Photos from the Real AUSTRALIA

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M a p . t h i s . p a g e

SOUTH EASTERN AUSTRALIA

The south eastern corner of Australia is the region that is least associated with the "Outback"; it has the coolest climate and had therefore the greater settlement by the colonists that drove the Aboriginal population here in great decline. The four smallest states of the nation hold more than three quarters of Australia's population.

New South Wales, the "Premier State", is where European colonisation of Australia began when in 1788 a settlement was started where the country's largest city, Sydney, would develop. The countryside and beaches are delightful and, in the west, there is the real outback, with vast plains, farms and Aboriginal communities.

Victoria, in the south east, is the smallest mainland state, first settled by whites in the mid-19th century after the discovery of gold, which brought disaster for its Aboriginal population. It is a mountainous state and the Murray River, Australia's longest permanently flowing river, forms a good deal of the border with New South Wales. Melbourne, the capital, is the second largest city of the nation.

South Australia lies to the south of the vast Northern Territory and, in the north, is a continuation of the arid plains and hills of the NT, with an Aboriginal population that shares language and culture with the desert people of Central Australia. Further south, the landscape gradually becomes more lush, there are wine-growing areas and the state capital of Adelaide, spacious and surounded by parklands.

Tasmania is the nation's smallest state, separated from the rest of Australia by Bass Strait. It became a convict colony in 1803 and this spelled doom for the unique Tasmanian Aborigines; when the white settlers took over the land, they were hunted down and killed. The last full-blooded Tasmanian died in 1876, although mixed-blood descendants still claim their heritage. The island is well suited for agriculture and there are large farms. There are also the last examples of old growth rain forest, and an active environmental movement striving to protect its unique environment.

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