Australia

Located south of the equator, Australia, the Island Continent, is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the west and Pacific Ocean in the east.

From the Coral Sea and South Pacific Ocean in the north, ocean currents sweep south along the east coast from the Great Barrier Reef, into Tasman Sea, past the island of Tasmania. In the southwest, the Great Southern Ocean receives the barest hint of the warm currents swept into the Indian Ocean from the equatorial waters of the Timor and Arafura Seas, which separates the northern Australian mainland from Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Climate: It occupies cool temperate to tropical climates from 10° to 43° The seasons are reversed to the northern hemisphere, and dress tends to be comfortable and informal, with lightweight clothing suitable for most of the year, although southern states, highlands and desert regions can get below zero at night and during the cooler months.

• Summer: December – Febuary: Summer Solstice – 21 December
• Autumn (Fall): March – May: Autumn Equinox -21 March
• Winter: June – August: Winter Solstice – 21 June
• Spring: September – November: Spring Equinox – 21 September

Capital: Canberra. There are six states; Queensland (QLD), New South Wales (NSW), Victoria (VIC), Tasmania (TAS), South Australia (SA) and Western Australia (WA); and two territories, The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and The Northern Territory (NT).Australian Time Zones International Access Number – +6 1

Currency: Australian dollar

Time: Australia has three time zones; Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST = GMT +10), Central (ACST = GMT +9 ½) and Western (AWST = GMT +8). The Eastern seaboard of Australia, is ten hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT +10) from early April to early October (Autumn, Winter and Early Spring months). All states with the exception of QLD and NT, observe Daylight Saving, advancing clocks by 1 hour, from early October to early April (mid Spring and all Summer), usually commencing and ending on the first Sunday of the respective months. In the eastern states (NSW, ACT, VIC and TAS) AEST becomes Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT), and clocks are advanced one hour to GMT +11.

Alison Carmichael-Rulten

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