South Australia
South Australia | |
---|---|
Nickname(s):
| |
Country | Australia |
Before federation | Province of South Australia |
Settlement | 15 August 1834 |
Declared as Province | 19 February 1836 |
Responsible government | 22 April 1857 |
Federation | 1 January 1901 |
Capital and largest city | Adelaide |
Administration | 74 local government areas |
Demonym(s) |
|
Government | |
• Labor ) | |
Legislature | ACDT) |
Postal abbreviation | SA |
ISO 3166 code | AU–SA |
Symbols | |
Bird | Piping shrike (Australian magpie) |
Fish | Leafy seadragon (Phycodurus eques) |
Flower | Sturt's Desert Pea (Swainsona formosa) |
Mammal | Southern hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus latifrons) |
Colour(s) | Red, blue, and gold |
Fossil | Spriggina floundersi |
Mineral | Bornite, Opal as Gem |
Website | sa |
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a
South Australia shares borders with all the other mainland states. It is bordered to the west by
As with the rest of the continent, the region has a long history of human occupation by numerous tribes and languages. The South Australian Company established a temporary settlement at Kingscote, Kangaroo Island, on 26 July 1836, five months before Adelaide was founded.[11] 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.[12] The goal was to establish the province as a centre of civilisation for free immigrants, promising civil liberties and religious tolerance. Although its history has been marked by periods of economic hardship, South Australia has remained politically innovative and culturally vibrant. Today, it is known for its fine wine and numerous cultural festivals. The state's economy is dominated by the agricultural, manufacturing and mining industries.
History
Evidence of human activity in South Australia dates back as far as 20,000 years, with flint mining activity and rock art in the Koonalda Cave on the Nullarbor Plain. In addition wooden spears and tools were made in an area now covered in peat bog in the South East. Kangaroo Island was inhabited long before the island was cut off by rising sea levels.[13] According to mitochondrial DNA research, Aboriginal people reached Eyre Peninsula 49,000-45,000 years ago from both the east (clockwise, along the coast, from northern Australia) and the west (anti-clockwise).[14]: 189
The first recorded European sighting of the South Australian coast was in 1627 when the Dutch ship the Gulden Zeepaert, captained by François Thijssen, examined and mapped a section of the coastline as far east as the Nuyts Archipelago. Thijssen named the whole of the country eastward of the Leeuwin "Nuyts Land", after a distinguished passenger on board; the Hon. Pieter Nuyts, one of the Councillors of India.[15]
The coastline of South Australia was first mapped by Matthew Flinders and Nicolas Baudin in 1802, excepting the inlet later named the Port Adelaide River which was first discovered in 1831 by Captain Collet Barker and later accurately charted in 1836–37 by Colonel William Light, leader of the South Australian Colonization Commissioners' 'First Expedition' and first Surveyor-General of South Australia.
The land which now forms the state of South Australia was claimed for Britain in 1788 as part of the colony of New South Wales. Although the new colony included almost two-thirds of the continent, early settlements were all on the eastern coast and only a few intrepid explorers ventured this far west. It took more than forty years before any serious proposal to establish settlements in the south-western portion of New South Wales were put forward.
On 15 August 1834, the
In contrast to the rest of Australia,
Survey was required before settlement of the province, and the Colonization Commissioners for South Australia appointed William Light as the leader of its 'First Expedition', tasked with examining 1500 miles of the South Australian coastline and selecting the best site for the capital, and with then planning and surveying the site of the city into one-acre Town Sections and its surrounds into 134-acre Country Sections.
Eager to commence the establishment of their whale and seal fisheries, the South Australian Company sought, and obtained, the Commissioners' permission to send Company ships to South Australia, in advance of the surveys and ahead of the Commissioners' colonists.
The company's settlement of seven vessels and 636 people was temporarily made at Kingscote on Kangaroo Island, until the official site of the capital was selected by William Light, where the City of Adelaide is currently located. The first immigrants arrived at Holdfast Bay (near the present day Glenelg) in November 1836.
