Next to come (february)

Kyrgyzstan

Bombina Orientalis

Humour about Australia (February)

Use of words by Australians

Many Australians believe themselves to be direct in manner and/or admire frank and open communication. Such sentiments can lead to misunderstandings and offence being caused to people from other cultures.

For instance, spoken Australian English is generally more tolerant of offensive and/or abusive language than other variants. Many politicians are exponents of this style in Parliament. Labor Prime Minister Paul Keating called opponents "mangy maggot" and "stupid foul-mouthed grub". Mark Latham, a former Labor Leader of The Opposition referred to the Prime Minister as an "arselicker" and described a visit to see US President George W Bush as "a conga line of suckholes" heading to Washington.

Liberal Health Minister Tony Abbott called an opponent a "snivelling grub".

An important aspect of Australian English usage, inherited in large part from Britain and Ireland, is the use of deadpan humour, in which a person will make extravagant, outrageous and/or ridiculous statements in a neutral tone, and without explicitly indicating they are joking.

Another archetype is a laconic sense of irony, which can extend to nicknames given to friends and co-workers - a tall man can be nicknamed 'Shorty', or a red-haired man called 'Bluey' (although this latter example is far less common today than through to the late 1960s, as during the 1970s many Australians moved to adopt a less parochial and more international flavor to their language as part of the 'cultural cringe' which saw notions of Australian culture as being inferior to that of more developed western nations).

Australian English makes frequent use of diminutives. They can be formed in a number of ways and can be used to indicate familiarity. Some examples include arvo (afternoon), servo (service station), bottle-o (bottle-shop), barbie (barbecue), cozzie (swimming costume), footy (Australian rules football or a code of rugby) and mozzie (mosquito). Similar diminutives are commonly used for personal nicknames (Johnno, Fitzy). Occasionally a -za diminutive is used, usually for personal names where the first of multiple syllables ends in an "r", so Barry becomes Bazza and Sharon Shazza.

Many phrases once common to Australian English have become the subject of common stereotypes, over-use and Hollywood's caricaturised overexaggerations, even though they have largely disappeared from everyday use. Words being used less often include cobber, strewth, you beaut and crikey, and archetypal phrases like flat out like a lizard drinking are rarely heard without a sense of irony.

The phrase put a shrimp on the barbie is a misquotation of a phrase that became famous after being used by Paul Hogan in tourism advertisements that aired in America. Most Australians use the term prawn rather than shrimp, and do not commonly barbecue them. Many people trying to impersonate or mock an Australian will use this line, though Australians themselves would never have used this line.

Australia's unofficial national anthem Waltzing Matilda written by bush poet Banjo Paterson, contains many obsolete Australian words and phrases that appeal to a rural ideal and are understood by Australians even though they are not in common usage outside this song. One example is the title, which means travelling (particularly with a type of bed roll called a swag).

Latter painting of Australia (February)

Australia, in the form of a « Sheep », is bending forward New Zealand, its « Shepherd » as well as it is bending before its « Pastor » when receiving its commandmends.

With the « three kings islands » in between, in its white coat of chastity, pureness and innocence, the Sheep is not only symbolizing the jewish « Easter Lamb » that commemorates, at the time of Easter, the crossing of the Red Sea under Moses’ guidance, but also the « Mystical Lamb » (J-C) who supported the sacrifice of the

immolation to redeem people’s sins, that three kings visited after his birth.
At a reasonable distance of its mouth, a portion of « Green Grass », Tasmania, that revendicates the status of an « Island of rejuvenation ». The island aslo houses this very unique variety of marsupial called « the Tasmania devil » with its size of a dog and the appearance of a bear. Then, as « Green Grass » in front of the « Mystical Lamb » Tasmania could symbolize the « Host » when « Temptation » in so far as the island of the « devil ».

Moreover, two « Christmas islands », one close to Tasmania, the other to Java, the first very small, the second much larger owning the shape of the « Tasmania Devil », which, with its dog appearance, and its distance relative to the « Sheep » (Australia), could easily represent the shepherd’s dog, the « sheepdog ».

Last but not least, it is very interesting to notice Darwin city where its stands (on top of the Sheep) and the symbol it could be given within this scene of the « Creation » where he always defended his theory on « Evolution » …

Initial Drawing and Landmarks of Australia (February)

Australia also symbolizes the early stage of the « Creation ».

