1.
Plaxton Pointer
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The Plaxton Pointer is a single-decker bus body manufactured during the 1990s by Plaxton and latterly built by Alexander Dennis. With the launch of the Dennis Dart in 1989, Plaxtons subsidiary Reeve Burgess made the Pointer body on the short 8.5 m chassis. Launched in 1991, at 2.3 m wide, this proved popular with many operators, the modular nature of both chassis and body meant for various permutations in length, with 8.5 m,9.0 m and 9.8 m variants being manufactured. The Pointer became the most successful midibus body, the Pointer was also available with Volvo B6 chassis. This redesigned Pointer bodywork was built on the Volvo B6LE, one for the UK. The low floor Plaxton Pointer 1 and the Plaxton Pointer 2 have a rounded dome with a double-curvature windscreen. Not long after, the received an all-new lower front end design, and alterations to the rest of the body - the Pointer 2 was born. This was also available in a range of lengths to suit individual needs -9.3 m,10.1 m,10.7 m,11.3 m Super Pointer Dart, and after 3 years of production, the 8.8 m Mini Pointer Dart. The 11.3 m Super Pointer Dart is considered as a full-sized single-decker bus, in 1998, the Mayflower Group, owner of Alexander Coachbuilders, took over Dennis. The future of the Pointer at that time appeared uncertain as it was thought the Dart may be solely bodied by Alexander. As a result, Plaxton built two Pointer bodies on the Volvo B6BLE chassis known as Bus 2000, but the project was scrapped when Mayflower also purchased Plaxton, forming TransBus International. Certain design features of the scrapped Bus 2000 project have since used on other designs. With the collapse of TransBus in 2004 and subsequent restructuring by the administrators, Plaxton, as Pointer production had been transferred to the former Alexander plant at Falkirk, it became an Alexander Dennis product. Plaxton, once again an independent company, signalled its return to the bus market by developing the Centro on VDL, in August 2006 Alexander Dennis launched the Enviro200 Dart as a replacement for the Pointer Dart. Alexander Dennis Henlys Group PLC List of buses Plaxton Media related to Plaxton Pointer at Wikimedia Commons Alexander Dennis Pointer product website - Web archive
2.
Dennis Specialist Vehicles
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Dennis Specialist Vehicles Limited was a major British manufacturer of specialised commercial vehicles based in Guildford, England. The company was best known as the manufacturer of engines, although its other major product lines were buses, dustcarts. They made their first motor vehicle in 1898, and in 1899, their first car, though shown at the National Cycle Show and they entered car production around 1900. Larger models followed with a 35 hp model in 1906 powered by a White and Poppe engine, commercial vehicle activity was increasing with the first bus being made in 1903 and fire engine in 1908. Cars soon took place and it is doubtful if any were made after about 1915. In 1913 Dennis Brothers moved to a new larger building of almost four acres on a twelve acre site at Woodbridge on the outskirts of Guildford leaving Onslow Street solely for repairs. The rate of expansion of the business may be gauged from the expansions at Woodbridge in 1907,1910. In mid-1913 an offer of shares to the made the business owner a public listed company. At that time the business was described as manufacturers of motor-vans, motor-lorries, motor-fire-engines, wartime production was reduced to military lorries for the War Office and the Dennis turbine fire engine. New buildings were added to contain the manufacture of munitions, White and Poppe in Coventry has always supplied engines for Dennis Brothers motor vehicles. It had been under consideration from before the war and it was announced in April 1919 that Dennis Brothers and White, the fact being to give Dennis Brothers a controlling interest in the other company. Mr White and Mr Poppe joined the Dennis Brothers board. the Karnataka Fire and Emergency Services owns a pumper that was built by Dennis Brothers and delivered to the erstwhile Kingdom of Mysore in 1925 from England. In 1972 the company was acquired by Hestair Group and renamed Hestair Dennis after a few years of financial difficulties and it was sold to Trinity Holdings in 1989 and then to Mayflower Corporation in October 1998. Dennis Bus - manufacturer of buses and other transport vehicles Dennis Eagle - manufacturer of dustcarts/refuse lorries. This company also incorporated the remains of the Eagle Engineering and Shelvoke, Dennis Group plc also owned Duple Metsec, the bus bodywork builder which usually supplied body kits for assembly overseas. Mayflower Corporation sold Dennis Eagle in July 1999 and purchased by Ros Roca in 2006, Dennis Bus and Dennis Fire were incorporated into Transbus International in 2001. Dennis fire engines were noted, from the outset, for their use of a pump or turbine as a water pump. This was more complex to build than the piston pumps
3.
