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Welcome to the world of Australia!

Let’s learn a little about this amazing country. Australia is the only continent that is also an island. Australia is actually only just a little smaller than the mainland of the United States.

Australia’s National Flag:

Unusual Animals

There are many interesting types of animals in Australia. One group of animals are called marsupials. These are pouched mammals, meaning they have live babies, but the babies live in the mother’s pouch while developing. Australia’s marsupials include 45 species of kangaroos, koalas, wombats, and others. The only naturally occurring marsupial in the United States is the opossum.

Australia and New Guinea are also the only place where special mammals called monotremes live. Monotremes are mammals that lay eggs. There are only 3 types of these animals found on earth today. They are the duckbill platypus and 2 species of echidnas (also called spiny anteaters).

The Great Barrier Reef

The largest reef system is in the waters of north-east Australia.
It is also the only natural organism visible from space.

Photograph:The Great Barrier Reef, off the coast of Queensland, Australia.

Great Barrier Reef from the sky

Animals of the Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef Virtual Adventure

Great Barrier Reef Info

Native People

The Native People to Australia are Aborigines.
They are similar to the United States Native Americans. Most of them live on reservations.
The first white Australians were convicts (some wrongly accused) sent from England to live.
Many of them saw this as a chance to start again.
Many people from all over the world have moved to Australia since the end of World War II.

Aboriginals use many interesting things. Boomerangs were originally used to catch food while hunting.

Didgeridoos are long tubular musical instruments that are still played today.