Evous

Museums

Christian Frank — 2010-11-12T16:03:41Z

Sydney Australian Museum:

This is the oldest Australian museum, founded in 1827 on Count Henri Bathurst initiative. The museum, whose main interest is the Australian fauna and flora, will found its actual site in 1849 and open its doors to the public in 1857. The collections presented in the museum is really extensive with more than 16.5 million objects, fossils, minerals, meteorites, gemstones, and specimens of native Australian mammals, birds, reptiles and fish, which are all perfectly described. Many exhibitions and events are organized each months for the general interest or for the kids and even an annual film festival, the Margaret Mead Film Festival. Location: 6 College Street (opposite Hyde Park) Opening Hours: Daily 09:30 to 17:00 (except Christmas Day) Telephone: +61 2 9320 6000 General Admission: Adult: $12 / Family (2 adult, 2 child): $30 / Family (1 adult, 2 child): $18 / Child (5 - 15yrs): $6 / Under 5s: FREE / Members: FREE Link: http://australianmuseum.net.au/

The Powerhouse Museum:

This one takes its origin in the Sydney International Exhibition held at the Garden Palace in the Domain in 1879. One century later, the museum moved in the darling harbor area, in an old power station constructed to provide power for Sydney's electric tram system. The new Powerhouse Museum opened its doors in 1988. Dedicated to the science and technology, this museum is particularly appreciated by the children who will spend a lot of time in its different interactive sections. Its diverse collection, built up over more than 125 years, spans history, science, technology, design, industry, decorative arts, music, transport and space exploration. A lot of exhibitions and events takes place in the museum, about such diverse subjects like the 80's or the rock band AC/DC… Location: 500 Harris Street, Ultimo Opening Hours: Daily 10:00 to 17:00 (Closed Christmas Day); School Holidays 09:30 to 17:00 Telephone: +61 2 9217 0111 General admission: Adult: $10.00 / Child (4 - 15 years): $5.00 / NSW Seniors Card holders and pensioners: $6.00 / Family (1 adult and up to 3 children; or 2 adults and up to 2 children): $25.00 / Concessions (Social Security and Veterans Affairs cardholders, Australian pensioners and seniors): $6.00 / Student card holders, Education group bookings (per student): $5.00 / Children under four, Powerhouse Members, Members of International Council of Museums (ICOM), Members of Museums Australia Inc: FREE Link: http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/

The Art Gallerie of New South Wales:

Established in 1874, the Art Gallery of NSW presents fine international and Australian art. Surrounded by parkland in the eastern edge of the CBD and offering stunning views of Sydney and the harbor, this museum is one of the most beautiful in the world. About 29 000 objects are presented in the galleries, divided in the seven sections of the permanent collection which are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders art, Asian art, Australian art, Contemporary art, Pacific art, Photography, and Western art. There is also around thirty changing exhibitions each year, including the famous Archibald Prize, the famous Australian art prize of portraitures. Location: Art Gallery Road, The Domain Opening Hours: Daily 10:00 to 17:00 (except Christmas Day & Good Friday), Wednesday 10:00 to 21:00 Telephone: General +61 2 9225 1700, Information +61 2 9225 1744 General admission: Almost everything here is free, including the entry to the permanent galleries and some temporary exhibitions. You will have to pay admission fees for some major temporary exhibitions and for courses and workshops. Link: http://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/

The Museum of Contemporary Arts:

Opened to the public in 1991, this museum is situated near the historic Rocks precinct and offers an impressive view of the Opera House. This site also marks the landing place of the First Fleet in Port Jackson in 1788 and is dedicated to exhibiting, interpreting and collecting contemporary art from across Australia and around the world. Temporary and recurrent exhibitions often takes place in this museum, including Primavera, for Australian artist aged 35 or under. Location: Circular Quay West Opening Hours: Daily 10:00 to 17:00 (Closed Christmas Day) Telephone: +61 2 9245 2400 General admission: Free, at the exception of occasional special exhibitions. Link: http://www.mca.com.au/default.asp

The National Maritime Museum:

Situated on the western shore of the Darling Harbour, the museum explore all the historic and actual links of Australia with the sea. Officially opened in 1991, the museum‘s collection comprises more than 40,000 objects and present regularly very interesting and interactive exhibitions. You will also be able to visit a full-scale replica of the HMB Endeavour, the famous vessel of the iconic English discoverer James Cook, and other boats or submarine. Location: 2 Murray Street, Darling Harbour Opening Hours: Daily 09:00 to 17:00, Daily 09:00 to 18:00 in January, closed Christmas Day Telephone: +61 2 9298 3777 General Admission: Free at the exception of the visit of the different vessels, free vessels entry for children under five years Link: http://www.anmm.gov.au/site/page.cf...

