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History of Australia

The history of Australia dates back to 40,000 years when aborigine settlers from Southeast Asia landed on the continent. These hunting-gathering people led a nomadic life and their technical culture was quite primitive. They spoke several languages and were divided into a number of confederacies.

Though many European explorers knew about Australia's presence, there were no formal claims for territorial possession of the continent. It was only in 1770 AD when Captain Cook and his crew landed on the east coast of Australia and formally claimed it for Great Britain. 17 years later, a fleet of 11 ships referred to as the “First Fleet” landed in Australia. Loaded with food supplies, live animals, seed, soldiers, and convicts (both male and female) from Britain, the arrival of this fleet under the captaincy of Arthur Phillip signaled the colonization of Australia. So the history of Australia points out that a majority of the first settlers in the continent were convicts from Britain, some of who were sent there for very trivial offences.

By the middle of the 19 th century, six colonies were created in Australia. Initially, these colonies were directly under the British crown. But with the passage of time, these colonies started managing their own affairs even though they maintained their allegiance to the crown. An event that played a very important role in the history of Australia is the gold rush of the 1850's that brought in many immigrants from countries like Great Britain, North America, China and Ireland.

Later in 1901, these colonies were federated to make up the Commonwealth of Australia under the British dominion. The ACT or the Australian Capital Territory was formed in 1911 and it proposed the establishment of a new capital for Australia, namely Canberra. It must also be mentioned here that Melbourne functioned as the capital of the Commonwealth of Australia from 1901 to 1927. Owing to the rich presence of natural resources, the country was able to made big strides in agricultural and industrial development.

Australia shot into international limelight after World War II when it started participating actively in world affairs. It also had a role to play in the Far Eastern Commission in Japan and the Indonesian struggle for independence. It was also one of the founders of the United Nations as well as the South Pacific Commission. Australia was also among the first countries to contribute to the UN forces in Korea after the signing of the ANZUS defence treaty in 1951 with the US and New Zealand. One of the major events in the history of Australia was the snapping of constitutional ties between Australia and Great Britain with the passing of the Australia Act in 1986.

Due to the economic reforms of the 1980's, Australia became of the fastest growing economies in the 1990's. Today it is a major player in world affairs and continues to make further progress with the passage with the passage of time.

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Australia Language

AsiaRooms offers detailed information on Australia language related topics and other facts. A melting pot for varied cultures, races and faiths, Australia is home to an estimated population of 20.6 million people. Therefore, one can easily conclude that the languages of Australia are quite varied and have been brought to the continent by settlers who came here from all parts of the globe at different points of time.

The national language of Australia is English, though it is spoken as well as written in a distinct manner that differentiates it from the English spoken in other countries. It is popularly known as “Australian English”. For around 80% of the population of Australia, English is the mode of communication. Even settlers from non-English speaking countries in Australia have adopted the Australian English as their language for communication even at home.

Due to the presence of a huge Chinese population in Australia, the Chinese language is the second most common language spoken in Australia. To be very precise, around 2.1% of the Australian population speaks Chinese (2001 census). Other common languages of Australia are Italian and Greek that are spoken by 1.9% and 1.4% of Australia's population respectively.

Speaking of the indigenous languages of Australia, there were around 200 – 300 aborigine languages spoken in Australia before the arrival of the European settlers. Now only 70 of these languages survive and around 50 of them are endangered. A common indigenous language is now spoken by 0.25% of Australia's population.

Australia has also adopted a sign language known as Auslan, which is used by around 6,500 deaf people in the continent. Moreover, a big chunk of the first and second-generation settlers of Australia are bilingual.

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Population of Australia

AsiaRooms offers detailed information on Australia population related facts about Australia to give you a general idea about the demography of the continent. A melting pot for varied cultures, races and faiths, Australia is home to an estimated population of 20.6 million people. Most of the present populace of Australia are descendants of the 19 th and 20 th century settlers from countries like Britain and Ireland who made Australia their home.

Before its abolition in 1973, the White Australia policy restricted non-white immigration. It mainly promoted the immigration of whites from European countries. However, after the abolition, Australia is trying to encourage multiculturalism and promote racial harmony among its populace.

When we speak about the population of Australia, due mention must be made of its indigenous population, namely the aborigines who are descendents of the South East Asian settlers who landed on the continent some 40,000 to 45,000 years ago. They constitute 2.2% of the total population of Australia, going by the statistics of 2001. This group however suffers from very high rates of unemployment and imprisonment. Besides, the indigenous population of Australia also has limited access to education and the life expectancy level for this group is also very low.

A huge segment of the Australian population consists of retirees and senior citizens. Moreover, a good number of Australians live outside their home country, which in turn results in a depleted working force. Therefore, Australia has a very active immigration program that looks to increase the population growth and bring in skilled labor from other countries of the world, especially the developing countries.

When it comes to Australia population facts, it must be noted that five of the largest groups of Australian born overseas are from the five countries of UK, China, Italy, New Zealand and Vietnam.

AsiaRooms offers detailed information on facts about Australia. Be it Australia population facts, history or geography, you can always get in touch with us as you prepare yourself for travel to Australia.

