Australian Capital Territory
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| Chief Minister |
Jon Stanhope | ||||
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Area — Land — Marine — Total |
2 358 kmē (2432 including Jervis Bay) 0 kmē 2 358 kmē (2432 including Jervis Bay) | ||||
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Population: (2003) Density: |
308 700 137/kmē | ||||
| Time zone: | UTC+10 (except during daylight saving time—UTC+11) | ||||
| Highest point: | Bimberi Peak (1 912 m) | ||||
| ISO 3166-2 code: | AU-CT | ||||
| Floral emblem: | Royal Bluebell | ||||
| Faunal emblem: | Gang-gang cockatoo | ||||
Australian Capital Territory (ACT), chiefly the site of Canberra (population 308,700), Australia's capital city, is situated between the country's two largest and rival cities, Melbourne and Sydney.
The ACT is wholly surrounded by the state of New South Wales.
For administrative purposes, the ACT also incorporates Australia's uninhabited external territories. Attempts have also been made to incorporate Norfolk Island within the Australian Capital Territory for the purposes of representation in Federal Parliament.
The area and population is quite similar to the nation of Luxembourg but the pattern of settlement is very different.
In Australia's Federal Parliament, the ACT is represented by four members (two senatorss, and two members of the Australian House of Representatives). It is governed internally by a Ministry headed by a Chief Minister (currently Jon Stanhope, Australian Labor Party). 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 Federal Government.
Unlike other self-governing Australian territories (eg Norfolk Island, Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands), the ACT does not have an Administrator.
Tidbinbilla is a locality within the ACT, to the south-west of Canberra that features the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve and the site of the Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex (CDSCC), operated by NASA as part of its Deep Space Network. (Other stations are at Madrid (Spain) and Goldstone at Barstow, California.)
Apart from Canberra, there is some agricultural land (sheep, dairy cattle, some vineyards and a very small area of crops), and a large area of national park (Namadgi National Park), much of it mountainous and forested. Two small townships, Tharwa and Hall, are located in the territory.
The area now known as the ACT was inhabited by three Aboriginal tribes from about the 11th century onwards. These were the Ngunnawal, Walgalu and Ngarigo tribes.
White exploration and settlement there 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 future ACT.
One homestead of special historical interest was Lambrigg, near Tharwa. Thiswas 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, Melbourne and Sydney each wanted to become the capital. As a compromise, it was agreed that the capital would initially be Melbourne, until a new capital city could be built. When finally agreed, the Constitution specified that the new capital city would be located in territory taken from New South Wales, but be at least 100 statute miles from Sydney.
The present site was chosen in 1908, with additional territory at Jervis Bay (now a naval base on the NSW coast) allocated so the national capital could have a sea port. In 1911 an international competition was held, and Canberra was begun. The Federal Government officially moved there from Melbourne, with that city relinquishing the title of Capital City of Australia, on the formal opening of the Provisional Parliament House on 9 May 1927. At first the Public Service continued to be administered from Melbourne, but the various departments were gradually moved to Canberra over the years.
The territory was initially known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). In 1938, the territory was formally named the Australian Capital Territory.
It gained self-government in 1988.
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