It is important to first notice the position of Australia in front of New Zealand.

spreaded on three time zones from +10 to +8 (see : « about time zones » coming later ).

Australia is composed of a main land -Australia- and several islands which

include notably but not exclusively Tasmania -south of Australia- and Christmas

Island -north-west of Perth and south of Java Island- (there is another Christmas

Island, much smaller, located north-west of Tasmania, close to King Island).

North of Australia, a city called Palmerston is renamed Darwin after Charles

Darwin’s venue in 1839 (Charles Darwin is a british naturalist very well known for his revolutionary « theory on evolution » which finds its foundation from his concept of « natural selection »).

Tasmania promotes itself as the Natural State and the "Island of Rejuvenation" owing

to its large, and relatively unspoiled natural environment.

Among numerous species and more notably marsupials, the « devil of Tasmania » (today endangered) is also very well known, particularly under its artist name « TAZ »

(Tex Avery).

Australia is situated in the south hemisphere, north-west of New Zealand, south

of Indonesia.

Introduction of Another World (February)

The vision presented here, probably appeared in some people’s subconscious a long time ago. These people did express opinions or made unusual observations without knowing how much important they were or could be.
For instance, Yvan the Terrific when talking about his large country said:
« … Russia is like an amputated body … ».
Napoleon to add, later : « ... The politics of a State lies in its geography ...».
Many others expressed thoughts like these, Baudelaire within « Spleen and Ideal », Jules Verne in his extraordinary novel « Voyage to the center of the Earth », Jules Michelet, the Historian, when saying :
« … France is a person … », etc.
But the vision takes also care of other observations such as countries, islands or cities nouns like « Senegal » in western Africa or « the three kings islands » in Oceania or "Salta" in Argentina, as well as it takes care of the shape of each country and continent as if the drawing of each country, each continent was carrier of ten thousand meanings each separately, potentially more all together. Not only the shape is important, but the direction it seems to take, its size relatively to foreign countries or continents, its position on the map or in a specific time zone.
Further more, it can show some strange coincidences between the concentration of a particular type of industries in some specific regions of a country and the name given to the said region like for instance « the Cosmetic Valley » in the River Loire Valley, or “the city of lights” for Paris, etc., and additionally reveal some relations between the given name and ‘anatomy’.
In fact, many famous persons, many tribes, many ancient nations have personified their environment as well as many myths have found birth in the environment or more generally in Geography in such a way that it did influence the life and the behaviour of further generations.

Another World (february)

Every day turns the earth on itself. No Change!
Every day gives the earth light and darkness. No Change!
Winter brings cold and snow, Spring flowers and birds songs, Summer fruits
and heat, Autumn wind and rain. No Change!
Every day get people richer, every day get people poorer. No Change!
Every day is Love, every day is Suffer. No Change!
Winter brings cold and snow, Spring flowers and birds songs, Summer fruits
and heat, Autumn wind and rain. No Change!
Every day brings life, every day takes life. No Change!
Every day is strength, every day is weakness. No Change!
Winter brings cold and snow, Spring flowers and birds songs, Summer fruits
and heat, Autumn wind and rain. No Change!




Between the sun and the asteroïds wall, our Earth is immediately surrounded by three planets : Mercury, Venus and Mars, each of them symbolizing respectively God of Merchants (Hermes), Goddess of love (Aphrodit) and God of war (Ares); three old occupations that still govern our world today -money, sex and power-.

Country Details of Australia (February)

Country (long form) : none

Motto : none

Location : Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean

Capital : Canberra 35°15′S 149°28′E

Largest city : Sydney

Total area : 2,988,888 sq mi
7,741,220 km² (6th)

Population : 20,555,3002 (53rd) (2006 est.)

Population growth rate : 0,85% (2006 est.)

Languages : English 79.1%, Chinese 2.1%, Italian 1.9%, other 11.1%, unspecified 5.8% (2001 Census)

Density : 2.6/km² (224th)
Religions : Catholic 26.4%, Anglican 20.5%, other Christian 20.5%, Buddhist 1.9%, Muslim 1.5%, other 1.2%, unspecified 12.7%, none 15.3% (2001 Census)

Life Expectancy : 77,64 years male, 83,52 years female (2006 est.)

