Australian Handbook
for
North Carolina State University
Australian Study Tour Program
June – July
2008
General Information on Australia
Land area:
7.69 million km2
Population:
21 million currently
Language:
English
Currency:
Australian dollars (A$)
Gross Domestic Product:
$965 969 million (Dec 2006)
National colours:
Green and Gold
Time:
Australia has three time zones:
East: GMT + 10
Central: GMT + 9.5
West: GMT + 8
Workforce:
10.6 million (Feb. 2008)
Registered motor vehicles
14.8 million (2007)
People with mobile phones:
75% (2006)
Households with Internet access:
64% (2007)
Highest point:
2228 metres above sea level (Mount Kosciuszko, New South Wales)
Lowest point:
15 metres below sea level (dry bed of Lake Eyre, South Australia)
http://www.abs.gov.au/
While the dimensions of Australia are striking, the country is, in fact, the smallest of the continents. It is also the
lowest, the flattest and (apart from Antarctica) the driest. At 7,692,024 km2, it comprises just five percent of the
world's land area (149,450,000 km2), yet it is the planet's sixth largest country after Russia, Canada, China, USA,
and Brazil. Australia is also the smallest continental land mass (or largest island).
Whilst the areas of Canada and the United States are similar to Europe, their populations are markedly smaller,
by factors of eighteen (3 persons per km2) and two (29 persons per km2) respectively.
See www.ga.qov.au for more information.
Australia and mainland United States
Immigration
Since 1945, over 6 million people have come to Australia as new settlers. They have had a marked influence on
all aspects of our society. In the 50 years of planned post-war migration, Australia has seen:
 5.9 million migrants arrive
 more than 600,000 people arrive under humanitarian programs,
initially as displaced persons and more recently as refugees; and
 a population rise from about 7 million to over 21 million.
Today, nearly one in four of Australia's 21 million people are born overseas. For the past three financial years
New Zealand displaced the United Kingdom as the largest source birthplace of migrants.
At 30 June 2006, 23.6 per cent of the estimated resident population were born overseas: 6.1 per cent of the
population were born in the UK, 12.5 per cent were born in Europe and the former USSR, 5.6 per cent were
born in Asia, 2.5 per cent were born in Oceania, 1.2 per cent were born in the Middle East and North Africa,
and less than 2 per cent in other regions.
Australia's Political System
Australia became a nation after the people of six self-governing colonies voted to unite and accept the
Constitution which established the Commonwealth of Australia. With the agreement of the British Parliament,
the Commonwealth of Australia was created on 1 January 1901. The colonies became states of the
Commonwealth of Australia, a federal government.
Australia is a constitutional monarchy. Although Australia is an independent nation, the formal Head of State is
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, who is also the
Queen of Australia. The Queen is represented by her Governor-General in Australia, who is appointed by her on
advice from the Australian Prime Minister. The Governor-General performs the tasks of the Head of State
under advice or instruction from the Australian Prime Minister.
The current Governor General of Australia is Michael Jefferey, and the Prime Minister is Kevin Rudd.
Please see www.fed.gov.au for more information on the Australian Government.
Weather
Spending Christmas at the beach or skiing in August may seem strange but
Australia's seasons are the opposite of the northern hemisphere - summer
officially starts in December and winter in June. But even in winter you'll
enjoy blue skies and warm, bright days. Just remember: the further south you go, the
colder it’ll get.
Australia's climate and the fact that it is the driest continent on earth makes it a fabulous
holiday destination all year round, whatever you're planning to do. In the Australian winter
you can ski in the southern states one day and be diving in the balmy waters of the Great Barrier Reef in
Queensland the next. Such temperate conditions make al fresco dining, sublime days on the beach or the water,
outdoor barbeques, and a huge variety of sports a way of life here. No wonder Aussies believe life is for living!
Please check the Australian Bureau of Meteorology website: www.bom.gov.au for more up- to-date and detailed
Australian weather information.