Alexander Dennis
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Alexander Dennis is a British bus building company based in Scotland. In early 2016, Alexander Dennis had a 44% market share in the United Kingdom, as at April 2014, Brian Souter and Ann Gloag collectively held a 55% shareholding. Alexander Dennis was formed as TransBus International on 1 January 2001, TransBus International produced a range of both bus and coach chassis and bodies as well as fire engines. Included among its range of chassis were the Dennis Dart, one of the all-time best-selling buses in the UK, TransBus also produced export variants for service in Hong Kong, New York City and other locations. The Dennis Trident is the most common bus model in service in London, on 31 March 2004, TransBus International was put into administration. On 17 May 2004, the Plaxton coach business was sold in a management buyout, TransBus had been in the process of eradicating the traditional company names from the vehicles. On 21 May 2004, the part of TransBus was bought by a consortium of merchant bank Noble Grossart and businessmen David Murray. The new company was named Alexander Dennis, the sale did not include the former Alexander Belfast plant, which closed. On 26 January 2005, Alexander Dennis Wigan plant closed, after completing outstanding orders of its President body, Alexander Dennis secured a number of major orders from UK operators. In 2006 the company unveiled two new models, the Enviro400 double-decker and Enviro200 Dart midibus, in May 2007, Alexander Dennis purchased Plaxton, thus reuniting the two former TransBus businesses. In May 2012, New Flyer Industries and Alexander Dennis announced a new joint-venture to design, New Flyer will handle production and marketing, and Alexander Dennis will handle the engineering and testing. On 7 June 2012, Alexander Dennis acquired Australian bodybuilder Custom Coaches, however, in May 2014, Custom Coaches was placed into administration. In August 2014, Custom Coaches was sold to its former management, the bodywork on a majority of the chassis are built by a neighbouring company, John Dennis Coachbuilders Limited
4.
Thomas Built Buses
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Thomas Built Buses, Inc. is an American bus manufacturer. Headquartered in High Point, North Carolina, the company is a subsidiary of Daimler Trucks North America, while best known for its yellow school buses, Thomas also produces, activity buses/MFSAB, commercial buses, and bus bodies for aftermarket conversion. Thomas bus bodies are produced in two facilities in High Point, North Carolina, Thomas also produces the chassis for its Saf-T-Liner/Transit Liner EFX, the oldest surviving bus manufacturer in North America, Thomas Built Buses was founded in 1916. Trained as a woodworker and engineer, Perley A. Thomas had become unemployed as Southern Car Company had closed its doors, the company was a streetcar manufacturer based in High Point, North Carolina. As the city was a center of manufacturing, many workers found jobs in furniture production, Thomas initially founded a company specializing in fireplace mantles. In the summer of 1916, Thomas Car Works was founded as Perley Thomas began work in modification of existing streetcars in a car barn in High Point. With a $6,000 loan, Thomas purchased the equipment of Southern Car Works at auction, in 1918, the company began production of new streetcars,25 were produced, leading the company to build its own factory in High Point. Shortly after the company opened, all-steel streetcar bodies joined production of wooden bodies, in 1921, the company received its largest order ever, as NOPSI placed an order for 150 streetcars, to be delivered from 1921 to 1924. As Thomas was unable to fill the order on its own, in September 1922, after 25 streetcars were delivered, the High Point factory was destroyed by fire. To keep Thomas Car Works afloat, Perley Thomas secured $100,000 from NOPSI, allowing him to parts to build 55 more streetcars. By 1928, a batch of 25 streetcars was delivered. In the United States following World War II, the role of streetcars was largely superseded by transit buses, in New Orleans, over 90 years after the construction of the first Perley Thomas 900-series street cars,35 remain in service in active daily use in public transportation. In 1930, Thomas Car Works would receive its final order for streetcars, producing 4 for Mobile, although rail-based streetcars offered higher passenger capacity, automotive-based transit buses became more popular as they offered a greater degree of flexibility in route design. In the early 1930s, the company struggled, with most of its business consisting of automotive refinishing and construction of bus, the recession of the time had hit Thomas Car Works hard, with the company decreased in size from 125 employees to nearly 10. Eventually, a creditor would file for receivership, with its survival largely based on the lack of potential buyers. As the decade progressed, to secure its future, Thomas Car Works transitioned mass-transit production away from streetcars. In 1933, the company produced its first trolley bus, while still electric-powered from overhead wires, a trolley bus was bodied the same as a standard automotive-design bus. Moving further away from streetcars, Thomas Car Works produced 10 transit buses for Duke Power of South Carolina, in 1936, Thomas produced its first school bus
5.