Government Type : federal constitutional monarchy (Commonwealth)

Independence from the UK : 1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies)

Currency : 1 Australian dollar (AUD) = 0,7782$ (USD)

GDP (per capita) : $32,220 (World Bank) (14th) (2006 est.)

Industry : mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel

Agriculture : wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits, cattle, sheep, poultry

Arable Land : 6.15% (includes about 27 million hectares of cultivated grassland)

Natural Resources : bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, petroleum

Internet TLD : .au

Calling Code : ++61

Time Zone : various3 (UTC+8 to +10.5)

Specific Highlights of Australia (february)

Tasmania

The island of Tasmania, an Australian state, is located 200 kilometres (125 mi) south of the eastern side of the continent, being separated from it by Bass Strait. Tasmania has a population of 484,700 (March 2005, ABS) and an area of 68,332 square kilometres (26,383 sq mi). Tasmania promotes itself as the Natural State and the "Island of Rejuvenation“ owing to its large, and relatively unspoiled natural environment. Formally, 36% of Tasmania is in reserves, National Parks and World Heritage Sites.

The capital and largest city is Hobart, which also encompasses the cities of Glenorchy and Clarence. Other major population centres include Launceston in the north, and Devonport and Burnie in the northwest.

The sub Antarctic Macquarie Island is also under the administration of the state.

Between 25,000 and 40,000 years ago it is likely that humans arrived in Tasmania. Tasmanian Aborigines lived farther southward than any other people at about 20,000 years ago. In caves in the south-western part of the island images have been dated at about 14,000 years. Bass Strait as a land bridge appears to have been closed off about 12,000 to 13,000 years ago by rising sea levels at the end of the last ice age.

The first reported sighting of Tasmania by a European was on November 24, 1642 by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman who named the island Anthoonij van Diemenslandt, after his sponsor, the Governor of the Dutch East Indies. The name was later shortened to Van Diemen's Land by the British.

The first penal settlement was established by the British in 1803 at what is now Hobart. The early settlers were mostly convicts and their military guards, with the task of developing agriculture and other industries. Numerous other convict-based settlements were made in Van Diemen's Land, including secondary prisons, such as the particularly harsh penal colonies at Port Arthur in the south-east and Macquarie Harbour on the West coast.

In the early 1800s, almost all of the Tasmanian Aborigines were wiped out by the European settlers in an event known as the Black War.

Van Diemen's Land was proclaimed a separate colony from New South Wales, with its own judicial establishment and Legislative Council in 1825. Van Diemen's Land was renamed Tasmania (after Abel Tasman) in 1856 in order to remove the unsavoury connotations with crime associated with its former name. The last penal settlement in Tasmania at Port Arthur was closed in 1877. In 19 01 Tasmania became a state in the newly federated Commonwealth of Australia.

Tasmanian Devil

The Tasmanian Devil is a carnivorous marsupial found exclusively on the island of Tasmania.

The size of a small dog but stocky and muscular, the Tasmanian Devil is characterised by its black fur with white patches. It has a loud and disturbing screech-like growl, possesses a vicious temperament and is predominantly a scavenger. The Devil survived European settlement and was considered widespread and common throughout Tasmania until recently.

Like a lot of the wildlife, fast vehicles on the roads are a problem for Tasmanian Devils, which are often killed while feeding on other road-killed animals such as wallabies.

As of 2005 the Tasmanian Devil population has been reduced by up to 80% in parts of Tasmania by the devil facial tumour disease, which is gradually spreading throughout the island. It is believed the majority have starved when the tumours have spread to their mouths and that the tumours are spread by fighting between devils over carcasses they feed on – typically, fighting devils will bite one another's faces. There is no known cure for the disease, and intensive research is underway to determine its cause. There is also a captive breeding program being undertaken by the Tasmanian government to establish a disease-free, genetically-diverse population of Tasmanian Devils outside Tasmania.

Christmas Island

The Territory of Christmas Island is a small, non self-governing territory of Australia located in the Indian Ocean, 2,360 km (1,466 miles) northwest of Perth in Western Australia and 500 km (310 miles) south of Jakarta, Indonesia.

It maintains about 1,600 residents who live in a number of "settlement areas" on the northern tip of the island: Flying Fish Cove (also known as "The Settlement"), Silver City, Kampong, Poon Saan, and Drumsite.

