1.
Flag of New South Wales
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The current state flag of New South Wales was officially adopted by the government of New South Wales in 1876. The flag is based on the defaced British Blue Ensign with the state located in the fly. The badge, based on the coat of arms, is a disc with the cross of St George, a golden lion passant guardant in the centre of the cross. This flag was adopted due to criticisms from the British Admiralty that the design was too similar to the design of the Victorian flag. The state badge was designed by the Colonial Architect James Barnet and Captain Francis Hixson, even though no meaning for the design was given, it is perhaps a simplified version of what was the semi-official arms of New South Wales at the time. The first flag of New South Wales was adopted 1867 and it too was a defaced British Blue Ensign with the letters NSW in white located in the fly. New South Wales then adopted a flag in 1870 and it was almost identical to that of Victoria. This flag was also a defaced British Blue Ensign with the Governors Badge located in the fly, the badge was the Southern Cross and an imperial crown situated above the Southern Cross. The difference between this flag and that of the Victorian flag was that the stars were gold and ranged from five to nine points each star having one point pointing to the bottom of the flag
2.
Coat of arms of New South Wales
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The Coat of arms of New South Wales is the official coat of arms of the Australian state of New South Wales. It was granted by royal warrant of King Edward VII dated 11 October 1906. The shield shows a field with a silver cross voided red with a gold star on each arm of the red cross. The crest is a sun with each of the suns rays tipped with a little reddish-orange flame, on a wreath or torse of blue. The supporters are a lion on the dexter and a golden kangaroo on the sinister. The supporters are depicted standing upon the motto ribbon as they hold the shield in an upright position. The motto contains the Latin inscription Orta recens quam pura nites which, in English, means Newly risen, the blue field and white cross are derived from the earliest Australian coats of arms which show the Southern Cross that is visible in the skies of the southern hemisphere. This symbolises the origins of NSW, with seafarers relying upon the Southern Cross to navigate the seas. The Lion in the South is taken from the three lions on a red field on the arms of England, and symbolises both the sovereignty of NSW and the offspring of an old country. It represent the origins of the founders of the Colony of New South Wales as well as the independence of their succeeding generations. These allusions were clear to educated men and women at the time, the rising sun in the crest has been used in the heraldry of New South Wales since the 1820s, essentially to symbolise hope in the future. It also depicts the geographical position of New South Wales, which faces the sun rising every morning over the Pacific Ocean, of the two supporters, the lion symbolises the origins of many of the people of New South Wales in the early 20th century in the British Isles. It could today be understood as symbolising the multicultural nature of contemporary New South Wales society, the kangaroo has been used as a supporter in popular New South Wales heraldic practice since 1806, although this is its earliest official use. This motto reinforced the positive symbolism of the Arms with its message of hope in the future, the Coat of Arms was designed by the NSW Government Printer, William Applegate Gullick, who had arrived in the colony as an infant with his parents. His father worked in the industry, and Gullick later served an apprenticeship in the printing trades with John Sands & Co. He was appointed Government Printer in 1896, and was responsible for New South Wales postage stamp designs until 1913. Gullick was commissioned by Premier Carruthers in 1905 to design the Arms, Gullick also had a role in the design of the Australian Coat of Arms. The State Arms are described in section 4 of the State Arms, Symbols and Emblems Act 2004 as the Arms of Dominion, Arms of Dominion and Sovereignty are the symbols of intangible public authority which belong to independent states and are used by their representatives and leaders
3.
States and territories of Australia
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Australia is a federation of six states, together with ten federal territories. The Australian mainland consists of five of the six federated states, the state of Tasmania is an island about 200 kilometers from the mainland. The remaining seven territories are classified for some purposes as external territories, aside from the Australian Antarctic Territory, which is Australias claim to part of Antarctica, Australia is the worlds sixth-largest country by total area. Since 2015, federal control has also extended to the formerly self-governing territory of Norfolk Island. Three of the territories are inhabited, the others are uninhabited. The term geographic Australia is used by the Australian government to describe the area covered by demographic statistics such as national population figures and this area comprises Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands in addition to the six states and three mainland territories. Norfolk Island is the territory with a native population that is not part of geographic Australia. Both territories were reincorporated as the Northern Territory at the end of this period, from 1923 to 1968, the United Nations Trust Territory of Nauru was under Australian administration, until independence as the Republic of Nauru. From 1949 to 1975, the Territory of Papua and New Guinea was a territory of Australia, the states originated as separate British colonies prior to Federation in 1901. Upon Federation, the six colonies of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, the territories, by contrast, are from a constitutional perspective directly subject to the Commonwealth Government, laws for territories are determined by the Australian Parliament. Most of the territories are directly administered by the Commonwealth Government, in the self-governing territories, the Australian Parliament retains the full power to legislate, and can override laws made by the territorial institutions, which it has done on rare occasions. For the purposes of Australian intergovernmental bodies, the Northern Territory, each state has a Governor, appointed by the Queen, which by convention she does on the advice of the state Premier. The Administrator of the Northern Territory, by contrast, is appointed by the Governor-General, Jervis Bay Territory is the only non-self-governing internal territory. Until 1989, it was administered as if it were a part of the ACT, although residents of the Jervis Bay Territory are generally subject to laws made by the ACT Legislative Assembly, they are not represented in the Assembly. They are represented in the Parliament of Australia as part of the Electoral Division of Fraser in the ACT, in other respects, the territory is administered directly by the Federal Government through the Territories portfolio. The external territory of Norfolk Island possessed a degree of self-government from 1979 until 2015, each state has a bicameral parliament except Queensland, which abolished its upper house in 1922. The lower house is called the Legislative Assembly, except in South Australia and Tasmania, Tasmania is the only state to use proportional representation for elections to its lower house, all others elect members from single member constituencies, using preferential voting. The upper house is called the Legislative Council and is elected from multi-member constituencies using proportional representation
4.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
5.
Sydney
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Sydney /ˈsɪdni/ is the state capital of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia and Oceania. Located on Australias east coast, the metropolis surrounds the worlds largest natural harbour, residents of Sydney are known as Sydneysiders. The Sydney area has been inhabited by indigenous Australians for at least 30,000 years, the first British settlers, led by Captain Arthur Phillip, arrived in 1788 to found Sydney as a penal colony, the first European settlement in Australia. Since convict transportation ended in the century, the city has transformed from a colonial outpost into a major global cultural. As at June 2016 Sydneys estimated population was 5,005,358, in the 2011 census,34 percent of the population reported having been born overseas, representing many different nationalities and making Sydney one of the most multicultural cities in the world. There are more than 250 different languages spoken in Sydney and about one-third of residents speak a language other than English at home and it is classified as an Alpha+ World City by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, indicating its influence in the region and throughout the world. Ranked eleventh in the world for economic opportunity, Sydney has a market economy with strengths in finance, manufacturing. Its gross regional product was $337 billion in 2013, the largest in Australia, there is a significant concentration of foreign banks and multinational corporations in Sydney and the city is promoted as one of Asia Pacifics leading financial hubs. Its natural features include Sydney Harbour, the Royal National Park, man-made attractions such as the Sydney Opera House, Sydney Tower and the Sydney Harbour Bridge are also well known to international visitors. The first people to inhabit the now known as Sydney were indigenous Australians having migrated from northern Australia. Radiocarbon dating suggests human activity first started to occur in the Sydney area from around 30,735 years ago, the earliest British settlers called them Eora people. Eora is the term the indigenous used to explain their origins upon first contact with the British. Its literal meaning is from this place, prior to the arrival of the British there were 4,000 to 8,000 native people in Sydney from as many as 29 different clans. Sydney Cove from Port Jackson to Petersham was inhabited by the Cadigal clan, the principal language groups were Darug, Guringai, and Dharawal. The earliest Europeans to visit the area noted that the people were conducting activities such as camping and fishing, using trees for bark and food, collecting shells. Development has destroyed much of the citys history including that of the first inhabitants, there continues to be examples of rock art and engravings located in the protected Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. The first meeting between the people and the British occurred on 29 April 1770 when Lieutenant James Cook landed at Botany Bay on the Kurnell Peninsula. He noted in his journal that they were confused and somewhat hostile towards the foreign visitors, Cook was on a mission of exploration and was not commissioned to start a settlement
6.
Demonym
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A demonym is a word that identifies residents or natives of a particular place, which is derived from the name of that particular place. It is a neologism, previously gentilic was recorded in English dictionaries, e. g. the Oxford English Dictionary, thus a Thai may be any resident or citizen of Thailand, of any ethnic group, or more narrowly a member of the Thai people. Conversely, some groups of people may be associated with multiple demonyms, for example, a native of the United Kingdom may be called a British person, a Brit, or a Briton. In some languages, when a parallel demonym does not exist, in English, demonyms are capitalized and are often the same as the adjectival form of the place, e. g. Egyptian, Japanese, or Greek. Significant exceptions exist, for instance the adjectival form of Spain is Spanish, English widely includes country-level demonyms such as Ethiopian or Guatemalan and more local demonyms such as Seoulite, Wisconsinite, Chicagoan, Michigander, Fluminense, and Paulista. Some places lack a commonly used and accepted demonym and this poses a particular challenge to those toponymists who research demonyms. The word gentilic comes from the Latin gentilis and the English suffix -ic, the word demonym was derived from the Greek word meaning populace with the suffix for name. National Geographic attributes the term demonym to Merriam-Webster editor Paul Dickson in a recent work from 1990 and it was subsequently popularized in this sense in 1997 by Dickson in his book Labels for Locals. However, in What Do You Call a Person From, a Dictionary of Resident Names attributed the term to George H. Scheetz, in his Names Names, A Descriptive and Prescriptive Onymicon, which is apparently where the term first appears. Several linguistic elements are used to create demonyms in the English language, the most common is to add a suffix to the end of the location name, slightly modified in some instances. Cairo → Cairene Cyrenaica → Cyrene Damascus → Damascene Greece → Greek Nazareth → Nazarene Slovenia → Slovene Often used for Middle Eastern locations and European locations. Kingston-upon-Hull → Hullensian Leeds → Leodensian Spain → Spaniard Savoy → Savoyard -ese is usually considered proper only as an adjective, thus, a Chinese person is used rather than a Chinese. Monaco → Monégasque Menton → Mentonasque Basque Country → Basque Often used for French locations, mostly they are from Africa and the Pacific, and are not generally known or used outside the country concerned. In much of East Africa, a person of an ethnic group will be denoted by a prefix. For example, a person of the Luba people would be a Muluba, the plural form Baluba, similar patterns with minor variations in the prefixes exist throughout on a tribal level. And Fijians who are indigenous Fijians are known as Kaiviti and these demonyms are usually more informal and colloquial. In the United States such informal demonyms frequently become associated with mascots of the sports teams of the state university system. In other countries the origins are often disputed and these will typically be formed using the standard models above
7.
