Australian Capital Territory

The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) is a territory between Sydney and Melbourne in south-east Australia that is home to the country's capital city, Canberra, which is also its largest inland city. Canberra was selected as the country's capital city in 1908 and it is located at the northern end of the ACT. The total area of the ACT measures 2,358 square kilometres.

The high incomes and high levels of education of many ACT residents have contributed greatly to the ACT's strong cultural presence. It is home to several colleges and universities, including Australian National University, University of Canberra and the Canberra Institute of Technology. The centrepiece of Canberra is the man-made Lake Burley Griffin, which was completed in 1964. Outside of the urban area of Canberra, the ACT is home to diverse agricultural land, Namadgi National Park, the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve and several small towns.

The Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly, made up of elected members and headed by the ACT chief minister, has governed the ACT since 1989. Since it is a territory and not a state, the assembly is not given total governing independence. On a federal level, four members, divided equally between the House of Representatives and the Senate, represent the ACT in Australian Parliament.

Historical Perspective

In 1821, Charles Throsby became the first European explorer to come to the region. He named the area "Limestone Plains" due to its rocky soil. The area that would become Canberra became a settlement for permanent immigrants in 1824 and by the end of the 1830s, much of the land had been settled. The decision was made by the Federation of Australia in 1901 to establish an Australian national capital. The two major competitors for the capital were Melbourne and Sydney.

Eventually, in 1908, a compromise was made and the territory located roughly between the two cities was decided upon as the capital region. It was only then that it was officially named Canberra, though the name had been in use since the 1860s. Prior to that, the region had appeared on maps and official documents under a number of variants of the name, such as Canberry, Canbury and Nganbra. The name is thought to derive from that used by the local Aboriginal population, but its exact meaning and the language from which it comes is unclear. It is most commonly said to mean "a meeting place." The ACT was initially called the "Territory for the Seat of Government" and the "Federal Capital Territory".

In April 1911 the Australian government held an international competition to decide who would design the capital city. American architect Walter Burley Griffin won on 23 May 1912, beating out 137 other entries. Due to conflict with Australian authorities, Griffin left the project in 1920 or 1921, and progress slowed in the ACT until after World War II ended in 1945. The Australian Parliament still convened in Melbourne until 1927, when it was officially transferred to Canberra.

Geography and Climate

The ACT is located inland, away from the shoreline. This location means that the territory and Canberra experience four distinct seasons, unlike many other Australian cities, whose climate is dictated by their proximity to the sea. The mountainous regions in the territory's south-west region are covered in snow throughout the winter. Annual temperatures range between -10 and 42 degrees Celsius and annual rainfall averages 630 millimetres.

The ACT measures eighty-eight kilometres from north to south and thirty kilometres from west to east. Around Canberra's urban area, the ACT contains plains, forests, mountains and hills. It is a diverse countryside that is surrounded on all sides by New South Wales. Most of the forested and mountainous regions surrounding Canberra are made up of protected national parks. The largest of these is Namadgi National Park, which makes up roughly 45 per cent of the ACT.

Economy

Tourism plays a major role in the economy of the ACT, especially thanks to the attractions within Canberra. These attractions include national museums, historical sites and several natural wonders. Popular museums include the Australian War Museum; the National Museum, which details Australian history; the National Gallery, which houses works from both Australian and international artists; and the Australian National Botanic Gardens.

Since Canberra is where nearly all of the ACT's population lives, rural areas of the territory make up a small contribution to the region's economy. Roughly half of all jobs within the ACT are in government and government services, though federal direct employment declined at the turn of the twenty-first century. Manufacturing makes up a small part of the ACT workforce, with production focusing on local consumers, the construction industry and government. Due to the poor nature of the soil, agricultural resources are low in the ACT.

Demographics

According to the 2021 census, the ACT was home to 454,499 people, with the majority of the population residing in Canberra. Canberra was the eighth most populous city in Australia, with a population of roughly 453,890. About third of residents of the ACT were born overseas. Of those foreign-born residents, 3.8 per cent were from India, 2.9 per cent from England, and 2.7 per cent from china. About 45,654 people spoke a language other than English at home and that the most commonly spoken non-English languages were Mandarin, Nepali, and Vietnamese.

The 2021 census also found that 32 per cent of ACT residents were of English descent, 31.5 were Australian, 11.6 per cent were Irish, and 10 per cent were Scottish. About 2 per cent of the population were of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent.

Bibliography

"Australian Capital Territory." Australian Bureau of Statistics, www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/quickstats/2021/8. Accessed 17 June 2024.

Brown, Nicolas. A History of Canberra. Cambridge UP, 2014.

Fraser, Ian, and Peter Marsack. A Bush Capital Year: A Natural History of the Canberra Region. CSIRO Publishing, 2011.

Neutze, Max. "Australian Capital Territory (A.C.T.)." Encyclopaedia Britannica, 9 June 2024, www.britannica.com/place/Australian-Capital-Territory. Accessed 17 June 2024.

Warhurst, John. "Canberra, the Seat of Government." National Capital Authority, www.nca.gov.au/education/canberras-history/canberra-seat-government#. Accessed 17 June 2024.