Why is Australia 95% empty?
Australia is the world's 6th largest country. When you compare it with the size of India, it is possible to form 2 Indias in that space.
Before I start, there is a very interesting fact I would like to share with you. In current times, Australians only live in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth.
Torres Strait Islanders
The original inhabitants of Australia are the Aborgines and Torres Strait Islanders.
To understand why the country is 95% empty, we have to go back in time to the year 1606.
In the year 1606, Australia was discovered by the British. There was something very unique about this Aborgines and Torres Strait Islanders.They believed they didn't own this land. The Britishers saw this as an opportunity. They were looking to capture land. The Islanders were coined a name by the British. They started calling them Terra Nullius because they didn't own the land.
The Britishers told the islanders that they would make their lives better, but the Britishers actually made false promises.
What they were not aware is that they were sending Criminals, Rapists Muderers etc from their country. From the year 1788 to 1868, Britishers sent 1,62,000 convicts. They wanted to set up a penal colony.
They had begun fencing the land and imposing restrictions on them.
The people that Britishers were sending also had life-threatening diseases such as small pox, chicken pox, measles, etc. So naturally, these diseases even killed the natives of the country. The Britishers had the cure to these diseases, but purposely, they were not administering the medications to them.
After the Germans and Japanese came to know about this country, they came down for trade.
In the year 1914, the First War took place in which most of the indigenous population were wiped out. The second war took place in 1942, when more people were killed.
In the year 1901, the Britishers came up with a policy called the Immigration Act 1901 White Australian Policy.
The policy says that only the people who are white tonned will be permitted in this country. As a result, the dark skinned people were killed.
They also said Asians or any other ethnic group can't rule this land.
Let's understand in today's times why the country is almost empty
It has got a lot to do with the geographical location of the country.
The country is divided into 3 major landforms, namely The Western Plateau, Central Lowlands and Eastern Highlands.
Two-thirds of the Western Plateau is dessert. The weather conditions dont allow anything to grow there. The land is completely barren. The central Lowlands has salt in the rocks. When it mixes with the waters, it isn't suitable for humans and there are frequent floods.
The Eastern Highlands is suitable for agriculture, but the weather conditions don't permit it to. There are clouds and the mountains stop it, but because Antarctica is below Australia on the south side, there are frequent cyclones.
In spite of these difficult times the country had to recover from, Australia is one of the best sporting hubs of the world. Right from cricket to football, they have a variety of sports they offer. It's a remarkable achievement.
This is the story of Australia. They have gone through so much but are still a developed country today only because of their determination and goal. Hats off to them.