Australia is the 6th largest country in the world by size, larger than Europe, with a population of 23 million made up of immigrants from around the world and Aboriginal people who have lived there for over 40,000 years. The capital is Canberra, the Australian dollar is used, and English is the official language. The country has diverse climates ranging from desert in the central Outback to forests, mountains and tropical conditions in other areas, and seasons are opposite of the northern hemisphere with summer from December to February.

1. Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is the 6th
biggest country in the world. In fact, it’s
bigger than Europe. The first European
settlers only arrived in 1788 so the
population of 23 million people is made
up of people from all over the world. But
the Aboriginal people have lived in
Australia for more than 40 000 years. The
capital city is Canberra, where the
government is and we use the Australian
dollar. ($1 = 60 Euro cents). The official
language is English.
Australia is very big, so there are a lot of different
climates. About half of Australia is desert, called the
Outback. There are also forests and mountains in the
south of the country, which get a lot of rain and even
snow. In the North it is very hot and wet, like a
tropical forest. Did you know that the seasons are
opposite? Summer is December, January and
February. So it is normally hot at Christmas.
My name is Sarah and I live on the Gold Coast,
near Brisbane. There are a lot of beaches and the
weather is warm most of the year.