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Prehistoric settlers arrived on the continent from Southeast
Asia at least 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
of the east coast in the name of Great Britain (all of Australia
was claimed as British territory in 1829 with the creation
of the colony of Western Australia). 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 agricultural
and manufacturing industries and to make a major contribution
to the Allied effort in World Wars I and II.
In recent decades, Australia has become an internationally
competitive, advanced market economy due in large part to
economic reforms adopted in the 1980s and its location in
one of the fastest growing regions of the world economy. Long-term
concerns include an ageing population, pressure on infrastructure,
and environmental issues such as floods, droughts, and bushfires.
Australia is the driest inhabited continent on earth, making
it particularly vulnerable to the challenges of climate change.
Australia is home to 10% of the world's biodiversity, and
a great number of its flora and fauna exist nowhere else in
the world.
Location:
Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South
Pacific Ocean.
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