Australia.
Brief history of Australia.
The Beginning: Man entered our continent more than 40,000 years ago.
The Dutch:
The English: 1688 William Dampier visited north-westerly shores.
The Commonwealth of Australia came into being with federation of the colonies
( now states ) on 1st January, 1901.
The Northern Territory was transferred from S.A. to the Commonwealth on 7th December, 1907. A.C.T. transferred from N.S.W. to the Commonwealth on 18th October, 1909.
External Territories: Norfolk Island, Australian Antarctic Territory, Heard and McDonald Islands, Cocos (keeling) Islands, Christmas Island, Coral Sea Island.
New South Wales...... Sydney
Sydney was established as a British penal colony in 1788, but developed rapidly with the discovery of gold. It was opened to free settlement by 1819 and became the capital when New South Wales attained self-government in 1856. Main streets were laid down on what were originally wagon tracks through the town.
Sydney has the reputation of a fast-living, exciting, cosmopolitan city...... Its harbour aspect has led many to say it's one of the world's most attractive cities.
The harbour bridge, opened in 1934, is still a tourist attraction, as is the world renowned Sydney Opera House, which was completed in 1973, and Centre Point Tower, opened in 1980.
About 60 per cent of the New South Wales population lives in Sydney.
Tamworth
Situated
approximately
Today Tamworth is a Rural City, with a population of over 55,000 and is also known as Australia's Country Music Capital, 10 days {24hrs day} of non stop Music can be enjoyed during the festival which is held in the middle of January of each year. The town more than doubles in its population over the festival period, with an estimated 60,000 + visitors and music artists from all over Australia , New Zealand, Canada, USA & Europe, coming each year to enjoy the party atmosphere!!!
The Nations Capital... Canberra
Canberra is a young city, even by Australian standards. Located on a tributary of the Murrumbidgee, it was chosen as the nation's capital in 1908, in an attempt to end rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne.
The city centre was carefully planned and Lake Burley Griffin is still a significant feature.
The national parliament first sat there in 1927 and the Australian National University was opened in 1946.
The National War Memorial was established in Canberra and in 1988 a new landmark parliament building was opened.
Victoria...... Melbourne.
Founded near the mouth of the Yarra River in 1835 after an abortive 1803 bid to establish a settlement at Sorrento just inside the Port Phillip Bay heads, Melbourne was named after Lord Melbourne.
The Port Phillip District, as it was first known, gained independence from New South Wales in 1850. Melbourne boomed in the 1850's as a result of the discovery of gold in the region to the north.
It was the seat of the national government at Australia's federation in 1901 and remained so until 1927.
Melbourne has a reputation as being more refined and sedate as its rival Sydney. But it also boasts some of the country's best restaurants and is acknowledged as Australia's most important financial centre.
Queensland..... Brisbane.
Brisbane has been the fastest growing Australian state capital, perhaps helped by its sub-tropical climate.
The colony of Queensland was proclaimed in 1859, and parliament first met in the Queen St Convict barracks the following year.
The city crosses the meanders of the Brisbane River. Development is tending towards the north and south because hills inhibit growth to the west and swamps and the coast limit expansion east. There has been a prominent development of suburbs to the south-east, towards the popular Gold Coast, a premier tourist destination for three decades.
Brisbane and the Gold Coast have attracted much interstate migration,but more recently there has been a lot of development to the far north, especially tourist areas like Cairns.
Western Australia..... Perth.
The first European to land on the coast of Western Australia, was Dutchman Dirk Hartog, at Shark's Bay in 1616. Another Dutchman, Frederik de Houtman, sighted land near the Swan River in 1619. But it was another 175 years before serious English and French exploration, and not until 1829 that Fremantle and, weeks later, Perth were founded.
The first convicts arrived in Perth in 1850 to boost British population.
More recently the city has a rapid population growth, much of it because of the Western Australian mineral boom.
Perth is built on sandy soil and the plain west of the low Darling Ranges, overlooking the broad Swan River estuary. With Fremantle it became internationally recognised with the successful 1987 America's Cup challenge from the Royal Perth Yacht Club.
South Australia..... Adelaide.
Founded in 1834, Adelaide was named after William IV's queen. It was the centre of the colony of South Austral ia proclaimed in 1836 and was the home of the first self-government in 1857. The overland telegraph line to Port Darwin connected Adelaide and the rest of Australia to the rest of the world in 1872.
Adelaide is well regarded as an example of good town planning, for its amount of inner city open space and for its many churches and other buildings of architectural significance. Residential streets are separated from the business district by the Torrens River.
Adelaide has developed a reputation for having an easy-going, but cultured, lifestyle. More recently it was internationally renown as a venue for world Formula 1 grand prix car racing.
Tasmania..... Hobart.
Hobart is on the Derwent River estuary and is Australia's second oldest city.
Founded in 1804, it was named after Lord Hobart, British Secretary of State for the Colonies, and started when Lt Col David Collins moved the earlier settlement from Risdon to Sullivan's Cove, where Hobart is today.
