Thank you for taking the time to attend my presentation.
This morning, I’m going to talk about the Commonwealth of Australia commonly known as Australia.
It takes 22 hours by plane to get there from Paris. Located at 16 965 km from France, Australia is an all adventures land. From sea horizons to the bush immensity, this supersized country offers a challenge for gold seekers, crocodiles and thunder-storm hunters (in Darwin), surfers and travelers.
Why the lucky country : Back in the 60's an Australian author, Donald Horne, described Australia as being "the lucky country". This became the title of his book. Horne was describing a country that at the time was mired in its past and was basically making stupid choices, not really thinking for itself. The term was meant to be ironic. In the years following publication "the lucky country", became part of the Australian language and was used in all kinds of contexts, usually far from its original meaning. In fact with 15 years of extraordinary economic growth and an economy that has weathered at many extremes - people are starting to believe Australia really is the lucky country.
Coat of arms: The official symbol of Australia is the Coat of Arms (armoirie) - formally known as Commonwealth Coat of Arms.
The shield (blazon) is the focal point of it. Within are contained the badges of the Australian states. They are a reminder that they were still British colonies at the time of the adoption of flags in 1901.

In the top half, from left to right, the states represented are:
A. New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland. In the bottom half, from left to right :
B. South Australia, Western Australia, and Tasmania.
Above the shield is the seven-pointed 'Commonwealth Star' or ‘Federation Star'. 6 of the points on the star represent an original state, and the last one is representing the 2 combinated territories of Australia.

The Red Kangaroo and the Emu that support the shield are the unofficial animal emblems of