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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.

Contents 1 History 2 Government 3 Demographics 4 Geography 4.1 Climate 4.2 Geology 5 Education 6 See also 7 References

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.

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; the Division of Fraser and the Division of Canberra.

Demographics

In the 2001 census the population of the ACT was 311,947 only 429 of which where located outside of Canberra. The ACT median weekly income for people aged over 15 was in the range $500-$599 while the population living outside of Canberra was at the national average of $300-$399. The average level of education in the ACT is significantly higher than the national average. Within the ACT 4% of the population have a postgraduate degree compared to just 1.4% in the whole of Australia.

Geography

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.

In 1915 the Jervis Bay Territory Acceptance Act 1915 created the Jervis Bay Territory as an annexe to the Australian Capital Territory. In 1988 when the ACT gainined self government, Jervis Bay became a separate territory administered by the Minister for Territories.

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.

Geology

Main article: Natural History of the Australian Capital Territory

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.^[6] Other specific geological places of interest include the State Circle cutting and the Deakin anitcline.^[7][8].

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. 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.

Education

Main article: Education in the Australian Capital Territory

Almost all educational institutions in the Australian Capital Territory are located within Canberra. The ACT public education system schooling is normally split up into Pre-School, Primary School (K-6), High School (7-10) and College (11-12) followed by studies at university or TAFE. Many private high schools include years 11 and 12 and are refered to as colleges.

In February 2004 there were 140 public and non-governmental schools in Canberra; 96 were operated by the Government and 44 are non-Government.^[9] In 2005 there where 60,275 students in the ACT school system. 59.3% of the students where enroled in governement schools with the remaining 40.7% in non-government schools. There where 30,995 students in primary school, 19,211 in high school, 9,429 in College and a further 340 in special schools. ^[10]

As of May 2004, 30% of people in the ACT aged 15–64 had a level of educational attainment equal to at least an bachelor's degree, significantly higher that the national average of 19%. ^[11] The two main tertiary institutions are the Australian National University (ANU) in Acton and the University of Canberra (UC) in Bruce. There are also two religious university campuses in Canberra: Signadou is a campus of the Australian Catholic University and St Mark's Theological College is a campus of Charles Sturt University. Tertiary level vocational education is also available through the multi-campus Canberra Institute of Technology.

The Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) and the Royal Military College, Duntroon (RMC) are in the suburb of Campbell in Canberra's inner northeast. ADFA teaches military undergraduates and postgraduates and is officially a campus of the University of New South Wales while Duntroon provides Australian Army Officer training.

See also

• Capital territory

References

1. ^ National Archives of Australia - Seat of Government Act 1908 (Cth)
2. ^ National Archives of Australia - Seat of Government Acceptance Act 1909 (Cth)
3. ^ National Archives of Australia - Seat of Government (Administration) Act 1910 (Cth)
4. ^ Parliament@Work - At a Glance Australian Capital Territory
5. ^ National Archives of Australia - Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 (Cth)
6. ^ ACT Heritage Register - Woolshed Creek Fossil Site
7. ^ Australian Heritage Database - State Circle Cutting
8. ^ National Trust of Australia - Deakin Anticline
9. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2005. Schools in the ACT
10. ^ ACT Department of Education and Training. 2005. Enrolments in ACT Schools 1995 to 2005
11. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2005. Education in the ACT

Australia
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

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