Where is the capital of Australia located and what is its name? Sydney or Canberra - which of these cities performs metropolitan functions? To give the correct answers to these questions, we will go on an absentee trip to the distant mainland. It was discovered later than America, but earlier than Antarctica. The debate about who was the first of the Europeans to land on the coast of Australia has not subsided so far. There is also ongoing discussion about which city is the most beautiful and comfortable for living.
Mainland Australia
A photo of a kangaroo and koala is a peculiar visiting card of the smallest continent of the Earth. Australia is almost 4.5 times smaller than Africa and only 2.5 times larger than the largest island on our planet - Greenland. On the continent is a large state - the Australian Union. Pupils often find it difficult to answer the question of what is the name of the capital of Australia: Sydney or Canberra? Melbourne or Sydney? And the matter is not only in the remoteness of the mainland and the country. There are several reasons to think about it before calling a capital city. Knowledge of the history of the discovery and settlement of the continent by Europeans will help explain the situation.
Milestones of the first stage in the history of the discovery and development of Australia
The search for the sea route from European countries to India and China was actively conducted during the period of the Great Geographical Discoveries by the Spaniards, Portuguese, and after them the Dutch. Until the beginning of the XVII century, Europe did not know where Australia was located. Fragmentary information about the voyages of Portuguese sailors and merchants to the shores of an unknown southern land has been available since the 16th century, but little evidence has been collected.
It is known for certain that the sailor from Spain Torres in 1606 passed through the strait south of New Guinea, proving that this is an island, and not part of the unknown southern mainland. Torres saw through the strait, now bearing his name, the shore of some land (Australia). The Dutch made a great contribution to the study of the continent. For a long time it remained unknown how far the territory of the southern mainland extends to the east.
Everything seemed unusual to the Europeans in the lands they discovered, located far to the south. First of all, those who arrived from the Old World were surprised by marsupials, the red color of soils, and drying rivers. The most convenient for life migrants from Europe were the territories in the east, where moist winds from the ocean are delayed by the mountains, more rain falls than in the center of the mainland.
Swimming D. Cook and the role of the British in the settlement of the mainland
Known for his sailings around the world, the Englishman James Cook, knowing where Australia is located, went in 1769-1770 to study the borders of the east coast. Walking along the coast from New Zealand, Cook reached the northern tip of the continent. Since that time, the development of these lands by subjects of the English crown began. The first British colony was founded on January 26, 1788. Until the end of the 18th century, the internal territories remained poorly studied, which did not prevent the British from claiming the entire colonized mainland. With the opinion of the natives of Tasmania and Australia, no one then reckoned.
There is still a debate about whether indigenous genocide took place in the historical past of the mainland. There is no doubt the answer to the question of what language is in Australia. The country is a member of the vast Commonwealth of Nations. Formally, the previous monarchs and the current Queen of Great Britain are the heads of the countries and dependent territories included in this association. In Australia, the official language is English.
Earth's smallest continent: geographic location (GP)
Which hemisphere is Australia located in? Let's take a look at the map. As you can see, the mainland lies south of the equator, i.e., is completely located in the Southern Hemisphere. The main elements of Australian GP in latitude:
- The Peninsula of York is the extreme northern point of the mainland.
- The southernmost position on the continent is Cape South Point.
- The territory of Australia extends from a parallel of 10 ° S. w. up to 39 ° S w.
- The mainland is almost in the middle crossed by the South Tropic.
In what hemisphere is Australia located: East or West? The meridians 0 ° and 180 ° do not cross the mainland, which means that it is completely located in the Eastern Hemisphere. The main elements of Australia GP in longitude:
- The extreme point in the west is Cape Stipe Point.
- Extreme eastern position is metro Byron.
- Australia lies east of the meridian 113 ° in. d., west of 153 ° c. d.
- The total area of the mainland is about 7.659 million km 2 .
The continent stretches from west to east for about 4 thousand km. The distance from the north of the mainland to its extreme point in the south is about 3.7 thousand km.
Coastline
Mainland Australia is washed by:
- Timor and Arafura seas in the north;
- Coral, Tasman Sea in the east;
- bays and straits of the Indian Ocean in the west and in the south.
