by several railroads, major highways and hover craft services.

Long fingers of bush land extend deep into Sydney's metropolitan heart, making it vulnerable to bushfires. In January 1994 fires sweeping through New South Wales engulfed many suburban homes and came close to the city center.

[...]

^[1] Microsoft Encarta 98 & 2001 – English Version

^[2] Lonely Plane Australia von Paul Harding 1999