Raphaël · Australia

New South Wales

+ New South Wales (abbreviated as NSW) is Australia’s oldest and most populous state, located in the south-east of the + country, north of Victoria and south of Queensland. It was founded in 1788 and originally comprised much of the + Australian mainland, as well as Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island. New Zealand was not initially part of the colony, + although when Britain annexed New Zealand in 1840 it was briefly a part of New South Wales. During the 19th century + large areas were successively separated to form the British colonies of Tasmania, South Australia, Victoria, + Queensland, and New Zealand. +

Victoria

+ Victoria is a state located in the south-eastern corner of Australia. It is the smallest mainland state in area but + the most densely populated and urbanised. Prior to European settlement, some 30,000 Indigenous Australians lived in + the area now occupied by the state. By contrast, over five million people now inhabit the region. European settlement + in Victoria began in the 1830s as a farming community. Victoria is the second most populous Australian state, after New South Wales, with + an estimated population of 5,205,200 as of June 2007. Melbourne is Victoria’s capital and largest city, with more + than 70% of all Victorians living there. +

Western Australia

+ Western Australia is a state occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. The nation’s largest + state and the second largest sub-national entity in the world, it has 2.1 million inhabitants (10% of the national + total), 85% of whom live in the south-west corner of the state. The people of Western Australia are often + colloquially referred to as sand-gropers, the common name of an insect found on sand dunes around Perth. +

South Australia

+ South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid + parts of the continent; with a total land area of 983,482 square kilometres, it is the fourth largest + of Australia’s six states and two territories. It is bordered to the west by Western Australia, to the north by the + Northern Territory and Queensland, to the east by Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, and along the south by + the Great Australian Bight and the Southern Ocean. With nearly 1.6 million people, the state comprises less than + 10% of the Australian population and ranks fifth in population among the states and territories. +

Northern Territory

+ The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the center of the mainland continent, + as well as the central northern regions. It shares borders with Western Australia to the west, South Australia to the + south, and Queensland to the east. To the north, the territory is bordered by the Timor Sea, the Arafura Sea and the + Gulf of Carpentaria. Despite its large area — over 1,349,129 square kilometres, making it the third + largest Australian federal division — it is sparsely populated. With a population of 218,380 it is the least populous + division in the country. +

Queensland

+ Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern corner of the mainland continent. It is bordered by + the Northern Territory to the west, South Australia to the south-west and New South Wales to the south. To the east, + Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean. The state is Australia’s second largest by area, following + Western Australia, and the country's third most populous after New South Wales and Victoria. +

Tasmania

+ Tasmania is an Australian island and state of the same name. It is located 240 kilometres south of the + eastern side of the continent, being separated from it by Bass Strait. The state of Tasmania includes the island of + Tasmania and other surrounding islands. Tasmania has an estimated population of 494,520 (March 2008) and an area + of 68,401 square kilometres. + Tasmania is promoted as the Natural State and the "Island of Inspiration" owing to its large and relatively + unspoiled natural environment. The island is 364 kilometres long from the northernmost point to the southernmost point and 306 + kilometres from west to east. +