It has a unique natural topography and is of immense interest to scientists and naturalists due to the number of species of endemic flora and fauna which have evolved in isolation and undisturbed by human habitation.

While there has been mining activity on the island for many years, 65 percent of its 135 square kilometres (52.1 sq. mi) are now National Park and there are large areas of pristine and ancient rainforest.

Geography

Located at 10°30′S 105°40′E, the island is a quadrilateral with hollowed sides, about 19 km (12 miles) in greatest length and 14.5 km (9 miles) in extreme breadth. The total land area is 135 km² (52.1 square miles), with 138.9 km (86.3 miles) of coastline. The island is the flat summit of a submarine mountain more than 4,572 m (15,000 feet) high, the depth of the platform from which it rises being about 14,000 feet (4267 m) and its height above the sea being upwards of 305 m (1,000 feet).

The climate is tropical, with heat and humidity moderated by trade winds. Steep cliffs along much of the coast rise abruptly to a central plateau. Elevation ranges from sea level to 361 m (1,184 feet) at Murray Hill. The island is mainly tropical rainforest, of which 65% is National Park.

The narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can be a maritime hazard.

Christmas Island is 500 km south of Indonesia and about 2600 km north west of Perth.

Map of Australia (February)

The World Geography (february)

Some philosophers of the 20th century were absolutely persuaded that the 21rst century would be religious or it wouldn’t be. The question is to know which of these passed twenty centuries has not been religious?
In other words, the right question about future seems to reside elsewhere, perhaps where it seems to not lie. Why not inside Geography ?
“What do we know exactly about geography today?” is neither the right question nor the more interesting. The more interesting is to seek what we still don’t know about this science. Where haven’t we observed, what sort of knowledge have we ignored, moreover what mean have we missed to employ or why have we taken so few about Poetry for instance?
Let us remember the unforgettable definition Beaudelaire made about Nature when
writing ‘Correspondances’ within “Spleen and Ideal”:

“... La Nature est un temple où de vivants piliers laissent parfois sortir de confuses
paroles; l’homme y passe à travers des forêts de symboles qui l’observent avec des
regards familiers ...”.

People of Australia (February)

Matthew Flinders

Matthew Flinders (1774-1814) was born in Lincolnshire in England. Flinders joined the navy where he trained as a navigator. Flinders wanted to become a sailor and explorer after reading the book Robinson Crusoe. He met George Bass, a ship's doctor, when they were both sailing to Australia on the Reliance. They became very good friends and were to go on many journeys of exploration together. Flinders was to first man to circumnavigate Australia. It was Flinders who suggested the name "Australia" and it was adopted in 1824. Several places have been named after him such as Flinders Island.

In 1796 Bass and Flinders explored the coastline south of Sydney using a tiny open boat about 2.5 metres long. It was called the Tom Thumb. As they were sailing along the southern coast of New South Wales, they were met by a party of fierce-looking aborigines. They decided to calm things down by trying to amuse the aborigines. Flinders pulled out a pair of scissors and started cutting the aborigines hair, while Bass and a servant boy called Martin made the boat ready. Then Flinders leapt aboard the flimsy boat and the three companions sailed away, leaving the aborigines on the shore.

Flinders had been doing some exploring on his own and believed that he could prove that Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) was an island. Bass and Flinders convinced Governor Hunter that another expedition should be set up with a bigger boat and more men. In 1798, Bass and Flinders sailed the Norfolk through Bass Strait and round Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania), proving that it was an island. This was to be their last voyage together as Bass disappeared mysteriously in the Pacific Ocean.

Flinders returned to England in 1800. While he was here, he became married. The British government asked him to make an even bigger voyage - right around Australia. Leaving his wife, Anne, behind in England, he sailed back to Australia in the Investigator. In 1802, Flinders sailed north from Sydney, passing through Torres Strait and across the Gulf of Carpentaria. He went right round Australia, becoming the first man to circumnavigate Australia. He called in at Timor on the way, arriving back in Sydney in June, 1803.

Flinders was captured by the French on the island of Mauritius in 1803 until 1810. They claimed that he was a spy. He was later allowed to return to England. When he reached London, he was 39. but looked much older. His health began to fail and he died young, like Bass. Although very ill, he completed a book on his travels called « A Voyage to Terra Australis ». He died on the day that his book was published. Flinders proved that Australia was not a series of islands, but one island. His charts were so accurate, that they were used for many years after his death.

