The Commonwealth of Australia is a federal state. It has got six states: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and two internal territories. The official

language is English.

Australia is situated in the south-west of the Pa­cific Ocean.

The area of this country is 7,687,000 square kilo­metres. Australia is the largest island in the world and it is the smallest continent. The Dutch were the irst Europeans to visit Australia. In 1770 the En­glish captain James Cook discovered the east coast of Australia.

Nearly 20 million people live in Australia.

Australia's climate is dry and warm. Australia is situated in the southern hemisphere and that's why there is summer, when we have winter and there is winter, when we have summer. It is interesting to know that January is the hottest month in Australia.

Australia is separated from many countries. There are many original and interesting animals in Australia, for example, dingoes (wild dogs), koala bears, kangaroos.

The kangaroo and koala have got a pouch in which they carry their cubs. There are many birds in the country, too. One can see parrots and cockatoos. The emu is the most interesting bird in Australia. It is big and can't fly.

There are many rivers and lakes in the country.

Australia is an industrial country. It has coal, nickel, zinc, gold. Several factories and plants work in the country. Australia is one of the most impor­tant producers of metals and minerals. It exports wool products, meat, fruit, sugar.

The capital of the country is Canberra. The city be­came the capital in 1927. Federal Government works in Canberra in the government buildings. It is inter­esting to know that there are no industrial plants in Canberra.

The population of Canberra is about 300,000 peo­ple.

There are many sights in the city. They are the Building of the Australian Academy of Sciences, the Australian National University and others. There are two big industrial cities in Australia: Sydney and Melbourne.

The habited part of the country is situated near oct"n. Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and others are the ports of the country.

Australia is a part of the British Empire. Former­ly the head of the state was the Queen, but in fact Australia is an independent, self-governing state. The Parliament consists of two Houses.

There are many universities, theatres and muse­ums in Australia.