Government of New South Wales
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The Government of New South Wales, also referred to as the New South Wales Government or NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales, in Australia. The Government of New South Wales, a constitutional monarchy, was formed in 1856 as prescribed in its Constitution. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, New South Wales has been a state of the Commonwealth of Australia, under the Australian Constitution, New South Wales ceded legislative and judicial supremacy to the Commonwealth, but retained powers in all matters not in conflict with the Commonwealth. Section 109 of the Australian Constitution provides that, where a State law is inconsistent with a federal law, initially the Australian states retained significant independence. Over time, however, that independence has been eroded by both the proliferation of Commonwealth Law, and the increasing financial domination of the Commonwealth. New South Wales is governed according to the principles of the Westminster system, Executive power rests formally with the Executive Council, which consists of the Governor and senior ministers. The Governor, as representative of the Crown, is the repository of power, which is exercised by him or her on the advice of the Premier of New South Wales. The Premier and Ministers are appointed by the Governor, and hold office by virtue of their ability to command the support of a majority of members of the Legislative Assembly. In 2006, the Sesquicentenary of Responsible Government in New South Wales, the Act was assented to by the Queen on 3 April 2006. The following individuals serve as government ministers, at the pleasure of the Queen, the government ministers are listed in order of seniority, while their opposition counterparts are listed to correspond with the government ministers. All Opposition counterparts are members of the Parliament of New South Wales
8.
Constitutional monarchy
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A constitutional monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the sovereign exercises their authorities in accordance with a written or unwritten constitution. A constitutional monarchy may refer to a system in which the acts as a non-party political head of state under the constitution. Political scientist Vernon Bogdanor, paraphrasing Thomas Macaulay, has defined a constitutional monarch as a sovereign who reigns, in addition to acting as a visible symbol of national unity, a constitutional monarch may hold formal powers such as dissolving parliament or giving royal assent to legislation. Many constitutional monarchies still retain significant authorities or political influence however, such as through certain reserve powers, the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms are all constitutional monarchies in the Westminster tradition of constitutional governance. Three states – Malaysia, Cambodia and the Holy See – are elective monarchies, the oldest constitutional monarchy dating back to ancient times was that of the Hittites. These were scattered noble families that worked as representatives of their subjects in an adjutant or subaltern federal-type landscape, the most recent country to move from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy was Bhutan, between 2007 and 2008. At the same time, in Scotland the Convention of Estates enacted the Claim of Right Act 1689, although Queen Anne was the last monarch to veto an Act of Parliament when in 1707 she blocked the Scottish Militia Bill, Hanoverian monarchs continued to selectively dictate government policies. For instance George III constantly blocked Catholic Emancipation, eventually precipitating the resignation of William Pitt the Younger as Prime Minister in 1801, Queen Victoria was the last monarch to exercise real personal power but this diminished over the course of her reign. In 1839 she became the last sovereign to keep a Prime Minister in power against the will of Parliament when the Bedchamber crisis resulted in the retention of Lord Melbournes administration, today, the role of the British monarch is by convention effectively ceremonial. No person may accept significant public office without swearing an oath of allegiance to the Queen, with few exceptions, the monarch is bound by constitutional convention to act on the advice of the Government. Constitutional monarchy also occurred briefly in the years of the French Revolution. As originally conceived, a monarch was head of the executive branch and quite a powerful figure even though his or her power was limited by the constitution. In many cases the monarchs, while still at the top of the political and social hierarchy, were given the status of servants of the people to reflect the new. In the course of Frances July Monarchy, Louis-Philippe I was styled King of the French rather than King of France, following the Unification of Germany, Otto von Bismarck rejected the British model. However this model of constitutional monarchy was discredited and abolished following Germanys defeat in the First World War. Later, Fascist Italy could also be considered as a constitutional monarchy and this eventually discredited the Italian monarchy and led to its abolition in 1946. After the Second World War, surviving European monarchies almost invariably adopted some variant of the constitutional monarchy model originally developed in Britain, nowadays a parliamentary democracy that is a constitutional monarchy is considered to differ from one that is a republic only in detail rather than in substance. However, three important factors distinguish monarchies such as the United Kingdom from systems where greater power might otherwise rest with Parliament, other privileges may be nominal or ceremonial
9.
Governor of New South Wales
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The Governor of New South Wales is the viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the Governor-General of Australia at the national level, the Governor is appointed by the queen on the advice of the Premier of New South Wales, for an unfixed period of time—known as serving At Her Majestys pleasure—though five years is the norm. The current Governor is retired General David Hurley, who succeeded Dame Marie Bashir on 2 October 2014, the office has its origin in the 18th-century colonial governors of New South Wales upon its settlement in 1788, and is the oldest continuous institution in Australia. The office of Governor is required by the New South Wales Constitution Act,1902, besides the administration of the oaths of office, there is no set formula for the swearing-in of a governor-designate. The sovereign will also hold an audience with the appointee and will at that time induct the governor-designate as a Companion of the Order of Australia. The incumbent will generally serve for at least five years, though this is only a convention. The premier may therefore recommend to the Queen that the remain in her service for a longer period of time. A governor may also resign and three have died in office, furthermore, if the Lieutenant Governor becomes incapacitated while serving in the office of Governor, the next most senior judge of the Supreme Court is sworn in as the Administrator. Between 1788 and 1957, all governors were born outside of New South Wales and were members of the Peerage. Taylor once noted that out and governing New South Wales became the British aristocracys abiding consolation. Coincidentally the first Australian-born Governor, Sir John Northcott on 1 August 1946, was also the first Australian-born Governor of any state, the first Governors were all military officers and the majority of governors since have come from a military background, numbering 19. Samuels was the first governor in New South Wales history without either a political, public service or military background, the first woman to hold this position is also the first Lebanese-Australian governor, Dame Marie Bashir. In this capacity, the governor will issue royal proclamations and sign orders in council, the Governor alone is constitutionally mandated to summon parliament. The governor grants Royal Assent in the Queens name, legally, if the governor withholds the Queens assent, the sovereign may within two years disallow the bill, thereby annulling the law in question. No modern viceroy has denied Royal Assent to a bill, with most constitutional functions delegated to Cabinet, the governor acts in a primarily ceremonial fashion. He or she will host members of Australias royal family, as well as foreign royalty, also as part of international relations, the governor receives letters of credence and of recall from foreign consul-generals appointed to Sydney. The governor is also tasked with fostering unity and pride, the governor also traditionally serves as Honorary and Regimental Colonel in the Royal New South Wales Regiment and as Honorary Air Commodore of No.22 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force. Since 1946, the governor has also always made the Chief Scout of New South Wales
10.
David Hurley
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General David John Hurley AC, DSC is a former senior officer in the Australian Army, and the 38th and current Governor of New South Wales. In a 42-year military career, Hurley was deployed on Operation Solace in Somalia in 1993, commanded the 1st Brigade and his career culminated with his appointment as Chief of the Defence Force on 4 July 2011, in succession to Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston. Hurley retired from the Defence Force in June 2014, and succeeded Dame Marie Bashir as Governor of New South Wales on 2 October the same year, David Hurley was born in Wollongong, New South Wales, the son of Norma and James Hurley. His father was an Illawarra steelworker and his mother worked in a grocery store, Hurley grew up in Port Kembla, attended Port Kembla High School where he completed his Higher School Certificate in 1971. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and Graduate Diploma in Defence Studies and he is married to Linda and has three children. Hurley joined the Australian Army in January 1972, and graduated from the Royal Military College and his initial posting was to the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment. Promoted to captain, he was appointed Adjutant of the Sydney University Regiment before becoming Regimental Adjutant of the Royal Australian Regiment and he went on exchange to the 1st Battalion, Irish Guards before serving with 5th/7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for this service, in 1994 he became SO1, Headquarters 1st Division. As a brigadier, he assumed command of the 1st Brigade in Darwin in January 1999, during this period he oversaw the Brigades transition to a higher degree of operational readiness and its support to Australian led operations in East Timor. He went on to be Director General Land Development within Capability Systems in January 2001 and he was promoted to major general in 2001 and served as Head Capability Systems Division from July 2001, and as Land Commander Australia from December 2002. Hurley was promoted to general and succeeded Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston as Chief of the Defence Force on 4 July 2011. In February he was presented with his bar to the Defence Force Service Medal. Hurley retired from the Australian Army on 30 June 2014, and was succeeded as CDF by Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin. David Morrison, has attributed, one of the most quoted phrases in his anti-misogyny speech, Hurley is a Honorary Patron of the ACT Veterans Rugby Club. On 17 March 2015, he was invested as a Knight of the Order of St John by the Lord Prior, Dr Neil Conn, at a ceremony at Government House, badges Infantry Combat Badge 2 October 2014, Regimental Colonel in the Royal New South Wales Regiment. Honorary Colonel for Sydney University Regiment, ADF Leaders page entry Official biography Official photo
11.
Premier of New South Wales
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The Premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of New South Wales acting as the legislature, prior to Federation in 1901 the term Prime Minister of New South Wales was used, Premier was used from 1901. The current Premier is Gladys Berejiklian, the Leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party, Berejiklian replaced Mike Baird on 23 January 2017, after Baird resigned as Premier. As of January 2017, nine former Premiers are alive, the oldest being Barrie Unsworth, the most recent premier to die was Tom Lewis on 25 April 2016. List of Premiers of New South Wales by time in office Deputy Premier of New South Wales
12.