Sydney Observatory:

This beautiful observatory is part of the Powerhouse museum. Built in 1858, Sydney Observatory is Australia's oldest observatory. The Observatory comprises a historic 29cm lens telescope built in 1874, a 42cm computer-controlled telescope and hydrogen-alpha solar telescope, a virtual reality 3-D space theatre, exhibitions about astronomy, meteorology and the history of Sydney Observatory, a lecture theatre, souvenir shop, beautiful gardens and the beanbag planetarium. Night sessions are available if you want to use the night telescope or assist to a show in the 3D theatre, but it is highly recommended to book before coming.

Location: Watson Road, Observatory Hill, The Rocks

Opening hours: Open 10am–5pm daily, except Good Friday and Christmas Day; Night sessions of approximately 90 minutes, except Good Friday and Christmas Day; Telescope/3D theatre: Monday to Friday (school term), 2.30pm and 3.30pm, Weekends and school holidays 11am, noon, 2.30pm, and 3.30pm for the day sessions; April to September 6.15pm and 8.15pm, October and November 8.15pm, December and January 8.30pm, February and March 8.15pm for the night sessions General admission: The visit of the Observatory is free; charges apply for the telescope/3D theatre sessions: Adult $7, child (4 to 15 years) $5, concession $5, family (1 adult and up to 3 children; or 2 adults and up to 2 children) $20, member (individual and family) free for the day sessions; Adult $17, child (4 to 15 years) $10, concession $14, family (1 adult and up to 3 children; or 2 adults and up to 2 children) $47, member (adult) $15, member (child) $8, member (family) $37 for the night sessions. Link: http://www.sydneyobservatory.com.au/

Other museums: The Sydney Heritage Fleet, located on Wharf 7, Pirrama Road, Pyrmont, comprises ten historical vessels (http://www.shf.org.au/Index/index.html). Located in Oxford Street Mall, Level 1, 420 Oxford Street, Bondi Junction, the Bondi Shark Museum offers a display of sharks, marlin and other marine creatures (http://www.bondisharkmuseum.com.au/). The Historic Houses Trust include twelve museums to be found in beautiful buildings such as the Museum of Sydney or the Government House (http://www.hht.net.au/). In the heart of the historic area of The Rocks, the Discovery Museum, 2 - 8 Kendall Lane, The Rocks, tells the story of The Rocks from pre-European days to the present (http://www.therocks.com/sydney-Thin...).

Introduction to Sydney

Christian Frank — 2010-11-12T15:57:55Z

Area: 12 144 km2

Population: 4,504,469 Sydneysiders

Government: Sydney is the State Capital of New South Wales. It is the largest and most populous city in Australia and Oceania. The metropolitan area is divided into forty local government areas (LGAs) which have elected councils. The City of Sydney is the Central Business District (CBD), and thirty-two surrounding inner-city suburbs such as Glebe or the Rocks. The political leader of this LGA is the Lord Mayor of Sydney Clover Moore.

History: The Cadigal people are the oldest inhabitants of the Sydney region. Historians often agree that Aboriginal people have settled in this area since 30 000 years. Sydney is the first European colony in Australia. It was establish by the British Commodore Arthur Philip who arrived on Botany Bay on the 18th January of 1788. The City was first built around Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour where stands nowadays the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge). From 1810 to 1821, the Governor Lachlan Macquarie had a very important role in the development of the colony, helping the transition between a simple convict settlement to a real city by upgrading or creating new roads, bridges, wharves and public buildings. On the 20th July of 1842, the town was declared the first city in Australia, with John Hosking as the first elected mayor. While the 19th century has seen Sydney growing and developing considerably, the most popular buildings and architectural achievements date from the 20th. The Harbour Bridge (503m length and 49m wide), was completed in 1932 by the architects J.J.C. Bradfield, R. Freeman, G. Roberts and G.C. Imbault, and the Sydney Opera House, made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007, was completed in 1973 by Jørn Utzon.

