THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA

T

HE Commonwealth of Australia is situated in the Southern Hemisphere and lies between meridians of longitude 113° 9′ E. and 153° 39′ E. Its northern and southern limits are the parallels of latitude 10° 41 ́ S. and 43° 39' S. It is bounded on the west by the Indian Ocean and on the east by the Coral and Tasman Seas of the South Pacific Ocean, to the north by the Timor and Arafura Seas and to the south by the Indian Ocean. The name Australia is derived from the Latin australis, meaning southern, a name commonly used in early times for regions south of the equator. In the sixteenth century geographers used the name "Terra Australis' to describe a continent which they thought must exist in the South Pacific. The east coast of Australia was named New South Wales by Captain Cook but when it was realised that this and New Holland, the name by which the west coast was known, formed one land mass, the word Australia began to be used, and was first given official recognition in April 1817 when Governor Macquarie of New South Wales used the word in his correspondence. The Commonwealth of Australia comprises the six federated States of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania, each of which has its own Government, and two internal territories, the Australian Capital Territory, which is the seat of the Commonwealth Government, and the Northern Territory which includes also the Ashmore and Cartier Islands. Responsibility for the general administration of these two internal territories is vested respectively in the Department of the Capital Territory and the Department of the Northern Territory. Macquarie Island, about 1,000 miles South East of Tasmania, is administered by Tasmania.

Australia's external territories are Norfolk Island, the Territory of Papua (formerly British New Guinea); the Territory of New Guinea (under Trusteeship Agreement with the United Nations); the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands; the Territory of Christmas Island; the Territory of Heard and McDonald Islands; the Australian Antarctic Territory. Responsibility for the general administration of these external territories is vested with the Australian Department of External Territories with the exception of the last two (Antarctic and Heard and McDonald) which are administered by the Australian Department of Supply. (The external territories are dealt with in Part VI of this volume.)

The total area of the Commonwealth is 2,967,909 square miles. Almost threequarters of the land mass is a vast ancient plateau, averaging about 1,000 feet above sea level. There is a large portion of lowland with an elevation of less than 500 feet which is, in one place, below sea level. A third division is the eastern highlands belt, featuring a chain of elevated plateaux extending from north to south along the eastern boundary. This highland is known as the Great Dividing Range. The dominating structural division—the Great Western Plateau-has a few high tablelands and ridges such as the Kimberleys Region, Hamersley, Macdonnell and Musgrave Ranges. The Hamersley Range contains Western Australia's highest peak, Mount Bruce (4,024 feet). The Northern Territory's highest point is Mount Zeil (4,950 feet) in the Macdonnell Ranges, and South Australia's highest is Mount Woodroffe (5,000 feet) in the Musgrave Ranges. Ayers Rock, 1,100 feet high, a huge monolith rising from the central Australian

desert with a circumference of six miles, is sometimes referred to as the 'largest stone in the world'. The Great Dividing Range stretches from Cape York in Queensland to the southern seaboard of Tasmania, but despite the name the mountains of the Divide are relatively low. In the north and central sections they rarely exceed 5,000 feet. The rugged south-eastern area, known as the Australian Alps, is higher with peaks of over 6,000 feet. This area contains some of Australia's highest land, together with its highest peak, Mount Kosciusko (7,316 feet). The Great Divide also provides the highest points in Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania. These peaks are respectively Mount Bartle Frere (5,287 feet); Mount Bogong (6,516 feet) and Mount Ossa (5,305 feet).

