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Nauru

(Encyclopedia)Nauru näo͞oˈro͞o [key], officially Republic of Nauru, atoll and independent republic (2015 est. pop. 11,000), c.8 sq mi (20 sq km), central Pacific, just south of the equator and west of the Gilbe...

Ashmore and Cartier Islands

(Encyclopedia)Ashmore and Cartier Islands ăshˈmōr, cärˌtē-āˈ [key], unhabited tropical islands, 2 sq mi (5 sq km), E Indian Ocean, a dependency of Australia located 190 mi (300 km) NW of N Western Australia...

David, T. W. E.

(Encyclopedia)David, T. W. E. (Sir Tannatt William Edgeworth), 1858–1935, Australian geologist and explorer, b. near Cardiff, Wales. David came to Australia in 1882 as an assistant geological surveyor. In 1891 he...

Karmel, Peter Henry

(Encyclopedia)Karmel, Peter Henry kärˈməl, kärmĕlˈ [key], 1922–2008, Australian educator and economist. Karmel was educated at the universities of Melbourne and Cambridge. He worked at the Commonwealth Bure...

Burke, Robert O'Hara

(Encyclopedia)Burke, Robert O'Hara, 1820–61, Irish explorer of Australia. After service in the Belgian and Austrian armies he went (1853) as inspector of police to Melbourne. In 1860, with W. J. Wills and eight o...

boat people

(Encyclopedia)boat people, term used to describe the Indochinese refugees who fled Communist rule after the Vietnam War (1975) in small boats and the many ethnic Chinese who left Vietnam similarly after China's inv...

Anzus Treaty

(Encyclopedia)Anzus Treaty ănˈzəs [key], defense agreement signed in 1951 by Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. The name Anzus is derived from the initials of the three signatory nations. As a result...

Great Sandy Desert

(Encyclopedia)Great Sandy Desert, Australia's second-largest desert, c.110,000 sq mi (284,900 sq km), Western Australia and Northern Territory. Lying between the Tanami Desert (NE) and the Gibson Desert (S), it is ...

Bragg, Sir William Lawrence

(Encyclopedia)Bragg, Sir William Lawrence, 1890–1971, English physicist, b. Adelaide, Australia, educated in Australia and at Trinity College, Cambridge; son of W. H. Bragg. He was professor of physics at Victori...

Bruce, Stanley Melbourne

(Encyclopedia)Bruce, Stanley Melbourne mĕlˈbərn [key], 1883–1967, Australian political leader. Educated at Cambridge, he was called to the bar (1906) in England. After service in World War I, he entered the co...