The Discovery of Australia and New Zealand

A ustralia and New Zealand were discovered in 1642 by the Dutch explorer Tasman. It was thought that they were part of a Great South Land in which civilized human beings lived. Scientists in Britain wanted to find out if this land really existed, so in 1768 they sent an expedition to the southern seas to look for it. The leader of the expedition was Captain James Cook, one of the greatest explorers of all times. He took with him on board his ship «Endeavour» scientists and artists whose job was to make records of all the strange things they might discover on the voyage. Cook never discovered the mysterious South Land, but he discovered the east coast of New Zealand, and he raised the Union Jack to claim it for Britain. Cook and his companions came back to face with the Maoris, the native people who had come to New Zealand from the South Pacific Islands in the 14^th century. After leaving New Zealand, Cook sailed northwest. He believed that with luck he might find another land, and he did it nineteen days later. It was Australia. They landed in a bay on the northeast coast which is today part of Sidney, and to their astonishment they saw plants and creatures that no white man had ever seen before: kangaroos and wombats and koalas, brilliantly coloured bird butterflies, and gray-green eucalyptus trees of all kinds. Cook
named the play «Botany Bay». They also met the dark-skinned Aborigines. The crew was scornful of them and called them animals, but Cook admired their simple way of life. He wrote in his diary: «With all our professions and comfortable way of life, we do not seem as happy as they are».

Ten years later, Australia’s first settlers landed in Sidney Harbour, which was only a few miles up the coast from Botany Bay. Captain Arthur Phillip, the commander of the little fleet, wrote: «We had the satisfaction of finding the finest harbour in the world». Not many people would disagree with him today. These first settlers were convicts, women as well as men, who had been sent to that wild land as a punishment. There were also soldiers to guard them. Only 10 per cent of Australians are descended from convicts, most of whom were not really criminals. There were rebellious Irishmen, English laborers who had formed unlawful trade unions, girls who had stolen half a loaf of bread for their starving children. By 1840 the borders of six separate colonies had been decided. These colonies stretched right round the coast from Queensland in the northeast of Western Australia to the far southwest. Each colony was ruled by a governor appointed by the British Government. In 1902 the six colonies formed a confederation of states which was called the Commonwealth of Australia.

New Zealand was colonized much later. The first colony of British settlers did not arrive until 1840, and twelve years later they were given self-rule. Like Australia, New Zealand became an independent country within the British Commonwealth and Empire.

Population and Cities
Australian population is about 23 million people. The natives of the country are called Aborigines. Now they comprise a very small part of the country’s population due to the former extrusion of the indigenous people in the past.
There are 5 big cities in Australia: Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane. Canberra was specially planned as a capital. All the government buildings are situated there.
Sydney is the oldest and largest city in Australia. It is a big industrial centre. About 5 million people live in the city.

Australia has a lot to offer to tourists. The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands.
The most famous building in the country is the Sydney Opera House. Its roof looks like sails. It is a masterpiece of architecture. More than 5,000 people can visit concerts, operas, theatre performances and other events.
Kakadu National Park is in Australia’s Northern Territory and covers about 20,000 square kilometres. It is a wetland with over 200 kinds of birds and 1,700 plant species. It is also the home of Australian crocodiles.

Australia is a constitutional monarchy, with the Queen of Great Britain at its head.

It consists of six states and two territories.The queen is represented by the Governor General, who is appointed by the Australian government. The Governor General appoints members of the Executive Council, his advisory cabinet.

The main legislative body in the country is Federal Parliament. It consists of the Queen, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The members of the Senate are elected for a six-year term. There are ten senators from each state and two from each territory in the Senate. The House of Representatives is elected by general direct vote for a three-year term.

The executive power belongs to the queen and the government. It is headed by the Prime Minister. The ministers are chosen from members of Parliament and the Executive Council.

There are two major political parties in Australia: the Australian Labour party and a coalition of the Liberal and the Agrarian parties.

Till the 1930s Australia mostly depended upon Great Britain in its political affairs. But in 1931 Australia became fully independent from Great Britain.

The capital of Australia, Canberra, is a young and comparatively small city. It was founded in the 20th century and now has a population of about 260 000 people.

The centre of Canberra is a small hill. Several streets run from that hill. Special charm is given to Canberra by an artificial lake in the centre of the city. A fountain more than 100 metres high is in the western part of the lake. At night powerful lights illuminate the water. It is the Captain Cook Fountain, one of the main places of interest in Canberra. Another one is a memorial military museum. The building of the Australian Academy of Sciences is quite unusual in form — it is like a huge overturned bowl. Melbourne is the second largest city in Australia. It was the capital of the country till 1927 and now is the centre of Australian business world. It is also one of the largest ports in the country. Melbourne is a beautiful city with numerous skyscrapers, straight boulevards and large parks and gardens. One of Melbourne’s places of interest is the house of Captain Cook, the famous British navigator. Sydney is Australia’s largest and oldest city. It was the first British settlement. Sydney has the oldest in the country botanical gardens and the Zoo. One of the main places of interest of the city is the famous bridge over the Bay of Port Jackson. Another one is the Opera House, which resembles large white shells in form. It is surrounded by the sea on three sides. Sydney is the city of three universities.

