Page 137 - Social Studies 7

Lesson Australia: Its Geography and
5.8

Socio-economic Life

Over 200 different languages and dialects are spoken in
FACTS Australia including 45 indigenous languages, the most
to Understand common non-English spoken language are Italian, Greek,
Cantonese, Arabic, Vietnamese and Mandarin.

Australia is a country and continent as well. It is also called the young continent
because it was discovered in 1770 AD by an English geographical explorer. The
continent Australia is comprises of Australia, Tasmania, New Guinea, Serum
and New Zealand. It is the smallest of the seven continents. New Zealand and
Australia are both part of the wider regions known as Oceania. The term Oceania
is used to denote the region including Australian continent and various island in
the pacific ocean that are not included in the seven continent model.
It lies in the Southern Hemisphere between 12°E to 38°E latitudes and 114°E
to 154°E longitudes. Australia is bordered by the Timor and Australia Arafura
seas in the north, the coral sea in the north east, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian
Ocean in the South West. Its major cities are Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth,

137 Dynamic Social Studies and Population Education - Book VII