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Welcome
Australia,
officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a
sovereign country comprising the mainland of the
Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and
numerous smaller islands.[13] It is the largest
country in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest
country.
Australia's population of nearly 26 million,[7] in
an area of 7,617,930 square kilometres (2,941,300 sq
mi),[14] is highly urbanised and heavily
concentrated on the eastern seaboard.[15] Canberra
is the nation's capital, while the largest city is
Sydney, and other major metropolitan areas are
Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide.
Indigenous Australians inhabited the continent for
about 65,000 years, prior to the first arrival of
Dutch explorers in the early 17th century, who named
it New Holland. In 1770, Australia's eastern half was
claimed by Great Britain and initially settled through
penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales
from 26 January 1788, a date which became Australia's
national day. The population grew steadily in
subsequent decades, and by the time of an 1850s gold
rush, most of the continent had been explored by
European settlers and an additional five
self-governing crown colonies established. On 1
January 1901, the six colonies federated, forming the
Commonwealth of Australia. Australia has since
maintained a stable liberal democratic political
system that functions as a federal parliamentary
constitutional monarchy, comprising six states and ten
territories.
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