Facts
Australia is the sixth largest country in the world, but it has only about 19,2 million inhabitants. The island is especially famous for its nature, wildlife and culture. The capital of Australia is Canberra, even though Sydney is the biggest city. Most people in Australia origin from Europe. About 4 % of the population is Asian and only 1 % is Aboriginal. Australia consists of six states and two territories. The states are New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, and Tasmania; the territories are the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory which is the location for the capital city Canberra.
The National anthem
Australia's National Anthem is called "Advance Australia Fair". You can read the lyrics and listen to the music if you click here. "God Save the Queen" is The Royal Anthem of Australia, because Queen Elisabeth II is the Chief of state, represented in Australia by the General Governor Sir William Deane. The traditional song "Waltzing Mathilda" is looked upon as the "unofficial national anthem" of Australia.
The flag
The Australian flag is made of Union Jack and six white stars on a blue background. The reason for Union Jack being a part of the flag is that Australia was a British colony earlier and that it is still a member of the Commonwealth. The five stars to the right are called "The Southern Cross" and represents a constellation of stars visible in the southern hemisphere. The last star, the biggest one, is called the Federation Star. It represent the Federation of the Australian colonies in 1901. There is also an Aboriginal flag. It was created in 1971.
The black represents the Aboriginal people, the red the earth and their spiritual relationship to the land, and the yellow the sun, the giver of life.
Climate
The seasons in Australia are the opposite of those in Norway. Spring is in September-November, summer is in December -February, autumn is in March-May and finally winter in June-August. The Australian continent contains many different climatic zones, ranging from tropical in the north, leading to subtropical and savanna, to arid deserts in the center, and temperate in the south.
Christmas 2001 - The great fires in New South Wales
Christmastime in the area of New South Wales will be the time of horror for the people living there. A large forest fire started because of the dry climate, and several places in the forest were affected. In addition to that, some young arsenists took advantage of the situation, and set more fire to the forest. Some of the children were claimed to be very young. The fire almost reached Sydney, and destroyed a vast  area of forest and cultivated soil. The material damages were enormous, and a large amount of the population were homeless before the christmas was over. Water helicopters were brought in from USA to help out the firecrew, and no human lives were lost. 
Wildlife
In Australia you can find a variety in wildlife which is found nowhere else in the world. Typical Australian animals are kangaroos, koalas, and wombats. These are all marsupials, that is animals which keep their babies in a pouch on their stomach.
The  Kangaroo 
One of the most famous Australian marsupials is the kangaroo. There are numerous different types of kangaroos. The biggest is the red kangaroo and the smallest is the rat kangaroo.
Kangaroos usually live in groups. The front limbs are quite short and are only used for walking at low speed. The "hands" are used to dig, scratch and an important "weapon" when kangaroos fight each other. The hind limbs are strong and used for standing up and for moving at high speed. When standing the kangaroo also use his tail.
The Koala
The koala is also a marsupial. This means that the baby is born very immature and develops further in its mothers pouch. The koala live in trees and eat leaves from the Eucalyptus tree. The name "koala" means "the animal which does not drink". This is true because the koala gets the water it needs from the eucalyptus leaves.  Koalas are nocturnal, that is they sleep all day and become active when the sun sets.
The Platypus
The platypus is one of the strangest animals in Australia. They live in streams and are very seldom seen. When not swimming, they live in a burrow in the bank of the stream. The platypus lays eggs but is a mammal. 
Sealife
In the ocean outside of Australia there are lots of sharks and if you go scuba diving, you can explore a great variety of tropical fish.
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia and has approximately 300 000 inhabitants. At the same time it is one of the territories of Australia, Australian Capital Territory (ACT). Canberra is Australia's only large city that isn't situated on the coast. Here you can visit the Parliament House, the National Gallery of Australia.
Sydney
Sydney is the biggest city in Australia. It has about 3,7 million inhabitants and is situated in the state New South Wales. Sydney's most famous landmark is the Opera House. Sydney is also famous for its many superb swimming and surfing beaches.
Ayers Rock (Uluru)
In the middle of the Outback you can find the particular mountain Ayers Rock. It is a sacred place to the Aboriginals and they call the it Uluru. At sunset the mountain changes colours from yellow to gold, red and finally purple.
The Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef stretches along the east coast of Queensland in Australia.. It is the world's largest coral reef . It is over 2000km long! It is not a single reef, but it is made up of over 2900 individual reefs very close to each other. The reef is the worlds richest area of marine life and contains some of the best diving in the world. Read more about coral reefs here.