The commencement of colonial government was proclaimed on 28 December 1836, now known as
South Australia is the only Australian state to have never received British convicts. Another free settlement,
The plan for the province was that it would be an experiment in reform, addressing the problems perceived in British society. There was to be religious freedom and no established religion. Sales of land to colonists created an Emigration Fund to pay the costs of transferring a poor young labouring population to South Australia. In early 1838 the colonists became concerned after it was reported that convicts who had escaped from the eastern states may make their way to South Australia. The South Australia Police was formed in April 1838 to protect the community and enforce government regulations. Their principal role was to run the first temporary gaol, a two-room hut.[20]
The current
Geography
The terrain consists largely of arid and semi-arid rangelands, with several low mountain ranges. The most important (but not tallest) is the Mount Lofty-Flinders Ranges system, which extends north about 800 kilometres (500 mi) from Cape Jervis to the northern end of Lake Torrens. The highest point in the state is not in those ranges; Mount Woodroffe (1,435 metres (4,708 ft)) is in the Musgrave Ranges in the extreme northwest of the state.[21]
The south-western portion of the state consists of the sparsely inhabited
The principal industries and exports of South Australia are wheat, wine and wool.[23] More than half of Australia's wines are produced in the South Australian wine regions which principally include Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, McLaren Vale, Coonawarra, the Riverland and the Adelaide Hills. See South Australian wine.
South Australian boundaries
South Australia has boundaries with every other Australian mainland state and territory except the
In 1863, that part of New South Wales to the north of South Australia was annexed to South Australia, by letters patent, as the "Northern Territory of South Australia", which became shortened to the Northern Territory on 6 July 1863.[24] The Northern Territory was handed to the federal government in 1911 and became a separate territory.
According to Australian maps, South Australia's south coast is flanked by the Southern Ocean, but official international consensus defines the Southern Ocean as extending north from the pole only to 60°S or 55°S, at least 17 degrees of latitude further south than the most southern point of South Australia. Thus the south coast is officially adjacent to the south-most portion of the Indian Ocean. See Southern Ocean: Existence and definitions.
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Arid land in the Flinders Ranges
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The rugged coastline of Second Valley, located on the Fleurieu Peninsula
Climate
The southern part of the state has a Mediterranean climate, while the rest of the state has either an arid or semi-arid climate.[25] South Australia's main temperature range is 29 °C (84 °F) in January and 15 °C (59 °F) in July. The highest maximum temperature ever recorded was 50.7 °C (123.3 °F) at
Climate data for South Australia | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 50.7 (123.3) |
48.2 (118.8) |
46.5 (115.7) |
42.1 (107.8) |
36.5 (97.7) |
34.0 (93.2) |
34.2 (93.6) |
36.5 (97.7) |
41.5 (106.7) |
45.4 (113.7) |
47.9 (118.2) |
49.9 (121.8) |
50.7 (123.3) |
Record low °C (°F) | 0.2 (32.4) |
0.8 (33.4) |
−2.2 (28.0) |
−3.5 (25.7) |
−6.6 (20.1) |
−8.1 (17.4) |
−8.2 (17.2) |
−6.6 (20.1) |
−4.5 (23.9) |
−4.4 (24.1) |
−2.4 (27.7) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
−8.2 (17.2) |
Source: Bureau of Meteorology[27] |
Economy
As of 2016, South Australia had 746,105 people employed out of a total workforce of 806,593, giving an unemployment rate of 7.5%. South Australia's largest employment sector is health care and social assistance, making up 14.8% of the state's total employment, followed by retail (10.7%), education and training (8.6%), manufacturing (8%), and construction (7.6%).[28] South Australia's economy relies on exports more than any other state in Australia.[29]
South Australia's
South Australia receives the least amount of federal funding for its local road network of all states on a per capita and a per kilometre basis.[31]
During 2019-20: South Australia's gross state product (GSP) fell 1.4% in chain volume (real) terms (nationally, gross domestic product (GDP) fell 0.3%).[32] South Australia came out of the COVID-19 recession better than the other Australian states, with the economy growing by 3.9% in the 2020–21 financial year. This was the first time since the Australian Bureau of Statistics began collecting data in 1990 that South Australia had outperformed the other states. The recovery was driven in part by growth in the agricultural sector, which increased its production by almost 24% thanks to the end of a drought.[33]
Agriculture
Cereals, legumes and oilseeds
Fruit and vegetables
Viticulture
South Australia produces more than half of all Australian wine, including almost 80% of Australia's premium wines.[36]
Energy
South Australia has the lead over other Australian states for its commercialisation and commitment to renewable energy. It is now the leading producer of wind power in Australia.[37] Renewable energy is a growing source of electricity in South Australia, and there is potential for growth from this particular industry of the state's economy. The Hornsdale Power Reserve is a bank of grid-connected batteries adjacent to the Hornsdale Wind Farm in South Australia's Mid-North region. At the time of construction in late 2017, it was billed as the largest lithium-ion battery in the world.[38]
Mining
The
The remote town of Coober Pedy produces more opal than anywhere else in the world. Opal was first discovered near the town in 1915, and the town became the site of an opal rush, enticing immigrants from southern and eastern Europe in the aftermath of World War II.[44]
Education and research
Higher education and research in Adelaide forms an important part of South Australia's economy. The
Adelaide is home to research institutes, including the Royal Institution of Australia, established in 2009 as a counterpart to the two-hundred-year-old Royal Institution of Great Britain.[49] Most of the research organisations are clustered in the Adelaide metropolitan area:
- The east end of Hanson Institute;[51] National Wine Centre.
