Australia is the country that I've lived in for the past 31 years. It's not my country of birth, but it's been a part of my life since I was a few months old. Australia is a country of extremes. Very cold in some areas, and extremely hot i n others: particularly in the height of summer.

Australia was first settled by the Aborigines tens of thousands of years ago. The Aborigines have a deeply spirtitual and harmonious connection with their land. Their way of life, though, was dramatically altered on January 26, 1788, when the First Fleet, under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip, sailed into what is now called Port Jackson (aka Sydney Harbour). The Aboriginal people were enslaved, and many were killed. This is where the colony of New South Wales was settled.

In 1901, Australia become a federation. All the separate colonies came together and formed the states of Australia. Australia's parliament was formed, with Sir Edmund Barton being the first Prime Minister. The first Governor General, being the British Monarch's representative, was Rt Hon. John Adrian Louis. More information about Australia's Parliament can be found at http://www.aph.gov.au/.

1988 was celebrated as the bicentenary of Australia. All over the country, people celebrated. Then, on January 1, 2001, the nation celebrated 100 years of independence from British rule. This day is probably more appropriate as a national day of celebration.

In the following pages, I've assembled photographs that I've taken in places around Australia. Currently, these are limited to New South Wales (NSW), Victoria (VIC), and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). In time, more areas will be included as I travel to them. Some photographs are general, others are more personal. The primary school I attended, for example. I hope you enjoy them.

Region	Created	Updated
New South Wales	January 1, 2001	February 8, 2002
Victoria	January 1, 2001	February 8, 2002
Canberra and the ACT	January 1, 2001	February 7, 2002
Queensland	January 13, 2003	January 12, 2003