The Country

Size:
4025 km from Sydney on the east coast, to Perth on the west coast.
3900 km from Cape York Queensland to Tasmania

Area:
7,682,300 sq km.

Population:
21 million.

States:
Six states and two territories.
New South Wales (NSW), Queensland (QLD), Victoria (VIC), South Australia (SA), Western Australia (WA), Northern Territory (NT), Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Tasmania (TAS)

Capital:
Canberra (ACT)

International gateways:
Sydney (3,7 Mio), Melbourne (3,1 Mio), Cairns (75 K), Brisbane (1,3 Mio), Adelaide (1 Mio), Perth (1,2 Mio), Hobart (185 K) and Darwin (80 K).

European settlement of Australia began in 1788 when a British penal colony was established on the east coast of the continent. Prior to 1788, Aborigines occupied all of mainland Australia and most of the inhabitable islands near the coast, including Tasmania. 'Aborigines' was not the name these people used to describe themselves. It was the name given to the first Australians by the Europeans because it means the original inhabitants of the country.

For more information visit the Link page.