ontinent. Actually, it was an island that was renamed Tasmania in his honor in 1855. All the early explorers reported unfavorably on what they had seen of Australia. The land was dry and barren and the people had no gold or any other riches. Then in 1770, James Cook of the British Navy became the first European to sight and explore Australia's fertile east coast. Cook claimed the region for Great Britain and named it New South Whales.
             When New South Whales was first settled, people did not know if Australia consisted of one huge land mass or of two or more large islands. The northwestern, western, and southwestern coastlines had been thoroughly mapped, and so it was known that all of western Australia formed one land mass. Tasman had named this land New Holland. The east coast of Australia was mapped after Cook discovered it, but much of the southern coastline and part of the northern coastline remained uncharted. People, therefore, thought that New South Whales and New Holland might be islands rather than parts of the continent.
             Australia is mostly dry and is not very populated. Only a few areas near the coast receive enough rainfall to support a large population. The most populated area is the southern-eastern coast. Approximately 80 percent of Australia's people live in large cities along the coast. The vast interior of Australia is too dry to support a large population and few people live there. Australia is one of the world's most urbanized countries. More than 4/5 of the people live in cities and towns. Sydney has about 3 ½ million and Melbourne about 3 million. Canberra, the national capital, is the largest inland city.
             Nearly all farms in the outback are cattle or sheep stations. The largest stations cover over 1,000 square miles and some may be 100 miles or more from the nearest town. Australian farms are highly mechanized and thus require a minimum of human labor. Only about 5 percent of the country's workers are...