Page 3 - Australia Destination Guide - Aluring Asia

HISTORY The first inhabitants of Australia were the Aborigines, who migrated there at least 40,000 years ago from Southeast Asia. There may have been between a half million to a full million Aborigines at the time of European settlement; today about 350,000 live in Australia. Dutch, Portuguese, and Spanish ships sighted Australia in the 17th century; the Dutch landed at the Gulf of Carpentaria in 1606. In 1616 the PAGE 3 Population | Time | Visas territory became known as New Holland. The British arrived in 1688, but History it was not until Captain James Cook's voyage in 1770 that Great Britain claimed possession of the vast island, calling it New South Wales. A PAGE 4-5 History POPULATION British penal colony was set up at Port Jackson (what is now Sydney) in 1788, and about 161,000 transported English convicts were settled there Australia is the sixth largest PAGE 6 until the system was suspended in 1839. country in the world with a Language population of approximately 22.8 PAGE 7 million. Australia is more or less Free settlers and former prisoners established six colonies: New South The Land | Climate Wales (1786), Tasmania (then Van Diemen's Land) (1825), Western the same size as mainland USA. Australia (1829), South Australia (1834), Victoria (1851), and Queensland PAGE 8 This vast land however also has (1859). Various gold rushes attracted settlers, as did the mining of other People | Health & Vaccinations the lowest population density in minerals. Sheep farming and grain soon grew into important economic the world, with only two people PAGE 9 enterprises. The six colonies became states and in 1901 federated into the per square kilometer. Currency | Credit Cards Commonwealth of Australia with a constitution that incorporated British Safety & Crime | Tipping Etiquette TIME parliamentary and U.S. federal traditions. PAGE 10 Australia is divided into three War was declared in August 1914. The first Australian soldiers left by Etiquette | Taxis time zones. Eastern is GMT +10, ship in November 1914. They were directed to Egypt. Turkey was Safety & theft Central is GMT +9.5, and Western Germany's ally and the British government had a plan to seize the PAGE 11 is GMT +8. Other than the Dardanelles (the narrow straits leading to the Black Sea). That would Shopping | Customs Northern Territory and enable the British and French to open a sea route to their ally Russia. It Queensland, all states observe would also knock Turkey out of the war. First they needed to capture PAGE 12-13 daylight saving time in summer. Gallipoli Peninsula because Turkish guns there controlled the straits. Food & Drinks | Religion Insurance VISAS In April 1915 the ANZACS (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) PAGE 14 An ETA is an electronically issued were sent to Gallipoli. However they were unable to dislodge the Turks. Culture & The Arts and verified visa, not visible in a The Anzacs were withdrawn in December 1915 having suffered nearly passport. ETAs are issued to 8,000 casualties. The Anzacs were then sent to the Western Front. Some passengers traveling for tourist or 60,000 Australians died in the First World War. In the 1920s immigration business purposes. Tourist ETAs from Britain continued and Australia continued to grow. Sydney became are valid for three months. US the first Australian city to have a population of 1 million in 1922. nationals must have a valid Melbourne followed it in 1928. Sydney Harbour Bridge opened in 1932. passport for intended period of stay. ETAs are obtainable online At the end of the 1920s there was industrial unrest in Australia. The at: www.eta.immi.gov.au or waterside workers went on strike in 1928-29. They were followed by the through most travel agents. timber workers in 1929, and miners in 1929-1930. The first commercial flight in Australia was in 1921 between Geraldton and Derby in Western Australia. In 1923 radio broadcasting began in