Where is located and what is the name of the capital of Australia? Sydney or Canberra - which of these cities has metropolitan functions? To give the correct answers to these questions, we will go on a correspondence trip to a distant mainland. It was discovered later than America, but before Antarctica. The debate about who was the first European to land on the coast of Australia has not subsided to this day. There is also an ongoing discussion about which city in the country is the most beautiful and livable.
Mainland Australia
Photos of kangaroos and koalas are a kind of visiting card of the smallest continent on 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 Commonwe alth of Australia. Schoolchildren 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 it's not just the remoteness of the mainland and the country. There are several reasons to think before naming a capital city. Knowledge of the history of the discovery and settlement of the continent by Europeans will help explain the situation.
Main milestones of the first stage in the history of the discovery and development of Australia
Searching for a sea route from European countries to India and ChinaDuring the period of the Great geographical discoveries, the Spaniards, the Portuguese, and after them the Dutch also actively led. Until the beginning of the 17th century, Europe did not know where Australia was located. Fragmentary information about the voyages of Portuguese sailors and merchants to the shores of the unknown southern land has been available since the 16th century, but little evidence has been collected.
It is known that the navigator from Spain Torres in 1606 passed through the strait south of New Guinea, proving that this is an island, and not part of an unknown southern mainland. Torres saw across the strait that now bears his name, the shore of some land (Australia). The Dutch made a great contribution to the exploration of the continent. For a long time it remained unknown how far to the east the territory of the southern mainland extends.
Everything seemed unusual to Europeans in the lands they discovered, located far to the south. First of all, those who arrived from the Old World were surprised by the marsupials, the red color of the soil, and the drying up rivers. The most comfortable for the life of immigrants from Europe were the territories in the east, where the damp winds from the ocean are delayed by the mountains, more precipitation falls than in the center of the mainland.
The voyage of D. Cook and the role of the British in settling the mainland
The Englishman James Cook, known for his voyages all over the world, knowing where Australia is, went in 1769-1770 to study the borders of the east coast. Passing 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. January 261788 the first British colony was founded. Until the end of the 18th century, the interior territories remained poorly explored, which did not prevent the British from laying claim to the entire colonized mainland. No one then considered the opinion of the natives of Tasmania and Australia.
The debate about whether there was a genocide of the indigenous population in the historical past of the mainland still does not subside. There is no doubt the answer to the question of what language is in Australia. The country is listed as a member of the vast Commonwe alth 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, English is the official language.
Earth's smallest continent: geographic location (GP)
What hemisphere is Australia in? Let's take a look at the map. As you can see, the mainland lies south of the equator, that is, it is completely located in the Southern Hemisphere. Main elements of Australian GP by latitude:
- York Peninsula is the northernmost point of the mainland.
- The southernmost position on the continent is South Point.
- The territory of Australia extends from parallel 10° S. sh. to 39°S sh.
- The mainland is crossed almost in the middle by the Southern Tropic.
Which hemisphere is Australia in: Eastern or Western? The mainland is not crossed by the 0° and 180° meridians, which means that it is located entirely in the Eastern Hemisphere. Main elements of Australian GP by longitude:
- The extreme point in the west - m. Steep Point.
- Extreme Easternthe position is occupied by M. Byron.
- Australia lies east of meridian 113°E. d., west of 153° E. e.
- The total area of the mainland is about 7.659 million km2.
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 washed by:
- Timor and Arafura Seas in the north;
- Coral, Tasman Sea in the east;
- gulfs and straits of the Indian Ocean in the west and south.
To the southeast of Australia is the island of Tasmania, in the northeast - about. New Guinea. Along the east coast is the largest accumulation of corals on Earth - the Great Barrier Reef. The natural "structure" reaches a length of 2 thousand km. Coral reefs, atolls make it difficult to approach the coast of mainland Australia from the east (a photo of one of the small islands is presented below).
Australian Union
Until the last decade of the 19th century, Australia consisted of 6 separate colonies with their own authorities, armed forces and other attributes of independence. In 1898, the drafting of a constitution for a federation of the colonies began. Australians met the first day of 1901 as citizens of a single state - the Commonwe alth of Australia.
Rivalry between cities in the world's sixth largest countryterritory began over 100 years ago. The question arose: where will the capital of Australia be located? Sydney or Canberra - which of these cities did you prefer? It should be noted that many Australians consider their mainland the most unusual. Residents of Sydney and Canberra praise 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 governments after 1901 were located in 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 ended, it was decided to put an end to the competition that had arisen. Temporarily preference was given to Melbourne. This is the former capital of Australia, where the federal parliament was located for a quarter of a century.
The idea of building a new city has been embodied for a very long time in 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
Decades have passed since the creation of a single state on the mainland, and many people still find it difficult to givethe answer to the question: "The capital of Australia - Sydney or Canberra?"
In 1911, a competition was announced to design a new city. It was won by American architect W alter Griffin. 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, they retained the historical name.
