Australia is massive and very sparsely peopled: in size it
rivals the USA, however their population is just over eighteen
million, just like the Netherlands. The land is divided into 6
different regions; Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria,
Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia.
The first people that lived in Australia were the Aborigines.
It was the first white people that came to Australia who gave
them the name after the invasion in 1788. In January 1788 the
first fleet carrying over a thousand people, 736 of them was
convicts. The estimated 750.000 native inhabitants of Australia
were unilaterally dispossessed of their lands and livelihoods by
the British colonists who failed to recognise the Aborigines as
owners of the land. Today the Aborigines try to repossess what
once were their land.
One of the things that makes Australia different from other
continent is the nature and the animals that live there. The
koala, kangaroo, the Australian dog dingo, budgerigars and
wombats are only a few of the animals that makes Australia so
special.
Australians are a very friendly open sort of people. They love
their sports, their family barbecues and the beaches. They are
known to be very urbanised were most of the people are
living in the larger cities along the coast. Almost 94% of the
population are of European decent and as a result we have a
western outlook and culture. In general Australians are very
tolerant of other people and their customs.
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