South Australia
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Template:Australia state or territory South Australia (German, Südaustralien) is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent and with a total land area of 984 377 km² (380 070 sq mi), it is the fourth largest of Australia's states and territories. It is bordered to the west by Western Australian, to the north by the Northern Territory and Queensland, to the east by Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, and along the south by the Great Australian Bight and the Southern Ocean. With 1.5 million people, the state comprises less than 10 per cent of the Australian population and ranks fifth in population among the states and territories. The majority of its people reside in the capital city Adelaide, with most of the remainder settled in fertile areas along the south-eastern coast and River Murray.
The state's origins were unique in Australia as a freely-settled, planned British province. Official settlement began on 28 December 1836 when the state was proclaimed at The Old Gum Tree by Governor Hindmarsh. The guiding principle behind settlement was that of systematic colonisation, a theory espoused by Edward Gibbon Wakefield that was later employed by New Zealand. The aim was to establish the province as a centre of civilisation for free immigrants, promising civil liberties and religious tolerance. Although its history is marked by economic hardship, South Australia has remained politically innovative and culturally vibrant. Today, the state is known as as a state of festivals, and of fine wine.
The state's economy centres on the agricultural, manufacturing and mining industries and has an increasingly significant finance sector as well.
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History
Template:Main The first recorded European sighting of the South Australian coast was in 1627 when the Dutch ship the Gulden Zeepaert, skippered by Francois Thijssen, examined the coastline. Thijssen named his discovery "Pieter Nuyts Land", after the highest ranking individual on board. The coastline of South Australia was first mapped by Matthew Flinders and Nicolas Baudin in 1802. Baudin referred to the land as "Terre Napoléon".
In 1834 the British Parliament passed the South Australia Colonisation Act 1834 which enabled a province of South Australia to be established. The Act stated that 802,511 square kilometres would be allotted to the colony and to be convict-free. The plan for the colony to be the ideal embodiment of the best qualities of British society, that is, no religious discrmination or unemployment.
Settlement of nine vessels and 636 people was temporarily made at Kingscote on Kangaroo Island, until the official site of the colony was selected where Adelaide is currently located. The first immigrants arrived at Holdfast Bay (near the present day Glenelg) in November 1836 and the colony was proclaimed on December 28, 1836, now known as Proclamation Day. South Australia is the only Australian state to be settled by free settlers.
The flag of South Australia was adopted on January 13, 1904, and is a British Blue Ensign faced with the state badge. The badge is described as a piping shrike with wings outstretched on a yellow disc. However, because the term piping shrike has no meaning other than "the bird on the South Australian flag", there is some controversy over whether it was intended to denote an Australian Magpie or a Magpie-lark. The state badge is believed to have been designed by Robert Craig of the Adelaide School of Arts.
Geography
The terrain consists largely of arid and semi-arid rangelands, with several low mountain ranges in which the most important mountains are the Mt Lofty-Flinders Ranges system which extends north about 800 kilometres from Cape Jervis to the northern end of Lake Torrens and salt lakes. The western portion of the state consists of the sparsely-inhabited Nullarbor Plain. The principal industries and export of South Australia are wheat, wine and wool. More than half of Australia's wines are produced here.
South Australia has boundaries with every other Australian state and territory except the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania. The Northern Territory was originally the Northern Territory of South Australia, becoming a separate territory in 1911. South Australia's south coast is flanked by the Southern Ocean. Its mean temperature range is 29°C in January and 15°C in July. Daily temperatures in parts of the state in January & February can be up to 48°C.
Highest maximum temperature: 50.7C (123.3F), Oodnadatta, 2 January 1960 (The highest official temperature recorded in the whole of Australia).
Lowest minimum temperature: -8.2C (17.2F), Yongala, 20 July 1976 [1]
Economy
Image:Eastern South Australia Satellite Photo.jpg The manufacturing industry plays a very important role in South Australia's economy, generating 15% of the state's Gross State Product and playing a large part in exports. The manufacturing industry consists of automotive and component manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and defence technology. South Australia's economy relies on export more than any other state in Australia, which stands at AUD$10 billion worth per year, which grew by 8.8% from 2002 to 2003.
South Australia's economic growth has lagged behind the rest of Australia for some time (grew by 2.1% from 2002 to 2003), but performance seems to be improving (grew by 4.3% in 2003/2004). South Australia's credit rating was recently upgraded to AAA+, having lost it in the State Bank collapse. South Australia's Gross State Product was AUD$48.9 billion starting 2004, making it AUD$32,996 per capita.
