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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