Byron Bay

Map of Australia shows byron bay is on the east coast of australia

Check out the true TRIBAL BOUNDRIES IN ABORIGINAL AUSTRALIA LINK

Background of Australia.

Aboriginal settlers arrived on the continent from Southeast Asia about 40,000 years before the first Europeans began exploration in the 17th century. No formal claims were made until 1770, when Capt. James COOK took possession in the name of Great Britain. Six colonies were created in the late 18th and 19th centuries; they federated and became the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. The new country took advantage of the natural resources in order to rapidly develop agricultural and manufacturing industries and to make a major contribution to the British effort in World Wars I and II.

Aboriginal people suffered greatly during this time. (read about the Aboriginal Flag)

Long-term concerns include pollution, particularly depletion of the ozone layer, and management and conservation of coastal areas, especially the Great Barrier Reef. A referendum to change Australia’s status, from a commonwealth headed by the British monarch to a republic, was defeated in 1999.

General Statistics of Australia.

Population: 19,913,144 (July 2004 est.)
Area Total: 7,686,850 sq km
Area Land: 7,617,930 sq km
Area Water: 68,920 sq km
Country name: conventional long form: Commonwealth of Australia conventional short form: Australia
Government type: democratic, federal-state system recognizing the British monarch as sovereign
Capital: Canberra
Administrative divisions: 6 states and 2 territories*; Australian Capital Territory*, New South Wales, Northern Territory*, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia
Dependent areas: Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Norfolk Island
Independence: 1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies)
National holiday: Australia Day, 26 January (1788)
Constitution: 9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901
Legal system: based on English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Economy of Australia.

Australia has an enviable Western-style capitalist economy, with a per capita GDP on par with the four dominant West European economies. Rising output in the domestic economy has been offsetting the global slump, and business and consumer confidence remains robust. Australia’s emphasis on reforms, low inflation, and growing ties with China are other key factors behind the economy’s strength. The impact of drought, weak foreign demand, and strong import demand pushed the trade deficit up to $14 billion in 2003 and to $11 billion in 2004 from $5 billion in 2002. One other concern is the domestic housing bubble.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $571.4 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 3% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $29,000 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 3.5% industry: 26.3% services: 70.2% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): 24.8% of GDP (2004 est.)
Labor force: 10.19 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 5%, industry 22%, services 73% (1997 est.)
Unemployment rate: 6% (2004 est.)
Budget: revenues: $185 billion expenditures: $181 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
Public debt: 18.2% of GDP (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products: wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits; cattle, sheep, poultry
Industries: mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel
Industrial production growth rate: -0.1% (2004 est.)
Electricity - production: 198.2 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - consumption: 184.4 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2001)
Oil - production: 731,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - consumption: 796,500 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: 523,400 bbl/day (2001)
Oil - imports: 530,800 bbl/day (2001)
Oil - proved reserves: 3.664 billion bbl (1 January 2002)
Natural gas - production: 33.08 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: 23.33 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports: 9.744 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves: 2.407 trillion cu m (1 January 2002)
Current account balance: $-30.14 billion (2004 est.)
Exports: $68.67 billion (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities: coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, iron ore, wheat, machinery and transport equipment
Exports - partners: Japan 18.1%, US 8.7%, China 8.4%, South Korea 7.4%, New Zealand 7.4%, UK 6.7% (2003)
Imports: $82.91 billion (2003 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil and petroleum products
Imports - partners: US 16%, Japan 12.5%, China 11%, Germany 6.1%, UK 4.2% (2003)
Reserves of foreign exchange & gold: $33.26 billion (2004 est.)
Debt - external: $233.5 billion (2004 est.)
Economic aid - donor: ODA, $894 million (FY99/00)
Currency: Australian dollar (AUD)
Currency code: AUD
Exchange rates: Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000), 1.55 (1999)
Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June

Communications in Australia.

Telephones - main lines in use: 10.815 million (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 14.347 million (2003)
Telephone system: general assessment: excellent domestic and international service
domestic: domestic satellite system; much use of radiotelephone in areas of low population density; rapid growth of mobile cellular telephones
international: country code - 61; submarine cables to New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia; satellite earth stations - 10 Intelsat (4 Indian Ocean and 6 Pacific Ocean), 2 Inmarsat (Indian and Pacific Ocean regions) (1998)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 262, FM 345, shortwave 1 (1998)
Television broadcast stations: 104 (1997)
Internet country code: .au
Internet hosts: 2,847,763 (2003)
Internet users: 9.472 million (2002)

Transportation in Australia.

Railways: total: 44,015 km (5,290 km electrified) broad gauge: 1,957 km 1.600-m gauge standard gauge: 27,095 km 1.435-m gauge (2,828 km electrified) narrow gauge: 14,957 km 1.067-m gauge (2,462 km electrified) dual gauge: 213 km dual gauge (2003)
Highways: total: 811,603 km paved: 314,090 km (including 18,619 km of expressways) unpaved: 497,513 km (1999 est.)
Waterways: 2,000 km (mainly used for recreation on Murray and Murray-Darling river systems) (2004)
Pipelines: condensate/gas 492 km; gas 28,680 km; liquid petroleum gas 240 km; oil 4,773 km; oil/gas/water 110 km (2004)
Ports and harbors: Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Devonport (Tasmania), Fremantle, Geelong, Hobart (Tasmania), Launceston (Tasmania), Mackay, Melbourne, Sydney, Townsville
Merchant marine: total: 52 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,531,461 GRT/1,999,409 DWT by type: bulk 20, cargo 5, chemical tanker 3, combination bulk 2, container 3, liquefied gas 4, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 7, roll on/roll off 6
foreign-owned: United Kingdom 2, United States 12 registered in other countries: 60 (2003 est.)
Airports: 444 (2003 est.)

LINK: thanks to the CIA worldbook for this interesting information on Australia