Australian Capital Territory Description Sites Places And

Australian Capital Territory (ACT), chiefly the site of Canberra (population 309,500 as at 16/10/2004), Australia's capital city, is situated between the country's two largest and rival cities, Melbourne and SydneyThis is about the city of Sydney in Australia. For other meanings, see Sydney (disambiguation), or Sidney. Sydney Opera House Sydney is the capital city of the Australian state of New South Wales and Australia's largest and oldest city, founded in 1788..

1 Description

The ACT is wholly surrounded by the state of New South WalesNew South Wales NSW is Australia's most populous and oldest state, located in the southeast, north of Victoria. It was founded in 1788 and originally comprised much of the Australian mainland. During the 19th century large areas were successively separate.

For administrative purposes, the ACT also incorporates Australia's uninhabited external territories. Attempts have also been made to incorporate Norfolk IslandNorfolk Island is an island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia, and is one of Australia's external territories. The island is 34 km². The Norfolk Island pine, also pictured in the flag, is a very striking evergre within the Australian Capital Territory for the purposes of representation in Federal Parliament.

The area and population is quite similar to the nation of LuxembourgThe Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (also Luxemburg is a landlocked state in the north-west of the continental European Union, bordered by France, Germany and Belgium. Grand-Duche de LuxembourgGrossherzogtum LuxemburgGroussherzogtum (Grand-Duche) Letzebuerg ( I but the pattern of settlement is very different.

In Australia's Federal ParliamentThe Parliament of Australia is a bicameral parliament consisting of the Queen, the House of Representatives (the "lower house") and the Senate (the "upper house" or "house of review"). Section 1 of the Constitution of Australia provides that: "The legisla, the ACT is represented by four members (two senatorThe Australian Senate is the upper of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia. See List of members of the Australian Senate Origins and role The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act of 1900 set up the Australian Senate as part of the new systes, and two members of the Australian House of RepresentativesThe House of Representatives is one of the two chambers of the parliament of Australia. The other is the Senate. The 150 members of the house are elected from single-member geographic districts (popularly known as "seats" but officially known as "Commonwe).

Unlike other self-governing Australian territories (eg Norfolk Island, Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands), the ACT does not have an Administrator.

2 Sites, places, and activities

Tidbinbilla is a locality within the ACT, to the south-west of Canberra that features the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve and the site of the Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex, operated by NASA as part of its Deep Space Network. (Other stations are at Madrid ( Spain) and Goldstone at Barstow, California.)

Apart from Canberra, there is some agricultural land ( sheep, dairy cattle, some vineyards and a very small area of crops), and a large area of national park ( Namadgi National Park), much of it mountainous and forested. Small townships located within the ACT include Williamsdale, Naas, Tharwa and Hall .

3 History

The area now known as the ACT was inhabited by three Aboriginal tribes from about the 11th century onwards. These were the Ngunnawal, Walgalu and Ngarigo tribes.

White exploration and settlement there did not occur until the 1820s. From 1824 onwards, settlements and homesteads, and ultimately some small townships such as Hall and Tharwa, were established in the future ACT.

One homestead of special historical interest was Lambrigg, near Tharwa. This was the place in which William Farrer developed the rust-resistant Federation wheat strain that had a major beneficial effect on Australia's wheat industry. Farrer died at Lambrigg in 1906.

When the constitution for the Commonwealth of Australia was being negotiated between the colonies, Melbourne and Sydney each wanted to become the capital. As a compromise, it was agreed that the capital would initially be Melbourne, until a new capital city could be built. When finally agreed, the Constitution specified that the new capital city would be located in territory taken from New South Wales, but be at least 100 statute miles from Sydney.

The present site was chosen in 1908, with additional territory at Jervis Bay (now a naval base on the NSW coast) allocated so the national capital could have a sea port. In 1910 the Australian Capital Territory was ceded by act of Federal Parliament in Melbourne. The politician King O'Malley responsible for the legislation creating the ACT, also passed a law later that year making the ACT an alcohol-free area. In 1911 an international design competition was held, which was won by Walter Burley Griffin. The official naming of Canberra and its official construction began on march 12, 1913.

The Federal Government officially moved there from Melbourne, with that city relinquishing the title of Capital City of Australia, on the formal opening of the Provisional Parliament House on 9 May 1927. Amongst the new parliament's first acts was the repealing of the prohibition laws. At first the Public Service continued to be administered from Melbourne, but the various departments were gradually moved to Canberra over the years.

The territory was initially known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). In 1938, the territory was formally named the Australian Capital Territory.

It gained self-government in 1988.

4 External links

The ACT Government website

Australia
States and mainland territories
Australian Capital Territory \| New South Wales \| Northern Territory \| Queensland \| South Australia \| Tasmania \| Victoria \| Western Australia
Jervis Bay Territory
External territories
Ashmore and Cartier Islands \| Australian Antarctic Territory \| Christmas Island \| Cocos (Keeling) Islands \| Coral Sea Islands \| Heard Island and McDonald Islands \| Norfolk Island

Australian states and territories Australian Capital Territory

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