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Sunbaked horizons, rich culture and amiable people. Australia is definitely one-of-a-kind; it is the only country that is both an island and a continent. The Commonwealth of Australia is the smallest continent in the world. It comprises of Tasmania, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia. Its name was derived from the Latin Australis, meaning “southern”.
Australia is best remembered for its expansive sun drenched landscape, luscious forest and cultural heritage. This country features one of the most urbane populations in the world. It is the melting pots of different cultures. After the Second World War there have been an influx of English and non English-speaking migrants from England, Scotland, Ireland, Italy, Greece, Germany, former Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Malta, Eastern Europe, Middle East and South-East Asia.
It has been posited that the first inhabitants of Australia arrived to this country through land bridges and short-sea crossing. These first Australians were hunter-gatherer marked by distinctive culture and language. Nonetheless, the first recorded European sighting in Australia was by a Dutch navigator named Willem Janszoon in 1606. The British arrived in the Australia as early as 1688, but it was Captain James Cook who instigated to take possession of this vast land and call it New South Wales.
The first wave of British settlers came to Australia in 1788. There are what we call free settlers and convict settlers. The free settlers were located in Adelaide and Perth, while the convict settlers were on the east coast. There have also been a number of Asian and Eastern European people that arrived at the country during the 1850s.
Despite Australia being influenced by a conglomeration of different cultures, it still features a distinctive Australian identity considered to be a product of its unique environment and preexisting indigenous culture. The country has also achieved international recognition worldwide in the field of film, music, painting, theatre, dance and crafts. Over one-fifth of its people were born to immigrant parents, while approximately half of them are of aboriginal decent. The variety and distinctiveness of Australia is evident in the quality of global foods available in the marketplace and restaurants.
Australia is also recognized as the fourth-largest exporter of wine in the world. It exports over 400 million litres of wine annually. Surprising it may seem, Australia exports a significant quantity of wine to the “old world” wine-producing countries like France, Italy and Spain. Australians too are very fond of wines; they consume over 400 million of wines per year. In the subsequent articles we will be discussing in detail the production, export and tourism of wines.
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