Gladys Berejiklian
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Gladys Berejiklian is the 45th Premier of New South Wales and the Leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party, offices which she assumed on 23 January 2017 following the resignation of Mike Baird. She has been a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly since 2003 and she was also the Deputy Leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party between 2014 and 2017. Berejiklian was born in Sydney, the eldest of three born to Armenian immigrant parents, Krikor and Arsha. Her grandparents were orphaned in the Armenian Genocide in 1915, Berejiklian spoke only Armenian until she was five years old, when she began learning English. She has remained involved in the Armenian-Australian community, serving a term on the Armenian National Committee of Australia, in 2015, she attended a commemoration ceremony in Yerevan for the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Berejiklian attended North Ryde High School, which became Peter Board High School from 1986 and she was a member of Girl Guides and continues to support the organisation. She has a Bachelor of Arts and a diploma in international studies from the University of Sydney. She joined the Liberal Party in 1993 and was president of the New South Wales Young Liberals from 1997 to 1998, being the third female president in its history. She also served as a Delegate to State Council, Urban Representative of the NSW Liberal Party State Executive, Campaign Director for State seat of Willougby and Chair of Convention Committee. Berejiklian also worked for Peter Collins and Senator Helen Coonan and the Commonwealth Bank as general manager, Youth Retail Banking, Berejiklian supports the Australian republican movement. Following the 2007 State election, she was given the portfolio of Citizenship by Opposition Leader OFarrell. Following the election of the OFarrell government at the 2011 state election, on 3 April 2011 Berejiklian was appointed Transport Minister, Berejiklian has been outspoken against the former NSW Labor Governments handling of trains, buses and ferries. In a subsequent ministerial reshuffle, in addition to her existing responsibilities, as Treasurer, Berejiklian oversaw New South Wales return to surplus. This was the first time New South Wales had been declared debt-free in more than 20 years and she also oversaw the privatization of the states electricity network. Baird endorsed Berejiklian as his successor, declaring that she would be an outstanding Premier, Berejiklian ministry First Baird ministry Second Baird ministry OFarrell ministry List of female heads of government in Australia gladys. com. au Premier. nsw. gov. au
13.
Liberal Party of Australia
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The Liberal Party of Australia is a major political party in Australia. Founded in 1945 to replace the United Australia Party, the Liberal Party is one of the two parties in Australian politics, along with the Australian Labor Party. Except for a few periods, the Liberal Party and its predecessors have operated in similar coalitions since the 1920s. Internationally, the Liberal Party is affiliated to the International Democrat Union, the partys leader is Malcolm Turnbull and its deputy leader is Julie Bishop. Now the Turnbull Government, the party had been elected at the 2013 federal election as the Abbott Government which took office on 18 September 2013. At state and territory level, the Liberal Party is in office in two states, Will Hodgman Premier of Tasmania since 2014 and Gladys Berejiklian Premier of New South Wales since 2017. The party is in opposition in the states of Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, the partys ideology has been referred to as liberal, conservative, liberal-conservative, and classically liberal. The Liberal Party tends to promote economic liberalism and cultural liberalism, two past leaders of the party, Sir Robert Menzies and John Howard, are Australias two longest-serving Prime Ministers. The Liberal Party has spent more time in government than any other federal Australian political party, the contemporary Liberal Party generally advocates economic liberalism. Historically, the party has supported a higher degree of protectionism and interventionism than it has in recent decades. However, from its foundation the party has identified itself as an anti-socialist grouping of liberals, strong opposition to socialism and communism in Australia and abroad was one of its founding principles. The partys founder and longest-serving leader Robert Menzies envisaged that Australias middle class would form its main constituency, in the 1970s a left-wing middle class emerged that no longer voted Liberal. In country areas they either compete with or have a truce with the Nationals, Menzies was an ardent constitutional monarchist, who supported the Monarchy in Australia and links to the Commonwealth of Nations. Today the party is divided on the question of republicanism, with some being republicans, the Menzies Government formalised Australias alliance with America in 1951, and the party has remained a strong supporter of the mutual defence treaty. Liberal leaders from Menzies to Malcolm Fraser generally maintained Australias high tariff levels, at that time the Liberals coalition partner, the Country Party, the older of the two in the coalition, had considerable influence over the governments economic policies. Socially, while liberty and freedom of form the basis of its beliefs. A West Australian Liberal, Ken Wyatt, became the first Indigenous Australian elected to the House of Representatives in 2010, the party has two factions, the conservative right and the moderate left. Both factions support the market and differ mainly over their level of social conservatism
14.
Australia Act 1986
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While each Act gives its short title as Australia Act 1986, in Australia they are referred to, respectively, as the Australia Act 1986 and the Australia Act 1986. These nearly identical Acts were passed by the two parliaments, to come into effect simultaneously, because of uncertainty as to which of the two parliaments had the authority to do so. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 by federation of six British colonies, the Commonwealth Constitution provided for a Commonwealth Parliament, with legislative power on a range of specified topics, leaving the residue of legislative power to the States. That constitution was contained in a British statute, the United Kingdom Parliament retained ultimate legislative power in relation to Australia. The UK Parliaments power to legislate with effect for the Commonwealth itself was mostly ended with the Statute of Westminster 1931, when adopted by Australia in 1942 retroactive to 1939. The Statute provided that no future UK Act would apply to a Dominion as part of its law unless the Act expressly declared that the Dominion had requested and consented to it. Until then, Australia had legally been a colony of the United Kingdom. However, s 4 of the Statute only affected UK laws that were to apply as part of Australian Commonwealth law, thus, the Parliament of the United Kingdom still had the power to legislate for the states and territories. In practice, however, this power was almost never exercised, for example, in a referendum on secession in Western Australia in April 1933, 68% of voters favoured seceding from Australia and becoming a separate Dominion. As a result of decision in London, no action was taken in Canberra or Perth. The Australia Act ended all power of the UK Parliament to legislate with effect in Australia – that is, as part of the law of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory. State laws would no longer be subject to disallowance or suspension by the Queen – a power that, anomalously, similarly, the Australia Act removed the power of the British government to be involved in the governing of an Australian State. Specifically, only the State Premier could now advise the Queen on appointment or removal of a State Governor, nonetheless, the Queen could still exercise any of her powers with respect to the State if she was personally present in the State. At federation in 1901, the court of each colony became the supreme court of that State. In 1903, a High Court of Australia was established, one of whose functions was to hear appeals from the State supreme courts, however, the British insisted on a compromise. Section 74 of the Constitution as enacted by the Imperial Parliament, and there could be an appeal with permission of the Privy Council. The Commonwealth Parliament was empowered to legislate to limit the path and it did so in 1968 and 1975. Predictably, the High Court proved reluctant to grant certificates for appeal to the Privy Council, the discretion was exercised only once, in 1912
15.
Mount Kosciuszko
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With a height of 2,228 metres above sea level, it is the highest mountain in mainland Australia. Various measurements of the originally called Kosciuszko showed it to be slightly lower than its neighbour. The names of the mountains were swapped by the New South Wales Lands Department in 1892 so that Mount Kosciuszko remains the name of the highest peak of Australia, and Mount Townsend ranks as second. The 1863 picture by Eugene von Guerard hanging in the National Gallery of Australia titled Northeast view from the top of Mount Kosciusko is actually from Mount Townsend. The name of the mountain was previously spelt Mount Kosciusko, an Anglicisation, the traditional English pronunciation of Kosciuszko is /kɒziːˈʌskoʊ/, but the pronunciation /kɒˈʃʊʃkoʊ/ is now sometimes used, which is substantially closer to the Polish pronunciation. There are several native Aboriginal names associated with the mountain, with confusion as to the exact sounds. These are Jagungal, Jar-gan-gil, Tar-gan-gil, Tackingal, however, the mountain was formed, by geologic uplift. Mount Kosciuszko is the highest summit in mainland Australia, until 1977 it was possible to drive from Charlotte Pass to within a few metres of the summit, but in 1977 the road was closed to public motor vehicle access due to environmental concerns. The road is open from Charlotte Pass for walkers and cyclists for 7.6 kilometres to Rawson Pass, from there a 1. 4-kilometre walking path leads to the summit. Cyclists must leave their bicycles at a rack at Rawson Pass. Anyone with a modest level of fitness can walk to the top, the peak may also be approached from Thredbo, taking 3 to 3.5 hours for a round trip. This straightforward walk starts from the top of the Thredbo Kosciuszko Express chairlift, the walking path is popular in summer, and is a mesh walkway to protect the native vegetation and prevent erosion. It is 5 kilometres } to Rawson Pass, where it meets the track from Charlotte Pass, australias highest public toilet was built at this pass in 2007, to cope with the more than 100,000 people visiting the mountain each summer. The peak and the areas are snow-covered in winter and spring. The road from Charlotte Pass is marked by snow poles and provides a guide for cross-country skiers, Kosciuszko National Park is also the location of the downhill ski slopes closest to Canberra and Sydney, containing the Thredbo, Charlotte Pass, and Perisher ski resorts. Mount Kosciuszko may have been ascended by Indigenous Australians long before the first recorded ascent by Europeans, each year in December, an ultramarathon running race called the Coast to Kosciuszko ascends to the top of Mount Kosciuszko after starting at the coast 240 kilometres away. Paul Every, who is credited as being the one who thought of holding such a race, was the inaugural co-winner in 2004, higher peaks in the region, but outside the mainland continent, Puncak Jaya in New Guinea. It is the highest island mountain in the world, the highest mountain in Indonesia, Puncak Mandala in the Papua province of Indonesia
16.
Time in Australia
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Australia uses three main time zones, Australian Western Standard Time, Australian Central Standard Time, and Australian Eastern Standard Time. Time is regulated by the state governments, some of which observe daylight saving time. Australias external territories observe different time zones, Standard time was introduced in the 1890s when all of the Dominions adopted it. Before the switch to standard time zones, each city or town was free to determine its local time. Daylight saving time is used in South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, and it is not currently used in Western Australia, Queensland or the Northern Territory. The standardization of time in Australia began in 1892, when surveyors from the six Dominions in Australia met in Melbourne for the Intercolonial Conference of Surveyors, the delegates accepted the recommendation of the 1884 International Meridian Conference to adopt Greenwich Mean Time as the basis for standard time. The Dominions enacted time zone legislation, which took effect in February 1895. The clocks were set ahead of GMT by eight hours in Western Australia, by nine hours in South Australia, and by 10 hours in Queensland, New South Wales, the three time zones became known as Eastern Standard Time, Central Standard Time, and Western Standard Time. Broken Hill in the far west of New South Wales also adopted Central Standard Time due to it being connected by rail to Adelaide but not Sydney at the time. In May 1899, South Australia advanced Central Standard Time by thirty minutes, in doing so, South Australia also adopted a time meridian located outside its boundaries – another departure from international convention. Attempts to correct these oddities in 1986 and 1994 were rejected, when the Northern Territory was separated from South Australia and placed under the jurisdiction of the Federal Government, that Territory kept Central Standard Time. Likewise, when the ACT was broken off from New South Wales, Australia has kept a version of the UTC atomic time scale since the 1990s, but Greenwich Mean Time remained the formal basis for the standard times of all of the states through 2005. All states have adopted the UTC standard, starting on 1 September 2005, such instruments may be valid for only the current year, and so this section generally only refers to the legislation. In New South Wales and Western Australia, the starting and ending dates, however, during World War I and World War II all states and territories used daylight saving time. In 1968 Tasmania became the first state in peacetime to use DST, followed in 1971 by New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory did not adopt it. Queensland and Western Australia have occasionally used DST during the past 40 years during trial periods. The main DST zones are the following, Central Daylight Saving Time – UTC+10,30, in South Australia Eastern Daylight Saving Time – UTC+11, in New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria, and Tasmania. During the usual periods of DST, the three time zones in Australia become five zones
17.