To the south-east of Australia is the island of Tasmania, in the north-east - about. New Guinea. The largest coral cluster on Earth, the Great Barrier Reef, runs along the east coast. The natural "structure" reaches a length of 2 thousand km. Coral reefs, atolls make it difficult to approach from the east to the coast of mainland Australia (a photo of one of the smaller islands is presented below).
Union of australia
Until the last decade of the 19th century, Australia included 6 separate colonies with their own authorities, the armed forces and other attributes of independence. In 1898, the development of the constitution of the federation of colonies began. The first day of 1901, the Australians met as citizens of a single state - the Australian Union.
The rivalry between the cities of the country, which occupies the sixth place in the world in terms of territory, began more than 100 years ago. The question arose: where will the capital of Australia be located? Sydney or Canberra - which of these cities was preferred? It should be noted that many Australians consider their mainland the most unusual. Residents of Sydney and Canberra tout their cities, believing that they are the best. Melbourne claims that their city is more picturesque, more popular.
What is the name of the capital of Australia: Sydney, Melbourne or Canberra?
Federal authorities after 1901 were stationed on the specially created Australian Capital Territory. It was decided that the capital of Australia would be located here. Sydney or Melbourne - these two largest cities could become the administrative centers of the federation in the first decade after its creation. When the discussions were over, it was decided to put an end to the emerging competition. Temporarily preferred Melbourne. This is the former capital of Australia, where the federal parliament has been a quarter century.
The idea of building a new city took a very long time to come to life on the territory of New South Wales, but not in Sydney, but a little further from the coast. Only in 1908 was the location of the administrative and political center of the country finally approved, and in 1911 its design and construction began. Melbourne served as the capital until 1927.
Canberra: foundation and name of the city
More than a dozen years have passed since the creation of a single state on the mainland, and many people still find it difficult to answer the question: "Is the capital of Australia Sydney or Canberra?"
In 1911, a competition was announced for the design of a new city. The American architect Walter Griffin won it. The authors of the idea of creating the capital had doubts about its name. The following options were proposed: James Cook, Shakespeare, Olympus, but, in the end, retained the historical name.
In March 1913, the first stone was laid in the foundation of the city. The name of the new capital comes from the village of Canberra of the same name on the Molongo River. The distance from here to Sydney in the northeast is approximately 280 km, to Melbourne in the southwest is 650 km. The word "Canberra" in translation from the language of the natives of Australia can literally mean "meeting place." The first English settlement appeared here in 1820. A national holiday - Canberra Foundation Day - is customary in Australia to celebrate annually (second Monday of March).
The growth, development and today's realities of the capital of Australia
Due to the First World War, economic turmoil delayed construction. Only in 1927 did the federal parliament of the Australian Union move from Melbourne to Canberra. The growth and development of the capital slowed down during the Great Depression and World War II. Only after 1945 Canberra began to flourish. The number of its inhabitants is about 392 thousand people. In the capital, the unemployment rate is lower, and the average income is higher than in the whole country. Initially, the project provided for the creation of a garden city, beautiful and comfortable for living. On the territory of Canberra, significant areas of natural vegetation have been preserved, new parks and squares have been set up. In the capital, the country's Parliament sits, the Supreme Court, numerous state institutions. Canberra's historical sites and attractions are as follows:
- Parliament buildings (former and present);
- Anglican Church of St. John the Baptist ;
- churchyard of St. John;
- National Museum;
- war memorial;
- Australian National University;
- Royal Military College;
- National Gallery.
Features of the administrative-territorial structure and population density
In addition to the territory of the federal capital, Australia includes several regions that differ in area, number and composition of the population. A less populated and developed territory is North. In addition, there are 6 separate states: Western and South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. The largest areas of Australia are Queensland and Western Australia.
The largest cities of the country are located on the east coast, which is explained not only by the history of the discovery and settlement of the mainland. From the side of the Pacific Ocean along the Australian coast runs a mountain range, its average height is 1500–2000 m. This is the Great Dividing Range, which protects the coast from dry hot winds blowing from the central desert regions.
The largest city on the east coast is Sydney. The population of the metropolis is about 4.4 million people. In the photo of the city you can often see the beautiful white building of the Opera House, reminiscent in shape of a sail of yachts or slices of orange. The Sydney Opera House is one of the most beautiful architectural structures in the world - a symbol of not only the city, but the whole of Australia. The author of the project of the theater building (Jörg Watston) put a complicated technical solution into practice for 10 years. Unusual interior decoration of the opera was called "cosmic Gothic".
