AUSTRALIA | Past and present

This is my favourite island with a fantastic nature and fauna. Scientists think Australia is that island where people have lived for the most ages. Probably aboriginals arrived from South-east Asia 70000 years ago. The first explorers came to Australia in the 17. century but the official explorer who discovered the island was James Cook in 1770. At this time Australia was an English colony. After it the Englis government used to send criminals to the new continent, because the prisons of England were full of people. The last ship which carried criminals to Australia arrived in 1868.

Then criminals, solders and women used to live in the continent. (And the aboriginals.)

The first governor of Australia was William Bligh. He was the captain of Bounty. In the middle of the 19. century the gold fever also reached Australia, but only a few people got rich. They left the island, but the other stayed and they created seven colonies. In 1901. these colonies established the Ausztrál Nemzetközösség. The president of the state was the British monarch, also later. People used to build roads and telephone lines and they used to overcome giant distances.

Nowdays Australia is one of the most advanced country in the world with beautiful places and animals which don't live any here in the world. These are the marsupials. There're lots of deserts in the middle of the continent and there's the Ayers Rock (its name is Uluru), the giant red stone. In the North-East there's the Big Coral Reaf which has an interesting fauna, too.

The best known building is the Opera-house in Sidney. It rises on the bank of the ocean as a big sailing ship. I hope to see it once in my life!