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The States and Territories of Australia

     Kangaroo flag in Australias traditional colours green and yellow                  
                                                                                   
     
   
                 
 

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Australian flagAboriginal flag
  • A little over 200 years ago Australia was sparsely inhabited by the aboriginal people. In 1788 the first European settlers arrived in the First Fleet. From that small party we now have a population of around 18 million.

    The 1996 census showed there are 17,892,423 people in Australia on census night, an increase of 6.2% from the 1991 figures.
    The population is ageing with an average age of 34 years, with 12.1% aged 65 years and over.
    Of all people, 73.9% were Australian born and of those born elsewhere, 36.2% came from the United Kingdom. New Zealand or Ireland, with the majority of the remainder coming from Italy, Vietnam, Greece, China and Germany. People of aboriginal descent increased by a third from 265,458 in 1991 to 352,970. Of these, over half, 55.8%,were counted in New South Wales and Queensland. In the Northern Territory the indigenous proportion of the population was 23.7%.
    The average wage for people 15 years and over was $292.00, up from $268.00 in 1991.
    Around 40% of the occupied dwellings in Australia are owned by their occupants with 25.5% being purchased and 28.7% rented.
    There are more women (50.5%) than men (49.5%) in all areas except the Northern Territory.
    These figures were obtained from a news-sheet issued from the Bureau of Statistics home page. (See Below)

  • AUSTRALIAN POPULATION BY STATE
    The figures below show all persons living in the Australian States and Territories at census time in 1996. There is also a projected list from the Bureau of Statistics for the year 2050.
    STATE 1986 1990 1992 1996 2050
    Projected
    A.C.T Canberra 259,000 282,000 295,000 308,000 483,000
    New South Wales 5,532,000 5,834,000 5,961,000 6,204,000 8,446,000
    Northern Territory 154,000 164,000 168,000 182,000 293,000
    Queensland 2,625,000 2,899,000 3,029,000 3,339,000 6,395,000
    South Australia 1,383,000 1,432,000 1,457,000 1,474,000 1,610,000
    Tasmania 446,000 462,000 470,000 475,000 449,000
    Victoria 4,161,000 4,379,000 4,455,000 4,561,000 5,250,000
    Western Australia 1,383,000 1,432,000 1,457,000 1,474,000 1,610,000



    Bureau of Statistics Home Page

    THE GEOGRAPHY OF AUSTRALIA

    Australia is the earth's largest island and its smallest continent.

    The mainland comprises 5 states and 2 territories. The sixth state, Tasmania, is 200 kilometres south of Victoria and separated from the mainland by Bass Strait.
    To the east, Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands are governed from Australia, as is the Antarctic holding based around Mawson.
    It is the driest continent on earth with around 1/3rd considered desert. It is approximately 3,700 km. long (north to south) and 4,000 kilometres wide.
    The mainland section is roughly divided in the east by the Great Dividing Range which lies inland from the eastern seaboard and runs from the Cape York Peninsula in Queensland to Melbourne in Victoria. Included in the range is Australia's highest peak, Mount Kosciusko (2,229 metres) near the New South Wales-Victoria border in the snow capped alpine region of the Great Dividing Range.
    West of the dividing range the land is mainly flat with a few low ranges including the Flinders Ranges in South Australia and the MacDonnell Ranges near Alice Springs.
    The centre of the continent is mainly desert and sparsely populated. Around 80% of the Australian population lives within the eastern seaboard or the coastal fringes of the continent.
    Massive salt lakes, often dry for long periods, will be found in the mid-north of South Australia and these are fed by a large river system which carries water for hundreds of kilometres to fill them. The largest of these, Lake Eyre (9,475 sq km.), was filled this year (1994) for the first time in over a decade. What water does not evaporate from these lakes is fed into the Central Australian Artesian Basin, a vast natural underground series of aquifers from which occasional springs bubble in the most remote desert areas, and from which Alice Springs draws its water supply.

  • AUSTRALIAN STATE DETAILS
    The figures below show the area, coastline and border length of all Australian states and the islands off their shores.
    STATE Total main- land
    Area (sq km.)    		 Island
    Area    		 Coastline (km) Borders (km)
    Australia 7,659,861 32,163 59,736 N/A
    A.C.T Canberra 2,358 none none 327
    New South Wales 800,628 14 2,137 4,635
    Northern Territory 1,335,742 13,387 10,953 3,179
    Queensland 1,723,936 6,712 13,347 3,339
    South Australia 978,810 4,672 5,067 3,185
    Tasmania 64,519 3,882 4,882 none
    Victoria 227,010 406 2,512 2,541
    Western Australia 2,526,786 3,089 20,781 1,862


  • EXTERNAL TERRITORIES
    External Territories are those remote from the mainland Australia and governed by it.

