Everything about South Australian totally explained
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 and with a total land area of, it's 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 per cent 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 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 would be allotted to the colony, and it would be convict-free. The plan for the colony was that it 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
December 28,
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
January 13,
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.
Geography
The terrain consists largely of arid and semi-arid rangelands, with several low mountain ranges in which the most important mountains are the
Mt Lofty-
Flinders Ranges system which extends north about from
Cape Jervis to the northern end of
Lake Torrens and salt lakes. The highest point in the state isn't in those ranges, but
Mount Woodroffe at in the
Musgrave Ranges in the extreme northwest of the state. The western portion of the state consists of the sparsely-inhabited
Nullarbor Plain fronting the cliffs of the
Great Australian Bight.
The principal industries and exports of South Australia are wheat, wine and wool. More than half of Australia's wines are produced here.
South Australia has boundaries with every other Australian state and territory except the
Australian Capital Territory and
Tasmania. The area now known as the
Northern Territory was annexed to South Australia in 1863, however it was handed over to the Federal government in 1911 and became a separate territory.
South Australia's south coast is flanked by the
Southern Ocean. Its mean temperature range is in January and in July. Daily temperatures in parts of the state in January & February can be up to .
Highest maximum temperature:,
Oodnadatta,
2 January 1960 (The highest official temperature recorded in Australia).
Lowest minimum temperature:,
Yongala,
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 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 (forecast 3.5% for 2006/2007). 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 $6.2bn. Private Residential Building Approvals experienced 80% growth over the year of 2006.
South Australia's economy includes the following major industries (Oct 2006 in AUD$M):
- Meat & Meat Preparations: 463.1
- Wheat: 487.5
- Wine: 1,482.2
- Wool & Sheepskins: 160
- Machinery: 379.5
- Metal & Metal Manufactures: 1,888.7
- Fish and Crustaceans: 316.1
- Road Vehicles, parts & accessories: 1,196.9
- Petroleum & products: 227.7
- Other & confidential: 2,393.6
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.
Government
South Australia is a
constitutional monarchy with the
Queen of Australia as the
head of state. 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 (the first was
Captain John Hindmarsh) held almost total power that he derived from the Letters Patent created by the Imperial Government to create the colony. He was only accountable to the British
Colonial Office and thus democracy didn't 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. 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 and 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 before seen in the British Empire and provided for manhood
suffrage. It created the bicameral
Parliament of South Australia and the two houses of parliament. 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.
Education
Education is compulsory for all children until the age of 16, however, the majority of students stay on to complete their
South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE). School education is the responsibility of the South Australian government, but the public and private education systems are funded jointly by it and the
Commonwealth Government. The South Australian Government provides, to schools on a per student basis, 89 percent of the total Government funding while the Commonwealth contributes 11 percent. Since the early 1970's it has been an ongoing controversy that 68 percent of Commonwealth funding (increasing to 75% by 2008) goes to private schools that are attended by 32% of the states students.
From
1 January 2009, the school leaving age will be raised to 17.
There are three universities in South Australia:
University of Adelaide,
Flinders University and
University of South Australia . All are based in Adelaide, and
Mount Gambier.
Carnegie Mellon University's
Heinz School and "Entertainment Technology Center" have campuses in Adelaide.
Tertiary vocational education is provided by
TAFE South Australia colleges throughout the state.
See
List of schools in South Australia for a list of and links to schools in South Australia.
Sport
Australian rules football is the most popular sport in South Australia.
(External Link
) The state has the highest participation rate of people taking part in Australian Football, with over 2.2% of the population aged 18 years and over participating in the sport. South Australia fields two teams, the
Adelaide Crows and
Port Adelaide Power in the
Australian Football League national competition. The
Adelaide Crows have a membership base of 50,000, higher than any of the other 15 teams in the competition. Both teams regularly draw large crowds. The
South Australian National Football League, which owns the dedicated Australian Football stadium
AAMI Stadium, is a popular local league comprising nine teams.
South Australia's
soccer team in the new
A-League is
Adelaide United. Basketball also has a big following in South Australia with the
Adelaide 36ers playing out an 8,070 seat stadium in Findon and winning four championships in the last 20 years in the
National Basketball League (Australia). South Australia also has a cricket team, the
Southern Redbacks, who play at Adelaide Oval in North Adelaide during the summer; however they've not won a title since 1996. The Redbacks currently have four players who hold a contract with
Cricket Australia.
Fifty Nine percent of children take part in organised sports. For boys, Soccer has the highest participation rate (22%) followed by
Swimming (16%). For girls
Netball is most popular (18%) followed by Swimming (16%).
Notable places
Further Information
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