Britannica Student Encyclopedia - 2010

win the right

to claim their

traditional

lands.

Sydney hosts

the Summer

Olympic

Games.

T I M E L I N E

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Australia 231

 

more than 700 convicts, food stores, and

farm animals. The trip took eight

months and conditions were very hard.

They reached Australia in January 1788

and settled in a bay that they named

Sydney Cove. Phillip became the first

governor of the colony.

Convicts and settlers worked to clear

land and to establish farms. They were

not used to the climate, which was

different from England’s, so the

colonists struggled to survive. But soon

more convicts and settlers arrived. The

settlement grew bigger and stronger.

In the 1800s other parts of the country

were settled. Some were also penal colonies.

In 1851 the discovery of gold drew

thousands of new immigrants to Australia.

The settlements grew and became

colonies separate from New South

Wales. They became Tasmania,Western

Australia, Victoria, Queensland, and

South Australia.

The flood of settlers nearly wiped out

the aboriginal population. Many

Aborigines died while fighting for their

land or from diseases brought by the

Europeans.

Independence andWar

By the late 1800s the six separate colonies

each had an elected parliament, or

group of lawmakers. In 1901 they

became states when they joined together

to form a federation. The new Commonwealth

of Australia had a national

parliament and six state parliaments. It

kept ties with Britain, however, as part

of the British Commonwealth (a group

of former British colonies).

WhenWorldWar I began, Australians

fought alongside the British Army.

Many Australians died during the battle

of Gallipoli in 1915. Australia also supported

Britain whenWorldWar II

began in 1939. In the 1940s the Japanese

attacked several Australian cities.

Their airplanes bombed Darwin, and

submarines fired on Sydney. After the

war Australia’s population grew rapidly.

Many immigrants came from war-torn

Europe.

Recent Events

In the 1970s Australia started to focus

less on Europe and more on its Asian

neighbors. Many Asian immigrants

arrived, and trade increased between

Australia and Asian countries.

In the 1990s Aborigines won some

rights to land. They also won more

respect from white Australians. Many

still face hardships, however.

The British monarch is still the head of

state in Australia. Some Australians have

called for change. They want the country

to become a republic with a president

as head of state. In 1999, however,

Australians voted against a complete

separation from Britain.

..More to explore

Aboriginal Peoples • Canberra • Cook,

James • Eucalyptus • Great Barrier Reef

• Great Victoria Desert • Marsupial

• Parliament • Platypus • Tasmania

Facts About

AUSTRALIA

Population

(2008 estimate)

21,338,000

Area

2,969,978 sq mi

(7,692,208 sq

km)

Capital

Canberra

Form of

government

Federal parliamentary

state

Metropolitan

areas

Sydney, Melbourne,

Brisbane,

Perth, Adelaide

232 Australia BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

 

Austria

Located in central Europe, Austria is a

small, mountainous country. The capital

of Austria is Vienna.

Geography

Austria is bordered by Switzerland,

Liechtenstein, Germany, the Czech

Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Italy, and

Slovenia. Some of the highest

mountains of the Alps are in central

and western Austria. Grossglockner, the

highest peak, is 12,460 feet (3,798

meters) tall.

The major lowland areas lie in northern

and eastern Austria. The northern lowland

is the valley of the Danube River.

Many other rivers, including the Enns,

Inn, and Drava, flow through the valleys

of the Alps. They form several passes

through the mountains. Brenner Pass is

the most important pass. It connects

Austria with Italy.

Western Austria gets more rain and

snow than eastern Austria. The east also

has a greater range of temperatures. In

some mountainous regions there is snow

all year.

Plants and Animals

Austria is the most densely forested

country in central Europe. Beech, birch,

and oak trees grow in the warmer zones.

Firs, larches, and pines grow in the hills

and mountains.

Wild animals include brown bears, deer,

hare, foxes, badgers, eagles, falcons,

owls, cranes, swans, storks, and turkey

vultures. In Austrian rivers live trout,

grayling, pike, perch, and carp.

People

German is the official language of Austria.

More than 90 percent of the people

are Austrian. Small minority groups

include Slavs, Turks, and Hungarians.

Most of Austria’s mountains are part of a

large mountain chain called the Alps.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Austria 233

 

Most Austrians are Roman Catholic.

About two thirds of Austrians live in

cities and towns. Vienna is the largest

city.

Economy

Services, or businesses that serve the

public, and manufacturing are the most

important parts of Austria’s economy.

Tourism and banking are major areas of

the service industry. Tourists come for

Austria’s famous skiing resorts, cultural

events, and scenic beauty. Manufacturers

make machinery, food products, metals,

and chemicals.

Austria’s natural resources include lignite

(brown coal), iron ore, petroleum

(oil), natural gas, and magnesite (used to

make magnesium). Austria is one of the