Transports: Sydney is served by train, taxis, bus and ferry networks. Sydney Trains are run by CityRail, a State corporation. A private rail line operates also in the City with a line running from Lillyfield to Central Station, and a monorail which runs in a loop in the CBD and Darling Harbour. The Sydney Buses are another State company, as Sydney Ferries. Sydney's main airport is the Kingsford-Smith Airport, located in the suburb of Mascot.

Climate: Sydney has a temperate climate with warm summers and mild winters. The warmest month is January and an average of 14.6 days a year have temperatures of more than 30°C. The coldest month is July, with an average range of 8.0 to 16.2°C. The average annual rainfall, with moderate to low variability, is 1,217 mm, falling on an average 138 days a year.

Climate data for Sydney Source: Bureau of Meteorology

OZ from A to (almost) Z

Christian Frank — 2010-07-22T10:00:34Z

Aboriginal: One last census established that Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders are more than 510 000, more than 2.3% of the Australian population. Although there were over 250-300 spoken languages with 600 dialects at the start of European settlement, fewer than 200 of these remain in use. In 1983 the High Court of Australia defined an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander as "a person of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent who identifies as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander and is accepted as such by the community in which he or she lives".

Bottle shop: In Australia, drinking alcohol means going first to a Bottle Shop or “Bottle'O”. Some restaurants or Take Away are not allowed to sell alcohol, that's why you could find some with written on the front “BYO”, which means “Bring Your Own” - you can bring your beer or wine in this restaurant.

Cricket: This sport is born a long time ago (a doctor spoke about it in 1597). It remains now the most popular sport in the English Commonwealth, especially in countries like Australia, Pakistan, India, New-Zealand… The rules are numerous and there are some variations of the game but mainly, the match is contested between two teams of eleven players each. One team bats and the other one bowls and fields. The first tries to score as many runs as possible without being dismissed while the other team tries to dismiss the batsmen and limit the runs being scored. When the batting team has used all its available “overs” or has no remaining batsmen, the roles become reversed.

Diner: Australian people love to eat very early, between half past five and seven o'clock. Some restaurants even offers a 10% saving if you eat before six. Australian cuisine has numerous influences, from asia (Chinese, Indonesian, Vietnamese food…) to Europe (English, Italian, Greek food). The wine, French grape grown in Australia or New-Zealand is drunk like beer: very cold. The real Australian diner is the Barbecue or BBQ. On huge and efficient machines, they grill meat (Angus beef preferentially), vegetables or fish.

Ecology: Taken apart the global climate changing, the main Australian problem concerning Ecology is the lack of water. Even if one can use since a long time water tanks, built in individual houses, that permit to collect and recycle rain water, some regions in Australia are facing serious difficulties in the dry seasons. The other problem linked to the climate is the progressive disappearance of the famous Great Barrier Reef. This lively organism of 2300 km of length on the East coast of Australia could die within the next decade if the water continue to get warmer.

Football: The football in Australia is not like football in Europe or even like football in the United States of America. It is a very popular and spectacular game called generally “Aussie Rules”. Officially born in Melbourne in 1859, The Aussie Rules, or “Footy” is maybe the most important sport event of Australia. Eighteen players in each team are on the oval grass fields, and try to score by kicking the ball between the middle two posts of the opposing goal. Players may use any part of their body to advance the ball, but they usually kick, handball or run with the ball (in that case, the player must intermittently bounce it on the ground).

Garage sales: This is more than a tradition in Australia: garages sales are a real opportunity to discover ones neighborhood, its inhabitants and heaps of second hand books, discs, or furniture. The garage sales are organized each Saturday and sometimes the Sundays in front of the particular's houses. You can find the announcements in the local newspaper, or you can find it on the road: often, the garage sales are marked by air balloons.

