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South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of 983,482 square kilometres (379,725 sq mi), it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories. It is bordered to the west by Western Australia, to the north by the Northern Territory and Queensland, to the east by Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, and along the south by the Great Australian Bight and the Southern Ocean.

With nearly 1.6 million people, the state comprises less than 10% of the Australian population and ranks fifth in population among the states and territories. The majority of its people reside in the state capital, Adelaide, with most of the remainder settled in fertile areas along the south-eastern coast and River Murray. The state's origins were unique in Australia as a freely-settled, planned British province rather than a convict settlement. Official settlement began on 28 December 1836, when the state was proclaimed at The Old Gum Tree by Governor John Hindmarsh. The first city/town to be established was Kingscote, Kangaroo Island, established in 1836.

The guiding principle behind settlement was that of systematic colonisation, a theory espoused by Edward Gibbon Wakefield that was later employed by the New Zealand Company. The aim was to establish the province as a centre of civilisation for free immigrants, promising civil liberties and religious tolerance. Although its history is marked by economic hardship, South Australia has remained politically innovative and culturally vibrant. Today, the state is known as a state of festivals and of fine wine. The state's economy centres on the agricultural, manufacturing and mining industries and has an increasingly significant finance sector as well.

History

The first recorded European sighting of the South Australian coast was in 1627 when the Dutch ship the Gulden Zeepaert, skippered by Francois Thijssen, examined the coastline. Thijssen named his discovery "Pieter Nuyts Land", after the highest ranking individual on board. The coastline of South Australia was first mapped by Matthew Flinders and Nicolas Baudin in 1802. Baudin referred to the land as "Terre Napoléon". In 1834, the British Parliament passed the South Australia Act 1834, which enabled the province of South Australia to be established. The act stated that 802,511 square kilometres (309,851 sq mi) would be allotted to the colony and it would be convict-free. The plan for the colony was that it would be the ideal embodiment of the best qualities of British society, that is, no religious discrimination or unemployment. Settlement of nine vessels and 636 people was temporarily made at Kingscote on Kangaroo Island, until the official site of the colony was selected where Adelaide is currently located. The first immigrants arrived at Holdfast Bay (near the present day Glenelg) in November 1836, and the colony was proclaimed on 28 December 1836, now known as Proclamation Day. South Australia is the only Australian state to be settled entirely by free settlers. The current flag of South Australia was adopted on 13 January 1904, and is a British blue ensign defaced with the state badge. The badge is described as a Piping Shrike with wings outstretched on a yellow disc. The state badge is believed to have been designed by Robert Craig of the Adelaide School of Arts. South Australia granted restricted women's suffrage in 1861, and in 1894 became the second place in the world to grant universal suffrage (after New Zealand) where women had the dual rights to vote and to stand for election.[3]

Climate

Its mean temperature range is 29 °C (84 °F) in January and 15 °C (59 °F) in July. Daily temperatures in parts of the state in January and February can be up to 48 °C (118 °F). The highest maximum temperature was recorded as 50.7 °C (123.3 °F) at Oodnadatta on 2 January 1960, which is the highest official temperature recorded in Australia. The lowest minimum temperature was -8 °C (17.6 °F) at Yongala on 20 July 1976

Economy

The manufacturing industry plays a very important role in South Australia's economy, generating 15% of the state's Gross State Product (GSP) and playing a large part in exports. The manufacturing industry consists of automotive (44% of total Australian production, 2006) and component manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, defence technology (2.1% of GSP, 2002-2003) and electronic systems (3.0% of GSP in 2006). South Australia's economy relies on exports more than any other state in Australia. Export earnings stand at AUD$10 billion worth per year and grew by 8.8% from 2002 to 2003. Production of South Australian food and drink (including agriculture, horticulture, aquaculture, fisheries and manufacturing) is a $10 billion industry. South Australia's economic growth has lagged behind the rest of Australia for some time (2.1% from 2002 to 2003), but performance seems to be improving. South Australia's credit rating was upgraded to AAA+, having lost it in the State Bank collapse. South Australia's Gross State Product was AUD$48.9 billion starting 2004, making it AUD$32,996 per capita. Exports for 2006 were valued at $9.0bn with imports at $6.2bn. Private Residential Building Approvals experienced 80% growth over the year of 2006. South Australia's economy includes the following major industries: meat and meat preparations, wheat, wine, wool and sheepskins, machinery,metal and metal manufactures, fish and crustaceans, road vehicles and parts, and petroleum products. Other industries, such as education and defence technology, are of growing importance. South Australia receives the least amount of federal funding for its local road network than any other state on a per capita or per kilometre basis.

South Australia possesses the world's single largest known deposit of uranium, at the Olympic Dam mine. Olympic Dam contains 40% of the world's known uranium reserves. The Olympic Dam mine is also the world's fourth largest remaining copper deposit, and the world's fifth largest gold deposit.

Government

South Australia is a constitutional monarchy with the Queen of Australia as Sovereign, and the Governor of South Australia as her representative.[7] It is a state of the Commonwealth of Australia. Its bicameral parliament consists of a House of Assembly (lower house) and a Legislative Council (upper house), with legislative elections held every four years. The current Premier of South Australia is Mike Rann, a member of the Australian Labor Party. Initially, the Governor of South Australia held almost total power, derived from the Letters Patent of the Imperial Government to create the colony. He was only accountable to the British Colonial Office, and thus democracy did not exist in the colony.

A new body was created to advise the governor on the administration of South Australia in 1843 called the Legislative Council.[8] It consisted of three representatives of the British Government and four colonists appointed by the governor. The governor retained total executive power. In 1851, the Imperial Parliament enacted the Australian Colonies Government Act which allowed for the election of representatives to each of the colonial legislatures and the drafting of a Constitution to properly create representative and responsible Government in South Australia. Later that year, wealthy male colonists were allowed to vote for 16 members on a new 24 seat Legislative Council. Eight members continued to be appointed by the governor. The main responsibility of this body was to draft a Constitution for South Australia.

The body drafted the most democratic constitution ever seen in the British Empire and provided for manhood suffrage. It created the bicameral Parliament of South Australia. For the first time in the colony, the executive was elected by the people and the colony used the Westminster system, where the government is the party or coalition that exerts a majority in the House of Assembly.

In 1894, South Australia was the first Australian colony to allow women to vote and it had the first Parliament in the world to allow women to be elected as members. Catherine Helen Spence was the first woman in Australia to be a candidate for political office when she nominated to be one of South Australia's delegates to the constitutional conventions that drafted the Constitution. South Australia became an original state of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901.

This page has been sited from wikipedia.org