South Australia
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For more information on South Australia, visit Britannica.com.
Australia's most important wine state, South Australia is located in the south central part of the country. It's bounded on the south by the Southern Ocean; on the east by the states of Queensland, new south wales and victoria on the west by the state of western australia and on the north by the Northern Territories. Its capital city is Adelaide, which contains more than two thirds of the state's population. South Australia's wine industry started in the late 1830s, and by the beginning of the twentieth century, it was becoming the dominant wine-producing state. Today, it produces between 45 and 55 percent of the nation's wines. It has over 150,000 acres of vineyards and is continuing to plant more each year, although recently the growth rate has slowed slightly. One distinct advantage for South Australia's wine industry is the fact that phylloxera hasn't infested the vineyards here as it has in some other states. And South Australia has an ongoing quarantine system to ensure that the vineyards remain phylloxera free. About two-thirds of the state's production is red wine. Using the Australian geographic indications system, South Australia officially has eight major zones and fifteen regions (although more are being approved all the time). Some 145 miles northeast of Adelaide lies the Lower Murray Zone, which contains the riverland region. This hot, irrigated region produces about 50 percent of South Australia's wines. The other remote zone (farthest from Adelaide in the state's southeast corner) is the Limestone Coast Zone. It contains well-known regions like coonawarra and padthaway, as well as some other regions (some quite new) like bordertown, mount benson, mount gambier, robe ranges and wrattonbully. Some of Australia's best cabernet sauvignon wines come from Coonawarra. A number of other zones surround Adelaide. Just to the northeast is the Barossa Zone, which includes the barossa valley and eden valley regions. The Barossa Valley, along with the hunter valley in New South Wales, is Australia's most famous wine region. Just south and slightly west of the Barossa Zone is the Mount Lofty Ranges Zone, which includes the clare valley, adelaide hills and Adelaide Plains regions. Father south is the Fleurieu Zone, whichincludes the regions of currency creek mclaren vale, langhorne creek, and Southern Fleurieu (all of which are located on the Fleurieu Peninsula), as well as the kangaroo island region, which lies 10 miles off the coast. Two other zones, The Peninsulas and Far North, do not have much viticultural activity at this point. The adelaide zone name can be used on labels for wines that include grapes from the following wine regions in the Adelaide area: Adelaide Hills, Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, Eden Valley, Langhorne Creek, and McLaren Vale. In addition, South Australia grapes can make their way into wines under the gigantic region called south eastern australia that covers three states and parts of two others.
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| Slogan or Nickname: Festival State | |||||
Other Australian states and territories |
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| Capital | Adelaide | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Government | Constitutional monarchy | ||||
| Governor | Kevin Scarce | ||||
| Premier | Mike Rann (ALP) | ||||
| Federal representation | |||||
| - House seats | 11 | ||||
| - Senate seats | 12 | ||||
| Gross State Product (2004-05) | |||||
| - Product ($m) | $59,819 (5th) | ||||
| - Product per capita | $38,838/person (7th) | ||||
| Population (Census 2006) | |||||
| - Population | 1,514,337 (5th) | ||||
| - Density | 1.49/km² (6th) /sq mi |
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| Area | |||||
| - Total | km² (4th) sq mi |
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| - Land | km² sq mi |
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| - Water | km² (5.75%) sq mi |
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| Elevation | |||||
| - Highest | Mt. Woodroffe 1,435 m (4,708 ft) |
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| - Lowest | Lake Eyre -16 m (-52 ft) |
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| Time zone | [[UTC+9:30]] (+10:30 DST) | ||||
| Abbreviations | |||||
| - Postal | SA | ||||
| - ISO 3166-2 | AU-SA | ||||
| Emblems | |||||
| - Faunal | Hairy-Nosed Wombat Lasiorhinus latifrons) |
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| - Bird | Piping Shrike | ||||
| - Floral | Sturt's Desert Pea (Swainsona Formosa) |
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| - Aquatic | Leafy Seadragon (Phycodurus eques) |
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| - Gem | Opal | ||||
| - Colour | Red, Blue, Gold | ||||
| Web site | www.sa.gov.au | ||||
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
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 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.
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 square kilometres ( sq mi) 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 first place in the world to grant universal suffrage where women had the dual rights to vote and to stand for election.[2]
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 800 kilometres (500 mi) from Cape Jervis to the northern end of Lake Torrens and salt lakes. The highest point in the state is not in those ranges, but Mount Woodroffe at 1,435 metres (4,708 ft) in the Musgrave Ranges in the extreme northwest of the state.[3] The western portion of the state consists of the sparsely-inhabited Nullarbor Plain fronting the cliffs of the Great Australian Bight.
The principle 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 29 °C in January and 15 °C in July. Daily temperatures in parts of the state in January & February can be up to 48 °C.
Highest maximum temperature: 50.7 °C (123.3 °F), Oodnadatta, 2 January 1960 (The highest official temperature recorded in Australia).
Lowest minimum temperature: -8.0 °C (17.2 °F), Yongala, 20 July 1976[4]
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 and defence technology (2.1% of GSP, 2002-2003). 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):
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. [5]
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 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.[6] 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 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[7] that 68 percent of Commonwealth funding (increasing to 75% by 2008) goes to private schools that are attended by 32% of the states students. [8]
From January 1 2009, the school leaving age will be raised to 17.[9]
There are three universities in South Australia: University of Adelaide, Flinders University and the University of South Australia. All are based in Adelaide, although the University of South Australia also has campuses in Whyalla and Mount Gambier.[10] Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz School and "Entertainment Technology Center" have campuses in Adelaide.[11]
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.
Australian rules football is the most popular sport in South Australia [1]. 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.[12] South Australia fields 2 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,[13] 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 4 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 have 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%)[14].
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Main Highways: |
| South Australia | |
|---|---|
| Topics | History · Government · Flag · Rail transport · Geography · Country Fire Service |
| Regions | Adelaide Hills · Barossa Valley · Clare Valley · Eyre Peninsula · Fleurieu Peninsula · Flinders Ranges · Limestone Coast · Mid North · Nullarbor Plain · Riverland · Yorke Peninsula |
| Cities | Adelaide · Port Augusta · Mount Gambier · Murray Bridge · Port Lincoln · Port Pirie · Victor Harbor · Whyalla |
| Government of South Australia | |
|---|---|
| Executive:
Monarchy | Governor |
Premier | Police
Legislative: Parliament | House of Assembly | MHAs | Electoral districts | Legislative Council | MLCs State elections: Pre 1965 - 1965 - 1968 - 1970 - 1973 - 1975 - 1977 - 1979 - 1982 - 1985 - 1989 - 1993 - 1997 - 2002 - 2006 Judicial: High Court of Australia - Supreme Court - District Court - Magistrates' Court - Coroner's Court |
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| States and territories of 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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中文(简体) (Chinese (Simplified))
南澳大利亚
中文(繁體) (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 南澳大利亞
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Copyrights:
![]() | Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/ Read more | |
![]() | Wine Lover's Companion. Wine Lover's Companion. Copyright © 2003 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "South Australia". Read more | |
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