Hats: With its sun shining all year long in one part or another of Australia, the government doesn't joke much with sunburn. The Australian Cancer Council is in every corner to remind you to wear a shirt, put sun cream every two hours, and wear a hat. The typical Australian hat is the famous Akubra. With its large edges, the Akubra – whose name comes from the factory based in New South Wales – protects your face and neck from the sun, and makes you feel like a cow-boy even if you are in the middle of the CBD of Sydney…

Jewelry: Even if you can easily find heaps of freshwater pearls in Australia, the country's most famous jewelry is without any doubt the opals. The opal is a mineraloid gel which is deposited at a low temperature and may occur in the fissures of almost any kind of rock. Shining and playing with the sunrays, the opals can be classified from the most rare (and expensive) red and black ones to the most common, white or green. Some opals jewelry are made from different cut of the gemstone to give it a wonderful and wide scale of colors. Coober Pedy in South Australia is one famous city producing opals massively.

Kookaburras: One of Australia's strangest birds. Even if it is linked to the kingfishers family, the kookaburras are easily recognizable by their funny shout between the human laugh and the monkey's scream. Those birds are quite sociable and you can often hear them at the sunrise or the sunset. If you hear one that seems a bit unsuccessful, don't worry, it's just a new born kookaburra who is practicing under the patient advices of its mother.

Lamington: The lamington is one of Australia's national cake. Often presented in a square shape not longer than ten centimeters, the Lamington's origin could be linked to Charles Cochrane, Baron of Lamington, Queensland Governor between 1896 to 1901. The cake is made with butter, sugar, eggs, chocolate with coconut. The 21st of July is Lamington's National Day in Australia.

Marsupials: Marsupials live in Australia, Tasmania or New Guinea. Marsupials are mammals whose female possess an abdominal pouch where the larvae comes after its birth to grow up and be fed. Kangaroos, Wombat and Possums are marsupials.

No Worries (and other slang words): Australian's language is very colorful with tons of silly expressions like “Flat as a shit catter's hat”. “No worries” is quite a common expression you will hear in Australia. It is not only the reflection of the mood of a happy man, but the way of living of a whole nation.

Outback: Let's quote Bill Bryson for this one: “To Australians anything vaguely rural is “the bush”. At some indeterminate point “the bush” becomes “the outback”. Push on for another 2,000 miles or so and eventually you come to bush again, and then a city, and then the sea. And that's Australia.” (Down Under)

Police: In 1979, three commonwealth law enforcement combined to create the Australian Federal Police (AFP). “The role of the AFP is to enforce Commonwealth of Australia criminal law and to protect Commonwealth and national interests from crime in Australia and overseas.”

Road train: A road train consists of a tractor unit, more or less colorful, pulling two or more trailers. Australia has the largest and heaviest road-legal vehicles in the world, with some configurations topping out at close to 200 tons. Some of them can have a fuel tank of 2,000 liters. Road trains are used for transporting all kind of materials, from livestock to minerals. Low cost and effective, the road trains have played a significant part in the economic development of isolated areas.

Surf: The art of surfing has a Polynesian origin. The first observation of it was made by the crew of the ship Dolphin in Tahiti in 1767. Surf was first used to determine the leaders of the leading classes of Polynesian tribes. Hawaiian tribes used three types of trees including the Acacia Koa. Surfing was brought to Australia in 1915 by Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku. He demonstrated this ancient Hawaiian board riding technique at Freshwater in Sydney.

Tea: Australia's first hot drink. The morning tea is around nine o'clock and the afternoon tea between three to five. Real Australian people use to eat a classic Tim Tam biscuit – named after a horse which won the Kentucky Derby in 1958 – with their tea. The method is simple but you need a little exercise: first, bite one of the corners of the Tim Tam, then the opposite corner in the diagonal, and then, enough quickly not to let the chocolate biscuit melt in your hand but not too much because of the high danger of burning your lips, swallow some tea trough the biscuit and eat it in the same movement.

Uluru: This is maybe the most famous monolith of the world even if it is not the biggest or the highest. Situated around 400 km south of Alice Springs in the red middle of Australia, Uluru is 9km of circumference and 348m high. First seen in 1872 by the explorer Ernest Gilles, the Uluru is a sacred place for Aboriginal people, that's why it is forbidden to take pictures of it in some places. Uluru is listed as a World Heritage Site.

Vegemite: Australian's best friend for breakfast. This black cream made from concentrated yeats is very salty, but full of vitamin B. You will have to put just a little bit of Vegemite on your buttered toast to appreciate it, otherwise you will say this usual comment “pouah, how can they eat that?”