    TERRITORY Total Area (sq km.)
    Australian Antarctic Territory 6,100,000
    Coral Sea Islands Territory 780,000
    Territory of Heard and MacDonald Islands 370
    Christmas Island 135
    Macquarie Island (Administered by Tasmania) 128
    Norfolk Island 35
    Lord Howe Island (Administered by N.S.W.) 15
    Cocos (Keeling) Islands 14
    Ashmore and Cartier Islands 2


  • SOME INTERESTING FACTS AND STATISTICS
    Some of the highest, lowest, oddest and interesting facts about Australia.
  • Highest Mountain: Mainland: Mount Kosciuszco 2,229 metres. The highest point is Mawson Peak on Heard Island at 2,754 m.
  • Australia is the lowest continent in the world with an average of only 330 metres. and the lowest point is Lake Eyre in South Australia at 15 m. below sea level.
  • The most southerly mainland point is South Point, on Wilson's Promontory south of Melbourne. South East Point in Tasmania is the most southerly point of the main continent excluding the Antarctic.
  • The longest river is the Murray River and its tributary the Darling River, which joins it at Wentworth in the south-west corner of New South Wales. Together totalling 3,370 km. their drainage basin comprises more then 1 million square kilometres or around 14% of Australia.
  • The largest state is Western Australia with an area of over 2.5 million square kilometres. The largest island is Australia itself, followed by Tasmania, but offshore the largest is Melville Island of 5,786 sq km. near Darwin.
  • The smallest state is Tasmania.
  • The hottest temperature recorded in Australia was 53 degrees celsius at Cloncurry in Queensland in 1889.
  • The coldest temperature recorded was at Charlottes Pass in the snowfields of the Great Dividing Range near Mt. Kosciuszko of -23 degrees celsius in 1994.
  • The highest rainfall ever in Australia was 907mm. of rain at Crohamhust in Queensland on February 1893. The highest average rainfall recorded was at Bellenden Ker in Queensland where 11,251 mm. fell in 1979.
  • The driest place in Australia is Lake Eyre with an average annual rainfall of less than 125mm.
  • The most extreme range of temperature has been recorded at White Cliffs, an opal mining centre in Western New South Wales with extremes of 57.2 degrees between below-zero winter nights and hot summer days.
    •

    German flagAustralien ist das einzige Land der Erde, daß sich über einen ganzen Kontinent erstreckt. Inklusive Tasmanien und vorgelagerter Inseln ist Australien knapp 7.700.000 qkm groß. Dies entspricht etwa der Fläche der USA ohne Alaska oder 20 mal der Fläche Deutschlands. Flächenmäßig rangiert Australien auf Platz 6 in der Welt. Die Küstenlinie Australiens beträgt etwa 37.500 km. Australien ist wahrlich ein Land der Superlative. Von West nach Ost (Perth - Sydney) sind es etwa 4.000 km Luftlinie (von 114 Grad bis 153 Grad östlicher Lange). Von Nord nach Süd (mit Tasmanien) sind es etwa 3.700 km Luftlinie (von 10 Grad bis 44 Grad südlicher Breite).

    Mit einer Bevölkerung von nur 18 Mio. ist Australien recht dünn besiedelt. Statistisch gesehen sind es nur knapp über 2 Einwohner pro qkm (Deutschland 218 Einwohner pro qkm). Knapp 60 % der 18 Mio. Einwohner leben in den fünf großen Städten: Sydney (4 Mio.), Melbourne (3 Mio.), Brisbane (1,2 Mio.), Perth (1,2 Mio.), Adelaide (1 Mio.). Weitere wichtige große Städte: Hobart, die Hauptstadt Tasmaniens (300.000), Canberra, die Bundeshauptstadt und einzige der genannten Städte, die nicht am Meer liegt (300.000). Der größte Teil der Bevölkerung Australiens lebt im fruchtbaren Südosten des Kontinents.

    Australien ist ein ganzjähriges Reiseziel.

    Der Norden ist tropisch. Beste Reisezeit ist die Trockenzeit (etwa April bis November). Während der Regenzeit fallen sehr ergiebige Niederschläge (Monsum), die temporär das Fortkommen unmöglich machen können. Während der Regenzeit und die erste Zeit danach ist das Baden im Meer in küstennahen Bereichen wegen der Würfelqualle (box jelly fish) nicht möglich (Lebensgefahr!). Der tropische Norden ist auch Verbreitungsgebiet der Salzwasserkrokodile. Vorsicht ist wegen der Salzwasserkrokodile ganzjährig vor allem in und an den Unterläufen der Flüße geboten.

    Der Süden hat ausgeprägte Jahreszeiten. Die Sommer (Dezember bis Februar) sind im allgemeinen wärmer als in Deutschland. Oktober, November und März, April sind ebenfalls gute Reisezeiten für den Süden.

    Das Zentrum ist sehr trocken. In den australieschen Sommermonaten kann es extrem heiß werden. In den Wintermonaten kann die Nachttemperatur unter den Gefrierpunkt fallen.

    Internationale Airports: Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Darwin, Brisbane, Cairns

    Flugzeit: ca. 16 (Darwin) bis 21 Stunden, zzgl. Zwischenlandung, auf der Asienroute in Singapur, Bangkok oder Hongkong.

    Australien wird von vielen renomierten Fluggesellschaften angeflogen: z.B. Qantas (die wichtigste Fluggesellschaft Australiens, täglich z.B. ab Frankfurt), Air New Zealand (Route über die USA), Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific. Je nach Saison kostet ein Flugticket mit einer dieser Airlines in der Touristenklasse zwischen DM 1.800,00 und DM 2.700,00.

    Australia

                                                                                       
    * number of pictures / Bilderanzahl
    Information about:
    Western Australia (10*)
    Northern Territory (8*)
    South Australia (3*)
    Queensland (6*)
    New South Wales (8*)
    Victoria (5*)
    Tasmania (6*)
    ACT (5*)
                                                                                       

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