Daylight saving time in Australia
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The choice of whether to use daylight saving time in Australia is a matter for the individual states and territories. However, during World War I and World War II all states and territories had daylight saving, in 1968 Tasmania became the first state since the war to practise daylight saving. In 1971, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory did not. Queensland abandoned daylight saving time in 1972, Queensland and Western Australia have observed daylight saving over the past 40 years from time to time on trial bases. New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, Tasmania and this has resulted in three time zones becoming five during the daylight-saving period. South Australia time becomes UTC+10,30, called Central Daylight Time, the time in the southeastern states becomes UTC+11, using Eastern in the time zone name, Eastern Daylight Time, respectively Australia Eastern Daylight Time. Officially, the change to and from DST takes place at 2,00 am local time on the appropriate Sunday. Of the states that observe DST, most began on the last Sunday in October, Tasmania, owing to its further southern latitude began DST earlier, on the first Sunday in October, and ended on the first Sunday of April. On 12 April 2007, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, from the 2008/09 period, the start of DST in these states and in South Australia commences on the first Sunday in October and ends on the first Sunday in April. Western Australia became the state to observe daylight saving from the last Sunday in October to the last Sunday in March. Since 2009 Western Australia no longer observes daylight saving, Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia do not observe DST. Queensland has had a particularly involved debate over daylight-saving time, with public opinion geographically divided, a referendum on daylight saving, was held on 22 February 1992, following a three-year trial, and was defeated with a 54. 5% no vote. Since the early 2000s, there have been a number of petitions submitted to Queensland Parliament, a petition in 2006 was signed by 62,232 people. In response to petitions, then Queensland Premier Peter Beattie commissioned research to find out if daylight-saving time should be re-introduced into Queensland. In early 2010, the DS4SEQ political party approached independent Member, Peter Wellington, Wellington has called for a referendum to be held at the next State election on the introduction of daylight saving into south-east Queensland under a dual-time zone arrangement. The decision announced by the Premier on 7 June 2010 was that her Government would not support the Bill, the Bill was defeated in Queensland Parliament on 15 June 2011. Western Australia also had a particularly involved debate over daylight-saving time, voters returned a no vote of 54. 57% in 2009, the highest in all four referendums. Each referendum followed a period during which the state observed daylight saving time
18.
Broken Hill
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Broken Hill is an isolated mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway and it is 315 m above sea level, with a hot desert climate, an average rainfall of 235 mm. The closest major city is Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, Broken Hill has been referred to as The Silver City, the Oasis of the West, and the Capital of the Outback. Although over 1,100 km west of Sydney and surrounded by semi-desert, the town has a high potential for solar power, given its extensive daylight hours of sunshine. The Broken Hill Solar Plant, which was completed in 2015, is one of the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, unlike the rest of New South Wales, Broken Hill observes Australian Central Standard Time, the same time zone used in South Australia and the Northern Territory. This is because at the time the Australian dominions adopted standard time, Broken Hills only direct link was with Adelaide. Similarly, Broken Hill is regarded as part of South Australia for the purposes of postal parcels rates, Broken Hill also used to be a break of gauge station where the state railway systems of South Australia and New South Wales met. Broken Hill is Australias longest-lived mining city, in 1844, the explorer Charles Sturt saw and named the Barrier Range, and at the time referred to a Broken Hill in his diary. Silver ore was discovered on this broken hill in 1883 by a boundary rider named Charles Rasp. The broken hill that gave its name to Broken Hill actually comprised a number of hills appeared to have a break in them. The broken hill no longer exists, having been mined away, the area was originally known as Willyama. Prior to Sturts naming, the area was referred to by the local Aboriginal population as the Leaping Crest. Broken Hills massive orebody, which formed about 1,800 million years ago, has proved to be among the worlds largest silver–lead–zinc mineral deposits, the orebody is shaped like a boomerang plunging into the earth at its ends and outcropping in the centre. The protruding tip of the orebody stood out as a rocky ridge amongst undulating plain country on either side. This was known as the hill by early pastoralists. Miners called the ore body the Line of Lode, a unique mineral recently identified from Broken Hill has been named Nyholmite after one of the citys famous sons Ron Nyholm. Lead with the signature of the Broken Hill deposits has been found across the entire continent of Antarctica in ice cores dating back to the late nineteenth century. Many of these waterholes are still secret from non-Indigenous people
19.
Parliament of Australia
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It consists of three elements, the Queen of Australia, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Queen is represented by the Governor-General, through both Houses, however, there is a fused executive, drawn from the Westminster System. The upper house, the Senate, consists of 76 members, twelve for each state, Senators are elected using the single transferable vote proportional representation system and as a result, the chamber features a multitude of parties vying for power. The governing party or coalition rarely has a majority in the Senate and usually needs to negotiate with other parties and this tends to lead to the chamber being dominated by two major parties, the Liberal/National Coalition and the Labor Party. The government of the day must achieve the confidence of this House in order to gain and remain in power, although elections can be called early, each 3 years the full House of Representatives and half of the Senate is dissolved and goes up for reelection. The two Houses meet in separate chambers of Parliament House on Capital Hill in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, the Commonwealth of Australia came into being on 1 January 1901 with the federation of the six Australian colonies. The inaugural election took place on 29 and 30 March and the first Australian Parliament was opened on 9 May 1901 in Melbourne by Prince George, Duke of Cornwall and York, later King George V. The only building in Melbourne that was enough to accommodate the 14,000 guests was the western annexe of the Royal Exhibition Building. After the official opening, from 1901 to 1927, the Parliament met in Parliament House, Melbourne and it had always been intended that the national Parliament would sit in a new national capital. This was a compromise at Federation due to the rivalry between the two largest Australian cities, Sydney and Melbourne, which wished to become the new capital. The site of Canberra was selected for the location of the capital city in 1908. A competition was announced on 30 June 1914 to design Parliament House, however, due to the start of World War I the next month, the competition was cancelled. It was re-announced in August 1916, but again postponed indefinitely on 24 November 1916, in the meantime, John Smith Murdoch, the Commonwealths Chief Architect, worked on the design as part of his official duties. He had little enthusiasm for the project, as he felt it was a waste of money. Nevertheless, he designed the building by default, the construction of Old Parliament House, as it is called today, was commenced on 28 August 1923 and completed in early 1927. It was built by the Commonwealth Department of Works, using tradesmen, the final cost was about £600,000, which was more than three times the original estimate. It was designed to house the parliament for a maximum of 50 years until a permanent facility could be built, the building was opened on 9 May 1927 by the Duke and Duchess of York. The opening ceremonies were both splendid and incongruous, given the sparsely built nature of Canberra of the time and its small population, the building was extensively decorated with British Empire and Australian flags and bunting
20.
Australian House of Representatives
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The Australian House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the Parliament of Australia. It is referred to as the house, with the Senate being referred to as the upper house. The House is almost always dissolved earlier, usually alone but sometimes in a double dissolution of both Houses, a member of the House may be referred to as a Member of Parliament, while a member of the Senate is usually referred to as a Senator. The government of the day and by extension the Prime Minister must achieve, the House of Representatives currently consists of 150 members, elected by and representing single member districts, known as electoral divisions. The number of members is not fixed, but can vary with boundary changes resulting from electoral redistributions, the most recent overall increase in the size of the House, which came into effect at the 1984 election, increased the number of members from 125 to 148. It reduced to 147 at the 1993 election, returned to 148 at the 1996 election, each division elects one member using full-preference Instant-runoff voting. This was put in place after the 1918 Swan by-election, which Labor unexpectedly won with the largest primary vote, the Nationalist government of the time changed the lower house voting system from first-past-the-post to full-preference preferential voting, effective from the 1919 general election. This system has remained in place since, allowing the Coalition parties to safely contest the same seats, the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act of 1900 established the House of Representatives as part of the new system of dominion government in newly federated Australia. The House is presided over by the Speaker, Members of the House are elected from single member electorates. One vote one value legislation requires all electorates to have approximately the number of voters with a maximum 10% variation. However, the quota for the number of voters in an electorate is determined by the number of voters in the state in which that electorate is found. Meanwhile, all the states except Tasmania have electorates approximately within the same 10% tolerance, voting is by the preferential system, also known as instant-runoff voting. A full allocation of preferences is required for a vote to be considered formal and this allows for a calculation of the two-party-preferred vote. Under Section 24 of the Constitution, each state is entitled to members based on a quota determined from the latest statistics of the Commonwealth. These statistics arise from the census conducted under the auspices of section 51, the parliamentary entitlement of a state or territory is established by the Electoral Commissioner dividing the number of the people of the Commonwealth by twice the number of Senators. This is known as the Nexus Provision, the reasons for this are twofold, to maintain a constant influence for the smaller states and to maintain a constant balance of the two Houses in case of a joint sitting after a double dissolution. The population of state and territory is then divided by this quota to determine the number of members to which each state. Under the Australian Constitution all original states are guaranteed at least five members, the Federal Parliament itself has decided that the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory should have at least one member each
21.