X-Ray: The X-Ray painting is an Aboriginal technique in which sacred animals like the Kangaroo or the Emu are painted showing some parts of the inside of their body. The artist expresses in that way all the beautiful simplicity of the system created by Nature.

Nature and culture

Christian Frank — 2010-07-22T09:56:11Z

A. The population

Number of inhabitants: 21 017 000 for a territory of 7 669 551 km², which means a density of 3 inhabitant each Km².

Origin of the population: Mainly European, with a large representation of British, Italian and Greek people, and Asian. There is about 570 000 aboriginal people in Australia.

Demographic increase: 1.5%

Medium age: 36.7 years

B. Some famous Australians

Banjo Patterson: He grew up in the bush in the second half of the 19th century and became with his ballads one of Australia's most important bush poets. He is known for Clancy of the Overflow, or The Man from Snowy River, but his most famous work must be Waltzing Matilda, the Australia's unofficial anthem.

Rodney William Ansell: Famous for having being the source of inspiration for Paul Hogan's character, Crocodile Dundee. In 1977, he stayed two months with limited resources in an extremely hostile part of the Northern Territory. He was said to be able to kill a crocodile with his only hands. Rodney Ansell was killed in 1999 near Darwin after a shootout with the police.

Judy Davis: One of Australia's most famous actresses with, Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett or Toni Colette. Born in Perth in 1955, she graduates at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) twenty two years later. Actress for the Coen Brothers in Barton Fink or David Cronenberg in The Naked Lunch, she earn most of her awards with TV programs such as Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows, for which she obtains a Golden Globe of the Best Actress.

Ned Kelly: Born in 1854 or 1855 in the State of Victoria, his father was an Irish immigrant who had been deported in Tasmania for the thief of two pigs. Later he became the head of a crew of outlaws who stole animals and fought against police. In June 1880, Ned Kelly is arrested. In November the same year, he is hanged to death in a prison of Melbourne.

Eddie Mabo: Member of the Aboriginal tribe Meriam from Murray Isle, he began an action for a declaration of native title over his territory in May 1982. In June 1992, the High Court rejected the myth that Australia had been unoccupied (Terra Nullius). This decision received a hostile reaction from some farmers, miners and industry groups, but was acclaimed by aboriginal people.

Joan Sutherland: The most famous Australian soprano, recognized to be the best singer in bel canto repertoire. She begun in 1951 in Judith of Eugène Goossens in Sydney's Opera House.

Nick Cave: Maybe one of the most famous singer of Australia. His group, Nic Cave and the Bad Seeds became famous all around the world in the 1970's. Not only a good singer and songwriter, Nick Cave is also writer, scenarist and actor, in Wim Wender's Wings of Desire for example.

C. Fauna and Flora of Australia

In this huge country, covered by huge arid desert as well as huge tropical rainforest, the notion of ecology is more than a theory, it's an everyday matter of questioning. Since 200 years, 70% of native vegetation has been lost, including 75% of rainforest. Since white settlement, 15 vertebrate species have become extinct, and there is still many more endangered. But nowadays, Australia possesses a great system of national parks and reserves. 7.5% of Australia's landscape is protected, and another 396,000 sq km are marine parks, including a large part for the Great Barrier Reef.

Flora: More than 20 000 species of plants constitute the Australian flora. The most representative one is without any doubt the Gum Tree. Behind this name hides more than 500 species which can grow up to a few centimeters or some 90 meters. Essential to a lot of animal species like Koalas, The Gum Trees are also highly inflammable. This explain the particular attention given to the forest tree safety. The Thorn or Wattle trees are also a representative part of the Australian flora. 1000 of the 1500 species of those plants are found only in Australia. One specie, the Acacia Pycnantha, is the national flower of Australia. The Kangaroo pawn is a very strange flower, with a shape similar to a kangaroo pawn and some woolly hairs by way of petal. We can found it mostly in Western Australia.