Low-floor bus
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A low-floor bus is a bus or trolleybus that has no steps between one or more entrances, and low floor for part or all of the passenger cabin. Buses with partial low floor may also refer as low-entry bus in some locations, Low floor refers to a bus deck that is accessible from sidewalk with only a single step within a small height difference, caused solely by the difference between the bus deck and sidewalk. This is to distinguished from high-floor, a bus deck design that requires climbing one step or more steps to access the interior floor that is placed at a higher height. Being low-floor improves the accessibility of the bus for the public, particularly the elderly and people with disabilities, in North America, both types are commonly called low-floor, as the majority of the vehicle has a low floor, without steps at the doors. Some manufacturers use the initials LF or L in their model designations for fully low-floor models, in some countries, LE, short for Low Entry, is used by some manufacturers in their model designations for low-entry buses. Some full low-floor buses also have a rear axle, while the rear axle is not an issue on a low-entry bus. Many low-floor buses, including the Irisbus Citelis, has the engine in a cabinet at the rear of the bus. Van Hool have a series of side-engine mid-drive buses that puts the engine off to one side of the cabin longitudinally between the first and the axle, to maximize usable cabin space. The same concept was also utilized by Volvo on their B9S articulated chassis, for smaller buses, such as midibuses, the low-floor capability is achieved by placing the front wheels ahead of the entrance. Accessibility was previously achieved in paratransit type applications, which use small vehicles with the fitment of special lifts, the inception of small low-floor buses has allowed the development of several accessible demand-responsive transport schemes using standard off-the-shelf buses. A disadvantage of the low floor is accommodating the buss own wheels, with the low floor, the wheels protrude into the passenger cabin, and need to be contained in wheel pockets of waist height, and this occupies space which would otherwise be used for seating. Seating layout for a low-floor bus therefore requires careful design, Low-floor buses usually include an area without seating next to at least one of the doors, where wheelchairs, walkers, perambulators, and where allowed even bicycles, can be parked. This is sometimes not the purpose of this area, though. Despite the space existing, operators may also insist that one or two wheelchairs or pushchairs can be accommodated unfolded, due to space/safety concerns. Depending on how close to the curb the bus is parked and wheelchair design, many vehicles are also equipped with wheel-chair lifts, or ramps which, when combined with a low floor, can provide a nearly level entry. An interesting implementation of the low floor design exists in Australia and these buses combine a smaller low floor area with a small underfloor bin for some luggage. Whilst these buses do not provide an amount of luggage space. These buses also lack the ability to have a center door, many bus rapid transit systems employ a level boarding by using high-floor buses stopping at station style bus stops
6.
