Australia

A U S T R A L I A

CAPITAL de Australia:

Canberra (/ˈkænb(ə)rə/ or /ˈkænbɛrə/)[3] is the capital city of Australia. With a population of 374,245, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), 280 km (170 mi) south-west ofSydney, and 660 km (410 mi) north-east of Melbourne. A resident of Canberra is known as a "Canberran".

The site of Canberra was selected for the location of the nation's capital in 1908 as a compromise between rivals Sydney and Melbourne, Australia's two largest cities. It is unusual among Australian cities, being an entirely planned city outside of any state, similar to the American Federal District of Columbia. Following an international contest for the city's design, a blueprint by the Chicago architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin was selected and construction commenced in 1913.[4] The Griffins' plan featured geometric motifs such as circles, hexagons and triangles, and was centred on axes aligned with significant topographical landmarks in the Australian Capital Territory.

POPULATION

The population of Australia is estimated to be 23,386,117 as of 19 February 2014.[1] Australia is the 52nd most populous country in the world. Its population is concentrated mainly in urban areas and is expected to exceed 28 million by 2030.[3]

Australia's population has grown from an estimated population of about 350,000 at the time of British settlement in 1788 due to numerous waves of immigration during the period since. Also due to immigration, the European component of the population is declining as a percentage, as it is in many other Western countries.

Australia has scarcely more than two persons per square kilometre of total land area. With 89% of its population living in urban areas, Australia is one of the world's most urbanised countries.[4] The life expectancy of Australia in 1999–2001 was 79.7 years, among the highest in the world.

HOLIDAYS

Australia Day

Australia Day is Australia's national day celebrated on 26 January annually in all states and territories. 26 January was chosen because it is the day of the establishment of the first English settlement at Port Jackson by Captain Arthur Phillip in 1788.[18]

Since 1960, the winner of the Australian of the Year award is announced by the Prime Minister on the eve of Australia Day (25 Jan).

Recorded celebrations date back to 1808 in Australia, and in 1818, Governor Lachlan Macquarie held the first official celebration of Australia Day.[19] It was made a public holiday in New South Wales in 1836, and Victoria adopted the day as a public holiday in 1931. It commenced to be celebrated by all states and territories in 1946, but began to be actually celebrated on 26 January from 1994.

Labour Day

Labour Day commemorates the achievements of the Australian labour movement. The celebration of Labour Day has its origins in the eight hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for rest. On 21 April 1856 Stonemasons and building workers on building sites around Melbourne, Australia, stopped work and marched from the University of Melbourne to Parliament House to achieve an eight hour day. Their direct action protest was a success, and they are noted as the first organized workers in the world to achieve an eight hour day with no loss of pay, which subsequently inspired the celebration of Labour Day and May Day.

The Labour Day public holiday varies considerably between the various states and territories. It is the first Monday in October in the Australian Capital Territory, Queensland, New South Wales andSouth Australia. In both Victoria and Tasmania, it is the second Monday in March. In Western Australia, Labour Day is the first Monday in March. In the Northern Territory, it is the first Monday in May.

Easter

The days of Easter vary each year depending on the day determined by the Western Christian religious calendar. Until 1994 Easter Tuesday was a public holiday in Victoria (it retains this status partially in Tasmania). For the basis of how the days are determined see Easter. The NSW Public Holidays Act 2010 refers to the day after Good Friday as "Easter Saturday,"[20] but the VictorianPublic Holidays Act 1993 refers to it merely as "the Saturday before Easter Sunday."[13]

Anzac Day

Anzac Day is a day on which the country remembers those citizens who fell fighting or who served the country in wars. Anzac Day is commemorated on 25 April every year. The tradition began to remember the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) soldiers who landed at Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I.

Anzac Day commemoration features marches by veterans and by solemn "Dawn Services", a tradition started in Albany, Western Australia on 25 April 1923 and now held at war memorials around the country, accompanied by thoughts of those lost at war to the ceremonial sounds of The Last Post on the bugle. The fourth stanza of Laurence Binyon's poem For the Fallen (known as the "Ode of Remembrance") is often recited.

Queen's Birthday

In all states and territories except Western Australia, Queen's Birthday is observed on the second Monday in June. Because Western Australia celebrates Western Australia Day (formerly Foundation Day) on the first Monday in June, the Governor of Western Australia proclaims the day on which the state will observe the Queen's Birthday, based on school terms and the Perth Royal Show.[21] There is no firm rule to determine this date before it is proclaimed, though it is typically the last Monday of September or the first Monday of October. In 2011 the Queen's Birthday holiday in Western Australia was moved from Monday, 3 October 2011 to Friday, 28 October 2011 to coincide with the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), which was held in Perth.[22] In 2012, Queensland celebrated the Queen's Birthday on the first weekend in October, the June holiday for that year being a special holiday to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.[23]Following 2012, the holiday has reverted to its normal June date in Queensland in line with the other eastern states.

The day has been celebrated since 1788, when Governor Arthur Phillip declared a holiday to mark the birthday of King George III. Until 1936 it was held on the actual birthday

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