The Beyond News

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. It is the largest country in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest country. Australia's population of nearly 26 million, in an area of 7,617,930 square kilometres (2,941,300 sq mi), is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard.Canberra is the nation's capital, while the largest city is Sydney, and other major metropolitan areas are Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide.

Indigenous Australians inhabited the continent for about 65,000 years, prior to the first arrival of Dutch explorers in the early 17th century, who named it New Holland. In 1770, Australia's eastern half was claimed by Great Britain and initially settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales from 26 January 1788, a date which became Australia's national day. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades, and by the time of an 1850s gold rush, most of the continent had been explored by European settlers and an additional five self-governing crown colonies established. On 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia has since maintained a stable liberal democratic political system that functions as a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy, comprising six states and ten territories.Australia is the oldest, flattest, and driest inhabited continent, with the least fertile soils. It is a megadiverse country, and its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes and climates, with deserts in the centre, tropical rainforests in the north-east, and mountain ranges in the south-east. Australia generates its income from various sources, including mining-related exports, telecommunications, banking, manufacturing, and international education.

Australia is a highly developed country, with the world's twelfth-largest economy. It has a high-income economy, with the world's tenth-highest per capita income. Australia is a regional power, and has the world's thirteenth-highest military expenditure. Immigrants account for 30% of the country's population, the highest proportion among major Western nations. Having the eighth-highest Human Development Index, and the ninth-highest ranked democracy globally as of 2020, Australia ranks highly in quality of life, health, education, economic freedom, civil liberties, and political rights,with all its major cities faring exceptionally in global comparative livability surveys.

Foods in  Australia :
(1) Chicken Parmigiana : 

This classic Aussie chicken dish – with roots in Italian-American cooking – is a staple offering on pretty much every pub menu in the country. Originally eggplant based (and these are still available for vegetarians), it has evolved into a chicken schnitzel topped with tomato sauce, melted cheese and, if you’re feeling fancy, prosciutto ham. This is typically served with salad and chips, although there’s a split between those who think the chips should be under the parmy and those who think they should be on the side.

(2) Barbecued snags (aka sausages) :  

It’s no surprise that Aussies love to grill, and nothing is more important to a good barbie than a decent sausage – whether you’re at a mate’s place or at your local Bunnings for a sausage sizzle. Traditional Australian sausages are usually pork or beef, but if you’re feeling adventurous, there are other animals to sample. Wrap a slice of bread around your snag and top it off with some fried onions and your favourite sauce.

(3) Lamingtons : 

Widely recognised as the ‘National Cake of Australia’ after the National Trust of Queensland voted this sweet treat an Australian icon, named as it was after Lord Lamington, a former Governor of Queensland.The lamington is a modest square-shaped sponge dipped in chocolate and coated with desiccated coconut. Other variations include two layers and a cream or jam filling – seen by many as a vital addition. They go perfectly with a nice cup of bush tea, or maybe one of Melbourne’s world-famous coffees, and are available in all good bakeries and cafes.Although the cake is thought to have been first served in Toowoomba, the national success has seen it take off in cities across Australia. Kytons Bakery in Adelaide is the current award holder for best lamington in Australia.

(4)  Pavlova :

 Both Australia and New Zealand lay claim to inventing this famous dessert, created in honour of the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova’s visit to Australasia in the 1920s. As a truly Australian after-dinner sweet, the pavlova’s crispy meringue crust, light fruit filling and whipped cream topping ensure it’s a family hit.

(5)  Meat pies : 

You may think that a pie’s a pie, available in any flavour with any filling. However, a traditional Australian pie should be hand-sized, filled with mincemeat and gravy, and topped with tomato sauce. A gourmet version with mashed potato and mushy peas is also popular, but any other variant surely falls under a different category.

Weather & geography in  Australia   :
The weather is largely mild with consistent rain. Winter and Spring see the most rain. In Perth, Western Australia, average maximum temperatures are 29°C in summer and 14°C in winter with lows falling to around 18°C in summer and 10°C in winter. Winter also sees most of the rain.The geography of Australia is extremely vast and largely diverse.  It is both the smallest continent in the world and the sixth-largest country.  Strangely enough, it is as wide as the distance from London to Moscow and, all in all, it is, including its island nation Tasmania, around the same size as the United States (minus Hawaii and Alaska).  Despite its size, the population is concentrated along the eastern and south-eastern coasts.  The state of Tasmania includes numerous small islands and extends to Macquarie Island. The territories of Australia include the Australian Antarctic Territory, Christmas Island, the Cocos Islands, Heard Island, the McDonald Islands, Norfolk Island, the Coral Sea Islands, Ashmore Island, and Cartier Island.  In fact, in total there are some 12,000 islands meaning Australia has the largest area of ocean jurisdiction in the world

Per day Cost in  Australia :
A trip to Australia can cost a lot or a little — it all depends on your travel style and ability to budget. If you're a backpacker, I'd budget between 70-90 AUD ($55-70 USD) per day.

History of  Australia :

The history of Australia is the story of the land and peoples of the continent of Australia. Aboriginal Australians first arrived on the Australian mainland by sea from Maritime Southeast Asia between 50,000 and 65,000 years ago, and penetrated to all parts of the continent, from the rainforests in the north, the deserts of the centre, and the sub-Antarctic islands of Tasmania and Bass Strait. The artistic, musical and spiritual traditions they established are among the longest surviving such traditions in human history.The first Torres Strait Islanders - ethnically and culturally distinct from Aboriginal Australians - arrived from what is now Papua New Guinea around 2,500 years ago, and settled in the islands of the Torres Strait and the Cape York Peninsula forming the northern tip of the Australian landmass.

The first known landing in Australia by Europeans was in 1606 by Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon. Later that year, Spanish explorer Luís Vaz de Torres sailed through, and navigated, what is now called Torres Strait and associated islands.[1] Twenty-nine other Dutch navigators explored the western and southern coasts in the 17th century and named the continent New Holland. Macassan trepangers visited Australia's northern coasts after 1720, possibly earlier. Other European explorers followed until, in 1770, Lieutenant James Cook charted the east coast of Australia for Great Britain. He returned to London with accounts favouring colonisation at Botany Bay (now in Sydney).The First Fleet of British ships arrived at Botany Bay in January 1788 to establish a penal colony, the first colony on the Australian mainland. In the century that followed, the British established other colonies on the continent, and European explorers ventured into its interior. Indigenous Australians were greatly weakened and their numbers diminished by introduced diseases and conflict with the colonists during this period.

Gold rushes and agricultural industries brought prosperity. Autonomous parliamentary democracies began to be established throughout the six British colonies from the mid-19th century. The colonies voted by referendum to unite in a federation in 1901, and modern Australia came into being. Australia fought on the side of Britain in the two world wars and became a long-standing ally of the United States when threatened by Imperial Japan during World War II. Trade with Asia increased and a post-war immigration program received more than 6.5 million migrants from every continent. Supported by immigration of people from almost every country in the world since the end of World War II, the population increased to more than 25.5 million by 2020, with 30 per cent of the population born overseas.