Australia has the distinction of being the only continent that is also a country. Although its size of 2.9 million square miles would seem to make it hard to miss, Australia was not reached by European explorers until the early 17th century. Even then it was discovered only by accident when Dutch seamen, blown off course, scouted the western and north western shores. Trading ships to the Far East and South Pacific generally avoided the dangerous passage south of New Guinea. But then Captain James Cook's explorations greatly advanced knowledge of the South Pacific. Cook also laid claim to the eastern coast of Australia for Britain, and from this embryonic beginning the British eventually secured the entire continent.

It was not originally the intention of the British to claim all of Australia. The general aspect of what little had been seen of the land and its aborigines did not appear encouraging. In fact, the first settlement on January 26, 1788 (now celebrated as Australia Day or Foundation Day), when Captain Arthur Phillip landed a company of over 1,000 at Port Jackson, was a penal colony composed mainly of convicts transported from England. Convicts continued to arrive until the mid-19th century, but there were also free settlers.

This inauspicious beginning, the great gold rushes of the mid and later 19th century, and the introduction of sheep all had a great effect on the history of Australia. By the last years of the 19th century there had arisen popular enthusiasm for a central government and union of the six Australian colonies into a single federation. After the question was voted upon and approval was received from England, the Commonwealth of Australia was established on January 1, 1901. Today, as a fully independent nation within the British Commonwealth, Australia has progressed to become a country whose future holds great promise.

Due to Australia's isolation for thousands of years, its animal life developed independently from that of other continents. The present coinage, which began in 1966 when Australia converted from pounds to dollars and a decimal system, pictures a number of these unusual animals: 1-cent, feather-tailed glider; 2-cent, frilled-neck dragon lizard; 5-cent, echidna, a type of ant-eater; 10-cent, lyrebird, named for the male's beautiful lyre-shaped tail; and the 20-cent, which features the platypus, a mammal that lays eggs and has webbed feet and a bill like that of a duck. The 12-sided 50-cent coin normally bears the Australian arms supported by a kangaroo and an emu, a large flightless bird, but in 1982 the design commemorates the XII Commonwealth Games held at Brisbane.

Issued by the Reserve Bank of Australia, this two-dollar banknote bears a portrait of John Macarthur, a 19th-century magnate who helped establish the Australian wool industry. Also depicted is a merino sheep, whose importance Macarthur recognized and promoted. Because the wool of the merino sheep was longer, it was better suited for the recently developed combing machinery invented for the making of worsted. The watermark is a portrait of Captain James Cook, who in 1770 reached the unexplored eastern coast of Australia and claimed the continent for Great Britain. The reverse portrays ripe wheat next to a portrait of William James Farrer, a 19th-century agricultural researcher who developed drought- and rust-resistant wheat, leading to a great expansion of Australia's wheat belt.

The world's smallest continent and sixth largest country, Australia is bounded on the west and south by the Indian Ocean and on the east by the Pacific. Its name derives from the Latin terra australis incognita meaning "unknown southern land." A self-governing member of the Commonwealth of Nations, Australia is the only country to occupy an entire continent. Australia was the last continent to be explored and colonized by European settlers.

Watermark