Money
Currency and banking
Australian currency ($A) is decimal with the dollar as the basic unit (100 cents equals one
dollar). Notes come in $100, $50, $20, $10, and $5 denominations. Coins come in $2, $1,
50c, 20c, 10c and 5c denominations. Prices are rounded to the nearest 5c.
The most commonly accepted credit cards are American Express, Bankcard, Diners Club,
MasterCard, Visa and JCB.
Banking hours are usually 9.00am-4pm Monday to Thursday and 9.00am-5pm on Friday for most of the large
banks. St George Bank has extended hours, with some branches open on Saturday mornings.
Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) operate 24 hours a day and can be found at most banks plus some service
stations and selected retail outlets. Direct debit (EFTPOS) and credit cards may be used at most stores but it is
advisable to check before purchasing.
If you buy a
Theatre ticket
Concert ticket
Opera or ballet ticket
Rock concert ticket
Ticket to a movie
Entrance to museum or art gallery
Ticket to a sporting event
Breakfast in a coffee shop
Lunch at a cafe or bistro
Dinner at a fine restaurant
Bottle of Australian wine
Glass of beer at a pub
Cocktail
Commuter rail ticket
City bus fare
Budget Guide
It will cost about
$A30 and up (depending on seats)
$A40 and up (depending on seats)
$A60 and up (depending on seats)
$A60 and up (depending on seats)
$A14 or less
Free-$A15 (for special exhibitions)
$A15-$A60
$A8 and up per person
$A15 and up per person
$A70 per person (3 courses without wine)
$A14 and up
$A2.70 (10 oz glass)
$A14 and up
$A2.40-$A6.40 (one-way)
$A2.20-$A4.40 (one-way)
Taxes
Australia has a Goods and Services Tax (GST) of 10 per cent. Prices in Australia are shown as inclusive of GST.
International and domestic flights purchased overseas, by non-residents, are GST free. Continuous domestic legs
of international journeys are also GST free.
GST is payable on tourism services such as accommodation, day tours, guides, ground transport (including
coach, rail and cruise), translators and meals. The tax applies to pre-booked and pre-paid goods and services in
Australia, which are purchased before arrival in Australia, for example tours or accommodation. The prices
quoted for your Australian holiday, by your travel agent, will already include the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
The total amount is payable at the time of ticketing your holiday.
Tourist Refund Scheme
Departing travellers may be able to claim a refund for GST and WET (Wine Equalisation Tax) paid on goods
purchased in Australia. The refund is applicable to goods, totalling $A300 (GST inclusive) or more that are being
taken out of Australia. The goods must have been purchased no earlier than 30 days before leaving Australia.
You can purchase several lower-priced items from one store, either at the same time or on several occasions
within the 30 day period. These goods will be covered by the one tax invoice. Or you can buy goods from
several stores, provided that each store’s tax invoice totals at least $A300 (GST inclusive).
Tourist Refund Scheme (TRS) facilities are located at international airports and cruise-liner terminals. To claim,
travellers must show their passport, international boarding pass, retailer’s tax invoice and the goods. Other
conditions may apply.
Further information can be obtained from Customs on:
Phone: Within Australia - 1300 363 263 for the cost of a local call
Outside Australia - 61 2 6275 6666
Internet: http://www.customs.gov.au
Email: information@customs.gov.au
Miscellaneous taxes
There is a range of government, airport, sea and local taxes applicable on air and sea travel. These will usually be
included in your ticket.
Health & Safety
You will encounter few health hazards when travelling in Australia, and hygiene standards are
high. Below is a brief outline of some of the issues you need to take into consideration it is also
important to listen to your group leader’s advice and if in doubt ask your group leaders.
Hitchhiking
Hitchhiking is strongly discouraged throughout Australia. Public and private transport operates
between most cities and towns.
Insurance
Travel insurance, with comprehensive health cover, is strongly recommended. Comprehensive insurance should
be taken out before departure. See your travel agent for more information.