Australia does not possess any extensive inland river system. The greater part of the continent lies within the southern arid belt between latitudes 15° and 35° S. The largest river system is the Murray River and its tributaries which drain about 414,000 square miles, including a large part of southern Queensland, the major part of New South Wales and much of Victoria. The river rises in the Australian Alps and flows westward to form for 1,200 miles the boundary between New South Wales and Victoria. After flowing 400 miles through South Australia it discharges into the sea at Lake Alexandrina. With its tributaries (the Darling, the Murrumbidgee, the Lachlan and many smaller rivers in New South Wales, and the Goulburn, Ovens, Campaspe and other rivers in Victoria) the Murray has an estimated flow of some 12,500,000 acre feet annually. Most of the rivers of the central interior flow only after heavy rains, while the majority of Australia's coastal rivers are short with moderate rates of flow, although the monsoon season in the north of the country can augment the discharge rate enormously. Australia's largest reservoir is the man-made Lake Eucumbene in the Snowy Mountains area of New South Wales with a useful storage capacity of 3,890,000 acre feet. Other major reservoirs are Eildon Weir, Victoria, 2,750,000 acre feet; Hume Reservoir, N.S.W., 2,500,000 acre feet; Warragamba Dam, N.S.W., 1,670,000 acre feet; Menindee Lakes, N.S. W., 2,000,000 acre feet and Great Lake, Tasmania, 1,300,000 acre feet. Other large lakes include Lake Corangamite (Victoria) 80 square miles in area; Great Lake (Tasmania) and the Gippsland Lakes (Victoria). The largest lake in Australia is Lake Eyre which covers an area of about 4,000 square miles with neighbouring Lake Eyre South. However, this lake in central Australia is generally dry with its bed covered with salt. This is true of many of the lakes of inland Australia, which, although big in area, often contain no water except after infrequent rain. The four seasons in Australia are: Spring, September to November; Summer, December to February; Autumn, March to May; and Winter, June to August. In most parts January is the hottest month but in Tasmania and Southern Victoria February is hotter while in the tropical north (probably because of the cooling monsoon rains occurring in late summer) December is the hottest month. In northern Australia the year is divided into the usual tropical divisions of dry and wet seasons, with the wet season occurring in summer and the heaviest rain in January, February and March. On the coast, where rainfall is often abundant, the temperature extremes are limited by the moist atmosphere whereas in the dry inland areas the extremes extend in proportion to the distance from the seaboard. Central and southern Queensland are sub-tropical. Farther south there are the warm temperate regions of north and central New South Wales and the cooler areas of Victoria, south-west Western Australia and Tasmania, with rainfall distributed throughout the year and increasing in winter. Australia's coldest regions are the highlands and tablelands

of Tasmania and the south-east corner of the mainland. Australia's regular winter snowfalls occur in the highlands of these areas. Mean maximum temperatures (Fahrenheit) of the various state capitals, showing the mean minimum in brackets, are: Sydney 70-4 (56.3); Brisbane 77-8 (59.8); Perth 73.6 (55.4); Darwin 90-3 (74-1); Melbourne 67.4 (49.7); Adelaide 72.4 (53.2); Hobart 62-0 (46·5); and the Federal Capital, Canberra 66·7 (43·1). The heaviest rainfall occurs on the north coast of Queensland (up to 160 inches) and in western Tasmania (up to 140 inches). A vast area of the interior, however, stretching from the far west of New South Wales and south-west Queensland to the western seaboard of Western Australia has a rainfall below 10 inches a year. Between these regions of heavy and very low rainfall are the extensive areas which experience useful to good rains, ranging from 10 to 50 inches a year.

The flora and fauna of Australia include many groups which do not occur elsewhere. Vegetation is colourful and varied. Forests are relatively small in area and occur mainly in the coastal area of high rainfall. The dominant tree is the eucalyptus, a hardwood of which there are more than 500 species, ranging from small shrubs to some of the tallest trees in the world; many are renowned for the strength and durability of their timber. Other hardwoods include the red cedar, Queensland maple, silky oak, walnut, rosewood and blackwood. The indigenous softwoods are limited; they include the kauri and bunya pines of Queensland, the hoop pine of Queensland and northern New South Wales, the huon, celery-top and King William pines of Tasmania and the cypress pines of the inland. Australia is also the home of a wide range of acacias.