AsiaRooms offers online information on Australia population and related facts. For details, please fill up the form given below. 

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Australia Climate

Australia lies in the Southern Hemisphere and the seasons here occur at different times of the year than in Europe. November - March are considered summer months while winter falls in May and lasts through August. However Australia climate is not uniform in every part of the country. For example New South Wales, Western Australia and Queensland experience almost scorching summers and pleasant chilly winters while Victoria and Tasmania endure extremely cold conditions during the winter months.

It is also mention worthy that Australia is an island and hence there is an extreme variation between the pleasant, coastal weather and harsh, inland climatic conditions. The precipitation of Australia is extremely low when compared to other continents and landmasses. The average rainfall is about 16 ½ inches per year. Thus, the dry climate in most of the country especially the northern region leads to droughts, heat waves and resultant wildfires. Such forest fires are a major cause of concern in Australia. The Eucalyptus leaves ignite due to the unbearable temperatures and dry winds causing these hazardous phenomena. Different winds crisscross the various regions of Australia. While northern and western Australia is hit by the water-laden easterlies in summer and often faces cyclonic storms and hurricanes moving in from the coast, winter months in these areas are rather dry. Then again the east moving anticyclones that blow across central Australia bring no rain or relief to these arid parts. Also every five years the heavy moisture laden winds empty their load into the Pacific Ocean instead of Australia, which undergoes a year of drought and dryness.

Thus Australian climate may be classified as arid or semi arid in general. The northern parts are more tropical while the south and east enjoy moderate weather. The landform of Australia too is a low plateau with a fertile plain to the southeastern tip. The lack of a high mountain range etc. also hinders the prospect of a heavy rainfall.

The average summer temperature in Australia is about 84 degrees F or 29 degrees C. Similarly the average winter temperature ranges around 56 degrees F or 13 degrees C. 

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Languages in Germany

Germany is a country located in the Western Central part of Europe. Germany enjoys the status of being the world’s third largest economy. The people in Germany speak a variety of languages. Each state, each province has its different dialect and also often, they are completely different from each other.

The official language of Germany is of course Germany itself and over 95% of the people living in Germany use it as their first language. Other popularly spoken languages are Sorbian, North Frisian, Danish, Romani, Kurdish and Turkish.

Some details about the languages spoken in Germany:

• The German language as spoken today is a mix of various dialects, culled from central, southern and northern districts. The Germans often speak the standard language with the accent that is typical of his native district. 
  
  
• The Danish language is mostly spoken in the Northern parts of the Germany. Though spoken mainly in Denmark, it is also the tongue of many people living in Schleswig Holstein. Also, it is one of the official languages of the European Union.
  
  
• The North Frisian language, spoken by the minority in North Frisia, has two dialectical divisions - the dialect of the mainland and the dialect of the insular districts.
  
  
• More than two million Turkish-speaking people live in Germany. The language originates in Turkey and had been carried to Germany by the immigrants.
  
  
• Kurdish language is an Iranian language and belongs to a place called Kurdistan. There are only a few people in Germany who speak this language.
  
  
• The Sorbian language is the native language of the Sorbs. There are again two varieties of Sorbian language: the Upper Sorbian and the Lower Sorbian. The people in Saxony mostly speak the Upper Sorbian.
  
  
• Romani is often referred to as the language of the Gypsies and consequently the speakers of this language widespread and stateless. There are a very few people in Germany belonging to this tribe who use this language

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Religion in Germany

Religion and its practice form an imporant part of the German Constitution. According to the Constitution of Germany, freedom of faith and religion is guaranteed to every individual. Discrimination based on difference of religious opinion is prohibited by the Constitution.

Germany’s main religion is Christianity, dominated by the two strands of Roman Catholicism and Protestantism.

Roman Catholicism came into Germany through the work of St Boniface. It made a lot of converts and, aided by the Knights of the Teutonic Order, spread rapidly in the twelfth and thirteenth century.

In 1517, Martin Luther protested papal authority and brought about a revolution in the Church by his proclamations. Thus Protestantism came into the world under the leadership of Martin Luther and became the second major religion in Germany.

In the present time, about 68 per cent of the population of Germany is Christian, with the population of Roman Catholics and Protestants evenly divided.

There are several large and small Christian sects in Germany also. There are some hundred thousand Orthodox Christians who are mostly Serb and Greek immigrants. Almost four lakh of New Apostolic Christians form part of the Christian population of Germany. Besides these, there are smaller Christian sects also.

Germany also has a minority population of Muslims who form the largest minority religious group in the country. There is a 3.2 per cent minority population of Muslims in Germany, according to the US Department of State’s report of 2006.

Following Islam in Germany are the minority religious communities of Buddhism and Judaism, each with 0.25 per cent of followers. Germany’s Jewish population is the third largest among that of the European countries. The population of minority Jews and Muslims is mostly concentrated in the big cities of Germany like Berlin.

An interesting fact about religion in Germany is that of the seven Bahá'í Houses of Worship existing in the world, Germany is home to one of these Houses of Worship. Germany’s only Bahá'í House of Worship is at the foothills of the Taunus Mountains in the village of Langenhain near Frankfurt.

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