具体描述
Six sovereign states, federated in 1901, and seven
territories, including the Australian Capital Territory,
the Northern Territory and various islands, comprise the
Commonwealth of Australia. Despite the fact that it has
the world s lowest density of population, Australia is the
most urbanised nation. Eighty-two per cent of its sixteen
million people live in its cities. The largest city, Sydney,
capital of New South Wales, is a bustling, vital city
blessed with a magnificent harbour. The capital of
Victoria, Melbourne, is more conservative and English ,
with its Victorian architecture, fine parks, gardens and
tree-lined streets. The smaller state capitals, Brisbane,
Adelaide, Perth and Hobart, have been less subject to
overseas influence and are more truly Australian.
Canberra, an imaginatively designed city, is the nation s
capital.
Australia is a large island continent with a broad
fertile coastal strip, which supports most of the
population, separated from the overwhelming desolation
of the inland by mountain ranges. Its vast land mass
provides a magnificent diversity of scenery, including the
world s largest coral formation, the Great Barrier Reef,
mountain ranges that are alpine in character and ideal
for winter sports, and the Red Centre, with its huge
rocky outcrops sculptured by wind and sand.
Diversity is also reflected in Australia s flora and
fauna. The beaul~y and abundance of Australian
wildflowers is unsurpassed. Geographically isolated,
Australia provided a refuge for many unique species of
animals, such as the koala and the kangaroo, Australia s
best-known ambassadors.
