History

The earliest human population arrived on the Australian continent more than 40,000 years ago when Indigenous tribes migrated from an unknown region of Asia. Australia’s Indigenous people have the oldest living cultural history in the world. Indigenous communities keep their cultural heritage alive by passing their knowledge, arts, rituals and performances from one generation to another; speaking and teaching languages; protecting cultural materials; and looking after sacred and significant sites such as Uluru in the Northern Territory.

European exploration of Australia began in 1606 when a Spanish navigator sailed through the Torres Strait, which separates Australia from Papua New Guinea. Dutch, French and English explorers followed and began to map the continent. The European settlement of Australia began in 1788 when the British established a penal colony at Botany Bay, which is now Sydney, the largest city in Australia. The colony grew as free settlers and migrants arrived in Australia hoping to make a better life.

Climate

Australia’s climate varies greatly across the country. About 40 per cent of the northern part of the country lies in the tropics. Monsoon winds bring moist air during summer, and the high rainfall between December and March is called ‘the wet season’. The climate in the southern part of the country is temperate, with cool winters, hot summers and four distinct seasons. Australia lies in the Southern Hemisphere, so the summer months are December, January and February, and the winter months are June, July and August. Nearly 90 per cent of the population live around Australia’s coastal edges, where ocean breezes bring the temperature down. Temperatures in the desert regions are severe and often exceed 40°C during the day in summer and fall as low as -7°C at night in winter.