Willem Janssen

(c. 1570-after 1629)

First authenticated discoverer of Australia, Willem Janssen was born possibly about 1570, probably at Amsterdam, Holland. Nothing is known of his early life, and he is first heard of in 1598 as a mate on the Hollandia, one of the vessels in the second Dutch fleet to voyage to the East Indies. He returned to Holland, and on 21 December 1599, having been promoted to the position of first mate, sailed again for the Indies.
He made other voyages, but when he left Holland in December 1603 in command of the Duyfken, as part of a large fleet, the understanding was that this vessel was to remain in the east for three years, and endeavour to find new sources of trade. On 18 November 1605 Jansz left Bantam for Banda. From Banda an east-south-east course was taken to the Kei group, thence to Aru and the coast of New Guinea at De Jong's Point. Turning south the Gulf of Carpentaria was entered and the Australian coast was discovered at the mouth of the Pennefather River, on the Cape York peninsula, probably in March 1606. The course continued to latitude 13.59 when the Duyfken began her return journey. A visit was made to Prince of Wales Island, the New Guinea coast was again approached, and then a turn was made and Banda was reached in May 1606. For the first time some 200 miles of the Australian coastline had been charted, though Jansz was not aware it was not part of New Guinea.

Subsequently Jansz was in command of various vessels. He returned to Holland in 1611 when he was described in a letter from the chamber of Zeeland as "a very competent and sober man, who has pleased us greatly by his account of trade in the East". About the end of December 1611 he sailed again to the Indies in command of the Orangie. He became governor of Solor in 1614, and in 1617 made another visit to Holland. In January 1618 he went to Java as super-cargo on the Mauritius and arrived at Bantam on 22 August.

In October 1619 Jansz was sent with six ships against the British, surprised four ships which had been loading cargo on the west coast of Sumatra, and captured them. Peace with the British was made soon after and Jansz, who had been made an admiral, was engaged in a joint operation with them against the Philippines. For three and a half years from October 1623 Jansz was governor of Banda. He returned to Batavia in June 1627 and soon afterwards, as admiral of a fleet of eight vessels, went on a diplomatic mission to India. In December 1628 he sailed for Holland and on 16 July 1629 reported on the state of the Indies at The Hague. He was probably now about 60 years of age and willing to retire from his strenuous and successful life in the service of his country. Nothing is known of his last days.

History Facts and Words of Australia (february)

- The Bunyip -

The bunyip ("devil" or "spirit") is a mythical creature from Australian Aboriginal mythology.

Descriptions of bunyips vary wildly. Common features in Aboriginal drawings include a horse-like tail, flippers, and walrus-like tusks. According to legend, they are said to lurk in swamps, billabongs, creeks, riverbeds, and waterholes. At night their blood-curdling cries can be heard as they devour any animal that ventures near their abodes.

During the early settlement of Australia, the notion that the bunyip was an actual unknown animal that awaited discovery became common. Early European settlers, unfamiliar with the sights and sounds of the island continent's peculiar fauna, regarded the bunyip as one more strange Australian animal, and sometimes attributed unfamiliar calls or cries to it. At one point, the discovery of a strange skull in an isolated area associated with these 'bunyip calls' seemed to provide physical evidence of the bunyip's existence.

In 1846 a peculiar skull was taken from the banks of Murrumbidgee River in New South Wales. In the first flush of excitement, several experts concluded that it was the skull of something unknown to science. In 1847 the so-called bunyip skull was put on exhibition in the Australian Museum (Sydney) for two days. Visitors flocked to see it and the Sydney Morning Herald said that it prompted many people to speak out about their 'bunyip sightings‘. "Almost everyone became immediately aware that he had heard 'strange sounds' from the lagoons at night, or had seen 'something black' in the water." It was eventually concluded that it was a 'freak of nature' and not a new species. The 'bunyip skull' disappeared from the museum soon afterwards, and its present location is unknown.

As European exploration of Australia proceeded, the bunyip increasingly began to be regarded as not existing. The mysterious skull was later identified as that of a disfigured horse or calf. The idiom 'why search for the bunyip?' emerged from repeated attempts by Australian adventurers to capture or sight the bunyip, the phrase indicating that a proposed course of action is fruitless or impossible.