Melbourne is located south of Sydney and Canberra, its population is about 3.9 million people. The city is considered the sporting capital of Australia: international tennis tournaments and Formula -1 racing competitions are held here. The interesting original architecture of Melbourne attracts tourists. In less than two centuries, the city has evolved from a fishing village to a metropolis.
Brief description of the main socio-economic indicators
An overview of Australia will be incomplete if you do not give the main demographic indicators, and do not mention other important socio-economic characteristics of the country. The total area of the federal state of the Australian Union is about 7.687 km 2 . The territory includes not only the mainland, but also a number of large and small islands closest to it. The population of the country, according to data for 2014, is 23.8 million people.
Adherents of the Church of England in the Australian Union account for about 26% of the total population. About the same number of Catholics and followers of other Christian creeds in Australia. At the time of landing on the mainland of European colonists, the indigenous population was at a low level of development. Aborigines of Australia were engaged in gathering fruits and seeds in the wild, hunting and fishing.
Convicts began to be brought to the mainland from England, the first colonies and other permanent settlements appeared. The pathogens of human and animal diseases were brought to Australia from the Old World together with the alien population and domestic animals. As a result of diseases, the number of indigenous people has decreased significantly. Great damage to the wild flora caused rabbits and other acclimatized herbivores.
Australia has the richest reserves of natural resources, which are mainly extracted in the northern and western regions of the country. Among the minerals can be called deposits of natural gas, oil, coal, ores of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, gold and uranium. Renewable energy sources are exploited on the mainland: solar radiation, tides, wind. The main rivers, the Murray and tributary of the Darling, irrigate agricultural plantations in the southeast. Australia is the most important livestock region, fine-fleeced sheep breeding and cattle rearing are especially developed here. Investments by local as well as foreign companies are invested in the extraction of fossil fuel raw materials (oil and gas). Mining and processing industries are developing in the Australian Union, and raw materials, energy and agricultural products are exported. The country has a developed tertiary sector of the economy (service sector ).
The role of the main currency is the Australian dollar. In terms of GDP per capita, the Australian Union is in the top ten countries, ranking sixth in the world. Australia, the countries and capitals of Oceania attract the attention of tourists. For small island territories, income from this sector of the economy is the main one.
Australia as part of Oceania
The control of the Australian Union extends to archipelagos and islands: Ashmore, Coconut, Cartier, MacDonald, Norfolk, Christmas, Hurd (some of these territories do not have a permanent population).
The capitals of Australia and Oceania differ significantly in many respects. In most island states, the indigenous population prevails. Even the largest sovereign and dependent territories are ten times smaller than Australia. So, the area of the country located north of Australia - Papua New Guinea - is about 463 thousand km 2 , the population reaches 7.1 million.
Riddles of a small continent
Traveling to Australia is attractive to many people, because the mainland is famous for its exoticism. There are many endemic representatives of flora and fauna that are not found anywhere else. Scientists suggest that in ancient times, Australia was part of the great-mainland, but due to its split and drift to the southeast, it was removed from other continents. Thanks to isolation in Australia and on about. Tasmania preserved relict plants and marsupials, long extinct in Africa and Eurasia.
According to the results of archaeological excavations, cave paintings, fossil remains of people, ancient tools, researchers determined the time of settlement of the mainland. Findings indicate that the first humans sailed to Australia from other inhabited continents. The population may have existed here for about 50 centuries, but it is more likely that the first inhabitants appeared about 21 thousand years ago.
Researchers distinguish the fauna of Australia in a special area, believing that the most ancient animals live in this region of the Earth. It is believed that in the Paleozoic era there were land ties with the Asian part of Eurasia. Then on the mainland the animal world was not so diverse. Long before the Quaternary began, marsupial animals came to Australia. Around the same time, the final separation of the continents took place. Predators, representatives of higher mammals, could no longer enter Australia. Therefore, for the native fauna of the continent we are considering, they are not typical. The most ancient placental mammals - platypus and echidna, marsupials - kangaroos, koalas and other unusual animals are found in Australia.