Austria, Australia, Australasia, and Austrasia

Austria, Australia, Australasia, and Austrasia - what's the difference?

What’s the difference between Austria, Australia, Australasia, and Austrasia? Which ones are countries – and where are they – and which ones are regions?

The Republic of Austria is a country in the Northern Hemisphere – in Central Europe. Its capital city is Vienna. It is bordered by the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. Its official language is German.

The Commonwealth of Australia is a country in the Southern Hemisphere. It is not a republic – the national referendum in 1999 for a republic was rejected. Therefore Queen Elizabeth II of England, as head of the Commonwealth, is the head of state. Its capital city is Canberra. It has 6 states and 2 territories – each with a capital city: Sydney is the capital of the state of New South Wales; Melbourne is the capital of the state of Victoria; Brisbane is the capital of the state of Queensland; Perth is the capital of the state of Western Australia; Adelaide is the capital of the state of South Australia; and Hobart is the capital of the state of Tasmania (Tasmania is an island). Darwin is the capital of the Northern Territory and Canberra is the capital of the Australian Capital Territory. There are no other countries bordering it – it is an island continent. Its official language is English.

To be technical, Australia is the mainland and the island of Tasmania. The continent of Australia includes Australia, New Guinea, Seram, and adjacent islands. In some geographical contexts it is referred to as Sahul (not Sahel in northern Africa), Australinea (the outline of Australia), or Meganesia (meaning ‘great island group’).

Australasia is a region of Oceania. It comprises Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, the island of New Caledonia, and the islands in the Pacific Ocean (South Pacific and North Pacific). It is not part of Melanesia (to the north) or Polynesia (to the east) or Micronesia (to the east). Australasia means ‘south of Asia.’

Austrasia does not exist any more. It was a region in the northwest of the Merovingian Kingdom of the Franks during the 6th to the 8th centuries (the early Middle Ages) in the Northern Hemisphere – in northwest Europe. Its capital city was Metz and its official language was Old Frankish. It existed for about 250 years. It is in the region that now covers the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, and France.

Hence the geographical difference between the countries Austria and Australia is that Austria is in the Northern Hemisphere and Australia is in the Southern Hemisphere. One way to remember it is that ‘austral’ means south, southerly, or southern. In the early 1880s British explorer Matthew Flinders called Australia Terra Australis which means Land of the South or Southern Land.

The above map of Austrasia is from Semhur, Frankish Empire 481-814 from William R. Shepherd’s Historical Atlas (1911).

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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