The Australian Federation is an autonomous domain of the British crown. In theory, it is subject to the legislative authority of the UK Parliament. But the English constitutional system recognizes legal “conventions” or customs, which have the force of law without invalidating the formulated law. By a constitutional convention, the UK Parliament cannot exercise its… Read More »
Australia is known for its long beaches and huge waves that attract daring surfers from all over the world. But the great country is much more than surfing and beaches. These include lightning-fast, up to six meters long saltwater crocodiles, cute koalas, eucalyptus trees in a variety of varieties and modern, multicultural cities. See trips… Read More »
The idea of the rights of the individual and the need to limit the power and abuse of power of the ruler and the rulers is not entirely new. It has grown over several hundred years, but has especially gained momentum in the sails after 1945 – not least the last two to three decades.… Read More »
The island, located at the southern tip of Australia, about 5 km wide and 34 km long, is the only place on earth where the sea floor appears above the sea surface. The island is of volcanic origin and is covered by tundra vegetation, trees do not grow here. There are large penguin colonies on… Read More »
The uninhabited archipelago belongs to Australia’s Antarctic regions. It is located about 1600 km north of Antarctica and 4100 km southwest of Perth. The island of Heard is about 368 km², the McDonald Islands together only have an area of around 2 km². They are the only active volcanic islands in Antarctica. On Heard is… Read More »
The two world heritage sites Riversleigh (Queensland) and Naracoorte (South Australia) are among the most important fossil sites in the world. Riversleigh is best known for mammalian fossils from the Oligo-Miocene (15-25 million years ago). At Naracoorte, fossils and skeletons of nearly 100 species of vertebrates from the late Pleistocene have been found in caves.… Read More »
The 124 km long Fraser Island, which belongs to the Australian state of Queensland, is the largest sand island in the world with an area of 1840 km². The narrow island is about 190 km north of Brisbane. Their dunes tower up to 230 m high. Fraser Island is covered with dense rainforest. Fraser Island:… Read More »
The Shark Bay Nature Park, north of Perth and around 22,000 km², is the habitat of many endangered marine and land animals. The seagrass meadows serve as a refuge for fish, crabs and crabs. In addition, they promote the growth of stromatolites. These tiny organisms, which have existed for over 3.5 billion years, form lime… Read More »
The 450 km long coastline between Townsville and Cooktown in the state of Queensland is the remainder of a once extensive humid tropical and species-rich rainforest. The world heritage comprises an area of around 9000 km² with over 800 tree and more than 350 higher plant species, especially ferns, orchids, mosses and lichens. The animal… Read More »
The Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens were built on the occasion of the world exhibitions in Melbourne in 1880/81 and 1888/89 and are a reminder of the heyday of the first world exhibitions. The building combines Byzantine, Romanesque and Italian Renaissance style elements. It served as the seat of the Victoria State Parliament from… Read More »
Sydney Opera House (World Heritage) The Opera House is the symbol of Sydney and one of the most famous buildings of the 20th century. It was completed in 1973 and sits at the tip of a peninsula above the city’s harbor. The opera was created according to plans by the Danish architect Jørn Utzon. The… Read More »
The modern metropolis of the state of Western Australia offers 5 different options for getting to and from Perth by train . There are three short routes – to Bunbury, Northam and Merredin. There is also a connection to Kalgoorlie inland and one across the continent via Adelaide to Sydney. The latter is covered with… Read More »