Australian Senate
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The Australian Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter I, there are a total of 76 senators,12 senators are elected from each of the six states and two from each of the two autonomous internal territories. Senators are popularly elected under the single vote system of proportional representation. As a result of proportional representation, the features a multitude of parties vying for power. Senators normally serve fixed terms, unless the Senate is dissolved earlier in a double dissolution. Following a double half the state senators serve terms ending on the third 30 June following the election with the rest serving three years longer. The term of the territory senators expires at the time as there is an election for the House of Representatives. The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act of 1900 established the Senate as part of the new system of government in newly federated Australia. From a comparative perspective, the Australian Senate exhibits distinctive characteristics. Unlike upper Houses in other Westminster system governments, the Senate is not a body with limited legislative power. Rather it was intended to play – and does play – an active role in legislation, the Constitution intended to give less populous states added voice in a Federal legislature, while also providing for the revising role of an upper house in the Westminster system. In practice, however, most legislation in the Australian Parliament is initiated by the Government and it is then passed to the Senate, which has the opportunity to amend the bill or refuse to pass it. In the majority of cases, voting takes place along party lines, since 2015, armed officers of the Australian Federal Police have been placed on duty to protect both chambers of the Federal Parliament. The system for electing senators has changed several times since Federation, the original arrangement involved a first-past-the-post block voting or winner takes all system, on a state-by-state basis. This was replaced in 1919 by preferential block voting, block voting tended to produce landslide majorities and even wipe-outs. For instance, from 1920 to 1923 the Nationalist Party of Australia had 35 of the 36 senators, and from 1947 to 1950, the Australian Labor Party had 33 of the 36 senators. From the 1984 election, group ticket voting was introduced in order to reduce a high rate of voting that arose from the requirement that each candidate be given a preference. As a result of the changes, voters may assign their preferences for parties above the line, or individual candidates below the line, both above and below the line voting now use optional preferential voting
22.
Waratah
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Waratah is an Australian-endemic genus of five species of large shrubs or small trees, native to the southeastern parts of Australia. The most well-known species in genus is Telopea speciosissima, which has bright red flowers and is the NSW state emblem. The waratah is a member of the plant family Proteaceae, a family of flowering plants distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The key diagnostic feature of Proteaceae is the inflorescence, which is very large, brightly coloured and showy. Species of waratah boast such inflorescences ranging from 6–15 cm in diameter with a ring of coloured bracts. The leaves are arranged, 10–20 cm long and 2–3 cm broad with entire or serrated margins. The name waratah comes from the Eora Aboriginal people, the inhabitants of the Sydney area. The genus Telopea is belongs to the plant family Proteaceae, together they make up the subtribe Embothriinae. The genus was first described by Robert Brown in 1810 from the type species Telopea speciosissima, there are five species of plant within the genus, all of which readily hybridize in cultivation. There are two branches, with one being the species pair of T. speciosissima and T. aspera, with the other lineage giving rise to T. truncata first, then T. oreades. The speciosissima-aspera lineage has two synapomorphies—distinguishing common characteristics presumed not present in ancestors—leaves with toothed margins, and large red involucral bracts, the genus Waratah contains five species, Species grow as either large shrubs or small trees with spirally arranged leaves with either entire or serrated margins. The natural distributions of the five species of Telopea are all confined to east coast regions from northern New South Wales to Tasmania, each of the species has its own distinctive natural distribution with minimal or no overlap. Climatic changes may have restricted the expansion of species distribution or led to its isolation in a particular region, however, waratahs can also grow outside of these natural distribution areas. Cultivation mostly occurs north of Sydney and in the Dandenong Ranges, T. speciosissima has also been grown successfully in areas not on the map. In Australia these areas include south-west Western Australia, the Queensland coast, overseas, New Zealand, the USA, South Africa and Israel are all also able to grow waratah with varying degrees of success. It was introduced to England in 1789 but cannot survive English winters out of doors except in the south-west coastal regions, for some time the waratah has had a reputation as difficult plant. It has a culture and for many years there have been cases of people trying to establish the plant only to have the attempt fail. Failures can usually be attributed to the effects of soil conditions
23.
Platypus
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The platypus, sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, the animal is the sole living representative of its family and genus, though a number of related species have been found in the fossil record. The first preserved platypus body was thought to have been a fake, made of several animals sewn together, the unusual appearance of this egg-laying, duck-billed, beaver-tailed, otter-footed mammal baffled European naturalists when they first encountered it, with some considering it an elaborate hoax. It is one of the few species of mammals, the male platypus having a spur on the hind foot that delivers a venom capable of causing severe pain to humans. The platypus is the emblem of the state of New South Wales. Until the early 20th century, it was hunted for its fur, although captive breeding programs have had only limited success and the platypus is vulnerable to the effects of pollution, it is not under any immediate threat. When the platypus was first encountered by Europeans in 1798, a pelt and sketch were sent back to Great Britain by Captain John Hunter, British scientists initial hunch was that the attributes were a hoax. It was thought that somebody had sewn a ducks beak onto the body of a beaver-like animal, shaw even took a pair of scissors to the dried skin to check for stitches. The common name platypus is the latinisation of the Greek word πλατύπους, flat-footed, from πλατύς, broad, wide, flat and πούς, foot. The scientific name Ornithorhynchus anatinus is derived from ορνιθόρυγχος, which means bird snout in Greek, and anatinus. There is no universally agreed plural of platypus in the English language, scientists generally use platypuses or simply platypus. Colloquially, the term platypi is also used for the plural, although this is incorrect and a form of pseudo-Latin. Early British settlers called it by names, such as watermole, duckbill. The name platypus is occasionally prefixed with the adjective duck-billed to form duck-billed platypus, in David Collinss account of the new colony 1788 –1801, he describes coming across an amphibious, mole like animal. His account includes a drawing of the animal, the body and the broad, flat tail of the platypus are covered with dense, brown fur that traps a layer of insulating air to keep the animal warm. The fur is waterproof, and the texture is akin to that of a mole, the platypus uses its tail for storage of fat reserves. It has webbed feet and a large, rubbery duck-like snout, the webbing is more significant on the front feet and is folded back when walking on land. Unlike a birds beak, the snout of the platypus is an organ with the mouth on the underside
24.
Kookaburra
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Kookaburras are terrestrial tree kingfishers of the genus Dacelo native to Australia and New Guinea, which grow to between 28–42 cm in length. The name is a loanword from Wiradjuri guuguubarra, onomatopoeic of its call, the loud distinctive call of the Laughing Kookaburra is widely used as a stock sound effect in situations that involve a jungle setting. They are found in habitats ranging from humid forest to arid savanna, even though they belong to the larger group known as kingfishers, kookaburras are not closely associated with water. The genus Dacelo was introduced by the English zoologist William Elford Leach in 1815, the name Dacelo is an anagram of Alcedo, the Latin word for a kingfisher. Four species of kookaburra can be found in Australia, New Guinea, and this is noticeable in the blue-winged and the rufous-bellied, where males have blue tails and females have reddish-brown tails. Unusually for close relatives, the laughing and blue-winged species are direct competitors in the area where their ranges now overlap and this suggests that these two species evolved in isolation (possibly during a period when Australia and New Guinea were more distant – see Australia-New Guinea. The single member of the genus Clytoceyx is commonly referred to as the shovel-billed kookaburra, kookaburras are almost exclusively carnivorous, eating mice, snakes, insects, small reptiles, and the young of other birds, they have also been known to take goldfish from garden ponds. In zoos they are fed food for birds of prey. The most social birds will accept handouts and will take meat from barbecues and it is generally not advised to feed kookaburras ground beef or pet food as these do not include enough calcium and roughage. They are territorial, except for the rufous-bellied, which live with their young from the previous season. They often sing as a chorus to mark their territory, all kookaburra species are listed as Least Concern. Australian law protects native birds including kookaburras, kookaburras have also appeared in several video games including and at least in one short story. Olly the Kookaburra was one of the three chosen for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. The other mascots were Millie the Echidna and Syd the Platypus, in William Ardens 1969 book, The Mystery of the Laughing Shadow, the laughing kookaburra is integral to the plot. Includes an Australian character called Kookaburra, whose costume includes decorative wings that recall the birds plumage, a six pence stamp was issued in 1914. A three pence commemorative Australian stamp was issued for the 1928 Melbourne International Philatelic Exhibition, A six pence stamp issued in 1932, a 38c Australian stamp issued in 1990 features a pair of kookaburras. An international $1.70 Australian stamp featuring an illustrated kookaburra was released in 2013, an Australian coin known as the Silver Kookaburra minted annually since 1990. The Australian 12 metre yacht Kookaburra III lost the Americas Cup in 1987, the Australian Mens Hockey team is named after the kookaburra
25.
Blue groper
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Achoerodus is a genus of wrasses collectively known as blue gropers. They are found in the waters of southern Australia and distinguished by the bright blue colouring of the adult males. The thick-bodied blue gropers have peg teeth, heavy scales, large tails, juveniles are brown to green brown. Adult females are brown to greenish-yellow, each scale may have a darker red spot. The adult males have the blue colouring that give the fish their name. The blue can range from deep navy to cobalt blue, all blue gropers begin life as females. As they mature, they go through a phase, in which they may be male or female. Typically you will find one or two male blue gropers in an area, with a larger number of the female gropers in the same area. Should the dominant male blue groper die, the largest female will grow, change colour and sex, in Australia certain States like New South Wales have granted protection to this species. Its considered the fish symbol for the territory and illegal to spear blue groper. There is also a limitation on fishing for them with a line and they are extremely inquisitive, and while it is now discouraged to feed them by cutting up urchins, they still will approach divers as if expecting to be fed. Their lifespan is said to be up to 35 years according to some sources, the fish live in a variety of coastal waters, especially exposed reefs. In 1998, the eastern blue groper was made the state emblem of New South Wales
26.
Opal
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Opal is a hydrated amorphous form of silica, its water content may range from 3 to 21% by weight, but is usually between 6 and 10%. Because of its amorphous character, it is classed as a mineraloid, unlike crystalline forms of silica, which are classed as minerals. It is deposited at a low temperature and may occur in the fissures of almost any kind of rock, being most commonly found with limonite, sandstone, rhyolite, marl. Opal is the gemstone of Australia. The internal structure of precious opal makes it diffract light, depending on the conditions in which it formed, it can take on many colors. Precious opal ranges from clear white, gray, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, magenta, rose, pink, slate, olive, brown. Of these hues, the black opals are the most rare, whereas white, opals vary in optical density from opaque to semitransparent. Precious opal shows a variable interplay of colors, and though it is a mineraloid. At microscopic scales, precious opal is composed of silica spheres some 150 to 300 nm in diameter in a hexagonal or cubic close-packed lattice, the regularity of the sizes and the packing of these spheres determines the quality of precious opal. The colors that are observed are determined by the spacing between the planes and the orientation of planes with respect to the incident light, the process can be described by Braggs law of diffraction. Visible light of diffracted wavelengths cannot pass through large thicknesses of the opal and this is the basis of the optical band gap in a photonic crystal. The notion that opals are photonic crystals for visible light was expressed in 1995 by Vasily Astratovs group, in addition, microfractures may be filled with secondary silica and form thin lamellae inside the opal during solidification. The term opalescence is commonly and erroneously used to describe this unique and beautiful phenomenon, contrarily, opalescence is correctly applied to the milky, turbid appearance of common or potch opal. Potch does not show a play of color, for gemstone use, most opal is cut and polished to form a cabochon. Solid opal refers to polished stones consisting wholly of precious opal, opals too thin to produce a solid may be combined with other materials to form attractive gems. An opal doublet consists of a thin layer of precious opal, backed by a layer of dark-colored material, most commonly ironstone, dark or black common opal, onyx. The darker backing emphasizes the play of color, and results in an attractive display than a lighter potch. An opal triplet is similar to a doublet, but has a third layer, the cap takes a high polish and acts as a protective layer for the opal
27.