- The west end of North Terrace: South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), located next to the Royal Adelaide Hospital.
- The
- DSTO; BAE Systems (Australia); Lockheed MartinAustralia Electronic Systems.
- ; Lockheed Martin Australia Electronic Systems.
- Research Park at Thebarton: businesses involved in materials engineering, biotechnology, environmental services, information technology, industrial design, laser/optics technology, health products, engineering services, radar systems, telecommunications and petroleum services.
- Science Park (adjacent to Flinders University): Playford Capital.
- The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Adelaide
- The Joanna Briggs Institute, a global research collaboration for evidence-based healthcare with its headquarters in North Adelaide.
-
The Mitchell Building and Bonython Hall, University of Adelaide
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The Hawke Building, part of the UniSA, City West Campus
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Flinders University buildings from the campus hills
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Torrens University
Government
South Australia is a constitutional monarchy with King Charles III as sovereign, and the Governor of South Australia as his
representative.
Initially, the Governor of South Australia held almost total power, derived from the letters patent of the imperial government to create the colony. He was accountable only 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.[59] 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
The main responsibility of this body was to draft a constitution for South Australia. The body drafted the most democratic constitution ever seen in the British Empire and provided for universal manhood suffrage.[60] It created the bicameral Parliament of South Australia. 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. The Legislative Council remained a predominantly conservative chamber elected by property owners.
Composition of the Parliament of South Australia (2022) | ||
---|---|---|
Party | House | Council |
Labor
|
27 | 9 |
Liberal
|
16 | 8 |
SA-BEST
|
0 | 2 |
Greens | 0 | 2 |
Independent
|
4 | 0 |
One Nation | 0 | 1 |
Total | 47 | 22 |
Source: Electoral Commission SA |
Women's suffrage in Australia took a leap forward – enacted in 1895 and taking effect from the 1896 colonial election, South Australia was the first government in Australia and only the second in the world after New Zealand to allow women to vote, and the first in the world to allow women to stand for election.[61] In 1897 Catherine Helen Spence was the first woman in Australia to be a candidate for political office when she was nominated to be one of South Australia's delegates to the conventions that drafted the constitution. South Australia became an original state of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901.
Although the lower house had universal suffrage, the upper house, the Legislative Council, remained the exclusive domain of property owners until the Labor government of Don Dunstan managed to achieve reform of the chamber in 1973. Property qualifications were removed and the Council became a body elected via proportional representation by a single state-wide electorate.[62] Since the following 1975 South Australian state election, no one party has had control of the state's upper house with the balance of power controlled by a variety of minor parties and independents.
Local government
Local government in South Australia is established by the Constitution Act 1934 (SA), the Local Government Act 1999 (SA), and the Local Government (Elections) Act 1999 (SA).[63] South Australia contains 68 councils and 6 Aboriginal and outback communities.[64] Local councils, elected on a four-yearly basis, are responsible for local roads and stormwater management, waste collection, planning and development, fire prevention and hazard management, dog and cat management and control, parking control, public health and food inspections, and other services for their local communities.[63] Councils have the power to raise revenue for their activities, which is mostly achieved through "council rates", a tax based on property valuations. Council rates make up about 70% of council revenue, but account for less than 4% of total taxes paid by Australians.[65]
Demographics
Birthplace[N 1] | Population |
---|---|
Australia | 1,192,546 |
England | 97,392 |
India | 27,594 |
China | 24,610 |
Italy | 18,544 |
Vietnam | 14,337 |
New Zealand | 12,937 |
Philippines | 12,465 |
Scotland | 11,993 |
Germany | 10,119 |
Greece | 8,682 |
Malaysia | 7,749 |
South Africa | 6,610 |
Afghanistan | 6,313 |
As at December 2021 the population of South Australia was 1,806,599.[3] A majority of the state's population lives within
Ancestry and immigration
At the 2016 census, the most commonly nominated ancestries were:[N 2][70]
- English (40.5%)
- Australian (35.5%)[N 3]
- Scottish (8.9%)
- Irish (8.5%)
- German (8.2%)
- Italian (6.1%)
- Chinese (3.3%)
- Greek(2.4%)
- Indian (2.1%)
- Indigenous (2%)[N 4]
- Dutch (1.7%)
- Vietnamese (1.3%)
- Polish (1.2%)
- Filipino (1%)
28.9% of the population was born overseas at the 2016 census. The five largest groups of overseas-born were from England (5.8%), India (1.6%), China (1.5%), Italy (1.1%) and Vietnam (0.9%).[66][67]
2% of the population, or 34,184 people, identified as Indigenous Australians (Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders) in 2016.[N 4][66][67]
Language
At the 2016 census, 78.2% of the population spoke only
Religion
At the
South Australia was the first Australian colony not to have an official state religion,[72] and the colony became attractive to people who had experienced religious discrimination, including Methodists and Unitarians. South Australia also had thousands of Prussian Old Lutheran immigrants, some of whom established their own form of Lutheranism. As a result, the Lutheran Church of Australia remains separate from the German Lutheran church to this day.[73] South Australia was the location of the first Muslim mosque in Australia.[72]
Most of the state's original colonists were Christian, but of many denominations, most with their own meeting place in the city square. Adelaide has been known as the "City of Churches" since at least 1868.[74] Some of the oldest remaining buildings in the city are churches.[75]
Education
Primary and secondary
On 1 January 2009, the school leaving age was raised to 17 (having previously been 15 and then 16).
