Australia is the only country that is also a continent. In area, Australia ranks as the sixth largest country and smallest continent. Australia is located between the South Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. The part of the Indian Ocean that is south of Australia is called the Southern Ocean in the country. Australia is about 7,000 miles (11,000 kilometers) southwest of North America and about 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) southeast of mainland Asia. Australia is often referred to …showed first 75 words of 539 total…

…showed last 75 words of 539 total…before the first white settlers arrived. Britain settled Australia as a prison colony in 1788. Since then, the number of whites has steadily increased and the total number of Aborigines has declined. Today, the vast majority of Australians are white. Government The Commonwealth of Australia is a federation of states. The nation is administered under a written constitution. The Australian Constitution gives certain powers to the federal government and leaves all other government powers ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography**