South Australia 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 square kilometres
(380,070 sq mi), it is the fourth largest of Australia's
eight states and territories. It is bordered to the west
by Western Australia, 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 Indian 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
state capital, 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 rather than a convict settlement. 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 the New Zealand Company. 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 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.
History
Main article: History of South Australia
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 Act 1834,
which enabled the province of South Australia to be established.
The Act stated that 802,511 square kilometres (309,851 sq
mi) would be allotted to the colony, and it would be convict-free.
The plan for the colony was that it be the ideal embodiment
of the best qualities of British society, that is, no religious
discrimination 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 entirely
by free settlers.
The current
flag of South Australia was adopted on January 13, 1904,
and is a British blue ensign defaced with the state badge.
The badge is described as a Piping Shrike with wings outstretched
on a yellow disc. The state badge is believed to have been
designed by Robert Craig of the Adelaide School of Arts.
South Australia
granted restricted women's suffrage in 1861, and in 1894
became the first place in the world to grant universal suffrage
where women had the dual rights to vote and to stand for
election.
Geography
Main article: Geography of South Australia
Satellite image of eastern South Australia. Note the dry
lakes (white patches) in the northThe 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 (500 mi) from Cape Jervis to the northern end
of Lake Torrens and salt lakes. The highest point in the
state is not in those ranges, but Mount Woodroffe at 1,435
metres (4,708 ft) in the Musgrave Ranges in the extreme
northwest of the state. The western portion of the state
consists of the sparsely-inhabited Nullarbor Plain fronting
the cliffs of the Great Australian Bight.
The principle
industries and exports 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
area now known as the Northern Territory was annexed to
South Australia in 1863, however it was handed over to the
Federal government in 1911 and became a separate territory.
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: 50.7 °C (123.3 °F), Oodnadatta, 2 January
1960 (The highest official temperature recorded in Australia).
Lowest minimum
temperature: -8.0 °C (17.2 °F), Yongala, 20 July
1976
Economy
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 (44% of
total Australian production, 2006) and component manufacturing,
pharmaceuticals and defence technology (2.1% of GSP, 2002-2003).
South Australia's economy relies on exports more than any
other state in Australia. Export earnings stand at AUD$10
billion worth per year and grew by 8.8% from 2002 to 2003.
Production
of South Australian food and drink (including agriculture,
horticulture, aquaculture, fisheries and manufacturing)
is a $10 billion industry.
South Australia's
economic growth has lagged behind the rest of Australia
for some time (2.1% from 2002 to 2003), but performance
seems to be improving (forecast 3.5% for 2006/2007). South
Australia's credit rating was 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. Exports for 2006 were valued at $9.0bn with
imports at $6.2bn. Private Residential Building Approvals
experienced 80% growth over the year of 2006.
Welcome to South AustraliaSouth Australia's economy includes
the following major industries (Oct 2006 in AUD$M):
Meat &
Meat Preparations: 463.1
Wheat: 487.5
Wine: 1,482.2
Wool & Sheepskins: 160
Machinery: 379.5
Metal & Metal Manufactures: 1,888.7
Fish and Crustaceans: 316.1
Road Vehicles, parts & accessories: 1,196.9
Petroleum & products: 227.7
Other & confidential: 2,393.6
Other industries, such as education and defence technology,
are of growing importance.
South Australia
receives the least amount of Federal funding for its local
road network than any other state on a per capita or per
kilometre basis.
Government
Main article: Government of South Australia
Parliament House, AdelaideSouth Australia is a constitutional
monarchy with the Queen of Australia as the head of state.
It is a state of the Commonwealth of Australia. Its bicameral
parliament consists of a House of Assembly (lower house)
and a Legislative Council (upper house), with legislative
elections held every four years. 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 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
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
University of Adelaide from North Terrace.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). School education is the responsibility
of the South Australian government, but the public and private
education systems are funded jointly by it and the Commonwealth
Government. The South Australian Government provides, to
schools on a per student basis, 89 percent of the total
Government funding while the Commonwealth contributes 11
percent. Since the early 1970's it has been an ongoing controversy
that 68 percent of Commonwealth funding (increasing to 75%
by 2008) goes to private schools that are attended by 32%
of the states students.
From January
1, 2009, the school leaving age will be raised to 17.
There are three
universities in South Australia: University of Adelaide,
Flinders University and the University of South Australia.
All are based in Adelaide, although the University of South
Australia also has campuses in Whyalla and Mount Gambier.Carnegie
Mellon University's Heinz School and "Entertainment
Technology Center" have campuses in Adelaide.
Tertiary vocational
education is provided by TAFE South Australia colleges throughout
the state.
Sports
Main article: Sport in South Australia
Australian rules football is the most popular 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. South Australia fields 2 teams, the Adelaide
Crows and Port Adelaide Power in the Australian Football
League national competition. The Adelaide Crows have a membership
base of 50,000, higher than any of the other 15 teams in
the 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 comprising nine teams.
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 8,070 seat stadium in Findon and winning
4 championships in the last 20 years in the National Basketball
League (Australia). South Australia also has a cricket team,
the Southern Redbacks, who play at Adelaide Oval in North
Adelaide during the summer; however they have not won a
title since 1996. The Redbacks currently have four players
who hold a contract with Cricket Australia.
Fifty Nine
percent of children take part in organised sports. For boys,
Soccer has the highest participation rate (22%) followed
by Swimming (16%). For girls Netball is most popular (18%)
followed by Swimming (16%) |
