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Australia
by Laura K.C. Hansen
Home to the Great Barrier Reef, the Great Dividing Range, the Great Australian Bight and, best of all, Vegemite. Australia truly is a beautiful country!

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To fully understand what it is like to be a teen in Australia, we should first learn some facts about the country itself. We willstart with some brief history.
Before European settlers discovered Australia, it was inhabited by Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders. In 1606, the Dutch first discovered Australia, and other European explorers continued to chart the coast of what was then known as New Holland.
The first British explorer to land on Australia was William Dampier in 1688. But it wasn’t until Captain James Cook’srediscovery of it in 1770 that the British claimed and settled the land.
Britain used Australia as a penal colony, sending convicts to Australia on ships. “The First Fleet” landed in Sydney Harbour on January 26, 1788. It is on this day each year that Australians celebrate “Australia Day.”
In 1901, the Commonwealth of Australia was formed through the federation of six states under oneconstitution.

In World War I, Australia confirmed its national identity of courage, spirit and “mateship.” This war had a devastating impact on the nation, as there were less than three million men living in Australia. Out of the 400,000 that signed up for the war, 60,000 died; tens of thousands were injured.
Although a continent in itself, Australia has a relatively small population of just over 20million people, who come from all corners of the world. Most live on or near the coast, as this area receives the greatest rainfall. Due to the large expanse of desert in its centre, Australia is largely uninhabitable.
The country boasts of having two of the seven natural wonders of the world, Uluru and the Great Barrier Reef.
Flora, Fauna and Landscape
Australia has a diverse range of naturalhabitats. The most northerly point lies on the equator, and Tasmania, located south, is 3,443 km. (2,139 mi.) from the Antarctic base.
People living in one of the main cities can usually reach the beach, outback country, bushland or rainforest within two hours.
The country’s relatively small population results in things being more spread out, leaving a lot of space for flora. The “Australian Dream”is for each family to own its own house, with its own backyard. This dream has inspired the layout of our cities so that most houses have decently sized yards, perfect for backyard cricket and barbeques. Many backyards include native Australian gumtrees that were never cleared away. These native plants encourage birds and smaller animals to take up residence in our yards. Thus, it is quite commonto have possums close to home.
Some of the most unique flora and fauna in the world can be found in Australia, and it is the only country where native land animals are nearly all marsupials or monotremes. A marsupial is a mammal whose females have a pouch to nurse its young (for example, the kangaroo, koala and wombat); a monotreme is a mammal that lays eggs (the platypus and echidna). Australiais also home to seven of the world’s ten most poisonous snakes.
Being a land girt by sea, much of the continent’s wildlife live in the water. Humpback whales swim along the coast as they migrate each year, and dolphins enjoy the shallow waters off the many islands close to shore. The waters are relatively safe to swim in, with shark nets in place wherever sharks are known to frequent, andlifesavers (lifeguards) are on hand if a swimmer is stung by a bluebottle (Portuguese Man O’ War).
Language
Australia has always struggled with its identity on the world scene. As a young country, the things that set it apart have already begun to be phased out by globalization. Australia, like many other countries, is becoming more “Americanized.”
This can be seen in our language. Words and phrases...