Cummins B Series engine
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The Cummins B Series is a family of American straight-four and straight-6 diesel truck and industrial piston engines that are manufactured by Cummins. The B Series is known for the popular 3.9 liters straight-four and 5.9 liters straight-six motors, straight-fours displacing 3.3 liters and 4.5 liters are also available. The B Series is widely used in segments, including pickup trucks, buses, military vehicles, construction equipment. Some of the construction and marine applications use a dual installation, the engine was originally designed by Cummins and Case Corporation for commercial truck applications, and gained much of its popularity after appearing in the Dodge Ram, in 1989. The B-series features engine bores machined directly into the block and it was also set apart by the use of a shallow one-piece head, requiring closer tolerances than in other Cummins products. The engine was first manufactured in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, and other plants were added in Mexico, Turkey. Every Cummins powered Dodge Pickup has come equipped with a turbocharger and it uses a gear-drive camshaft for extra reliability. Also specified is an engine block and extra-strong connecting rods. The original B Series was updated with 24 valves and an engine management system to become the ISB in 1998. The 3. 9L/4BT Cummins is an engine in the family as the 5.9 liters Cummins turbodiesels. The 3. 9L/4B is an inline four-cylinder turbodiesel that was popular for many step van applications, including bread vans and it has also gained popularity as an engine swap into smaller trucks. The lowest powered 4B produces 55 hp, the 5.9 liters 6BT, aka the Cummins 12-valve was the first member of the B engine family to be used in a light truck vehicle. The 6BT used Robert Bosch GmbH fuel systems, injector, and VE rotary pump, some early 6BTs were supplied with CAV rotary pumps instead, before the Bosch system became the sole standard. This engine started life in 1984 designed as an agricultural engine, after 1989, the 6BT engine was used in light duty, medium duty and select heavy duty trucks and buses. During that time, the Dodge Ram was the only diesel pickup that did not rely on glowplugs for cold weather starting. The 5.9 liters ISB is one of the largest straight-six engines used for light vehicles. One unusual feature of the ISB is that it is a pushrod engine design. The engine displaces 5,883 cubic centimetres, with a 102.0 millimetres cylinder bore and 120.0 millimetres piston stroke, a turbocharger is used to increase the output in the high-compression diesel
7.
Alexander Dennis Enviro200
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The Alexander Dennis Enviro200 is a midibus manufactured by TransBus International and later Alexander Dennis since 2003. It was supposed to be positioned in between a minibus and a rigid single-decker bus, the Enviro200 was originally designed to be the replacement for the Dennis Dart SLF chassis and Alexander ALX200 and Plaxton Pointer 2 bodies. In 2014, a third version of the Enviro200 was launched, known as the Enviro200 MMC. A license-built version of the Enviro200 is built and marketed in North America by New Flyer Industries, the first generation Enviro200, then known as the TransBus Enviro200, was unveiled at Coach & Bus 2003 by the vehicles then-manufacturer, TransBus International. Two diesel trial buses were produced for display in 2003. The vehicle also incorporated an Enviro Pack, intended to vent exhaust emissions, noise and heat away from ground level and thus alighting passengers. The innovative design meant that the Enviro200 could hold up to 25% more passengers than a vehicle of equivalent dimensions, with a capacity of 77, as a result, it was the VDL SB120-based Wright Electrocity hybrid electric single-decker bus that was ordered instead by many operators. Following the collapse of TransBus, the Enviro200 was rebranded as the Alexander Dennis Enviro200 by Alexander Dennis, only two more first generation Enviro200s were built following the collapse of TransBus, one diesel and one hybrid vehicle, delivered to Far East Travel of Ipswich in early 2007. This pair, and the original London demonstrator, have passed to Buses Excetera of Guildford. The first generation Enviro200 was offered alongside the second generation Enviro200 Dart for a time, the Dart was soon dropped from the name, however. The Enviro200 body replaced the Plaxton Pointer and Alexander ALX200 and it also offered the same seating capacity of the Pointer at launch, but with more fixed seats rather than tip up seats for each length. The vehicle also featured integrated chassis and body multiplexing, and cantilevered seats, externally, the bus features the same front panel as the double-deck Enviro400, projecting a family look onto the two models. The Enviro200 chassis was soon made available with Optare Esteem and MCV Evolution bodywork. This gave prospective operators the option of EGR emissions reduction for the Enviro200, in 2009, the second generation Enviro200 received a facelift in order to allow the type to comply with European Community Whole Vehicle Type Approval regulations. With the introduction of the third generation Enviro200 MMC, the second generation Enviro200 was retired in 2015, Alexander Dennis unveiled the third generation Enviro200, also known as the Enviro200 MMC, at the Birmingham Euro Bus Exhibition in November 2014. The first Enviro200 MMC entered service with National Express West Midlands in May 2015, following the successful trial of two integral BYD electric buses in London since 2014, Go-Ahead London announced that they would be ordering 51 e-buses with Enviro200 MMC body in July 2015. It would be the first time ADL have bodied a BYD product, in May 2012 Canadian bus manufacturer New Flyer introduced a license-built version of the second generation Enviro200 as the New Flyer MiDi, suitably modified for the North American market. New Flyer estimated the size of the market for a bus at approximately 1,000 buses per annum
8.
