A world unto itself

Valsala R takes you on an armchair trip to the world down under

The 14-year-old being deported across the world wept and wept amid the harsh conditions on the ship. All he had done was steal some bread to feed his hungry family and now he was torn away from the only life he knew. Somehow, he managed to survive the journey and eventually dry his tears as he arrived in a new world — flat, dry and with soil in which nothing was easily grown. A world full of strange animals and strange people.

But he was amidst other convicts from his own homeland so he soon discovered that if he kept his head down and worked hard, he could stay out of trouble and survive as they were put to work — constructing roads and buildings of new towns. His ‘good’ behaviour had an unforeseen side effect. A decade down the line, our young hero found himself recruited into Australia’s first police force — the Night Watch. The Governor recruited 12 of the most well-behaved convicts and this was to become the beginning of Australia’s police force. They enforced rules and caught criminals!

The stories of Australia’s colonisation are just as fascinating as the country itself. Bustling metropolises, near empty interiors and unique wild life are some of the features that make this continent, er… country, stand out. Australia is the 6th largest country in the world and a sub region of Oceania which includes Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, and a few other surrounding islands. The island of Tasmania is also a part of the Commonwealth of Australia.

The name Australia (do imagine that in a fulsome Aussie accent) comes from the Latin name for a hypothetical continent in the southern hemisphere. The original inhabitants were the Aborigines who migrated there from Asia 50-65000 years ago before this huge chunk of land broke off and went its own way. Native Australian cultures are some of the oldest in the world. The separation of the Australian continent meant not only the making of a new land with a distinct culture but also meant that evolution went on a diverging track from the rest of the world until we get the captivating variety of wild life that is so typically Australian. The Dutch, as far as we know, were the first Europeans to reach Australia in the 16th century. British colonisation began more than a century later and they thought it a good idea to send all their petty criminals to this ‘penal colony’ on the other side of the world.

Australia achieved independence in phases. It was in 1901 that the British Parliament passed legislation allowing the six Australian colonies of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia to govern in their own right. However, Australia does not celebrate an ‘Independence Day’ but celebrates Australia Day on January 26 when the First Fleet landed in Australia and raised the British flag. The British monarch also remains the titular head of state. Australia is a representative democracy where voters elect their representatives. Voting is compulsory in Australia for all adults. Australia was the second country in the world to give women the right to vote, preceded in this only by New Zealand.

Almost a third of Australia’s citizens were born overseas and though English is the official language, over 300 languages are spoken, including Mandarin and Arabic. Around 87% of the population lives near the coast as central Australia is virtually a desert.

The diversity of the human population is rivalled by the diversity of the animals that have travelled their own evolutionary path. Australia is rated the 10th happiest country in the world so its no wonder that it has the happiest animal. No, not the kangaroo or the koala. Not the egg laying mammals like the platypus and the echidna. It’s a cute mammal of the wallaby family that’s about the size of a small cat that has an ever-smiling face. It’s called the Quokka. Do take a look at a picture.
No visit to Australia is complete without a visit to the Great Barrier Reef — the largest coral reef in the world. And once there, you will of course, want to take a ‘selfie’ – a word that was arguably, invented by Australians in 2002. If you’re a true naturalist, you’ll also visit Tasmania which has the cleanest air in the world. The strong winds that blow in from Antarctica help keep the air pure and free of pollutants.

Wide open spaces, white beaches and good weather. There’s more snow on the Australian Alps than in Switzerland; more camels than in Egypt! Truly a land that you must stare at agape.