About Australia
Map scale: 1 cm. equals a bloody long way
Australia is a rather large island situated between Bali
and New Zealand that broke off from the super continent Gondwana 55 million
years ago. It has a surface area of no less than 7.686.850 million square
km. ( incl. islands) and 26735 km. of coastline with 7000 beaches. It
is the only nation to occupy an entire continent.
On October 17 2003 the human population hit 20 million, three quarters
of them live close to the ocean in only ten cities and almost 200 nationalities
are represented, indigenous people only make up 1.5% of the current population
and the country has a population density of only two people per square
km.
Australia is also populated by about 40 million kangaroos, 75000 crocodiles,
half a million wild camels, 140 million sheep, 24 million cows, 100 000
koalas and 90 000 dugongs.
Australia has more World Heritage listed sites than any other country,
fifteen of them have been classified by UNESCO; such as the Great
Barrier Reef Marine Park , the Daintree
National Park, Kakadu,
Uluru,
Cradle Mountain, and several dinosaur fossil sites.
After Antarctica, Australia is the world's driest continent, more than
80 per cent of the continent lies in arid or semi-arid climatic zones
and a quarter of it is officially uninhabitable, this did not stop people
sailing down from Indonesia 50 000 years ago and making Australia their
home. These people, now known as Australian Aborigines,
quickly spread across the continent and even the island Tasmania, where
you could walk to at that time with sea levels being much lower than today.
It took another 49500 or so years for the next visitors to arrive; the
earliest European explorers to sight Australia were the Portuguese when
Luis Vaez de Torres sailed the narrow strait between the tip of Cape York
and New Guinea in the 16th century, he was followed by the Dutch ship
"the Duyfken" which has been confirmed to have landed in North
Queensland in March 1606, no less than 164 years before the so called
"discovery" of Australia by James Cook. The Dutch explorer Dirk
Hartog also landed on the west coast in 1688 but was far from impressed
and wrote in his journal; "This land is cursed; the animals hop not
run, birds run, not fly and the swans are black not white".
So for more than one and a half century Australia was actually called
New Holland until Cook raised the Union Jack and claimed it as part of
the British Empire.
Just over two centuries later Australia legally left the
Empire in 1986 with the passing of the Australia Acts .
The Australia Act 1986 declared Australia to have the status of a Sovereign
Independant and Federal Nation. The Act also terminated all British legal
jurisdiction over Australia, though officially the Queen is still the
head of state and she has a representative in Australia called the Governor
General. He is theoretically the most powerful person in Australia, though
does not usually mingle in the country's affairs and sticks to drinking
champagne at public functions and gobbling up lots of tax payers dollars.
Every state in Australia also has its own Governor, which does the same
as the Governor General. Many Australians would like to see the country
break ties with Britain completely and become a republic, but at the last
referendum held in 1998 it was decided by a small margin to maintain the
status quo.
Australia's mainland is made up of six states,two territories
and one (at least claiming to be) independent province:
New South Wales
Started out as a colony of prisoners in 1788 but has become
quite civilized, nowadays best known for its capital Sydney,
the country's biggest city, with Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Bondi Beach
and the venue for the 2000 Olympics and the annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi
Gras . It also has a popular wine growing ( and tasting!) region in the
Hunter Valley and has a bit more laid back side in the northern part of
the state around Byron
Bay and Nimbin.
Queensland
Also started as a colony of prisoners but a bit later in
1825 . Its capital Brisbane
hosted the World Expo in 1988. Queensland advertises itself as the Sunshine
State but unfortunately all this sunshine has made it the Skincancer Capital
of the world. Most famous for the Great
Barrier Reef, the Daintree,
the Gold Coast ( Surfers Paradise) and the Sunshine Coast.
Victoria
Started out as two plots of land that became Melbourne and
Geelong, bought from local Aborigines for flour, tools and clothing by
John Batman ( no relation to the lifesaver in the movies) in 1835 and
was later in 1851 declared a British colony. Victoria is Australia's second
smallest state but home to 26 per cent of the population. Mostly known
for its unpredictable shitty weather in its capital Melbourne,
the annual Melbourne Cup and changing the slogan on cars numberplates
from Garden State to 'Victoria-on-the-move' and on the move they were,
thousands bailed out every year to start a new life in sunny Queensland,
later an improving economy changed this trend.
South Australia
This one actually got started by free settlers and not criminals
in 1836. Best known for its festivals, Mediterranean climate and wine,
just north of the capital Adelaide
the Barossa Valley produces a huge amount of wine and you can spend at
least one good day cruising the wineries and tasting their products.