Midibus
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Midibuses are often designed to be lightweight to save on diesel fuel, making them not as durable as heavier full size buses. Some midibuses, such as the Scania OmniTown, are heavier, in some places such as Hong Kong, some bus routes have to be served by midibuses due to the winding roads along such routes. The term midibus is not in use in the United States, such smaller. For example, Muni in San Francisco operates both 30-foot and 40-foot versions of the Orion VII transit bus to serve routes that include some of the steeper and curvier hills, in charter / tour roles, there is indeed a gap between the minibus and the touring coach. Several shuttle bus companies such as Goshen Coaches and Crystal have manufactured rear-engined vehicles that have 30–35 seats and they are usually lumped together with their smaller minibus brethren and called minibus, or shuttle bus. The only other alternative was to import a short version of European touring coaches, known often as coaches, around 30 feet long. In the 2000s, some manufacturers introduced mid-sized bus models based on truck frames
9.
Guildford
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Guildford /ˈɡɪlfərd/ is a large town in Surrey, England, located 27 miles southwest of central London on the A3 trunk road midway between the capital and Portsmouth. It is the seat of the borough of Guildford, on the building of the Wey Navigation and Basingstoke Canal Guildford was connected to a network of waterways that aided its prosperity. In the 20th century, the University of Surrey and Guildford Cathedral, in Sir Thomas Malorys 1485 fictional series Le Morte dArthur, Guildford is identified with Astolat of Arthurian renown, however only rural Celtic Bronze Age pieces have been found in the town. Continuing the Arthurian connection, there is a public house. Some of the tiles built into Guildford Castle may be Roman, and it is proven by archaeology and contemporary accounts that Guildford was established as a small town by Saxon settlers shortly after Roman authority had been removed from Britain. The settlement was most likely expanded because of the Harrow Way crosses the River Wey by a ford at this point, alfred the Great, the first Anglo-Saxon king of unified England, named the town in his will. Guildford was the location of the Royal Mint from 978 until part-way through the reign of William the Conqueror, Guildford Castle is of Norman design, although there are no documents about its earliest years. Guildford appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as Geldeford and Gildeford, the King officially held the 75 hagae in which lived 175 homagers and the town rendered £32. Stoke, a suburb within todays Guildford, appears in the Book as Stoch and was held by William. Its Domesday assets were,1 church,2 mills worth 5s,16 ploughlands with two Lords plough teams and 20 mens plough teams,16 acres of meadow, and woodland worth 40 hogs. Stoke was listed as being in the Kings park, with a rendering of £15, William the Conqueror had the castle built in the classic Norman style, the castle keep still stands. A major purpose of Norman castle building was to overawe the conquered population and it had £26 spent on it in 1173 under the regency of the young Henry II. As the threat of invasion and insurrection declined, the status was demoted to that of a royal hunting lodge, Guildford was, at that time. It was visited on occasions by King John, Eleanor of Aquitaine. In 1611 the castle was granted to Francis Carter whose grandsons initials EC, the surviving parts of the castle were restored in Victorian times and again in 2004, the rest of the grounds became a public garden. In 1995, a chamber was discovered in the High Street, while this remains a matter of contention, it is likely to be the oldest remaining synagogue in Western Europe. Guildford elected two members of the Unreformed House of Commons, from the 14th century to the 18th century the borough corporation prospered with the wool trade. In the 14th century the Guildhall was constructed and still today as a noticeable landmark of Guildford
10.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
11.