Sky blue
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Sky blue is the name of a colour that resembles the colour of the sky at noon. The entry for sky-blue in Murrays New English Dictionary reports a first sighting of the term in the article on silver in Ephraim Chamberss Cyclopaedia of 1728, however, many writers had used the term sky blue to name a colour before Chambers. For example, we find sky blue in A Collection of Voyages and Travels,2, p.322, where John Nieuhoff describes certain flowers, they are of a lovely sky blue colour, and yellow in the middle. The sense of colour may have been first used in 1585 in a book by Nicolas de Nicolay where he stated the tulbant of the merchant must be skie coloured. Displayed at right is the web colour sky blue, Celeste is the colloquial name for the pale turquoise blue colour associated with Italian bicycle manufacturer Bianchi S. p. A and sometimes known as Bianchi Green. In Italian, as the name indicates, it is an attempt to reproduce the colour of clear skies, in English, this colour may also be referred to as Italian sky blue. Bleu celeste is a rarely occurring tincture in heraldry and this tincture is sometimes also called ciel or simply celeste. It is depicted in a lighter shade than the range of shades of the more traditional tincture azure, Bianchi bicycles are traditionally painted celeste, also known as Bianchi Green. Contradictory myths say celeste is the colour of the Milan sky, the eye colour of a queen for whom Edoardo Bianchi made a bicycle. The exact shade of turquoise used by the company has varied over time, in Anglophone countries Celeste is sometimes reported as Pantone -#332, and with various other shades. Displayed at right is the web colour sky blue. It is close in shade to baby blue, displayed at right is the colour medium sky blue. This is the colour that is called sky blue in Crayola crayons and this colour was formulated by Crayola in 1958. Sky blue appears in the 32,48,64,96 and 120 packs of crayons, displayed at right is the colour vivid sky blue. Deep sky blue is an azure-cyan colour associated with sky blue. Deep sky blue is a web colour and this colour is the colour on the colour wheel halfway between azure and cyan. The traditional name for this colour is Capri, the first use of Capri as a colour name in English was in 1920. Specifically, the colour Capri is named after the colour of the Blue Grotto on the island of Capri. as it appears on a sunny day
28.
Hill End, New South Wales
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Hill End is a former gold mining town in New South Wales, Australia. The town is located in the Bathurst Regional Council local Government area, what is now Hill End was originally a part of the Tambaroora area, Tambaroora town was a few kilometres to the north of present-day Hill End. In the 1850s the Hill End area was known as Bald Hills, in 1860 a village was proclaimed, first as Forbes, then in 1862 it was altered to Hill End. In the early 1870s Hill End took over Tambaroora as the town in the area. The towns decline when the gold out was dramatic, by 1945 the population was 700. At the 2006 census, Hill End had a population of 166 people, the photographer Beaufoy Merlin recorded daily life in the town at its peak, his photographs can be found in the town museum/visitor information centre. The glass plate negatives are held in the State Library of New South Wales, prior to this event communications took 12 hours by the mail stagecoach to Bathurst. In 1923 a telephone exchange was installed at the Hill End Post Office, other artists who worked there included Jean Bellette. Today, the Hill End artist-in-residence program aims to ensure the continuity of this connection, the Hill End & Tambaroora Gathering Group has been in existence since the 1930s. Their goal is to provide information on the life, the families and events of a bygone era and their website contains transcriptions of many primary records, listing names of the early miners and pioneers, that may not appear in the more mainstream family history resources. The NPWS runs a museum just off the road which contains many original photos. A more extensive museum, the privately owned History Hill, is located a few kilometers from the town on the Bathurst Road, NPWS has installed signs around the town to give visitors an idea of what was once in place on the now empty lots of land. Currently only a handful of buildings remain in their original form, however most of those buildings still serve the purpose they did back during the gold rush. Access to the towns lookouts is via gravel roads, a walking track in the town leads to a mine and other ruins. Metal detectors or gold panning are not allowed within the site, however there is a fossicking area just past the cemetery. The Royal Hotel and the local Bed and Breakfasts offer accommodation, the Bridle Track runs from Duramana directly to the town centre of Hill End. Generally the track can be classified as an easy 4WD track, the Bridle Track begins as a narrow tar-covered road, however it later changes to dirt. Much of the last 20 kilometres is single-lane, part of the Bridle Track is currently closed, after a rockfall has rendered it impassible at Monaghans Bluff
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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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Queensland
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Queensland is the second-largest and third-most-populous state in the Commonwealth of Australia. Situated in the north-east of the country, it is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west, to the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean. Queensland has a population of 4,750,500, concentrated along the coast, the state is the worlds sixth largest sub-national entity, with an area of 1,852,642 km2. The capital and largest city in the state is Brisbane, Australias third largest city, often referred to as the Sunshine State, Queensland is home to 10 of Australias 30 largest cities and is the nations third largest economy. Tourism in the state, fuelled largely by its tropical climate, is a major industry. Queensland was first inhabited by Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders, the first European to land in Queensland was Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon in 1606, who explored the west coast of the Cape York Peninsula near present-day Weipa. In 1770, Lieutenant James Cook claimed the east coast of Australia for the Kingdom of Great Britain. The colony of New South Wales was founded in 1788 by Governor Arthur Phillip at Sydney, New South Wales at that time included all of what is now Queensland, Queensland was explored in subsequent decades until the establishment of a penal colony at Brisbane in 1824 by John Oxley. Penal transportation ceased in 1839 and free settlement was allowed from 1842, the state was named in honour of Queen Victoria, who on 6 June 1859 signed Letters Patent separating the colony from New South Wales. The 6th of June is now celebrated statewide as Queensland Day. Queensland achieved statehood with the Federation of Australia on 1 January 1901, the history of Queensland spans thousands of years, encompassing both a lengthy indigenous presence, as well as the eventful times of post-European settlement. The north-eastern Australian region was explored by Dutch, Spanish and French navigators before being encountered by Lieutenant James Cook in 1770, the Australian Labor Party has its origin as a formal organisation in Queensland and the town of Barcaldine is the symbolic birthplace of the party. June 2009 marked the 150th anniversary of its creation as a colony from New South Wales. The Aboriginal occupation of Queensland is thought to predate 50,000 BC, likely via boat or land bridge across Torres Strait, during the last ice age Queenslands landscape became more arid and largely desolate, making food and other supplies scarce. This led to the worlds first seed-grinding technology, warming again made the land hospitable, which brought high rainfall along the eastern coast, stimulating the growth of the states tropical rainforests. In February 1606, Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon landed near the site of what is now Weipa and this was the first recorded landing of a European in Australia, and it also marked the first reported contact between European and Aboriginal Australian people. The region was explored by French and Spanish explorers prior to the arrival of Lieutenant James Cook in 1770. Cook claimed the east coast under instruction from King George III of the United Kingdom on 22 August 1770 at Possession Island, naming Eastern Australia, including Queensland, the Aboriginal population declined significantly after a smallpox epidemic during the late 18th century
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Victoria (Australia)
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Victoria is a state in southeast Australia. Victoria is Australias most densely populated state and its second-most populous state overall, most of its population is concentrated in the area surrounding Port Phillip Bay, which includes the metropolitan area of its state capital and largest city, Melbourne, Australias second-largest city. Prior to British European settlement, the area now constituting Victoria was inhabited by a number of Aboriginal peoples. With Great Britain having claimed the entire Australian continent east of the 135th meridian east in 1788, Victoria was included in the wider colony of New South Wales. The first settlement in the area occurred in 1803 at Sullivan Bay, and much of what is now Victoria was included in the Port Phillip District in 1836, Victoria was officially created as a separate colony in 1851, and achieved self-government in 1855. Politically, Victoria has 37 seats in the Australian House of Representatives and 12 seats in the Australian Senate, at state level, the Parliament of Victoria consists of the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council. Victoria is currently governed by the Labor Party, with Daniel Andrews the current Premier, the personal representative of the Queen of Australia in the state is the Governor of Victoria, currently Linda Dessau. Local government is concentrated in 79 municipal districts, including 33 cities, although a number of unincorporated areas still exist, Victorias total gross state product is ranked second in Australia, although Victoria is ranked fourth in terms of GSP per capita because of its limited mining activity. Culturally, Melbourne is home to a number of museums, art galleries and theatres and is described as the sporting capital of Australia. The Melbourne Cricket Ground is the largest stadium in Australia, and the host of the 1956 Summer Olympics, Victoria has eight public universities, with the oldest, the University of Melbourne, having been founded in 1853. Victoria, like Queensland, was named after Queen Victoria, who had been on the British throne for 14 years when the colony was established in 1851. The first British settlement in the later known as Victoria was established in October 1803 under Lieutenant-Governor David Collins at Sullivan Bay on Port Phillip. In the year 1826 Colonel Stewart, Captain S. Wright, fly and the brigs Dragon and Amity, took a number of convicts and a small force composed of detachments of the 3rd and 93rd regiments. Victorias next settlement was at Portland, on the south west coast of what is now Victoria, edward Henty settled Portland Bay in 1834. Melbourne was founded in 1835 by John Batman, who set up a base in Indented Head, from settlement the region around Melbourne was known as the Port Phillip District, a separately administered part of New South Wales. Shortly after the now known as Geelong was surveyed by Assistant Surveyor W. H. Smythe. And in 1838 Geelong was officially declared a town, despite earlier white settlements dating back to 1826, days later, still in 1851 gold was discovered near Ballarat, and subsequently at Bendigo. Later discoveries occurred at sites across Victoria
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South Australia
