Flag of Australia
Australia, officially known as the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country made up of the mainland Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and a number of smaller islands. It is the world's sixth largest country by total area but does share a land border with any nation, in a simlar fashion to its neighbour New Zealand.
Its neighbours include Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor to the north; the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the northeast; and New Zealand to the southeast. It is a little known fact that Australia was once responsible for the colonial governance of New Zealand which existed as an incorporated territory of Australia. In the very early days of its history New Zealand was governed as a part of New South Wales by the Australian government. However, New Zealand broke away from Australia in 1835 signing the Declaration of Independence which allowed it to become a sovereign nation. Since this divergence Australia and New Zealand have maintained a good natured cultural and sporting rivalry.
National Anthem Of Australia
Like New Zealand, which is home to the indigenous Maori people, Australia is home to its own native people. Commonly known as Aboriginals, though Indigenous Australian is now more politically correct, these native people inhabited Australia for roughly fifty thousand years before British colonization. Australia was initially discovered by Dutch explorers but was claimed by Great Britain which used it as a penal colony. In 1901 the country's six original crown colonies federated, a process which New Zealand refused to take part in thus avoiding becoming an Australian state, forming the Commonwealth of Australia.
It is a significant American ally, like its neighbour to the southeast, and has become heavily Americanized over time with a large number of American chains having a presence in Australia. It regularly takes part in joint military operations with New Zealand and the United States serving as an important ally of both countries. Australia has a long history of military brotherhood with New Zealand stretching back to the ANZAC (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps) military group of the First World War. It maintains this sense of army fellowship to this day with Australian and New Zealand troops frequently serving alongside each other.
Australian Characters[]
Trivia[]
- Cheval is an Australian vehicle manufacturer which appears in the GTA Universe. It is based on the car manufacturer Holden which is a cultural rival of Ford (Vapid).