The politics of New Zealand take place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic monarchy.

The basic system is closely patterned on that of the Westminster System, although a number of significant modifications have been made.

The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who is represented by the Governor -General and the head of government is the Prime Minister who chairs the Cabinet drawn from an elected Parliament.

New Zealand Symbols
The New Zealand Coat of Arms was granted in 1911. The arms has the Southern Cross in the main quarter. The shield has the Royal Crown which replaced the previous crest in 1953.

The supporters carry the New Zealand flag and a Maori spear. Around the scrolls are leaves of the silver fern, which is their national badge.

New Zealand had its own local ensign even before it became a part of the empire. Under British influence, the Maori chiefs chose the "Waitangi" flag in 1834 and used it until 1840, when they handed over the control of New Zealand to Queen Victoria.

New Zealand does not have an official animal, plant or flower, but the nation has adopted the following as symbols of New Zealand:

consists of a mixture of variousdocuments (including certain acts of the United Kingdom and New Zealand Parliaments), the Treaty of Waitangiand constitutional conventions. The Constitution Act in 1852

Constitutional rights are protected under common law and are strengthened by the Billof Rights Act 1990 and Human Rights Act 1993, although these are not entrenched and can be overturned byParliament with a simple majority. The Constitution Act describes the three branches of Government in New Zealand:

Queen Elizabeth II is the current Queen of New Zealand and the Realm of New Zealands head of state. TheNew Zealand monarchy has been distinct from the British monarchy since the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act1947, and all Elizabeth II's official business in New Zealand is conducted in the name of the Queen of NewZealand, not the Queen of the United Kingdom. While Royal Assent and the royal signmanual are required toenact laws, letters patent, and Orders in Council, the authority for these acts stems from the New Zealandpopulace.In practice, the functions of the monarchy are conducted by the Governor - General, appointed by themonarch on the advice of the Prime Minister. As of 2011, the GovernorGeneral is Sir Jerry Mateparae. TheGovernorGeneral's powers are primarily symbolic and formal in nature. The GovernorGeneral formally has thepower to appoint and dismiss Prime Ministers and to dissolve Parliament; and also formally signs legislation into lawafter passage by Parliament. The GovernorGeneral chairs the Executive Council, which is a formal committeeconsisting of all ministers of the Crown. Members of the Executive Council are required to be Members ofParliament, and most are also in Cabinet.

People (85 per cent) of New Zealand live in the cities and towns. Early in the twentieth century the four cities Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin shared leadership.

The largest city of New Zealand is Auckland. It is a modern city and the industrial and commercial port ofthe country. More than one million people live there. Twenty per cent of the population is Maori and Polynesian. The city was established in 1840 as the capital ofthe British colonial government. It was officially made a city in 1871. The city has an art gallery, zoological gardens, the Auckland War Memorial Museum with its outstanding Maori collection, and the University of Auckland, which was founded in 1882. There are forest, farms, beaches, thermal pools and geysers near Auckland. Auckland remained the capital until it was replaced by Wellington.

Wellington is the second largest city and a main port. It is situated on the southern coast of North Island. The population of the city is about 200,000 people. It is the seat of the government and a large administrative centre. It is a transport link between the islands. It was settled by the group of British immigrants in 1840. They called it Nicholson after the captain of their ship. Wellington is the third capital of New Zealand: the first capital was Russel, then — Auckland, and in 1865 Wellington became the capital of the country. The most striking features of the city are its winds and constant danger of earthquakes. Its nickname is ’the windy city’, because it is situated on the crossroads of the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea. Several high office buildings were specially constructed to withstand earthquake shocks. In general Wellington is a city of two- and three-storied houses.

It is a commercial and cultural centre of the country. The Victoria University of Wellington and Wellington Teachers Training College are located in the city. The Alexander Turnbull Library is famous for its collection of New Zealand materials. Wellington is the home of the New Zealand Orchestra. There is the National Art Gallery in the city.

Christchurch is the largest city of South Island. It is the main commercial and industrial city of the island. It is a marketing centre for the agricultural products. There are industrial plants and factories for the production of machinery, rubber tyres, electric goods and shoes. The population of the city is 300,000 people.

The heart of the city is Cathedral Square, where one can see the Anglican Cathedral. There is the University of Canterbury, Canterbury Museum, McDougall Art Gallery, botanical gardens and the fields of Haggle Park in the city.

Dunedin is located on South Island. It is the second largest city of South Island. The city was founded in 1848 by Scottish Presbyterians as a Scottish free church settlement. It was called Dunedin for the Gaelic word for Edinburgh and still conveys Scottish values. It is often called ’Edinburgh of the South’. Its population is 116,524 people. This region is rich in gold, timber and farming potential.

The Māori language has had official language status, with the right to use it in legal settings such as in court, since the Maori Language Act 1987. There are around 70,000 native speakers of Māori out of a population of over 500,000 Māori people, with 161,000 of the country's 4 million residents claiming conversational ability in Māori.

New Zealand adopted sign language (New Zealand Sign Language or NZSL) as an official language on 10 April 2006. It is now legal for use and access in legal proceedings including in court and access to government services.

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