Commonwealth of Australia

n. continent southeast of Asia between the Indian and Pacific oceans; Commonwealth of Australia, country located on the continent of Australia

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 a number of other islands in the Indian, Pacific and Southern Oceans. The neighbouring countries are Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia to the north-east, and New Zealand to the south-east.
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Noun
1. a nation occupying the whole of the Australian continent; aboriginal tribes are thought to have migrated from southeastern Asia 20,000 years ago; first Europeans were British convicts sent there as a penal colony
(synonym) Australia
(hypernym) country, state, land
(member-holonym) British Commonwealth, Commonwealth of Nations
(part-holonym) Australia
(member-meronym) Australian, Aussie
(part-meronym) Canberra, Australian capital, capital of Australia
(class) bonzer

Flag of Australia
Background Aboriginal settlers arrived on the continent from Southeast Asia about 40,000 years before the first Europeans began exploration in the 17th century. No formal territorial claims were made until 1770, when Capt. James COOK took possession in the name of Great Britain. Six colonies were created in the late 18th and 19th centuries; they federated and became the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. The new country took advantage of its natural resources to rapidly develop its agricultural and manufacturing industries and to make a major contribution to the British effort in World Wars I and II. In recent decades, Australia has transformed itself into an internationally competitive, advanced market economy. It boasted one of the OECD's fastest growing economies during the 1990's, a performance due in large part to economic reforms adopted in the 1980's. Long-term concerns include pollution, particularly depletion of the ozone layer, and management and conservation of coastal areas, especially the Great Barrier Reef. Map of Australia More about Australia: Geography People Government Economy Communications Transportation Military Transnational Issues