In March 1913, the foundation stone of the city was laid. The name of the new capital comes from the eponymous village of Canberra on the Molongo River. The distance from here to Sydney in the northeast is about 280 km, to Melbourne in the southwest - 650 km. The word "canberra" in translation from the language of the Aboriginal Australians can literally mean "meeting place". The first English settlement appeared here in 1820. Public holiday - Canberra Foundation Day - is celebrated annually in Australia (second Monday in March).
Growth, development and today's realities of the Australian capital
Economic turmoil due to World War I delayed construction. It wasn't until 1927 that the federal parliament of the Commonwe alth of Australia moved from Melbourne to Canberra. The growth and development of the capital slowed down during the years of the Great Depression and World War II. It wasn't until after 1945 that Canberra began to prosper. 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 envisaged the creation of a garden city, beautiful and comfortable for life. On the territory of Canberra preservedsignificant areas of natural vegetation, new parks and squares have been laid out. The country's Parliament sits in the capital, the Supreme Court and numerous state institutions are located. Canberra's historical sites and landmarks are as follows:
- Parliament buildings (former and present);
- St John the Baptist Anglican Church;
- St. John's churchyard;
- 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, size and composition of the population. Less populated and developed territory - Northern. In addition, there are 6 separate states: Western and South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. The largest regions in 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 Pacific Ocean, a mountain range runs along the Australian coast, its average height is 1500–2000 m. This is the Great Dividing Range, protecting the coastline from dry hot winds blowing from the central desert regions.
The largest city on the east coast is Sydney. The population of the metropolitan area isabout 4.4 million people. In the photo of the city you can often see the beautiful white building of the Opera House, reminiscent of the shape of sails of yachts or orange slices. Opera in Sydney - one of the most beautiful architectural structures in the world - a symbol not only of the city, but of the whole of Australia. The author of the project of the theater building (Jörg Uzton) implemented a complex technical solution for 10 years. The unusual interior decoration of the opera was called "Space Gothic".
Melbourne is located south of Sydney and Canberra and has about 3.9 million inhabitants. The city is considered the sports capital of Australia: international tennis tournaments and Formula 1 races are held here. Interesting original architecture of Melbourne attracts tourists. The city has grown from a fishing village to a metropolis in less than two centuries.
Summary of key socio-economic indicators
Overview of Australia will be incomplete if you do not give the main demographic indicators, do not mention other important socio-economic features of the country. The total area of the federal state of the Commonwe alth of Australia is about 7,687 km2. 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 - 23.8 million people.
Adherents of the Anglican Church in the Commonwe alth of Australia, there are about 26% of the total population. Approximately the same number of Catholics and followers of otherChristian creeds. At the time of the landing of European colonists on the mainland, the indigenous population was at a low level of development. Aborigines of Australia were engaged in collecting 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. From the Old World, pathogens of human and animal diseases came to Australia along with the alien population and domestic animals. As a result of disease, the indigenous population has been significantly reduced. Rabbits and other acclimatized herbivores caused great damage to the wild flora.
Australia has the richest reserves of natural resources, which are mainly mined in the northern and western regions of the country. Mineral resources include 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 the Darling tributary, irrigate agricultural plantations in the southeast. Australia is the most important livestock region; fine-wool sheep breeding and cattle breeding are especially developed here. Investments by local as well as foreign companies are invested in the extraction of fossil fuels (oil and gas). The mining and processing industries are developing in the Australian Union, raw materials, energy and agricultural products are exported. The country has a developed tertiary sector of the economyservice).
The Australian dollar plays the role of the main currency here. In terms of GDP per capita, the Commonwe alth of Australia is in the top ten states, ranking sixth in the world. Australia, 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
AU control extends to the archipelagos and islands: Ashmore, Cocos, Cartier, McDonald, Norfolk, Christmas, Heard (some of the listed 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 predominates. Even the largest sovereign and dependent territories are dozens of times smaller than Australia. Thus, the area of the country located north of Australia - Papua New Guinea - is about 463 thousand km22, the population reaches 7.1 million
Mysteries of a small continent
Traveling to Australia is attractive to many people, because the mainland is famous for its exoticism. There are many endemic, nowhere else found representatives of flora and fauna. As scientists suggest, in ancient times Australia was part of the ancestral continent, but because of its split and drift to the southeast, it was removed from other continents. Thanks to isolation in Australia and on about. Tasmania preserved relic plants and marsupials, long extinct in Africa andEurasia.
Based on the results of archaeological excavations, rock paintings, fossil remains of people, ancient tools, researchers determined the time of settlement of the mainland. Finds indicate that the first people sailed to Australia from other inhabited continents. It is possible that the population has existed here for about 50 centuries, but it is more likely that the first inhabitants appeared about 21 thousand years ago.
The fauna of Australia is distinguished by researchers as a special area, believing that the most ancient animals live in this region of the Earth. It is assumed that in the Paleozoic era there were land connections with the Asian part of Eurasia. Then on the mainland, the animal world was not so diverse. Long before the beginning of the Quaternary period, marsupials came to Australia. Around the same time, the final separation of the continents took place. Predators - representatives of higher mammals - could no longer penetrate Australia. Therefore, they are not typical for the indigenous fauna of the mainland we are considering. The oldest placental mammals are found in Australia - the platypus and echidna, marsupials - kangaroos, koalas and other unusual animals.
