South Australia

(Flag) (Coat of Arms)
Motto: "United for the Common Wealth"
Nickname: Festival State
Other Australian states and territories
Capital	Adelaide
Government Governor Premier	Const. monarchy Marjorie Jackson-Nelson Mike Rann (ALP)
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	1,043,514 km² (4th) 983,482 km² 60,032 km² (5.75%)
Population (2003)  - Population  - Density	1,526,301 (5th) 2/km² (6th)
Gross State Product (2001-02)  - Product ($m)  - Product per capita	$45,765 (5th) $30,136/person (7th)
Time zone	UTC+9.30 (+10:30 DST)
Federal representation  - House seats  - Senate seats	11 12
Elevation  - Highest  - Lowest	Mt. Woodrooffe +1,435 m Lake Eyre -16 m
Abreviations  - Postal  - ISO 3166-2	SA AU-SA
Website	www.sa.gov.au

South Australia is a state of Australia, in the southern central part of the country, along the Southern Ocean. It covers an area of 984 377 km² (380 070 square miles). South Australia is known as both the Festival State and the Wine State and its capital is Adelaide. South Australia became a British province in 1836 and joined the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. The state's population is approximately 1.53 million (2004) and most of those reside in the fertile coastal areas and in the valley of the Murray River. File links The following pages link to this file: South Australia Flag of South Australia Flags of the Australian states and territories Wikipedia:Australian Wikipedians notice board Peterborough, South Australia User:ScottDavis Light Regional Council District Council of Mount Barker User:Cyberjunkie/Contributions/Random Template talk:Australia state or territory... official emblem, fair use This image depicts a seal, an emblem, a coat of arms or a crest. ... Flag Ratio: 1:2 The current state flag of South Australia, a state of Australia, was officially adopted in 1904. ... The 1936 Coat-of-Arms The original Coat of Arms of South Australia was granted by His Majesty King Edward VIII on the 100th anniversary of South Australias foundation on November 20, 1936. ... A motto is a phrase or collection of words intended to describe the motivation or intention of a sociological grouping or organization. ... The following is a list of Australian state and territory nicknames. ... File links The following pages link to this file: South Australia List of South Australian highways User:Cyberjunkie/Contributions/Random Template talk:Australia state or territory Categories: GFDL images ... The Australian states and territories comprise the Commonwealth of Australia under a federal system of government. ... In politics a capital (also called capital city or political capital — although the latter phrase has an alternative meaning based on an alternative meaning of capital) is the principal city or town associated with its government. ... Adelaide is the capital city of the Australian state of South Australia. ... See Governors of the Australian states for a description and history of the office of Governor. ... This is a list of Premiers of South Australia. ... A constitutional monarchy is a form of government established under a constitutional system which acknowledges a hereditary or elected monarch as head of state. ... Marjorie Jackson (born September 13, 1931 in Coffs Harbour) is an Australian athlete and the current Governor of South Australia under the name of Marjorie Jackson Nelson. ... Hon. ... The Australian Labor Party or ALP is Australias oldest political party. ... List of Australian states and territories by area Total area Land area Water area Categories: Lists of subnational entities | Geography of Australia | Australian states and territories ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Population density can be used as a measurement of any tangible item. ... Time zones are areas of the Earth that have adopted the same standard time, usually referred to as the local time. ... UTC also stands for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Coordinated Universal Time or UTC, also sometimes referred to as Zulu time, the basis for civil time, differs by an integral number of seconds from atomic time and a fractional number of seconds from UT1. ... Daylight saving time (also called DST, or Summer time) is the portion of the year in which a regions local time is advanced by (usually) one hour from its standard official time. ... Parliament House, Canberra The Parliament of Australia is a bicameral parliament consisting of the Queen of Australia, the House of Representatives (the lower house) and the Senate (the upper house or house of review). Section 1 of the Constitution of Australia provides that: The legislative power of the Commonwealth shall... Australian House of Representatives chamber The House of Representatives is one of the two houses (chambers) of the Parliament of Australia. ... Australian Senate chamber Entrance to the Senate The Australian Senate is the upper of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia. ... Elevation has several related meanings: Geography The elevation of a geographic location is its height above mean sea level (or possibly some other fixed point). ... Mount Woodroffe (26°19′ S 131°44′ E) is South Australias highest peak, at 1,435 metres. ... Composite Satellite image of Lake Eyre using shortwave infrared, near-infrared, and blue wavelengths. ... ISO 3166-2 is the second part of the ISO 3166 standard. ... To help compare orders of magnitude of different geographical regions, we list here surface areas between 100,000 km² and 1,000,000 km². See also areas of other orders of magnitude. ... Square kilometre (US spelling: Square kilometer), symbol km², is an SI unit of surface area. ... Adelaide is the capital city of the Australian state of South Australia. ... 1836 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1901 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... A branch of the Murray in its middle reaches, near Howlong, New South Wales. ...