The native animals of Australia are of primitive types. The land species are chiefly marsupial and include the kangaroos, native cats, opossums, koala, pouched mice and wombats. There are also two species of egg-laying mammals, the platypus and the spiny anteater. The dingo, or wild dog, is believed to have been introduced from Asia. Sheep, cattle, horses and other domestic animals have been introduced since the European settlement; imported animals also include rabbits, which have become pests. Birds, often more conspicuous for their gorgeous plumage than their song, include the emu, kookaburra, lyre bird, rosella and many kinds of parrots and cockatoos. Fish abound in the rivers and coastal waters.

At December 1972 the population was estimated to be 13,091,000, which included some 106,000 persons claiming to be Aborigines. Birth and death rates for the population as a whole are 20.4 per thousand and 8.5 per thousand respectively. English is the official language and used by the population except for small minorities of the foreign-born. There are, however, many aboriginal languages: it is believed that at the time of the beginning of white settlement there were about 500. Many attempts have been made in the past to link the Australian languages with other parts of the world, i.e., South India, the Andaman Islands and Africa, but without success. It is now considered possible to explain the multiple form of languages on the basis of a single original. As yet a final grouping of the languages among themselves has not been achieved, and the following are the main groups which are clear at present: the prefixing languages of the Kimberleys and North Australian Regions; the languages of the Western Desert; the Aranda Group of Central Australia; the Victorian languages and the languages of Eastern Australia. In the 1961 census 88 per cent of the population acknowledged the Christian faith, 0-7 per cent were non-Christians and the balance were either indefinite, had no religion or made no reply. Primary educa

tion is available free throughout Australia. Education is compulsory between the ages of 6 and 14-16 years; the permissible school-leaving age varies slightly between State and State. Education, except in the Territories, is controlled by the State Governments. In addition to the free Government schools, there are church and private schools, most of which charge fees. There are special schools, Government and non-Government, for the handicapped. Secondary education throughout Australia is extensive, covering a period of five to six years (again varying between the States) and including High (Grammar) and Technical schools to University entrance, plus numerous specialist schools and colleges in such particular fields as business and commerce, agriculture and home science. University and other tertiary education, including post-graduate institutions, is also extensive. Illiteracy is virtually non-existent in Australia, except for a minute percentage of persons so handicapped as to be not educable. Some newly arrived immigrants know little English, but literacy in their own language is one of the requirements for entry to the country. A special education system helps them adjust to the new language.

There are about 34 ports of commercial significance in Australia, the principal being associated with State capital cities and industrial centres. Details of cargo tonnage discharged and shipped may be found in Chapter 12 of the Year Book of Australia. The principal shipping companies are: The Australian National Line, the Union Steamship Co. of New Zealand, the Associated Steamships Pty. Ltd., the Broken Hill Proprietary Co. Ltd., The State Shipping Service of Western Australia, Ampol Petroleum Ltd. and Bulkships Limited.