Medicare
Medicare is Australia’s public health care system. Eligibility is generally restricted to permanent residents of
Australia. Australia has Reciprocal Health Care Agreements with Finland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, New
Zealand, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
Smoking
Queensland has strict tobacco laws with new legislation being phased in. There is no
smoking in indoor public places and no sales to children under 18 years. From 1 January
2005, smoking is illegal between the flags on a patrolled beach. A patrolled beach is a beach
on which red and yellow flags mark the boundaries for safe swimming. The smoking ban
includes the area between the flags and down to the water and then back behind the flags to
any road or park. It is also illegal to smoke anywhere within 4 metres of a non-residential
building entrance. This rule applies to the entrances of places like offices, banks, nonlicensed food premises, BYO restaurants, snack bars and cinemas. See
www.health.qld.gov.au for more details.
Sun protection
Australians have the highest rate of skin cancer in the world. Each year over 1300 Australians die from this
almost totally preventable disease. Luckily, actions to reduce your risk of developing skin cancer are simple and
effective. Enjoy outdoor activities in Australia’s beautiful weather, but minimise your exposure to the sun. Wear
a broad-brimmed hat, cover up and apply water-resistant sunscreen frequently.
See www.cancer.org.au for more information.
Surf and water safety
Australia is fringed with superb beaches just waiting to be enjoyed. As with all beaches, it
is advisable to follow basic precautions. Popular beaches are usually patrolled by volunteer
lifesavers. Always swim or surf at patrolled beaches between the red and yellow flags
which mark the safest area for swimming. Take your time entering the water, and don’t
swim alone. Also, don’t forget to protect yourself from the sun - take your hat, sunglasses,
sunscreen and cover up, particularly in the middle of the day.
From late October to early May, venomous box jellyfish, also called stingers or sea wasps,
occur in the coastal waters of northern Australia and around many of the Queensland
islands. They are rarely found on the Outer Barrier Reef.
In the Northern Territory, the stingers are present at all beaches, and in Western Australia
they are found along the Kimberley coastline. Beaches usually have warning signs during
this time, and visitors are advised to swim where protective enclosures are provided.
See www.lifesaving.com.au for more information.
General health
You should protect yourself from risks such as HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.
Communications
Telephones
Australia has a modern and competitive telephone system. Local calls from public payphones are untimed and
charged at $A0.50. Long distance and international calls are usually timed. Public payphones accept Australian
coins (except 5cent pieces) and some accept credit cards and pre-paid phone cards.
When it comes to making international phone calls, prepaid phone cards offer the most competitive rates.
Phone cards can be purchased from Newsagencies, some Supermarkets and service stations, in a number of
denominations ranging from $10, to $50. Most companies offer a local number and a freecall number to access
their service however the local number is much cheaper. Phone numbers beginning with 1800 are “freecall” –
that is, free of charge. Phone numbers beginning with a 3 or 1300 are local calls – at a public phone, these cost
40 cents each. It is recommended that you read the card instructions thoroughly before calling.
Cellular (Mobile) phones
If you’re planning to bring your mobile phone with you, Australia’s mobile network operates
on the 900 and 1800 bands for GSM and 800 for CDMA. Contact your telecommunications
carrier for activating international roaming while you are visiting Australia. Mobile Phones
are also available for rent from all international airports. www.vodafonerental.com.au and
www.cellhire.com.au are a couple of options.
Email and Internet
Internet and email access is readily available at Internet cafes, hotels, hostels and libraries. Australia uses RJ-45
telephone plugs and Telstra EXI-160 four-pin plugs. If your connection is not correct go to a local electronic
shop. Also check that your PC-card modem is suitable in Australia. An easy way to access Internet and email is
via one of the many free web-based email services such as Hotmail or Yahoo.
Postal services
Australia Post offices are usually open 9.00am – 5.00pm Monday to Friday with
some city post offices open on Saturday morning. Stamps are usually available from
hotels and motels, and selected retail outlets. Please see www.australiapost.com.au
for more information on available services.