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South Australia is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country, with a total land area of 983,482 square kilometres, it is the fourth-largest of Australias states and territories. Other population centres in the state are relatively small, the state comprises less than 8 percent of the Australian population and ranks fifth in population among the six states and two territories. The majority of its people reside in Adelaide, most of the remainder are settled in fertile areas along the south-eastern coast and River Murray. The states colonial origins are unique in Australia as a settled, planned British province. Official settlement began on 28 December 1836, when the colony was proclaimed at the Old Gum Tree by Governor John Hindmarsh, as with the rest of the continent, the region had been long occupied by Aboriginal peoples, who were organised into numerous tribes and languages. The first British settlement to be established was Kingscote, Kangaroo Island, on 26 July 1836, the guiding principle behind settlement was that of systematic colonisation, a theory espoused by Edward Gibbon Wakefield that was later employed by the New Zealand Company. The goal was to establish the province as a centre of civilisation for free immigrants, promising civil liberties, although its history is marked by economic hardship, South Australia has remained politically innovative and culturally vibrant. Today, it is known for its wine and numerous cultural festivals. The states economy is dominated by the agricultural, manufacturing and mining industries, the state has an increasingly significant finance sector as well. Evidence of human activity in South Australia dates back as far as 20,000 years, with flint mining activity, in addition wooden spears and tools were made in an area now covered in peat bog in the South East. Kangaroo Island was inhabited long before the island was cut off by rising sea levels, thijssen named his discovery Pieter Nuyts Land, after the highest ranking individual on board. The complete coastline of South Australia was first mapped by Matthew Flinders, the land which now forms the state of South Australia was claimed for Britain in 1788 as part of the colony of New South Wales. Although the new colony included almost two-thirds of the continent, early settlements were all on the eastern coast and it took more than forty years before any serious proposal to establish settlements in the south-western portion of New South Wales were put forward. In 1834, the British Parliament passed the South Australia Act 1834, the act stated that 802,511 square kilometres would be allotted to the colony and it would be convict-free. In contrast to the rest of Australia, terra nullius did not apply to the new province, although the patent guaranteed land rights under force of law for the indigenous inhabitants it was ignored by the South Australian Company authorities and squatters. Settlement of seven vessels and 636 people was made at Kingscote on Kangaroo Island. The first immigrants arrived at Holdfast Bay in November 1836, the Colonisation Commissioners intended to establish a police service as soon as misconduct within the increasing population warranted it
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Tasman Sea
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The Tasman Sea is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about 2,000 kilometres across and about 2,800 kilometres from north to south, the sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, who was the first recorded European to encounter New Zealand and Tasmania. The British explorer Captain James Cook later extensively navigated the Tasman Sea in the 1770s as part of his first voyage of exploration. The Tasman Sea is informally referred to in both Australian and New Zealand English as The Ditch, for example, crossing the Ditch means travelling to Australia from New Zealand, or vice versa. The diminutive term The Ditch used for the Tasman Sea is comparable to referring to the North Atlantic Ocean as The Pond, the International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Tasman Sea as follows, On the West. From the South East Rock to the North point of Three Kings Islands thence to North Cape in New Zealand, a line joining the South extreme of the foul ground off Cape Palliser and the Lighthouse on Cape Campbell. A line joining the Light on Waipapapa Point with East Head of Stewart Island, a line running from South West Cape, Stewart Island, through The Snares to North West Cape, Auckland Island, through this island to its Southern point. A line joining the Southern point of Auckland Island to South East Cape, the Tasman Seas mid-ocean ridge developed between 85 and 55 million years ago as Australia and Zealandia broke apart during the breakup of supercontinent Gondwana. It lies roughly midway between the continental margins of Australia and Zealandia, much of Zealandia is submerged, so the ridge runs much closer to the Australian coast than New Zealands. The first successful flight over the sea was accomplished by Charles Kingsford Smith later that year, the first person to row solo across the sea was Colin Quincey in 1977. The next successful crossing was completed by his son, Shaun Quincey in 2010. Axis naval activity in New Zealand waters Crossing the Ditch List of seas Media related to Tasman Sea at Wikimedia Commons
34.
Australian Capital Territory
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The Australian Capital Territory is the federal district in the south east of Australia, enclaved within New South Wales. Its only city is Canberra, the city of Australia. The ACT also has a strip of territory around the southern end of the Beecroft Peninsula. The need for a territory was flagged by colonial delegates during the Federation conventions of the late 19th century. Section 125 of the Australian Constitution provided that, following Federation in 1901, the territory was transferred to the Commonwealth by the state of New South Wales in 1911, two years prior to the naming of Canberra as the national capital in 1913. The floral emblem of the ACT is the royal bluebell and the emblem is the gang-gang cockatoo. The economic activity of the Australian Capital Territory is heavily concentrated around Canberra and this trend continued into 2016, when the territory was ranked the third best performing out of all of Australias states and territories. There is a proportion of young adults in the region compared with other Australian states or territories. Approximately one-fifth of ACT residents were born outside of Australia, mainly in the United Kingdom, almost one-fifth speak a language other than English at home, the most common being Chinese. The ACT also has a strip of territory around the southern end of the Beecroft Peninsula. Apart from the city of Canberra, the Australian Capital Territory also contains agricultural land, small townships and communities located within the ACT include Williamsdale, Naas, Uriarra, Tharwa and Hall. There are a range of mountains, rivers and creeks in the Namadgi National Park. These include the Naas and Murrumbidgee Rivers, Canberra is noted for its warm to hot, dry summers, and cold winters with occasional fog and frequent frosts. Many of the mountains in the territorys south-west are snow-covered for at least part of the winter. Thunderstorms can occur between October and March, and annual rainfall is 623 mm, with rainfall highest in spring and summer, the highest maximum temperature recorded in the ACT was 42.8 °C at Acton on 11 January 1939. The lowest minimum temperature was −14.6 °C at Gudgenby on 11 July 1971, notable geological formations in the Australian Capital Territory include the Canberra Formation, the Pittman Formation, Black Mountain Sandstone and State Circle Shale. In the 1840s fossils of brachiopods and trilobites from the Silurian period were discovered at Woolshed Creek near Duntroon, at the time, these were the oldest fossils discovered in Australia, though this record has now been far surpassed. Other specific geological places of interest include the State Circle cutting, the oldest rocks in the ACT date from the Ordovician around 480 million years ago
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Colony of New South Wales
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The colony of New South Wales was a colony of the British Empire from 1788 to 1901, when it became a State in the federal Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901. At its greatest extent, the colony of New South Wales included the present-day Australian states of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, and New Zealand. On 18 January 1788, the First Fleet led by Captain Arthur Phillip founded the first British settlement in Australian history as a penal colony, having set sail on 13 May 1787, Captain Arthur Phillip assumed the role of governor of the settlement upon arrival, until 1792. In 1834, the British Parliament passed the South Australia Act 1834, on 16 November 1840, the British government issued the Charter for Erecting the Colony of New Zealand. The Charter stated that the Colony of New Zealand would be established as a Crown colony separate from New South Wales on 1 July 1841, a public meeting was held in 1851 to consider Queenslands proposed separation from New South Wales. On 6 June 1859, Queen Victoria signed Letters Patent to form the separate Colony of Queensland, brisbane was named as the capital city. On 10 December 1859, a proclamation was read by British author George Bowen, as a result, Bowen became the first Governor of Queensland. On 22 May 1860 the first Queensland election was held and Robert Herbert, Queensland also became the first Australian colony to establish its own parliament rather than spending time as a Crown Colony. History of New South Wales History of Australia History of Australia
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Penal colony
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A penal colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general population by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory. Historically penal colonies have often used for penal labour in an economically underdeveloped part of a states territories. In practice such penal colonies may be more than slave communities. The British used colonial North America as a colony through a system of indentured servitude. Merchants would transport the convicts and auction them off to plantation owners upon arrival in the colonies and it is estimated that some 50,000 British convicts were sent to colonial America and the majority landed in the Chesapeake colonies of Maryland and Virginia. Transported convicts represented perhaps one-quarter of all British emigrants during the 18th century, the State of Georgia for example was first founded by James Edward Oglethorpe by using penal prisoners taken largely from debtors prison, creating a Debtors Colony. However, even though this failed, the idea that the state began as a penal has stayed both in popular history, and local lore. The British would often ship Irish and Scots to the Americas whenever rebellions took place in Ireland or Scotland, when that avenue closed in the 1780s after the American Revolution, Britain began using parts of what is now known as Australia as penal settlements. Australian penal colonies included Norfolk Island, Van Diemens Land, Queensland, advocates of Irish Home Rule or of Trade Unionism sometimes received sentences of deportation to these Australian colonies. Bermuda, off the North American continent, was used during the Victorian period. In colonial India, the British made various penal colonies, two of the most infamous ones are on the Andaman Islands and Hijli. In the early days of settlement, Singapore was the recipient of Indian convicts, the Qing Empire of 1644–1912 used Xinjiang province in the north-west of China as a penal colony. During the Argentine rule of the Falkland Islands the Buenos Aires government commissioned major Esteban Mestivier, as the new governor of the islands and he arrived at his destination on 15 November 1832, but his soldiers mutinied and killed him. Lt. Col. José María Pinedo quelled the rebellion and took charge as governor, argentinas southernmost city, Ushuaia, hosted a penal colony from 1896 to 1947. France sent criminals to tropical penal colonies including Louisiana in the early 18th century, devils Island in French Guiana, 1852–1939, received forgers and other criminals. New Caledonia and its Isle of Pines in Melanesia received transported dissidents like the Communards, ecuador has used two islands in the Galapagos archipelago as penal colonies, the Island of San Cristóbal and Isabela Island. Imperial Russia used Siberia as a colony for criminals and dissidents. Though geographically contiguous with heartland Russia, Siberia provided both remoteness and a harsh climate, in 1857 a penal colony was established on the island of Sakhalin
37.