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. Events A Dutch ship makes the first recorded sighting of the coast of South Australia. ... Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 - 19 July 1814) was one of the most accomplished navigators and chartmakers of his age. ... Nicolas-Thomas Baudin (February 17, 1754 - September 16, 1803) was a French explorer. ... 1802 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

However, South Australia was only established as a commercial venture in 1831 by the South Australia Company through the sale of land to free settlers. This differed from other Australian states, which were either established as penal colonies or made use of convict labour. It is for this reason that South Australia was legally established as a "province" of Great Britain, as opposed to a colony [1]. Commonly, South Australia was simply referred to as a "colony" and its history during this era is referred to as the "colonial" period. Colonisation of South Australia was largely driven by Edward Gibbon Wakefield, who developed a 'theory of colonisation' and George Fife Angas, the largest landowner in the new colony. 1831 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... The Australian states and territories comprise the Commonwealth of Australia under a federal system of government. ... This article is about political regions. ... Edward Gibbon Wakefield (1796 - May 16, 1862) was the driving force behind much of the early colonization of New Zealand. ...

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 800 kilometres from Cape Jervis to the northern end of Lake Torrens and salt lakes. The western portion of the state consists of the sparsely-inhabited Nullarbor Plain. The principal industries and export of South Australia are wheat, wine and wool. More than half of Australia's wines are produced here. Flinders Ranges is a national park in South Australia (Australia), 384 km north of Adelaide. ... Cape Jervis is a town at the southwestern tip of Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia at 35°36′ S 138°06′ E, approximately 108 km south of Adelaide. ... Lake Torrens National Park in South Australia (Australia), is located 431 km north of Adelaide. ... NASA - Visible Earth, Nullarbor. ...

South Australia has boundaries with every other contiguous Australian state and territory except the Australian Capital Territory. The Northern Territory was originally the Northern Territory of South Australia, becoming a separate territory in 1911. 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 can be up to 48°C. Motto: Pro Rege, Lege et Grege (For the Queen, the Law and the People) Nickname: (none) Other Australian states and territories Capital Canberra Government Administrator Chief Minister Const. ... Motto: None Nickname: ? Other Australian states and territories Capital Darwin Government Administrator Chief Minister Const. ... The degree Celsius (°C or ℃ (Unicode 0x2103)) is a unit of temperature named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius (1701–1744), who first proposed a similar system in 1742. ...

Economy

Satellite image of eastern South Australia, note the dry lakes (white patches) on the north

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 is made up of automotive and component manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and defence technology. South Australia's economy relies on export more than any other state in Australia, which stands at AUD$10 billion worth per year, which grew by 8.8% from 2002 to 2003. Download high resolution version (722x1354, 112 KB)Eastern South Australia, the image is slightly too short to include the northern border. ... Download high resolution version (722x1354, 112 KB)Eastern South Australia, the image is slightly too short to include the northern border. ... Pharmacology (in Greek: pharmacon is drug, and logos is science) is the study of how chemical substances interfere with living systems. ...

South Australia's economic growth has lagged behind the rest of Australia for some time (grew by 2.1% from 2002 to 2003), but performance seems to be improving (grew by 4.3% in 2003/2004). South Australia's credit rating was recently 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. A credit rating agency is a company that rates the ability of a person or company to pay back a loan. ... The State Bank of South Australia was a bank owned by the Government of South Australia. ... Au. ... Au. ...

South Australia's economy is made of the following industries:

• Services - 66.7%
• Manufacturing - 14.2%
• Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing - 4.5%
• Mining - 2.2%
• Other - 10.7%

Government

Main article: Government of South Australia The form of the Government of South Australia is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1856, although it has been amended many times since then. ...