Tasmania is renowned for its Victorian Architecture, historical sites and buildings. Many homes have the charm of the Tudor style- Old English mansions and is steep in history.
Every year on Boxing Day, the Sydney to Hobart yatch race commences and celebrations are held at the finish of the race. Hobart also boasts the first legal Casino in Australia.
Northern Territory..... Darwin.
Darwin is often remembered for two tumultous events --- its bombing by the Japanese in the Second World War, and the destructive Cyclone Tracey on Christmas Day in 1974.
It was founded in 1869 under the name Palmerston and was renamed after Charles Darwin in 1911.
Alice Springs.
Alice Springs, named after Alice Bell, the wife of Charles Todd who took the overland telegraph from Darwin to Adelaide, was introduced to many people through the book and film A town like Alice.
These days it is becoming internationally know for its nearby famous world tourist attraction Ayres Rock, or now often known as Uluru.
Alpine Region, of Australia, can be found in the Southern area's of New South Wales and the northern area's of Victoria.
Skiing is very popular with Australian's & with overseas skiing enthusiasts also coming for winter skiing and the friendly atmosphere, parties that are well known in the ski resorts.
Some Facts about Australia.
________________ Area. ____________________ Coastline.
___________ Sq: Miles. ____ Sq: Kilometres ___ %. _ ____ Miles. ___ Kilometres
TOTALS. ...... 2,966,253 ...................... 7,682,300. ................. 100. ................. 22,868. ................. 36,735.
Made up of:.............. Sq.Miles ................... Sq.Km's ..........%. Area ............. Miles ......... ........ Km's.
N.S.W. ..................... 309,510 ........................... 801,600 ................ 10.44 .................... 1,181 ..................... 1,900
Vic. .............................. 87,880 ........................... 227,600 .................. 2.96 .................... 1,118 ..................... 1,800
QLD. .......................... 666,898 ....................... 1,727,200 ............... 22.49 .................... 4,598 .................... 7,400
S.A. .............................. 379,937 ............................ 984,000 ............... 12.87 .................... 2,299 .................... 3,700
W.A. ........................... 975,134 ........................ 2,525,500 .............. 32.87 .................... 7,766 .................. 12,500
TAS. .............................. 26,179 ............................... 67,800 ................. 0.88 ...................... 1,988 ................... 3,200
N.T. .............................. 519,788 ....................... 1,346,200 ............... 17.52 .................... 3,852 ....................6,200
A.C.T. .................................. 927 ................................... 2,400 ................. 0.03 ........................... 22 ........................... 35
Mountains:-............................................................................................................................................................ft. .................m....
The Highest Mountain is in : New South Wales - Mt. Kosciusko......... 7,316 ft. ___ 2,230 m
Highest Mountains in other states are: .....Victoria ---- Bogong...................... 6,516 ft. ___ 1,986 m
..........................................................................................................Tasmania --- Ossa .............................. 5,305 ft. __ 1,617 m
Northern Territory....Zeil. . 5,287 ft. _ 1,612 m ...Queensland --Bartlefrere .... 5,287 ft. __ 1,612 m
West. Aust. ....Meharry........ 4,102 ft. _ 1,251 m ...South Aust...Woodroffe.... 5,000 ft. __ 1,524 m
Lowest Point is in: - South Australia - Lake Eyre ........................................................ -49 ft. __ -15 m
Highest Temp. ever recorded -- Cloncurry, Qld. 53º Cels ( 127.5º F ) Jan 16, 1889
Lowest Temp. ever recorded --- Charlottes Pass NSW -23º Cels ( -9º F ) June 29, 1994.
Wettest Place. ( officially recorded ): Tully, Qld., .. Annual average 4,321 mm. ...... 25 mm = 1".
Driest Place. ( officially recorded ): Oodnadatta, S.A., Annual average 117 mm.
Unpreditable, ever - changing, the coastline of Australia is a vast and little known frontier. The early navigators called the land Terra australis incognita - the Unknown South Land - and even today there are still enormous stretches of the coast which, because of their remoteness and inacessability, have seldom been visited by man. Rocky headlands, enclose hidden, snow-white beaches; mangrove-lined estuaries wind between shimmering coastal dunes; towering cliffs alternate with undulating green heathlands; and islands of every shape and size lie off the shore, interspersed with coral reefs, famous in our history, areas that have been hostile to man, and land forms that make Australia unique in world geography - features such as the Famous Great Barrier Reef system in Queensland, and the virtually unknown, but awe-inspiring coast of the Kimberleys in Western Australia.
The coastline of Australia, earths largest island, is often desolate, sometimes harsh, but magnificent in the way it has retained the unaltered, unpolluted serenity of the natural environment - a pristine quality that is becoming increasingly rare elsewhere in the world.
Australia's coastline of ..( 36,735km ) is nearly the circumference of the earth, and is washed by Three Oceans, the Pacific, Southern and Indian Oceans..... and Four Sea's, the Tasman, Coral, Arafura and Timor.
This page was last updated on 3rd Sep 1998.
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