Western Australia border
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The Western Australian border was originally designated as 129th meridian east longitude. However, the border marked on the ground is some distance from this line, kununurra is the closest town to the Western Australian border, being about 25 km west of the border. The closest settlement is Border Village,1,734 km to the south on the South Australian side of the border, the Western Australian border marked on the ground, is not as straight as it looks on a map. Where Western Australia meets the Northern Territory and South Australia borders is a 127-metre segment running east-west along the 26th parallel south latitude. In June 1968, two monuments were erected to mark each end of this 127-metre segment, At the easternmost of these concrete border markers all three meet, at Surveyor Generals Corner. In 1788 Governor Phillip claimed the continent of Australia only as far west as the 135th meridian east in accordance with his commission and it has been suggested that the 1788 claim by the British of 135° east was in reference to Spains claims under the Treaty of Tordesillas. Spain was seen as no longer having an interest in the area, on the other hand, the other signatories to the treaty, the Portuguese still had a presence in Macau and East Timor. Adoption of 135° east as a boundary would minimise provocation of the Portuguese, by 1825, however, Britain was powerful enough and found it convenient to adopt the original line of the Portuguese under the treaty, 129° east. The line of 129° east first became a border in Australia as the border of New South Wales in 1825. On 16 July 1825, the boundary of New South Wales was relocated at 129° east to take in the new settlement at Melville Island. Following the settlement of the Swan River Colony in 1829, the boundary was declared to be 129° east. The Swan River Colony, started in 1829, was commissioned as the colony of Western Australia in March 1831, from 1829 to 1832 129° east was the SRC/NSW border. The name of the Swan River Colony changed to Western Australia in 1832, from 1832 to 1846 129° east was the WA/NSW border. In 1846 the colony of North Australia was proclaimed by Letters Patent, from 1846 to 1847 129° east was the WA/NA border north of 26° south and the WA/NSW border south of the 26th parallel. In 1847 the colony of North Australia was revoked and reincorporated into New South Wales, from 1847 to 1860 129° east was once again the WA/NSW border. In 1860 South Australia, which had proclaimed a colony in 1836, west to the 132° east. From 1860 to 1863 129° east was the WA/NSW border north of 26° south, in 1863 that part of New South Wales to the north of South Australia was annexed to South Australia by Letters Patent and became known as the Northern Territory of South Australia. From 1911 to 1927 129° east was the WA/NT border north of 26° south, in 1927 the Northern Territory was split into two territories, North Australia and Central Australia
38.
Colony of New Zealand
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The Colony of New Zealand was a British colony that existed in New Zealand from 1841 to 1907. Originally created as a Crown colony, the power of the British government was vested in a governor, the colony was granted self-government in 1852, after the first parliament was elected in 1853, the 1852 Constitution was inaugurated. The first responsible government of New Zealand was formed in 1856, the Colony of New Zealand had three capitals, Old Russell, Auckland and Wellington. In 1907, the became the Dominion of New Zealand. Following the proclamation of sovereignty over New Zealand from Sydney in January 1840, Captain William Hobson came to New Zealand and issued the same proclamation on 1 February 1840. The Treaty of Waitangi was subsequently signed on 6 February 1840, in the first declaration, Hobson declared British sovereignty over the North Island. The basis for the claim over the North Island was the Treaty of Waitangi between the Māori and the British Crown, in the English version of the treaty, Māori ceded sovereignty in return for the rights, privileges and protection of being a British subject. In the second declaration, Hobson declared British sovereignty over the South Island, initially, New Zealand was part of the Colony of New South Wales, and Lieutenant-Governor Hobson, answerable to his superior, was the Governor of New South Wales. By letters patent, the British government issued the Charter for Erecting the Colony of New Zealand on 16 November 1840, the Charter stated that the Colony of New Zealand would be established as a Crown colony separate from New South Wales on 1 July 1841. With the establishment of the Crown colony, Hobson became Governor of New Zealand, the first organs of the New Zealand Government were also established. An Executive Council and a Legislative Council were created to assist the governor, the Executive Council consisted of the attorney-general, colonial secretary, and colonial treasurer. The Legislative Council consisted of the governor, Executive Council, the Legislative Council had the power to issue Ordinances, statutory instruments. The colony was divided into three provinces, New Ulster Province, New Munster Province, and New Leinster Province, as new European settlements were founded in the colony, demands for self-government became louder. The New Zealand Company settlement of Port Nicholson had its own elected council, later, Wellington became the centre of agitation by settlers for representative government led by Samuel Revans, who founded the Wellington Settlers Constitutional Association in 1848. The first New Zealand Constitution Act was passed in 1846, though Governor George Grey was opposed to provisions that would divide the country into European and Māori districts. As a result, almost all of the Act was suspended for six years pending a new Act of 1852, in the meantime, Grey drafted his own Act which established both provincial and central representative assemblies, and allowed for Māori districts and an elected governor. The latter proposal was rejected by the Parliament of the United Kingdom when it adopted Greys constitution, the second New Zealand Constitution Act was passed in 1852 and became the central constitutional document of the colony. It created the General Assembly, which consisted of the Legislative Council, the first general election for the House of Representatives was held on between 14 July and 1 October 1853
39.
Van Diemen's Land
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Van Diemens Land was the original name used by most Europeans for the island of Tasmania, now part of Australia. The name was changed from Van Diemens Land to Tasmania in 1856, the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to land on the shores of Tasmania in 1642. Between 1772 and 1798, only the portion of the island was visited. Tasmania was not known to be an island until Matthew Flinders, after receiving no response from the Spanish government, Peyroux proposed it to the French government, as Mémoire sur les avantages qui résulteraient dune colonie puissante à la terre de Diémen. In 1802 and 1803, the French expedition commanded by Nicolas Baudin explored DEntrecasteaux Channel and Maria Island, the demonym for Van Diemens Land was Van Diemonian, though contemporaries used the spelling Vandemonian. In 1856, the colony was granted responsible self-government with its own parliament. Main articles, Port Arthur, Tasmania, Convicts on the West Coast of Tasmania From the 1800s to the 1853 abolition of penal transportation, following the suspension of transportation to New South Wales, all transported convicts were sent to Van Diemens Land. In total, some 75,000 convicts were transported to Van Diemens Land, male convicts served their sentences as assigned labour to free settlers or in gangs assigned to public works. Only the most difficult convicts were sent to the Tasman Peninsula prison known as Port Arthur, female convicts were assigned as servants in free settler households or sent to a female factory. There were five female factories in Van Diemens Land, Convicts completing their sentences or earning their ticket-of-leave often promptly left Van Diemens Land. Many settled in the new colony of Victoria, to the dismay of the free settlers in towns such as Melbourne. Anthony Trollope used the term Vandemonian, They are united in their declaration that the cessation of the coming of convicts has been their ruin, in 1856, Van Diemens Land was renamed Tasmania, meaning that it technically still exists but under a different name. This removed the unsavoury criminal connotations with the name Van Diemens Land, while honouring Abel Tasman, the last penal settlement in Tasmania at Port Arthur closed in 1877. The film was nominated for a Rose dOr, an Irish Film and Television Award, the feature film Van Diemens Land focuses on the true story of convict Alexander Pearce and his infamous escape from Macquarie Harbour in 1822. Van Diemens Land is the title of the track from the rock band U2s album Rattle. The lyrics were written and sung by The Edge, the song is dedicated to a Fenian poet named John Boyle OReilly, who was deported to Australia because of his poetry. Steeleye Span does a rendition of the folk song on their album They Called Her Babylon The chorus to the English folk song Maggie May says Theyve sent you to Van Diemens cruel shore. Shirley Collins and the Albion Country Band record a version of Van Diemens Land in No Roses Carla Bruni sings the poem If You Were Coming In The Fall, the song includes a reference to Van Diemens land subtracting till my fingers dropped, into Van Diemens Land
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Lord Howe Island
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It is about 10 km long and between 0.3 and 2.0 km wide with an area of 14.55 km2, though just 3.98 km2 of that comprises the low-lying developed part of the island. Along the west coast there is a sandy semi-enclosed sheltered coral reef lagoon, most of the population lives in the north, while the south is dominated by forested hills rising to the highest point on the island, Mount Gower. The Lord Howe Island Group comprises 28 islands, islets and rocks, apart from Lord Howe Island itself the most notable of these is the volcanic and uninhabited Balls Pyramid about 23 km to the southeast of Howe. To the north lies the Admiralty Group, a cluster of seven uninhabited islands. On the return journey Ball sent a party ashore on Lord Howe Island to claim it as a British possession and it subsequently became a provisioning port for the whaling industry, and was permanently settled in June 1834. When whaling declined, the 1880s saw the beginning of the export of the endemic kentia palms. The other continuing industry, tourism, began after World War II ended in 1945, the islands standard time zone is UTC+10,30, or UTC+11 when daylight saving time applies. The currency is the Australian dollar, commuter airlines provide flights to Sydney, Brisbane, and Port Macquarie. UNESCO records the Lord Howe Island Group as a World Heritage Site of global natural significance, most of the island is virtually untouched forest, with many of the plants and animals found nowhere else in the world. The Lord Howe Island Act 1981 established a Permanent Park Preserve, the surrounding waters are a protected region designated the Lord Howe Island Marine Park. It appears that, prior to European discovery and settlement, Lord Howe Island was uninhabited, on the return journey of 13 March 1788 Ball observed Balls Pyramid and sent a party ashore on Lord Howe Island to claim it as a British possession. Numerous turtles and tame birds were captured and returned to Sydney, Ball named Mount Lidgbird and Balls Pyramid after himself and the main island after Richard Howe, First Earl Howe, who was First Lord of the Admiralty at the time. Watercolour sketches of native birds including the Lord Howe woodhen, white gallinule, as the latter two birds were soon hunted to extinction these paintings are their only remaining pictorial record. Over the next three years the Supply returned to the several times in search of turtles and the island was also visited by ships of the Second. The American fleet numbered 675 ships and Lord Howe was located in a known as the Middle Ground noted for sperm whales. Between July and October 1791 the Third Fleet ships arrived at Sydney, whale oil was to become Australias most profitable export until the 1830s, and it was the whaling industry that shaped Lord Howe Islands early history. They left three men, George Ashdown, James Bishop and Chapman, who were employed by a Sydney whaling firm to establish a supply station, the men were initially to provide meat by fishing and by raising pigs and goats from feral stock. They landed with their Māori wives and two Māori boys, huts were built in an area now known as Old Settlement which had a supply of fresh water, and a garden was established west of Blinky Beach
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Guangdong, China (since 1979)
Tokyo, Japan (since 1984)
North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany (since 1989)
Seoul, South Korea (since 1991)
Jakarta, Indonesia (since 1994)
California, United States (since 1997)
Australia – Wikipedia book
Geographic data related to New South Wales at OpenStreetMap
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