Western Australia
Started out as a British militairy colony in 1829and is
Australia's largest state but accounts for only 8 per cent of the population.
Its mining industry contributes 25 per cent of GDP. Its capital Perth
is known for being the world's most remote city, being home to Alan Bond
and hosting the America's Cup, the state in general is known for having
lots and lots of desert and the gold mining town of Kalgoorlie has Australia's
only attempt at a Dutch style red light district.
Tasmania
Started out as Dutch territory being called van Diemen's
land but the British seized it in 1803 and started yet another colony
of prisoners here. The capital is Hobart.
Though for many years the Tasmaniacs left in droves to find better employment
oportunities on the mainland, in recent times due to house prices being
ridiculously cheap by Sydney standards, there has been a flow in the other
direction again. Being an island with a small population many mainlanders
also joke about inbreeding that has led to many Tasmanians having two
heads.
The island is best known for apples, the Tasmanian tiger, and homosexuality
being illegal up to recently.
Northern Territory
Previously part of South Australia, this is actually a territory
and not a state, they were granted limited self- government in the 1990s
but whatever is decided can be overturned by Canberra, this happened in
the case of the euthanasia law that was passed in the N.T. but repealed
by Canberra. The Territory government also resisted the ridiculous bicycle
helmet law for some time until they were forced into it by Canberra that
threatened to with hold millions in road funding. Its capital Darwin
has grown considerably over the last decade, largely due to armed forces
being moved up here as the generals realized that if we were to ever be
attacked it would most likely be from the northern side and not from the
south where there was nothing else than penguins.
The N.T. is best know for beer drinking, crocodiles, Ayers
Rock, Kakadu,
Katherine
Gorge, road trains and bloody hot weather.
Australian Capital Territory
This one was started in 1911 when arguments between Victoria
and New South Wales on who should house the Australian government could
not be resolved so a third place was chosen, the first parliamentary meeting
in the new capital city was held in 1927.
Due to its more recent establishment and efficient planning it lacks somewhat
in character and is considered by many to be the most boring city in Australia,
though many Canberrans enjoy the good facilities the city offers.
Its capital Canberra
houses the government and is best known for public servants, the 2003
bushfires, relaxed drug laws and being the base of the nation's porn industry,
due to legislation they find this the easiest place to operate from.
Hutt River Province
Between Kalbarri and Port Gregory in Western Australia lies
the 39 square mile Hutt
River Province where Prince Leonard has
seceded from Australia and Western Australia in 1970, renamed his wheat
farm the Hutt River Province, declared himself Prince Leonard and his
wife Princess Shirley of Hutt , and has started printing his own stamps.
You can go in and visit the Prince and Princess. Send us a photo too.
The Geraldton tourist info will give you a map when you go in to get your
visa
for Hutt River Province. You can get your passport stamped on entry.
This is the story behind this independent country;
The government of Australia was worried about a huge wheat surplus in
1969 and imposed quotas on all the WA wheat growers. Mr Leonard Casley
was only permitted to sell a small percentage of the 1,500 acres wheat
he planted and stood to lose heaps of money. When his appeals for a higher
quota kept being knocked back, he started a bit of legal investigation.
An ancient English law he found says that if your livelihood is threatened
by the state, you are entitled to ‘secede’ your land from
the state. Though he had no legal experience or training turned his farm
into an independent country and himself into HRH Prince Leonard. As residents
of an independent country, none of the 30 or so people who live in Hutt
River Province pay taxes to the government of Australia and none receive
any benefits from it. There were still more disagreements between Hutt
River Province and Canberra and in 1997 Hutt River Province actually declared
war on Australia.
Directions: Hutt River Privince is located about 100
km. from Geraldton. Drive north, pass Northampton and turn left at Chilimony
Road (the sign is on the right). If you miss the turnoff you will come
across a small river named Hutt River, turn around and go back 10km. Follow
Chilimony Road and then turn left into Ogilvie Road and after about ten
minutes you will find Hutt River Province on your right. Click here for
a map
to find your way there.
Australia is also responsible for administering seven external
territories;
Norfolk Island, the uninhabited Coral Sea Islands Territory,
the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Christmas Island, the uninhabited Ashmore
and Cartier Islands Territory, the Territory of Heard Island and the McDonald
Islands in the sub-Antarctic and the Australian Antarctic Territory.
You know of any info about Australia that we forgot? Please
tell us!
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