Fauna: About 90% of Australia's fauna is endemic. The Kangaroo and the Emu are the two emblems of the country. The first is represented by sixty-three species included the most famous ones, the Red Kangaroo and the Eastern Grey Kangaroo. The smaller ones are called Wallaby, Wallaroo, or Bettongs. All of them are marsupials. With a size of about 1.75 m and a weight of 50 kg, the Emu is one of the biggest birds in the world, with the Ostrich and the Cassowary. If this bird can't fly, it can run really fast, up to 50 kh. The Koala is of course another famous Australian animal. It is mostly found along the east coast from Melbourne to Townsville and eats gum leaves from a few and precise number of species. Those marsupials can sleep until eighteen hours a day digesting their gum leaves. In Tasmania, the Tasmanian Devil is the biggest carnivorous marsupial living on earth, with a size of about 60 cm and a weight of 10 kgs. With its dark color and its huge appetite the Tasmanian Devil has a bad reputation, even if it can be domesticated. The Cassowary is a big bird which can size until 1,80 m and weight 60 kgs. Sometimes aggressive it can be very dangerous with its long and sharp nails, but it is more of all a very important animal of the rainforest, because of its capacity of spreading and renewing the forest. Australia is also the country where one can find the most dangerous animals on earth. The sharks are spread all around Australia. In the sea, the most dangerous animals are maybe the Box Jellyfish and the Irukandji. Their stings are very painful and can be deadly. 70 of the 370 species numbered are found there. Eight of the ten most dangerous snakes are found in Australia, including the Death Adder and the Taipan snake. One of the most dangerous spider of the world is the Funnel Web spider. We can found it in the New South Wales mostly, including Sydney. The Red Back spider and the White Tailed spider are also very poisonous. Finally the best way to have a peaceful journey in Australia is to think like the Australian people, and say that the falling coconuts kill each year more people than those dangerous species…

Policy and economy in a few words

Christian Frank — 2010-07-22T09:54:16Z

A. The states and the territories of the Nation

Western Australia: 2 525 500 km², Perth is the capital

Queensland: 1 723 936 km², Brisbane

South Australia: 978 810 km², Adelaide

New South Wales: 800 628 km², Sydney

Victoria: 227 600 km², Melbourne

Tasmania: 64 519 km², Hobart

Northern Territory: 1 346 200 km², Darwin

Act Canberra: 2 358 km², Canberra

B. The policy system

The Flag: Created from the Union Jack up on the left, the star of the Commonwealth with its seven branch (six for the six states and one for the territories of Australia), and on the right, the South Cross proper to the south Hemisphere.

The regime: A parliamentary democracy with a queen, Elisabeth II, a governor general and a head of the government, the prime minister. The sovereign is represented by the governor general and by the state governors. The power is divided in three branch: the legislative (The Queen, the House of representatives, Senate), the executive (Governor general, the prime minister, the ministers), the judiciary ( High Court and Federal Court)

The official language: English

C. The Economy

Money: The Australian Dollar, which you can find in 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 banknotes, in coins of 1 or 2 dollars or 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents.

PIB: 708, 8 billion US Dollars.

Australia's economy is growing at a rate of 4% per year for an inflation of 2%.

Unemployment rate: 4,2%.

First national activity: Tourism.

The main cultures: Cereals, cotton, sugar cane, tobacco and a lot of fruits and vegetables.

Agriculture represents 5% of the working population of Australia.

The birth of a nation, key dates

Christian Frank — 2010-07-22T09:53:09Z

A. Discovery and colonization

-40 000 b.c: arrival of the first aborigines from New Guinea
-20 000 bc: first rock paintings in Kakadu (North of Australia)

1504: Sir Binot Paulmier de Gonneville discovers by chance a part of Australia. He is the true discoverer of what he calls the “Great Austral land”… until the historians offers proof that this beautiful land he found on his road to Indies war in reality a part of the coast of Brazil.

1605: The Dutch explorer William Janz arrives in a part of Australia that he baptize “New Holland”.

1606: The Spanish Luis Vaez de Torres goes through the strait between the north-east of Australia and New-Guinea.

1642: Abel Tasman, another Dutch, discovers an Island in the south of Australia, that will become Tasmania.

1688: The English William Dampier, a corsair, explores the North-West coast of Australia.

1770: James Cook, sailor, cartographer and astronomer, is sent by England for a voyage with a scientist purpose with seven specialists like Joseph Banks, a famous botanist, or Parkinson, a drawer. Their boat was called “The Endeavour”. They arrive on the 29th of April in the place of the future Sydney, a bay with so magnificent plants that they baptize it the Botany Bay.