Although no documented physical evidence of bunyips has been found, it has been suggested by cryptozoologists that tales of bunyips could be Aboriginal memories of the diprotodon, or other extinct Australian megafauna which became extinct some 50,000 years ago. The cries of the possum or koala could likely be mistaken for the bunyip, as most people are surprised to find koalas or possums are capable of such loud roars. The Barking Owl, a nocturnal bird that lives around swamps and billabongs in the Australian bush is sometimes credited for making the sounds of the bunyip. The bird is known to make a call that can easily be mistaken for the cries of a woman or child. Other species of birds, such as bitterns and bush-stone curlews emit blood curdling sounds that were sometimes attributed to bunyips.

The most likely explanation for the existence of Bunyips relates to their locations on the Murray-Darling river system. Australian Fur Seals are known to swim up the river system during times of flood, subsequently becoming trapped within the river system once the flooding resides. There have been dozens of Fur Seals killed or captured as far north as Canberra, incidently, in close proximity to areas where a Bunyip has been heard or sighted.

The coincidence of the features and sounds made of both animals, would necessarily lead to an inland dwelling Aborigine or European to come to the conclusion that the creature was in fact a new species. Meanwhile, those having travelled more widely, would immediately recognise the same creature as a Fur Seal.

Legends and Tales of Australia (February)

- Mirragan, the Fisherman -

Ages ago, in the dream-time, many of the animals now on earth were men. They were much bigger than the blackfellows of the present time, and were possessed of wonderful magic power, which allowed them to move mountains, make rivers, and perform many other feats of extraordinary strength and daring.
At this time, Gurangatch lived in a very deep waterhole at the junction of what we now know as the Wollondilly and Wingeecaribee Rivers, in New South Wales. Gurangatch was half fish and half reptile, with shimmering scales of green, purple and gold. His eyes shone like two bright stars through the clear green water of his camping ground. At mid-day, when the sun was high, he basked in the shallow water of the lagoon, and at nightfall retired to the dark depths of the pool.

Mirragan, the tiger-cat, was a famous fisherman. He would never trouble to trap or spear small fish, but would wait for the largest and most dangerous. One day he was passing by the waterhole, when he caught a glimpse of the gleaming eyes of Gurangatch. Instantly he threw a spear at him, but Gurangatch swam to the bottom of the waterhole, which was very deep. Mirragan sat on the bank for some time, and wondered how he could catch such a splendid fish. At last he hit upon a plan. He went into the bush and cut a lot of bark, carried it to the waterhole, and placed it under the water at several positions around the bank. He intended to poison the water with the bark, and thus cause Gurangatch to rise to the surface. The water made Gurangatch very sick, but it was not sufficiently poisonous to cause him to rise to the surface. After waiting for a considerable time, Mirragan realised that his plan had failed. He was sorely disappointed, but again went in search of more bark.

When Gurangatch saw his enemy depart, he suspected some other trick. In order to escape, he commenced to tear up the ground for many miles, and the water of the lagoon flowed after him. In this manner he formed the present valley of the Wollondilly River. He then burrowed underground for several miles, and came out on the side of the valley by a high rocky ridge, which is now known as the Rocky Waterhole. When Gurangatch reached this lagoon, he raised his head and put out his tongue, which flashed like summer lightning across a stormy sky. From this vantage place he saw Mirragan following swiftly in his trail. Gurangatch then re turned along his burrow to the Wollondilly, and continued to make a channel for himself. When he arrived at the junction of the Guineacor River, he turned to the left and continued its course for a few miles. At last he arrived at a very rocky place, which was hard to burrow through. He therefore turned on his track and continued his former course, which is the long bend in the Wollondilly at this point. He then made Jock's Creek-which flows into the Wollondilly-and, on reaching its source, he again burrowed deep beneath the mountain ranges, and came up inside the Whambeyan Caves.

Let us now return to the adventures of Mirragan. When he arrived at the waterhole with the second load of bark, he saw that Gurangatch had escaped. He then following him many miles down the river, until he overtook him at the Whambeyan Caves. Mirragan was afraid to follow Gurangatch along the dark underground passages of the caves. He now climbed on top of the rocks and dug a very deep hole, and then poked a pole down as far as it would reach in order to frighten Gurangatch out of his safe retreat. However, he did not succeed with the first, hole, and so he made many of them. These holes still remain on the top of Whambeyan Caves.

