Test Driving........

my new camera! Whooo finally.
Hope I have made the right decision though - I went for a model way above what I had intended (spent all my pocket money) - think I was upsold by a very good salesperson! So while half of it is a complete mystery to me, hopefully, one day, I will get to move forward and understand it all (in my dreams probably).

I have just decided to change todays photo and therefore blip - I took this one on the way home from Coffs Harbour at a little bush museum which shows how the early settlers lived. I like the photo but haven't figured out why the background is a bit blurry. I had the camera set on Auto and in a couple of shots, as in this one, the foreground is in focus nicely but the background is not. Can anyone give me any tips on why this is happening??

I can see a long night studying the Manual coming up but at the moment I best get back to cooking dinner. Hoping to hear some expert opinions.... :)