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 1970s it has been an ongoing controversy[77] that 68 percent of Commonwealth funding (increasing to 75% by 2008) goes to private schools that are attended by 32% of the states students.[78] Private schools often counter this by saying that they receive less State Government funding than public schools, and in 2004 the main private school funding came from the Australian government, not the state government.[79]
On 14 June 2013, South Australia became the third Australian state to sign up to the Australian Federal Government's
The academic year in South Australia generally runs from the end of January until mid-December for primary and secondary schools. The SA schools operate on a four-term basis. Schools are closed for the South Australia public holidays.[81]
Tertiary
There are three public and four private universities in South Australia. The three public universities are the
The University of Adelaide is part of the Group of Eight, a company of Australia's eight leading research universities.[82] As of 2022, it is ranked by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings as one of the top 100 universities in the world.[83] It was the first university in Australia to admit women to academic courses, doing so in 1881.[82] In 2018, the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia announced plans to merge, but these plans did not come to fruition due in part to disagreements over what to name the new university and which of the university's vice-chancellors would become the vice-chancellor of the amalgamated university.[84]
Vocational education
Tertiary vocational education is provided by a range of Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) which are regulated at Commonwealth level. The range of RTOs delivering education include public, private and 'enterprise' providers i.e. employing organisations who run an RTO for their own employees or members.
The largest public provider of vocational education is TAFE South Australia which is made up of colleges throughout the state, many of these in rural areas, providing tertiary education to as many people as possible. In South Australia, TAFE is funded by the state government and run by the South Australian Department of Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology (DFEEST). Each TAFE SA campus provides a range of courses with its own specialisation.
Transport
This section needs additional citations for verification. (October 2022) |
Historical transport in South Australia
After settlement, the major form of transport in South Australia was ocean transport. Limited land transport was provided by horses and bullocks. In the mid 19th century, the state began to develop a widespread rail network, although a coastal shipping network continued until the post war period.
Roads began to improve with the introduction of motor transport. By the late 19th century, road transport dominated internal transport in South Australia.
Railway
South Australia has four interstate rail connections, to Perth via the Nullarbor Plain, to Darwin through the centre of the continent, to New South Wales through Broken Hill, and to Melbourne–which is the closest capital city to Adelaide.
Rail transport is important for many mines in the north of the state.
The capital Adelaide has a commuter rail network made of electric and diesel electric powered multiple units, with 6 lines between them.
Roads
South Australia has extensive road networks linking towns and other states. Roads are also the most common form of transport within the major metropolitan areas with car transport predominating. Public transport in Adelaide is mostly provided by buses and trams with regular services throughout the day.
Air transport
Adelaide Airport provides regular flights to other capitals, major South Australian towns and many international locations. The airport also has daily flights to several Asian hub airports. Adelaide Metro[85] buses J1 and J1X connect to the city (approx. 30 minutes travel time), as well as other services to other parts of Adelaide. Standard fares apply and tickets may be purchased from a ticket machine at the airport bus stop. Maximum charge (September 2016) for Metroticket is $5.30; off-peak and seniors discounts may apply.
River transport
The
Sea transport
South Australia has a container port at Port Adelaide. There are also numerous important ports along the coast for minerals and grains.
The passenger terminal at Port Adelaide periodically sees cruise liners.
