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).

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. That

Flaws in the Glass, a self-portrait by Patrick White: book review

The manuscript, Flaws in the Glass (1981), is Patrick Victor Martindale White’s autobiography. White, born in 1912 in England, migrated to Sydney, Australia, when he was six months old. For three years, at the age of 20, he studied French and German literature at King’s College at the University of Cambridge in England. Throughout his life, he published 12 novels. In 1957 he won the inaugural Miles Franklin Literary Award for Voss, published in 1956. In 1961, Riders in the Chariot became a best-seller, winning the Miles Franklin Literary Award. In 1973, he was the first Australian author to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for The Eye of the Storm, despite many critics describing his works as ‘un-Australian’ and himself as ‘Australia’s most unreadable novelist.’ In 1979, The Twyborn Affair was short-listed for the Booker Prize, but he withdrew it from the competition to give younger writers the opportunity to win the award. His autobiography, Flaws in the Glass

The Beggars' Strike by Aminata Sow Fall: book review

The Beggar’sStrike (1979 in French and 1981 in English) is set in an unstated country in West Africa in a city known only as The Capital. Undoubtedly, Senegalese author Sow Fall writes of her own experiences. It was also encapsulated in the 2000 film, Battu , directed by Cheick Oumar Sissoko from Mali. Mour Ndiaye is the Director of the Department of Public Health and Hygiene, with the opportunity of a distinguished and coveted promotion to Vice-President of the Republic. Tourism has declined and the government blames the local beggars in The Capital. Ndiaye must rid the streets of beggars, according to a decree from the Minister. Ndiaye instructs his department to carry out weekly raids. One of the raids leads to the death of lame beggar, Madiabel, who ran into an oncoming vehicle as he tried to escape, leaving two wives and eight children. Soon after, another raid resulted in the death of the old well-loved, comic beggar Papa Gorgui Diop. Enough is enou

FEAST OR FAMINE

Search This Blog