Country Informations about Australia (february)

Parliament House in Canberra was opened in 1988 replacing the provisional Parliament House building opened in 1927.

The Commonwealth of Australia is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government. Queen Elizabeth II is the Queen of Australia, a role that is distinct from her position as monarch of the other Commonwealth Realms. The Queen is represented by the Governor-General at Federal level and by the Governors at State level. Although the Constitution gives extensive executive powers to the Governor-General, these are normally exercised only on the advice of the Prime Minister. The most notable exercise of the Governor-General's reserve powers outside the Prime Minister's direction was the dismissal of the Whitlam Government in the constitutional crisis of 1975.

There are three branches of government:

• The legislature: the Commonwealth Parliament, comprising the Queen, the Senate, and the House of Representatives; the Queen is represented by the Governor-General, whose powers are limited to assenting to laws.

• The executive: the Federal Executive Council (the Governor-General as advised by the Executive Councillors); in practice, the councillors are the Prime Minister and Ministers of State.

• The judiciary: the High Court of Australia and other federal courts. The State courts became formally independent from the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council when the Australia Act was passed in 1986.

The bicameral Commonwealth Parliament consists of the Queen, the Senate (the upper house) of 76 senators, and a House of Representatives (the lower house) of 150 members. Members of the lower house are elected from single-member constituencies, commonly known as 'electorates' or 'seats'. Seats in the House of Representatives are allocated to states on the basis of population. In the Senate, each state, regardless of population, is represented by 12 senators, while the territories (the ACT and the NT) are each represented by two. Elections for both chambers are held every three years; typically only half of the Senate seats are put to each election, because senators have overlapping six-year terms. The party with majority support in the House of Representatives forms Government, with its leader becoming Prime Minister.

There are three major political parties: the Labor Party, the Liberal Party and the National Party. Independent members and several minor parties — including the Greens and the Australian Democrats — have achieved representation in Australian parliaments, mostly in upper houses. Since the 1996 election, the Liberal/National Coalition led by the Prime Minister, John Howard, has been in power in Canberra. In the 2004 election, the Coalition won control of the Senate, the first time that a party (or coalition of governing parties) has done so while in government in more than 20 years. The Labor Party is in power in every state and territory. Voting is compulsory for all enrolled citizens 18 years and over in each state and territory and at the federal level.

Introduction of Australia (february)

The history of Australia began when people first migrated to the Australian continent from the north, at least 40,000-45,000 years ago. The written history of Australia began when Dutch explorers first sighted the country in the 17th century (1606). The interpretation of the history of Australia is currently the matter of contention, particularly regarding the treatment of Indigenous Australians.

Records of the discovery of the Australian continent by European expeditions date back to the early 17th century. The first known sighting was in 1606 by the Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon, who in his ship Duyfken navigated the Gulf of Carpentaria, sighting and making landfall on the western coast of Cape York Peninsula. Some writers have argued that Portuguese navigators may have discovered Australia in the 16th century (see Theory of Portuguese discovery of Australia), but there is no firm evidence to support this theory. Other 17th century European voyagers (predominantly Dutch, but also French and English) were to follow suit, and by the start of the 18th century the western and northern coastlines of what had become known as "New Holland" had been charted. No attempts to establish settlements were made, however.

In 1770, the expedition of the Endeavour under command of British Royal Navy Lieutenant James Cook navigated and charted the east coast of Australia, making first landfall at Botany Bay on April 29, 1770. Cook continued northwards, and before leaving put ashore on Possession Island in the Torres Strait off Cape York on August 22, 1770. Here he formally claimed the eastern coastline he had discovered for the Crown, naming it New South Wales. Given that Cook's discoveries would lead to the first European settlement of Australia, he is often popularly conceived as its European discoverer, although he had been preceded by more than 160 years.

The favourable reports of these lands relayed by Cook's expedition upon their return to England generated interest in its offered solution to the problem of penal overcrowding in Britain, which had been exacerbated by the loss of its American colonies.

Accordingly, on May 13, 1787 the 11 ships of the First Fleet set sail from Portsmouth, England, bound for Botany Bay.