CAUSTRALIA

Map

•Major Cities:

• Sydney

• Melbourne

• Brisbane

• Perth

• Adelaide

• Size: 2.97 million mi

• Surrounding Countries:

• None

Flag

•Adopted: May 22, 1909

•About:• It includes a blue ensign and three motifs, each signifying important

aspects of statehood.

• The 5 stars of the southern cross appear on the right half. The southern cross is visible in the southern night skies and has been used as a navigational tool for centuries.

• The commonwealth star and the Union Jack are shown at left. The commonwealth star originally represented the six federal states. The seventh point was added in 1909 to help signify the addition of the Northern Territory.

Population and Currency

•Current Population: 23.13 million

•Currency: Australian dollar

•National Language:

• No official language

• 81% speak English

• Remaining speak a wide variety of

other languages

• 400 languages spoken by Indigenous

Australians

Population and Currency

• Religious Groups:

• Freedom of religion

• 61.1% some variety of Christianity

• 22.3% no religion

• 2.5% Buddhists

• 2.2 % Muslims

• 1.3% Hindus

• Other

• Ethnic/Racial Groups:

• Very diverse • English (36.1%)

• Australian (35.4%)

• Irish (10.4%)• Scottish (8.9%)

• Italian (4.6%)

• German (4.5%)

• Chinese (4.3%)

• Indigenous Australians (3.0%)

• Indian (2.1%)• Greek (1.9%)

• Dutch (1.4%)

Geography and Climate

• Australia is the world's smallest continent.

• Lying southeast of Asia between the Pacific and Indian oceans, its diverse landscapes and climates are home to a wide variety of plants and animals.

• Climatic zones range from tropical rainforests, deserts and cool temperature forests to snow covered mountains.• Outback Desert

• Mountains

• Coastal Beaches

• Grasslands

• Plateaus

• Rainforest

• It is generally warm and dry all year round, with no extreme cold and little frost.

Geography and Climate

• Average annual rainfall is 17 inches (much less compared to most countries)

• Droughts that threaten to destroy crops

• Problems with water quality and availability

• Because Australia produces most of its own food, a water shortage for plants and animals can cause agricultural production to suffer

• 20% of Australia's land mass is classified as desert

• Very dry with little rainfall

• Hot days, cool nights

• Australian outback = desert

• Much of the center of Australia is flat, but there are numerous mountain ranges and some individual mountains of which Uluru (Ayers Rock) is probably the best known

Geography and Climate

• High rainfall in the tropics and some coastal areas.

• Off the northeast coast of Australia is the Great Barrier Reef.

• Over 1,200 miles of coral

• Largest living structure in the world

• Home to many sharks and thousands of different types of tropical fish

• Warm, tropical climate allows Australians to enjoy a wide range of natural foods including

pineapples, passion fruit, mangoes, bananas, pawpaw, sugar cane, macadamia nuts, grapes,

oranges, lemons, apples, pears, and peaches.

• Close proximity to the ocean brings an abundance of fish, oysters, prawns (shrimp), crab, lobster,

mussels, Morton Bay bugs, etc.

Agriculture

• Only six per cent of the Australian landmass is arable.

• Need irrigation systems

• Dependent upon vegetation cover to generate nutrients and for stability

• Land clearing, water extraction and poor soil conservation are all causes of a decline in the quality of Australia's soils

• Wheat, rice, oranges, bananas, and grapes are just a few of the crops that grow in abundance throughout the country.

• Meat has always been a large part of the Australian diet.

• Kangaroo, though once a popular meat in Australia's early history, is no longer widely consumed

• Beef, lamb, pork, poultry, and seafood are most common

• Unique items: crocodile and emu

Culture

• New South Wales, a state in southeast Australia, was founded by the British as a penal colony in

1788. Over the next 80 years, more than 160,000 convicts were transported to Australia from

England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, in lieu of being given the death penalty.

• Today, about 20% of Australians are descendants of convicts, including plenty of prominent

citizens.

Culture

• Early settlers were not very experienced as farmers. Crop failure caused food

shortages and even starvation. Settlers depended on goods imported from

England—such as tea, flour, beef, oatmeal, and cheese—to survive.

• The Australian diet has been heavily influenced by peoples from all over the

world.

• The Potato Famine of the 1840s in Ireland led to migration to Australia

• Gold was discovered in Australia a few years later, bringing more people to the country.

• Following World War II (1939–45), Europeans and Asians arrived in greater numbers.

• As result, cuisines from other countries, such as Italy, Greece, and Lebanon, became

popular.

