Thanks, Thomas, for depicting our soldiers visiting the Toobruk War Cemetary.

Hi Thomas,

This tribute to Austrialia is wonderful, I am ready to come on over John.  I just love all the birds and animals, and the music too, nice.

Myrna

Your welcome Myrna and John, this gives me a great idea!

_{Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the mainland of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous other islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Neighbouring countries include Indonesia, East Timor, and Papua New Guinea to the north, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia to the northeast, and New Zealand to the southeast. Australia is the only single country to occupy an entire continent.}

_{The Australian mainland has been inhabited for more than 42,000 years by indigenous Australians. After sporadic visits by fishermen from the north and then European discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606, the eastern half of Australia was later claimed by the British in 1770 and initially settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales, commencing on 26 January 1788. As the population grew and new areas were explored, another five largely self-governing Crown Colonies were established during the 19th century.}

_{On 1 January 1901, the six colonies became a federation, and the Commonwealth of Australia was formed. Since federation, Australia has maintained a stable liberal democratic political system and remains a Commonwealth realm. The capital city is Canberra, located in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The population is just over 21.3 million, with approximately 60% of the population concentrated in and around the mainland state capitals of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide.}

The name "Australia" is derived from the Latin Australis, meaning "Southern". Legends of an "unknown land of the south" (terra australis incognita) date back to Roman times and were commonplace in medieval geography but were not based on any documented knowledge of the continent. In 1521 Spaniards were among the first Europeans to sail the Pacific Ocean. The first use of the word "Australia" in English was in 1625—the words "A note of Australia del Espiritu Santo, written by Master Hakluyt", published by Samuel Purchas in Hakluytus Posthumus.The Dutch adjectival form Australische was used by Dutch East India Company officials in Batavia to refer to the newly discovered land to the south in 1638. "Australia" was used in a 1693 translation of Les Aventures de Jacques Sadeur dans la Découverte et le Voyage de la Terre Australe, a 1676 French novel by Gabriel de Foigny under the pen name Jacques Sadeur. Alexander Dalrymple then used it in An Historical Collection of Voyages and Discoveries in the South Pacific Ocean (1771), to refer to the entire South Pacific region. In 1793, George Shaw and Sir James Smith published Zoology and Botany of New Holland, in which they wrote of "the vast island, or rather continent, of Australia, Australasia or New Holland."

The name "Australia" was popularised by the 1814 work A Voyage to Terra Australis by the navigator Matthew Flinders, the first recorded person to circumnavigate Australia. Though its title reflected the British Admiralty's usage, Flinders used the word "Australia" in his book, and because it was widely read it gave the term general currency. Governor Lachlan Macquarie of New South Wales subsequently used the word in his dispatches to England, and on 12 December 1817 recommended to the Colonial Office that it be officially adopted. In 1824, the Admiralty agreed that the continent should be known officially as "Australia".               Under Secretary for Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky and Australian Minister for Trade Mark Vaile prepare to sign the U.S.-Australia Joint Statement on Environmental Cooperation, May 18, 2004  

Hi Myrna

You are very welcome to visit our shores, and if you like the beach, just drop in here on the Sunshine Coast.

Hi Thomas

After your excellent coverage of my country, I'll introduce you to our favourite Aussie pastime, taking the piss mickey out of each other. Here is how we see ourselves:

We are the people of a free nation of blokes, shielas, and the occasional wanker. We come from many lands (although a few too many of us come from New Zealand) and although we live in the best country in the world, we reserve the right to bitch and moan about it whenever we bloody-well like.

We are one nation but divided into many states. First there's Victoria, named after a Queen who didn't believe in lesbians. Victoria is the realm of Mossimo turtlenecks, cafe latte, grand final day, and big horse races. It's capital is Melbourne, whose chief marketing pitch is that "it's liveable", at least, that's what they think. The rest of us think it's too bloody cold and wet.

Next there's New South Wales, the realm of pastel shorts, macchiato with sugar, thin books read quickly, and millions of dancing queens. It's capital, Sydney, has more queens than any other city and is proud of it. It's mascots are Bondi lifesavers who pull their speedos up their cracks to keep the right and left sides of their brains separate.

Down south we have Tasmania, which has a wood-chip industry and magnificent views, and maps of the state bring smiles to the sternest of faces.

South Australia is a province of half-decent reds, a festival of foreigners and bizarre axe murders. They had the Grand Prix but lost it when the views of the capital, Adelaide, sent the Formula One drivers to sleep at the wheel.

Western Australia is too far from anywhere to be relevant. It's main claim to fame is that it doesn't have daylight saving, because if it did all the young men would get erections on the bus on the way to work. WA was the last state to stop importing convicts, but many of them still work in the Government today.

The Northern Territory is the red heart of our land, with sheep stations the size of Europe, kangaroos, jackeroos, emus and Uluru, and dusty kids with big smiles. It also has the highest beer consumption of anywhere on the planet. Although the Territory is the centrepiece of our national culture, very few of us live there, and the rest of us prefer to fly over it on the way to Bali. 

And there's Queensland. While any mention of God seems silly in a document defining a nation of half-arsed sceptics, it is worth noting that God probably made Queensland, as it is beautiful one day, perfect the next. Why he filled it with dickheads remains a mystery.

Oh yes, and there's Canberra (national seat). The less said about that, the better.

We want to make "no worries mate" our national phrase, "she'll be right mate" our national attitude, and "Waltzing Matilda" our national anthem (so what if it's about a sheep-stealing crim who commits suicide).

We love sport so much our newsreaders can read the death toll from a sailing race and still tell us who's winning. And we're the best in the world at all sports that count, like cricket, netball, rugby league and union, AFL, horse racing, two up and roo shooting.

Stand proud Aussies, we are girt by sea and pissed by lunchtime. We also shoot and eat the two animals on our national crest. No other country has that distinction.