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, a point of contention between the colonies was the location of the national capital, with both
Melbourne and
Sydney claiming the right to be the capital. A compromise was reached whereby a separate capital city would be created in New South Wales, provided it was no closer than 100 miles to Sydney. Until such time as the new city was established, Melbourne was to be the temporary capital of Australia.
The present site was chosen in 1908
[National Archives of Australia - Seat of Government Act 1908 (Cth)], with additional territory at
Jervis Bay (now a naval base on the NSW coast) allocated so the national capital could have a seaport. In 1909 New South Wales transferred the land for the territory to federal control and in 1910 an act of parliament created the legal framework for the territory
[National Archives of Australia - Seat of Government Acceptance Act 1909 (Cth)][National Archives of Australia - Seat of Government (Administration) Act 1910 (Cth)]. The Minister for Home Affairs,
King O'Malley, who had charge of the legislation creating the ACT, also proposed a bill making the ACT an alcohol-free area. With his strong support, the bill became law later that year. O'Malley also pushed for a form of land tenure that restricted land holders to
leasehold, rather than
freehold, on the basis that this would stop land speculation and give the national government, as the lessor, more control over development. This too was adopted by the national Parliament. As of
2006 all land in the ACT is held on 99 year crown leases.
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 seat of 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 first acts passed by the parliament in its new location 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 many years.
The territory was initially known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). In 1938, the territory was formally named the Australian Capital Territory.
In a 1978 referendum, Canberrans rejected self-government by 63% of the vote
[Parliament@Work - At a Glance Australian Capital Territory]. Despite this, 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
[National Archives of Australia - Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 (Cth)]. 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.
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Location of the ACT and Jervis Bay |
Apart from the city of
Canberra, the Australian Capital Territory also contains agricultural land (
sheep,
dairy cattle,
vineyards and small amounts 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 to the south-west of Canberra that features the
Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve and 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 gained 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.
Highest maximum temperature: 42.2 °C (108.0 °F),
Canberra,
1 February 1968Lowest minimum temperature: -10.0 °C (14.0 °F),
Canberra,
11 July 1971Geology
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 were 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.
[ACT Heritage Register - Woolshed Creek Fossil Site] Other specific geological places of interest include the State Circle cutting and the Deakin anticline.
[Australian Heritage Database - State Circle Cutting][National Trust of Australia - Deakin Anticline]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.
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The ACT Legislative Assembly building |
The ACT has internal self-government, but it does not have the full legislative independence of the Australian states. It is governed by a Ministry headed by a Chief Minister (currently
Jon Stanhope, ). 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 Governor-General (effectively the national government) under section 35 of the Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988. (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 (e.g.
Norfolk Island,
Northern Territory), the ACT does not have an Administrator. The Crown is represented by the
Governor-General of Australia in the government of the ACT. The Chief-Minister performs the role that a state governor normally holds in the context of a state. The Chief-Minister signs laws, appoints judges and summons meetings of the Territory Assembly.
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. The Member for Fraser and the ACT Senators also represent the (small number of) voters from the
Jervis Bay Territory.
In the 2001 census the population of the ACT was 311,947, of which only 429 were outside Canberra. The ACT median weekly income for people aged over 15 was in the range $500-$599 while the population living outside 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.
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ANU school of art, originally built as Canberra High School |
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 referred 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.
[Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2005. Schools in the ACT] In 2005 there where 60,275 students in the ACT school system. 59.3% of the students where enrolled in government 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.
[ACT Department of Education and Training. 2005. Enrolments in ACT Schools 1995 to 2005]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%.
[Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2005. Education in the ACT] 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.
The
Academy of Interactive Entertainment (AIE) offers courses in computer game development and 3D animation.
