Australian Union
Australian Union or Australia - a state in the southern hemisphere of the Earth on the Australian mainland and the island of Tasmania. The country also includes many small islands, including Norfolk and Lord Howe in the Pacific, Cocos Islands in India and others. The closest neighboring countries are Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea in the north, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia in the northeast and New Zealand in the south-east. At least 40,000 years before the first European settlers in the 18th century, the Australian Aborigines inhabited the country, belonging to one or about 250 language groups.