A map of Australia

Australia was one of the last land to be discovered by the Europeans.
When the British landed there in the 18^th century, there were about 250,000 to 500,000 Aborigines (the Aborigines are black primitive native groups that have been living in Australia for about 40,000 years). James Cook claimed Australia to the British Crown and hence enabled the British to get rid of their convicts in a faraway land.
In 1788, the first prisoners landed in Australia which was then turned into a gigantic open prison.

Australia is a vast country: about 14 times bigger than France with its 7,741,000 square kilometres.
It is also very arid, mainly covered with desert, and very low. Its highest peak is Mount Kosciusko in New South Wales (2237 m).
There are about 19 million inhabitants in Australia (Aborigines = 1,5 %). The population mainly lives in cities such as Sydney (1^st most populated city ), Melbourne (2^nd), Brisbane (3^rd), Perth or Adelaide. 85 % of the Australian population is urban.