South Australia is a constitutional monarchy with the Queen of Australia as the head of state. Its bicameral parliament is made up of a House of Assembly (lower house) and a Legislative Council (upper house). The current Premier of South Australia is Mike Rann, a member of the Australian Labor Party. A constitutional monarchy is a form of government established under a constitutional system which acknowledges a hereditary or elected monarch as head of state. ... Though a term originally coined for Republican presidents, a head of state or chief of state is now universally known as the chief public representative of a nation-state, federation or commonwealth, whose role generally includes personifying the continuity and legitimacy of the state and exercising the political powers, functions... The debating chamber or hemicycle of the European Parliament in Brussels. ... The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of parliament in the Australian state of South Australia. ... The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of parliament in the Australian state of South Australia. ... This is a list of Premiers of South Australia. ... Hon. ... The Australian Labor Party or ALP is Australias oldest political 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 was created in 1843 called the Legislative Council. It was made up of three representatives of the British Government and four colonists appointed by the Governor. The Governor retained total executive power. Captain John Hindmarsh, KH, RN was the first Governor of South Australia, from 28 December 1836 to 16 July 1838. ... 1843 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

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. 1852 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

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 the 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. The Parliament of South Australia consists of the Governor of South Australia, the South Australian Legislative Council and the South Australian House of Assembly. ... The Westminster System is a democratic system of government modelled after that of the United Kingdom system, as used in the Palace of Westminster, the location of the UK parliament. ... 1894 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Catherine Helen Spence ( 31 October 1825 – 3 April 1910) was an Australian teacher, journalist, politician and leading suffragette. ... January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... 1901 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

The flag of South Australia was adopted on January 13, 1904; it is a British Blue Ensign faced with the state badge. The badge is described as a piping shrike with wings outstretched on a yellow disc. While the term piping shrike in scientific circles is unknown it is colloqiually referred to as the piping shrike in South Australia. It's more widely accepted name is the Magpie-lark. The state badge is believed to have been designed by Robert Craig of the Adelaide School of Arts. January 13 is the 13th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1904 is a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Binomial name Grallina cyanoleuca (Latham, 1802) The Magpie-lark (Grallina cyanoleuca) is a conspicuous Australian bird of small to medium size, also known as the Mudlark in Victoria and South Australia and the Peewee in New South Wales and Queensland. ...

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). It is the responsibility of the South Australian government, and Adelaide's public and private education-systems are funded jointly by it and the Commonwealth Government. The South Australia Government provides 89 percent of the total Government funding and the Commonwealth Government 11 percent. 58 percent of the overall amount goes to non-government schools, the theory being that the price of private education will be reduced and accessible to a larger portion of the population, in practice this often hasn't been the case. The issue was raised in the 2004 Federal election but has died down in the meantime. SACE logo The South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) is the credential given to students who have completed Year 11 and Year 12 of their secondary schooling, in the state of South Australia, Australia. ... Australia is a constitutional monarchy, a federation and a parliamentary democracy. ...

Places in South Australia

South Australian cities, towns, settlements and road network

Coopers Creek is one of the most famous and yet least visited rivers in Australia. ... The Marne River (34°42′ S 139°34′ E) is the major tributary from the eastern Mount Lofty Ranges into the Murray River in South Australia. ... A branch of the Murray in its middle reaches, near Howlong, New South Wales. ... Port River is a river that runs through Port Adelaide, a part of the capital of South Australia, Adelaide. ... Categories: Australia geography stubs | Adelaide ...

See also

• Adelaide
• Towns in South Australia
• Cities in South Australia
• Local Government Areas of South Australia
• List of South Australian highways
• List of cities and towns in South Australia
• Proclamation Day: December 28, 1836

Adelaide is the capital city of the Australian state of South Australia. ... This is a list of Local Government Areas of South Australia. ... South Australia General highways map of South Australia Highways of south eastern South Australia South Australia is distinctly divided into two main areas; the well watered and populated southeastern corner and the arid outback for the rest of the state. ... This is a list of town and locality names in South Australia outside of the metropolitan postal area of Adelaide. ... Proclamation Day is the South Australian public holiday that celebrates the proclamation of South Australia as a British colony. ... December 28 is the 362nd day of the year (363rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 3 days remaining. ... 1836 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

External links

• South Australia Central
• South Australian Tourism Commission
• The Encyclopædia of South Australian Culture Locals reflect on South Australian culture.
• Ground Truth - towards an Environmental History of South Australia Community resources

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