Capital: Canberra
Aborigines were the original inhabitants.
Australia is sometimes called "the land down under" because
it lies in the Southern Hemisphere.
The country of Australia consists of the continent of Australia, with
the island state of Tasmania. Australia is the smallest of the continents.
The University of Melbourne Library - Map Collection
Blank outline maps.
Australia is part of the British Commonwealth of Nations but governs
itself. It has a national flag, which includes the English flag and
the southern cross or southern constellation on it. The southern
cross is an important symbol in Australia, it is a constellation that
shines brightly in the Southern Hemisphere.
Australian Flag color page with key
Dutch, Portuguese, and Spanish ships sighted Australia in the 17th
century; the Dutch landed at the Gulf of Carpentaria in 1606. In 1616
the territory became known as New Holland.
William Dampier, the English buccaneer, landed in Australia in 1688. But 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.
Australia was settled by convicts from England.
A British penal colony was set up at Port Jackson (Sydney) in 1788,
and about 161,000 transported English convicts were settled there
until the system was suspended in 1839.
Free settlers established six colonies:
New South Wales (1786)
Tasmania (1825)
The Island State of Tasmania is the only Australian state that isn't
located on the mainland. Tasmania is one of the worlds last temperate
wildernesses. Tasmania has some unique wildlife, the most famous is
the Tasmanian Devil which is a small and ferocious cat like animal.
Western Australia (1829), South Australia (1834),
Victoria (1851), and Queensland (1859).
Australian wildlife includes the emu and the kangaroo.
Message Stick
Need: paper towel tube, white paper, tape, scissors, paint, crayons
Flatten the cardboard tube. Cove the tube with white paper. Trim and
tape the paper. Color and paint designs on the paper covered tube.
Let dry. When dry deliver the stick to someone with an oral message.
The children could think of a message for their parents to go with
the stick.
Things to know. In Australia, each aborigine tribe selected several
young men to serve as messengers. The young men carried special
sticks carved with meaningful symbols by the elders. A messenger
delivered his news orally, and left the stick as a reminder of the arrangement.
String Story
Need: small box lid, string (parameter of box 4 times),
tape(transparent), scissors.
Leave the corners of the box. Cut part of the sides of the box and
fold down under the box. Cut one slit in one side of a corner. Place
string in the slit. Wrap string around and across the box to create
pictures. Making a cat's cradle type design. Tape string at the corners.
Things to know. Aborigine women in Australia create over 400 string
figures to tell stories with. The storyteller uses her teeth or toes
to assist in making these designs or two women may work together to
make complicated figures. They must practice the sequence of steps
until the pattern is memorized.
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