Australian Capital Territory

The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) is a territory of the Commonwealth of Australia, and is the site of Canberra, Australia's capital city. The ACT is wholly surrounded by the state of New South Wales.

The floral emblem of the ACT is the Royal Bluebell and the faunal emblem is the Gang-gang cockatoo.

1 History
2 Government
3 Geography
- 3.1 Climate
- 3.2 Geology
4 References
5 See also

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History

Main article: History of the Australian Capital Territory

Before European settlement the area now known as the ACT was inhabited by three Aboriginal tribes: the Ngunnawal, Walgalu, and Ngarigo.

White exploration and settlement did not occur until the 1820s. From 1824 onwards, settlements and homesteads, and ultimately some small townships such as Hall and Tharwa, were established in the area.

One homestead of special historical interest was Lambrigg, near Tharwa. This was the place in which William Farrer developed the rust-resistant Federation wheat strain that had a major beneficial effect on Australia's wheat industry. Farrer died at Lambrigg in 1906.

When the constitution for the Commonwealth of Australia was being negotiated between the colonies, Melbourne and Sydney each wanted to become the capital. As a compromise, it was agreed that the capital would initially be Melbourne, until a new capital city could be built. When finally agreed, the Constitution specified that the new capital city would be located in territory taken from New South Wales, but be at least 100 statute miles from Sydney.

The present site was chosen in 1908^[1], with additional territory at Jervis Bay (now a naval base on the NSW coast) allocated so the national capital could have a sea port. In 1909 New South Wales transferred the land for the territory to federal control and in 1910 an act of parliament created the legal framewrok for the territory^[2]^[3]. The politician King O'Malley responsible for the legislation creating the ACT, also passed a law later that year making the ACT an alcohol-free area. In 1911 an international design competition was held, which was won by Walter Burley Griffin. The official naming of Canberra and its official construction began on March 12, 1913.

The Federal Government officially moved to the ACT from Melbourne on the formal opening of the Provisional Parliament House on 9 May 1927. Among the new parliament's first acts was the repealing of the prohibition laws. At first the public service continued to be based in Melbourne, but the various departments were gradually moved to Canberra over the years.

The territory was initially known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). In 1938, the territory was formally named the Australian Capital Territory.

Despite a 1978 referendum where Canberrans rejected self government by 63% of the vote ^[4], in December 1988, the ACT was granted full self-government through an Act of the Commonwealth Parliament that made the ACT a body politic under the crown^[5]. Following the first elections in February 1989, a 17-member Legislative Assembly sat at its offices in London Circuit, Civic, on May 11, 1989. The Australian Labor Party formed the ACT's first government, led by the Chief Minister Rosemary Follett, who made history as Australia's first female head of government.

In the 1990s, a number of activities which are illegal in other Australia states were decriminalised in the Australian Capital Territory. This included the personal use of cannabis decriminalised in 1992^[6], legalised prostitution and brothels in 1992, although permitted only to the suburbs of Mitchell and Fyshwick^[7], legalised trade in pornographic videos in 1995^[8], and the sale of fireworks, although this is restricted to only being allowed before the Queen's Birthday Holiday.

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Government

The ACT has internal self-government, but it does not have the legislative independence of the Australian states. It is governed by a Ministry headed by a Chief Minister (currently Jon Stanhope, Australian Labor Party). Laws are made in a 17-member Legislative Assembly that has all state and local government functions. However, its decisions can be overruled by the Australian Government under section 122 of the Australian Constitution. (see also Electoral systems of the Australian states and territories). The ACT Government is a member of the Council of Australian Governments.

Unlike other self-governing Australian territories (eg Norfolk Island, Northern Territory), the ACT does not have an Administrator. The role of the Crown in the government of the ACT is played by the Governor-General of Australia.

In Australia's Federal Parliament, the ACT is represented by four members (two Senators, and two members of the House of Representatives).

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Geography

Image:Parliament House Canberra locality-MJC01.png

Location of Canberra within the ACT

Apart from Canberra city, the Australian Capital Territory also contains agricultural land (sheep, dairy cattle, vineyards and a small amount of crops), and a large area of national park (Namadgi National Park), much of it mountainous and forested. Small townships and communities located within the ACT include Williamsdale, Naas, Uriarra, Tharwa and Hall.

Tidbinbilla is a locality within the ACT, to the south-west of Canberra that features the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve and the site of the Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex, operated by NASA as part of its Deep Space Network.

There are a large range of mountains, rivers and creeks in the Namadgi National Park. These include the Naas and Murrumbidgee Rivers.

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Climate

Because of its elevation and distance from the coast, the Australian Capital Territory experiences four distinct seasons, unlike many other Australian cities whose climates are moderated by the sea. Canberra is notorious for hot, dry summers, and cold winters with heavy fog and frequent frosts. Many of the higher mountains in the territory's South-East 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 maximums in spring and summer and minimum in winter.

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Geology

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 where discovered at Woolshed Creek near Duntroon. At the time these where the oldest fossils discovered in Australia, though this record has now been far surpassed. [9] Other specific geological place sof interest include the State Circle cutting and the Deakin anitcline.[10][11] [12].

The oldest rocks in the ACT date from the Ordovician around 480 Million Years Ago. During this period the region along with most of Eastern Australia was part of the ocean floor; formations from this period include the Black Mountain Sandstone formation and the Pittman Formation consisting largely of Quartz-rich sandstone, siltstone and shale. [13] These formations became exposed when the ocean floor was raised by a major volcanic activity in the Devonian forming much of the East coast of Australia.

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References

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Australia	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

Australian Capital Territory

Contents

History

Government

Geography

Climate

Geology

References

See also