• Europeans introduced tea, cocoa, coffee, fruits, and a variety of cheeses, and Asians

introduced new spices and the technique of stir-fry.

Culture

• Christmas falls in the middle of summer, when most school children are on their summer

vacation. A typical Christmas menu may include a variety of hot and cold meats,

seafood, pasta, salads, and many types of desserts. Mince pies, fruitcake, shortbread,

and plum pudding are also popular after-dinner treats. Christmas puddings may contain

a small favor baked inside. It is said that the person who finds the favor will be blessed

with good luck.

• Easter is also widely celebrated in Australia. A traditional menu consists of roast lamb,

beef, or chicken with roasted vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, peas, or broccoli.

Seafood, lasagna, and salads are also favorites. Pavlova, an elegant dessert made of

egg whites and sugar and garnished with fruit, is a popular Easter dessert.

Culture

• Approximately 64 percent of men and nearly half

of all women are overweight or obese.

• Promoting healthy eating habits among children is

an important issue in Australia.

• The government has allocated funding for community

projects, mostly for the disadvantaged.

• Fresh and nutritious foods are often unavailable for

children in rural and remote areas.

• Indigenous (native) groups, such as the Aborigines, frequently live in these disadvantaged areas.

Mealtime Customs

• Breakfast is normally eaten between 7 A.M. and 10 A.M.

• Lunch is increasingly being bought on the go as fast food.

• Australians' afternoon "tea and biscuits," served around 4 P.M. , is usually composed of tea (or other beverage) accompanied by biscuits (cookies), small sandwiches, scones, or cakes.

• Dinner, the largest meal of the day, is served around 6 P.M. and is traditionally eaten European style, with the fork in the left hand and the knife in the right.

• Barbeques, “barbies,” are a very important tradition to many Aussies.

Menu – Breakfast

• A typical breakfast may consist of fruit, fried

eggs and bacon, and juice.

• Weet Bix

• It's smaller, sweeter and more brick-like than the

Weetabix that’s found in other countries. Usually

has a few Queensland bananas or strawberries

or a spoonful of sugar mixed in. And, of course,

milk.

• Vegemite on Toast

• A salty yeast spread served with butter on toast.

Let’s Try Vegemite!!!

Menu – Lunch

• Lunch may be an apple or a salad (such as Grated Carrot, Apple, and Raisin salad), a sandwich filled with tuna or deli meats, and an ANZAC biscuit for a treat. (ANZAC is the acronym for Australia and New Zealand Army Corps)

• Barramundi• Best pan-fried or seared

skin-side first (rarely battered or deep fried), it’s often dished up as a fish steak with a herbed oil.

Menu – Dinner

• Dinnertime often brings leg of lamb or barbecued prawns (shrimp), roasted vegetables, a salad,

and a custard or tart for dessert.

• Damper, a simple homemade bread is common as a side.

• Meat Pie

• Meat pie is considered the Australian national dish. One newspaper, the Sydney Morning Herald, reported

some statistics about meat pie consumption in the country:

• Almost 260 million pies are consumed every year, or almost 15 per person

• Men eat meat pies almost twice as often as women

• 62 percent of meat pies are filled with chopped steak (ground beef)

Menu – Other

• Milo, similar to instant hot chocolate mix, is often used as an ingredient in snacks or drunk alone.

• Tim Tams are a brand of chocolate biscuit made an Australian company.

• Fairy Bread

• Sliced white bread is cut into triangles, smeared with butter and covered in hundreds-and-thousands of

sprinkles.

• Sausage Rolls

• Sausage meat wrapped in pastry and

oven-baked is the appetizer of choice

for many Australians.

• Pavlova

• Pavlova is a popular meringue-based

dessert that has a crisp crust and a soft, light inside.

It's often decorated with whipped cream and fresh

fruit and served at celebratory meals.

Sources

• http://www.foodbycountry.com/Algeria-to-France/Australia.html

• http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/austn-weather-and-the-seasons

• http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/austn-food-and-drink

• http://www.geonames.org/AU/largest-cities-in-australia.html

• http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/flags/countrys/pacific/austrlia.htm

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Australia

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demography_of_Australia

• http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/our-country/the-australian-continent

• http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/our-country/our-natural-environment

• http://www.about-australia.com/australia-geography/

• http://australian.lifetips.com/tip/91963/australian-food/australian-food-recipes/geographic-influences.html

• http://www.amazingaustralia.com.au/foods.htm

• http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20120126-travelwise-australias-penal-colony-roots