There are major airports at, or near, all capital cities and most of the larger cities and towns. All capital city airports cater for inter-state and intra-state services. The armed services-Navy, Army and Air Force-maintain their own bases, catering for their special needs but at Darwin and Canberra share the airport with civil users. Twenty-two international airlines operate regular services to and from Australia. At June 1973 there were 467 licensed civil airports. The principal airports, with length of main runway in feet and distance from the centre of the city in miles are Sydney 13,000 (5); Melbourne (Tullamarine) 12,000 (14); Melbourne (Essendon-general aviation) 6,300 (8); Brisbane 7,760 (4); Perth 10,310 (6.5); Darwin 11,000 (3.5); Adelaide 8,000 (4); Canberra 6,800 (to be increased to 8,000 by end 1973/beginning 1974) (4); Hobart 6,500 (10). Australia's international airline is QANTAS Airways Ltd., which is based in Sydney and operates services over 145,642 unduplicated route miles linking 41 cities in 33 countries. Over 30 airlines operate inter-State, intra-State and feeder services throughout Australia. The two major domestic airlines which operate in direct competition over the main trunk routes are trans-Australia Airlines (TAA) which is owned and operated by the Australian National Airlines Commission, a statutory body formed for the purpose by the Federal Government, and Ansett Airlines of Australia, the major airline subsidiary of Ansett Transport Industries Ltd. (ATI), a multi-company organisation engaged in road and air travel, hotels and motels, tourism, manufacturing and television. TAA operates a fleet of about 40 aircraft in Australia and Papua-New Guinea over an unduplicated route network of 21,765 miles and carries nearly three million passengers per year. The ATI airline group consists of six airlines with a fleet of about 60 aircraft which cover approximately 42,692 unduplicated route miles and carries over 3 million passengers a year. East-West Airlines Ltd. operates a fleet of 8 aircraft over a network of 3,115 unduplicated miles carrying about 350,000

passengers. Connair Pty. Ltd., which operates 12 aircraft over a route network of 10,631 unduplicated miles throughout the Northern Territory, carries over 20,000 passengers per year.

Australia has 549,476 miles of highways and roads open for general traffic. Road transport, freight and passenger, is a major industry. Apart from the freight and passenger carrying services, Australian highways and roads carry a heavy traffic of private automobiles: the ratio of automobiles to population is approximately 1:21.

At the end of 1971 there were 75 national radio stations transmitting the programmes of the Australian Broadcasting Commission in the medium wave band, together with eight short wave transmitters providing this service in remote areas, and 116 commercial radio stations. Television stations numbered 95, made up of 49 national transmitters and 46 commercial stations.

A wide range of primary and secondary industry products is produced in Australia. The main primary products are wool, wheat and flour, meat, dairy products, sugar, fruit and a number of minerals including lead, zinc, copper, coal, iron ore, gold and bauxite. Secondary industry production is diverse and includes engineering products, motor vehicles, chemicals, textiles, domestic appliances, newsprint and petroleum products.

Total expenditure of the Federal Government in 1971/72 was $9,032m. and receipts were $8,845m. Consolidated Revenue Funds of the States for 1971/72 totalled revenue $4,035.0 m. and expenditure $4,049.5 m.

Australia had under way at the end of 1972 a programme of some 360 major national development works at an estimated cost on completion of nearly $5,000 m. The types of project and their estimated costs are as follows: water conservation, supply, irrigation and drainage (65) $862 m.; electricity generation (25) $1,685 m.; electricity transmission (41) $154 m.; railways (27) $594 m.; roads and bridges (69) $727 m.; ports (18) $198 m.; airports (4) $27 m.; telecommunications (33) $82 m.; and gas (3) $25 m. The $800 m. Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme in Southern New South Wales is now completed and provides about 6,800,000 acre feet of storage in 15 large dams with 100 miles of tunnels, more than 80 miles of aqueducts and seven power stations in addition to making 2,000,000 acre feet of irrigation water available each year. The capacity of the Snowy Hydro-electric Scheme is 3,740,000 Kw.

Some of the largest single development projects under construction are the Wallerawong and Liddell power stations in New South Wales, the Yallourn 'W' power station in Victoria, the Gladstone power station in Queensland, the Eastern Suburbs Railway Station in Sydney, the underground rail loop in Melbourne, and the Shoalhaven River water supply scheme.

Australia Day, 26th January, commemorates the landing and commencement of settlement at Sydney Cove by Governor Philip on 26th January 1788. It is celebrated as a public holiday throughout Australia. For other details of the early history of the settlement of Australia see earlier editions of the Year Book of the Commonwealth or the Year Book of Australia.

CONSTITUTION

THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH

The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution, which was enacted by the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 (U.K.), established a Federal Parliament called the Parliament of the Commonwealth, consisting of the Queen,