Transcript AUSTRALIA The Land Down Under - Mrs. Silverman: Social Studies

AUSTRALIA
The Land Down Under
Australia’s Location: The Land Down Under
Australia’s Climate: How does it affect
where people live and where they work?
• Australia is mostly desert. The large desert portion
of the mainland is called the Outback. The climate
along the coasts varies. The northern coast is closest
to the Equator. It has a tropical climate.
• The southwestern and southeastern parts of
Australia have a temperate climate. Australia’s large
cities-Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Adelaide, and
Brisbane-are all in these regions. There are over 20
million people living in Australia. Most live in these
cities. Why?
Australia’s location, climate, and natural
resources: How they impact trade.
• Australia is a mixed economy that falls closer
to free market/capitalism on the economic
continuum.
• Australia invests in their human resources or
human capital by educating and caring for the
health of their people.
• Australia has an abundance of natural
resources that contribute to the economic
success of the country.
Australia’s location, climate, and natural
resources: How they impact trade.
• Australia has a large tourist trade that contributes to
the economy.
• Australia makes many products and exports a
number of goods.
• Australia’s main exports are minerals, wool, wheat,
and meat products, as well as wine and other good
products.
• Mining is very important to the economy; most
mining is concentrated in Western Australia.
Australia’s location, climate, and natural
resources: How they impact trade.
• Historically, Australia relied on livestock and
crops for its economy. Australia produces
about a quarter of the world’s wool.
• There is a great deal of manufacturing in
Australia. In the last fifty years, the country
has invested in capital goods-building factories
and developing technology.
The Australian Aborigines
• The first people to live in Australia were called the Australian
Aborigines. The first Aborigines lived on the coast where
more plants grew. There were also more animals to hunt and
fresh water.
• Aborigines were hunter-gatherers.
• Aboriginal religion is based on the Dreaming. The Dreaming is
what Aborigines call the beginning of life on Earth. During the
Dreaming, spirits shaped the land and made animals and
people. Then the spirits disappeared, but some live on in
objects. Aborigines believe the earth is a link to the spiritual
world. The land itself is sacred to the Aborigines.
British Colonization of Australia
• British Captain James Cook explored many
parts of Australia from 1770-1771.
• Captain Cook claimed the whole east coast for
Great Britain.
• Australia became a colony that Great Britain
used to jail criminals (penal colony). Over
150,00 were sent to Australia; this practice
ended in 1852.
British Colonization of Australia
• British colonists sent raw materials from
Australia back to Great Britain.
• Colonists exposed the native Australians called
the Aborigines to diseases that they could not
fight-many of them died. The British also had
superior weapons which the Aborigines were
at a disadvantage to fight against (Spears
against guns-who wins). The British also took
the Aborigines’ land. (Where have you heard
this story before?) What impact do you think
the British had on the language and religion of
Australia? Think back to Latin America!
Structure and National Government of
Australia
• Type of government- Constitutional monarchy with
parliamentary democracy
• Type of leadership- Queen of United Kingdom (Elizabeth
II)= head of State; Governor-General appointed by and
represents the Queen; Prime Minster= Head of
Government (nominates the Governor-General); Prime
Minister is chosen by Parliament of Australia
• Type of Legislature- Parliament that is bicameral (two
houses: Senate and House of Representatives)
– gained legislative freedom from United Kingdom’s
Parliament in 1931
• The End