North America
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North America is a continent entirely within the Northern Hemisphere and almost all within the Western Hemisphere. It can also be considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, and to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea. North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers, about 16. 5% of the land area. North America is the third largest continent by area, following Asia and Africa, and the fourth by population after Asia, Africa, and Europe. In 2013, its population was estimated at nearly 565 million people in 23 independent states, or about 7. 5% of the worlds population, North America was reached by its first human populations during the last glacial period, via crossing the Bering land bridge. The so-called Paleo-Indian period is taken to have lasted until about 10,000 years ago, the Classic stage spans roughly the 6th to 13th centuries. The Pre-Columbian era ended with the migrations and the arrival of European settlers during the Age of Discovery. Present-day cultural and ethnic patterns reflect different kind of interactions between European colonists, indigenous peoples, African slaves and their descendants, European influences are strongest in the northern parts of the continent while indigenous and African influences are relatively stronger in the south. Because of the history of colonialism, most North Americans speak English, Spanish or French, the Americas are usually accepted as having been named after the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci by the German cartographers Martin Waldseemüller and Matthias Ringmann. Vespucci, who explored South America between 1497 and 1502, was the first European to suggest that the Americas were not the East Indies, but a different landmass previously unknown by Europeans. In 1507, Waldseemüller produced a map, in which he placed the word America on the continent of South America. He explained the rationale for the name in the accompanying book Cosmographiae Introductio, for Waldseemüller, no one should object to the naming of the land after its discoverer. He used the Latinized version of Vespuccis name, but in its feminine form America, following the examples of Europa, Asia and Africa. Later, other mapmakers extended the name America to the continent, In 1538. Some argue that the convention is to use the surname for naming discoveries except in the case of royalty, a minutely explored belief that has been advanced is that America was named for a Spanish sailor bearing the ancient Visigothic name of Amairick. Another is that the name is rooted in a Native American language, the term North America maintains various definitions in accordance with location and context. In Canadian English, North America may be used to refer to the United States, alternatively, usage sometimes includes Greenland and Mexico, as well as offshore islands
12.
Australia
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Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the worlds sixth-largest country by total area, the neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor to the north, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east, and New Zealand to the south-east. Australias capital is Canberra, and its largest urban area is Sydney, for about 50,000 years before the first British settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who spoke languages classifiable into roughly 250 groups. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades, and by the 1850s most of the continent had been explored, on 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia has since maintained a liberal democratic political system that functions as a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy comprising six states. The population of 24 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard, Australia has the worlds 13th-largest economy and ninth-highest per capita income. With the second-highest human development index globally, the country highly in quality of life, health, education, economic freedom. The name Australia is derived from the Latin Terra Australis a name used for putative lands in the southern hemisphere since ancient times, the Dutch adjectival form Australische was used in a Dutch book in Batavia in 1638, to refer to the newly discovered lands to the south. On 12 December 1817, Macquarie recommended to the Colonial Office that it be formally adopted, in 1824, the Admiralty agreed that the continent should be known officially as Australia. The first official published use of the term Australia came with the 1830 publication of The Australia Directory and these first inhabitants may have been ancestors of modern Indigenous Australians. The Torres Strait Islanders, ethnically Melanesian, were originally horticulturists, the northern coasts and waters of Australia were visited sporadically by fishermen from Maritime Southeast Asia. The first recorded European sighting of the Australian mainland, and the first recorded European landfall on the Australian continent, are attributed to the Dutch. The first ship and crew to chart the Australian coast and meet with Aboriginal people was the Duyfken captained by Dutch navigator, Willem Janszoon. He sighted the coast of Cape York Peninsula in early 1606, the Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines and named the island continent New Holland during the 17th century, but made no attempt at settlement. William Dampier, an English explorer and privateer, landed on the north-west coast of New Holland in 1688, in 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain. The first settlement led to the foundation of Sydney, and the exploration, a British settlement was established in Van Diemens Land, now known as Tasmania, in 1803, and it became a separate colony in 1825. The United Kingdom formally claimed the part of Western Australia in 1828. Separate colonies were carved from parts of New South Wales, South Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851, the Northern Territory was founded in 1911 when it was excised from South Australia
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Media related to Dennis Dart at Wikimedia Commons