Kangaroo Island is dependent on the Sea Link ferry service between
Cultural life
South Australia has been known as "the Festival State" for many years, for its abundance of arts and
Diana Laidlaw did much to further the arts in South Australia during her term as Arts Minister from 1993 to 2002, and after Mike Rann assumed government in 2002, he created a strategic plan in 2004 (updated 2007) which included furthering and promoting the arts in South Australia under the topic heading "Objective 4: Fostering Creativity and Innovation".[88][89]
In September 2019, with the arts portfolio now subsumed within the Department of the Premier and Cabinet (DPC) after the election of Steven Marshall as Premier, and the 2004 strategic plan having been deleted from the website in 2018,[90] the "Arts and Culture Plan, South Australia 2019–2024" was created by the department.[91] Marshall said when launching the plan: “The arts sector in South Australia is already very strong but it's been operating without a plan for 20 years”.[92] However the plan does not signal any new government support, even after the government's A$31.9 million cuts to arts funding when Arts South Australia was absorbed into DPC in 2018. Specific proposals within the plan include an “Adelaide in 100 Objects” walking tour, a new shared ticketing system for small to medium arts bodies, a five-year-plan to revitalise regional art centres, creation of an arts-focussed high school, and a new venue for the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.[93]
Sport
Australian rules football
Australian rules football is the most popular spectator sport in South Australia. In 2006, South Australians had the highest attendance rate for the sport of any state, with 31% of South Australians attending a match in the previous twelve months.[94] South Australia fields two teams in the Australian Football League (AFL): the Adelaide Football Club and Port Adelaide Football Club. The two teams have an intense rivalry called the Showdown.[95] The traditional home of Australian rules football in South Australia was Football Park in the western suburb of West Lakes, which was the home ground of both AFL teams until 2013. Since 2014, both teams have used Adelaide Oval, near the city centre, as their home ground.[96]
The South Australian National Football League (SANFL), which was the premier league in the state before the advent of the Australian Football League, is a popular local league comprising ten teams: Sturt, Port Adelaide, Adelaide, West Adelaide, South Adelaide, North Adelaide, Norwood, Woodville/West Torrens, Glenelg and Central District.
The Adelaide Footy League comprises 68 member clubs playing over 110 matches per week across ten senior divisions and three junior divisions. It is one of Australia's largest and strongest Australian rules football associations.[97]
Cricket
Cricket has a long history in South Australia, with the first matches being played in 1839. Regular club matches were organised following the establishment of the South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) in 1871.[98] Presently, SACA governs the South Australian Premier Cricket competition in addition to all forms of domestic cricket in the state. Cricket is the most popular summer sport in South Australia, with 39,000 club players at both junior and senior levels in 2023.[99]
At the professional level, the
International cricket is also held in South Australia, with matches being played at Adelaide Oval. The venue was used to host matches in both the men's 1992 Cricket World Cup and 2015 Cricket World Cup. Adelaide Oval also saw use during the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. Outside of Adelaide, international cricket has also been played in Berri, South Australia with Berri Oval hosting a singular match during the 1992 Cricket World Cup.
Association football
The club was founded in 2003 and are the
Basketball
Basketball also has a big following in South Australia, with the Adelaide 36ers playing in the Adelaide Entertainment Centre. The 36ers have won four championships in the last 20 years in the National Basketball League. The Adelaide Entertainment Centre, located in Hindmarsh, is the home of basketball in the state.
Mount Gambier also has a national basketball team – the Mount Gambier Pioneers. The Pioneers play at the Icehouse (Bern Bruning Basketball Stadium), which seats over 1,000 people and is also home to the Mount Gambier Basketball Association. The Pioneers won the South Conference in 2003 and the Final in 2003; this team was rated second in the top five teams to have ever played in the league. In 2012, the club entered its 25th season, with a roster of 10 senior players (two imports) and three development squad players.
Motorsport
Australia's premier motorsport series, the
Mallala Motor Sport Park, a permanent circuit located near the town of Mallala, 58 km north of Adelaide, caters for both state and national level motor sport throughout the year.
The Bend Motorsport Park, is another permanent circuit, located just outside of Tailem Bend.[102]
Rugby league
The state
South Australia's only professional rugby league team, the
At present however, the
Adelaide Oval hosted State of Origin series games in both 2020 and 2023, with the latter drawing a state record rugby league attendance of 48,613.
Other sports
Sixty-three percent of South Australian children took part in organised sports in 2002–2003.[104]
The
The state has hosted the Tour Down Under cycle race since 1999.[105]
Places
Regions
Rivers |
Lakes
Islands |
Main highways
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