澳大利亚_综合百科

澳大利亚(Australia)

正式名称澳大利亚联邦（Commonwealth of Australia）

地球上最小的一块大陆和世界第六大国。位於南半球印度洋和太平洋之间。面积7,682,300平方公里。人口约19,358,000（2001）。首都︰坎培拉。大部分澳大利亚人是欧洲人後裔，非白人的最大一群少数民族是澳大利亚原住民。亚洲人口也因移民政策放宽而逐渐成长。语言：英语（官方语）。宗教：天主教和安立甘宗教会。货币：澳大利亚元（$A）。主分四个地理区：（1）西澳大利亚地盾，占土地面积一半以上，包括西北部的安恒地区和庆伯利的岩石露头，以及东部的麦克唐奈尔山脉。（2）大自流盆地，位於地盾区的东部。（3）东部高地，包括大分水岭，是一系列高山、高原和盆地的地形。（4）夫林德斯岭－高山岭。澳大利亚最高点是澳大利亚阿尔卑斯山的科修斯古山；最低点是埃尔湖。主要河流包括墨累－达令水系、夫林德斯河、斯旺河和柯柏河。该国沿海有许多岛屿和珊瑚礁，如大堡礁、梅尔维尔岛、坎加鲁岛和塔斯马尼亚。澳大利亚矿藏资源丰富，产煤、石油和铀。1979年在西澳大利亚发现大量的钻石矿。经济基本上是自由企业，最大部门是金融、制造和贸易。形式上澳大利亚是君主立宪政体，国家元首是代表英国君主的总督。事实上澳大利亚是个两院制议会国家；政府首脑是总理。

长期以来，原住民一直居住在澳大利亚（参阅Australian Aborigine），四万～六万年前他们就来到这里。1788年欧洲人来此定居时，这里的人口估计约有三十万～一百多万。随着17世纪的多次探险活动，澳大利亚开始广泛传播欧洲的知识。1616年丹麦人和1688年英国人相继来此，但第一个大规模的探险考察队是1770年科克率领的，这次探险确立了英国对澳大利亚的所有权。第一个英国居民点建立在杰克森港（1788），居民主要是囚犯和海员；在不断进来的移民中，囚犯占了大部分。到了1859年，形成了澳大利亚所有各州的殖民核心，但对原住民来说却有着破坏性的作用，随着欧洲疾病和武器的引入，原住民人口急剧下降。19世纪中叶，英国给予其殖民地有限的自治权，1900年通过法令将这些殖民地组成联邦。第一次世界大战中，澳大利亚与英国并肩作战，如着名的加利波利半岛登陆，後来又在第二次世界大战中，阻止了日本人对它的占领。在韩战和越战中，它参与美国一边。自1960年代起，政府寻求更公平地对待原住民，放松了对移民的限制，导致人口更加复杂化。1968年正式废除宪法有关英国可干涉澳洲政府事务的部分，澳大利亚在亚洲和太平洋地区的事务中承担了重要的作用。1990年代，澳大利亚经历了几次争论，讨论是否放弃与英国的联系而成为一个共和国。

English version：

Australia

Smallest continent and sixth-largest country (in area) on earth, lying between the Pacific and Indian oceans. Area: 2,967,909 sq mi (7,686,884 sq km). Population (1997 est.): 18,508,000. Capital: Canberra. Most Australians are descendants of Europeans; the largest nonwhite minority is the Australian Aborigines. The Asian part of the population has grown as a result of relaxed immigration policy. Language: English (official). Religions: Roman Catholicism, Anglicanism. Currency: Australian dollar. Australia has four major physiographic regions. More than half its land area is the Western Australian Shield, which includes the outcrops of Arnhem Land and the Kimberleys in the northwest and the Macdonnell Ranges in the east. A second region, the Great Artesian Basin, lies east of the shield region. The Eastern Uplands, which includes the Great Dividing Range, is a series of high ridges, plateaus, and basins. The fourth region is the Flinders-Mount Lofty ranges. The country's highest point is Mount Kosciusko in the Australian Alps; the lowest, Lake Eyre. Major rivers include the Murray-Darling system, the Flinders and Swan rivers, and Cooper Creek. There are many islands and reefs along the country's coast, including the Great Barrier Reef, Melville Island, Kangaroo Island, and Tasmania. Australia is rich in mineral resources, including coal, petroleum, and uranium. A vast diamond deposit was found in Western Australia in 1979. The country's economy is basically free-enterprise; its largest components include finance, manufacturing, and trade. Formally a constitutional monarchy, its chief of state is the British monarch, represented by the Governor-General. In reality it is a parliamentary state with two legislative houses; its head of government is the prime minister. Australia has long been inhabited by Aborigines (see Australian Aborigine), who arrived 40,000-60,000 years ago. Estimates of the population at the time of European settlement in 1788 range from 300,000 to more than 1 million. Widespread European knowledge of Australia began with 17th-century explorations. The Dutch landed in 1616 and the British in 1688, but the first large-scale expedition was that of James Cook in 1770, which established Britain's claim to Australia. The first English settlement, at Port Jackson (1788), consisted mainly of convicts and seamen; convicts were to make up a large proportion of the incoming settlers. By 1859 the colonial nuclei of all Australia's states had been formed, but with devastating effects on the Aborigines, whose population declined sharply with the introduction of European diseases and weaponry. Britain granted its colonies limited self-government in the mid-19th century, and an act federating the colonies into a commonwealth was passed in 1900. Australia fought alongside the British in World War I, notably at Gallipoli, and again in World War II, preventing its occupation by the Japanese. It joined the U.S. in the Korean and Vietnam wars. Since the 1960s the government has sought to deal more fairly with the Aborigines, and a loosening of immigration restrictions has led to a more heterogeneous population. Constitutional links allowing British interference in government were formally abolished in 1968, and Australia has assumed a leading role in Asian and Pacific affairs. During the 1990s, it experienced several debates about giving up its British ties and becoming a republic.

参考文章