South Australia's economy is made of the following industries:
- Services - 66.7%
- Manufacturing - 14.2%
- Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing - 4.5%
- Mining - 2.2%
- Other - 10.7%
Government
South Australia is a constitutional monarchy with the Queen of Australia as the head of state. Its bicameral parliament consists of a House of Assembly (lower house) and a Legislative Council (upper house). The current Premier of South Australia is Mike Rann, a member of the Australian Labor Party.
Initially, the Governor of South Australia (the first was Captain John Hindmarsh) held almost total power that he derived from the Letters Patent created by the Imperial Government to create the colony. He was only accountable to the British Colonial Office and thus democracy did not exist in the colony. A new body was created to advise the Governor on the administration of South Australia was created in 1843 called the Legislative Council. It consisted of three representatives of the British Government and four colonists appointed by the Governor. The Governor retained total executive power.
In 1851, the Imperial Parliament enacted the Australian Colonies Government Act which allowed for the election of representatives to each of the colonial legislatures and the drafting of a Constitution to properly create representative and responsible Government in South Australia and later that year, wealthy male colonists were allowed to vote for 16 members on a new 24 seat Legislative Council. Eight members continued to be appointed by the Governor.
The main responsibility of this body was to draft a Constitution for South Australia. The body drafted the most democratic constitution ever before seen in the British Empire and provided for manhood suffrage. It created the bicameral Parliament of South Australia and the two houses of parliament. For the first time in the colony, the executive was elected by the people and the colony used the Westminster system where the government is the party or coalition that exerts a majority in the House of Assembly. In 1894, South Australia was the first Australian colony to allow women to vote and it had the first Parliament in the world to allow women to be elected as members. Catherine Helen Spence was the first woman in the Australia to be a candidate for political office when she nominated to be one of South Australia's delegates to the constitutional conventions that drafted the Constitution. South Australia became an original state of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901.
Education
Education is compulsory for all children until the age of 16, however, the majority of students stay on to complete their South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE). It is the responsibility of the South Australian government, but Adelaide's public and private education-systems are funded jointly by it and the Commonwealth Government. The South Australian Government provides 89 percent of the total Government funding while the Commonwealth contributes 11 percent. 58 percent of Commonwealth funding goes to non-government schools, the theory being that the price of private education will be reduced and accessible to a larger portion of the population, in practice this often hasn't been the case. The issue was raised in the 2004 Federal election but has died down in the meantime.
Sport in South Australia
Australian Rules Football is a major sport in South Australia. The state has the highest participation rate of people taking part in Australian Football, with over 2.2% of the population aged 18 years and over participating in the sport (source AuSport 2000). South Australia fields 2 teams, the Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide Power in the Australian Football League national competition. Both teams regularly draw large crowds. The South Australian National Football League, which owns the dedicated Australian Football stadium AAMI Stadium, is a popular local league. Cricket is also a popular sport in the state. South Australia's soccer team in the new A-League is Adelaide United. Basketball also has a big following in South Australia with the Adelaide 36ers playing out an 8,000 seat stadium in Findon and winning 4 championships in the last 20 years in the National Basketball League.
Notable places in South Australia
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See also
- Adelaide
- Towns in South Australia
- Cities in South Australia
- Local Government Areas of South Australia
- List of highways in South Australia
- List of cities and towns in South Australia
- Proclamation Day: December 28, 1836
- SA Country Fire Service
References
- Dorothy Jauncey, Bardi Grubs and Frog Cakes — South Australian Words, Oxford University Press (2004) ISBN 0195517709
External links
- South Australia Central
- Official Insignia And Emblems Page
- South Australian Tourism Commission
- The Encyclopædia of South Australian Culture Locals reflect on South Australian culture.
- Ground Truth - towards an Environmental History of South Australia Community resources
- Sagerman association
| | Image:Flag of Australia.svg |
|---|---|
| States and mainland territories | |
| Australian Capital Territory | New South Wales | Northern Territory | Queensland | South Australia | Tasmania | Victoria | Western Australia | |
| Jervis Bay Territory | |
| External territories | |
| Ashmore and Cartier Islands | Australian Antarctic Territory | Christmas Island | Cocos (Keeling) Islands | Coral Sea Islands | Heard Island and McDonald Islands | Norfolk Island | |
