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Australia was originally populated by the Aborigines, who arrived in those territories more than 40,000 years ago, from Southeast Asia. In 1606, the Dutch sailor William Jansz discovered Australia for the Europeans, however, would only be colonized in the 18th century by the English. The latter established in 1778 a penal colony in Port Jackson, present-day Sydney, which was inhabited by more than 160,000 English prisoners expelled.

In 1839 the character of the prison of the island was suspended and soon the free settlers settled in six cities, which they developed until becoming states. The economic expansion of the Australian settlements led to the expropriation of indigenous lands, their marginalization and the beginning of rural struggles to reclaim their lands. The states agreed to establish a federation, so in 1901 they founded the Commonwealth of Australia.

While the Australian terrain is basically flat, along the east coast runs from north to south, the Range Mountains''Great Divisory '', where the highest peak of the country lies, Mount Kosciuszko, 2,228 meters. The western half of the continent is occupied by a desert plain that extends to the west coast forming smooth, arid hills.

This desert plain encompasses the Great Victoria Desert in the south, and the Great Sand Desert in the north. The Great Barrier Reef extends for over 2,000 miles along the north coast. The Burdekin, Fitzroy and Hunter rivers irrigate the narrow but fruity plains of the east and southeast coast, leading to the Great Barrier Reef.

Australia has a rich vegetation with more than 20,000 species. The Australian fauna is also very varied, with hundreds of different species including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish. Among the animals originating in Australia include kangaroos, koalas, possums, wombat, bandicoot, platypus, aquidnas and the so-called Tasmanian devil.

Australian art originated approximately 30,000 years ago, when the Aborigines made the first engravings on the rocks. Much later, at the end of the nineteenth century, European settlers distanced themselves from European art and began to create their own artistic forms.

During the last years, the modern art of the Aborigines lived a rebirth thanks to the search of the artists of the maintenance of their traditional values.

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