1788: The first group of convict arrives in Port Jackson, in Sydney. The New South Wales is created and becomes an English colony in 1823.

1851: beginning of the Gold Rush.

1868: arrival of the last convict ship.

1901: Creation of the Federation of Australia.

B. Australia and modernity

1918: Gallipoli Battle. The Anzac Day commemorate this fatal day for the Australian army.

1924: The vote is compulsory for Australian citizens.

1927: Canberra become the capital of Australia.

1948: Australian Citizenship Act 1948, the aboriginals obtains the Australian citizenship.

1962: The right to vote is granted to aboriginal people.

1967: After a referendum, the aboriginals are recognized as a part of the Australian people. In 1971, they are integrated into statistics.

1976: Aboriginal Land Right Act is voted for Northern Territory

1986: Australia Act. This consecrate the independence of Australia.

1993: The Native Title Act establish a law court in charge of the dispute over land ownership.

1999: 54,8% of the population reject the Republic and choose to stay monarchic

2007: Australian Citizenship Act 2007, which impose a test of citizenship.

2008: the prime minister Kevin Rudd apologies officially to the aboriginal people.

Search engine

Christian Frank — 2010-02-15T08:30:12Z

Bistrot 1929

Christian Frank — 2010-02-14T10:25:36Z

Traditional French bistro in the heart of the bohemian 20th district. - Restaurants in Paris / Bistros in Paris

Practical links for living in Australia

Morgan Lemoullac — 2010-01-24T11:18:20Z

Australian geography:
http://www.about-australia.com/maps/
http://www.mapsofworld.com/australi...
http://www.mapsofworld.com/physical...

Backpackers:
http://www.yha.com.au/
http://www.backpackaround.com.au/ba...

Find Flatmates:
http://flatmates.com.au/home.html
http://au.easyroommate.com/
http://flatmates.yourestate.com.au/
http://www.reservations.bookhostels...

Wwoofing and others:
http://www.wwoofinternational.org/
http://www.helpx.net/

Other accommodations:
http://www.stayz.com.au/
http://www.camping.com.au/
http://www.aussiecamping.info/

Mobile Phones:
http://www.vodafone.com.au/personal...
http://www.telstra.com.au/
http://www.optus.com.au/home/index.html
http://www.virginmobile.com.au/
http://www.dodo.com.au/public.aspx
http://www.3mobile.com.au/

Travel by plane :
http://www.flightwest.com.au/
http://www.australianairlines.com.au/
http://www.jetstar.com.au/
http://www.nationaljet.com.au/
http://www.qantas.com.au/
http://www.skywest.com.au/
http://www.virginblue.com.au/

Travel by car:
http://www.budget.com.au/default.aspx
http://www.avis.com.au/car-rental/a...
http://www.europcar.com.au/
http://www.carsguide.com.au/
http://www.carsales.com.au/
http://www.australia.gov.au/topics/...

Travel in Australia

Morgan Lemoullac — 2010-01-24T11:13:59Z

If you want to travel a lot in Australia, and see the more things you can, the fastest and sometimes cheapest way of traveling is by plane. Inside journeys are really low cost. There are a lot of airlines in Australia. The mains are Qantas, Virgin Blue, Australian Airlines, Cobham and Jet Star. But if you want to take your time to appreciate the Australian landscapes, the best way is to use a car! You can rent it, in one of the main car rental firms like Avis, Eurpocar, Hertz, or EasyTerra. The best thing is that you are allowed to rent a car in one city and to leave it in another one. If you have a little money on the left, you can buy a used car for a really good price. Chose in preference a make that is popular in Australia, like Japanese ones (Toyota, Nissan) or Anglo-Saxon (Ford, Holden). It is important if you have to change a part of the car that you don't need to make it travel around the world. When you own a car, it is an obligation that it have a Registration. The Registration, or Rego, is the Australian way to identify vehicles. It is nominative, but you can change the name on the Registration. It is renewable every year, six months or three months, and it can be quite expensive. When you buy a car, check the end date of Registration. The administrative bureau in charge of the registration is the RTA. You will also need a Third Party Insurance. Go to a RTA bureau, or on their website for more information.


Distances in Australia