Other
Time zones
There are three time zones in Australia, running east to west. Eastern Standard Time (EST) operates in New
South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, Tasmania and Queensland. Central Standard Time (CST) in
South Australia and Northern Territory. Western Standard Time (WST) in Western Australia. CST is half an
hour behind EST, while WST is two hours behind EST.
Daylight saving
Some Australian states and territories have daylight saving during the summer months. In New South Wales,
Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and South Australia daylight saving runs from the end of October through
to the end of March. In Tasmania, daylight saving runs from the beginning of October through to the end of
March. Northern Territory, Western Australia and Queensland do not have daylight saving.
Electricity
The electrical current in Australia is 220-240 volts, AC 50Hz. The Australian three-pin power outlet is different
from some other countries so you may need an adaptor. If your appliances are 110V, you may need a voltage
converter. Universal outlets for 240V or 110V shavers are usually found in leading hotels.
Tipping
Tipping is not expected in Australia. However, it is becoming a more common practice and no one will mind if
you throw a little change their way.
The Australian way of eating
How do you define what's Australian? In recent years, eating in Australia has become a multicultural
experience, much influenced by immigrants from around the world. In the cities you visit, you'll find this
reflected in the range of restaurants available: Turkish, Mexican, Thai, Chinese, Italian, Greek, Vietnamese... the
list goes on.
What links all these cuisines together is their access to fresh local ingredients. Meat is high quality and relatively
inexpensive. Seafood is flown in from the nearby coasts. Fresh vegetables are readily available. So even when
you're eating Indian style, you're enjoying the flavours of Australia.
But what about traditional Australian "tucker" (food)? In the early days, salt beef and damper were staples.
Damper is bread made without yeast and cooked (if it's really authentic) over a camp fire. These delicacies would
be followed by a billy of tea (a billy looks like a paint pot and is hung over the fire to boil.) The traditional
method demands that you scoop the tea into the boiling water, leave it to "brew", then twirl the billy round and
round at arm's length to "settle" the tea leaves. It's also recommended that a couple of gum leaves be added to
the tea for that authentic bush flavour. Modern cooks favour adding beer to the dough because "it improves the
texture".
Fast food in Australia
Yes, you'll find McDonalds, KFC, Hungry Jacks/Burger King, Domino’s and the like, with
the same reliable recipes they have everywhere else in the world. You should also try an
Aussie pie - meat and gravy encased in pastry, typically eaten with generous helpings of
tomato sauce (the Australian name for ketchup).
Traffic (VERY IMPORTANT)
AUSTRALIANS DRIVE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE
ROAD! Always look in both directions and then look in both
directions again. Use crossings wherever possible. It is not enough
to simply look to the right, because you may be on a one way street,
on a traffic island, tired, happy, partying or a thousand other things
that reduce concentration. Always assume the traffic is coming from
all directions not just the expected ones.
Shopping
Most shops are open from 9am to 5pm or 5.30pm on weekdays, 9am to 5pm on Saturdays, and 10am to 4pm on
Sundays. Suburban shopping centres are open until 9pm on Thursday nights, and City centres are generally open
until 9pm on a Friday night for late night shopping. Opening times may vary from store to store, and city to
city.
Going out
In Australia, the legal drinking age is 18. You will be required to provide a proof of age document on entry to
pubs and clubs. In the case of international visitors you will be required to show your passport to prove you are
over 18. Although Australia is a safe country, it is still sensible to observe personal safety protocols as one would
anywhere. This may include not going to nightclubs alone or coming home alone at night, watching how much
you have to drink, not leaving your drink unattended, staying in well lit areas, not carrying large amounts of cash
etc.
If you are coming home late taxis are preferable to buses and trains.
When going out, please let someone know where to and when you expect to return.
SYDNEY
Accommodation:
Comfort Inn Cambridge
212 Riley Street,
Sydney NSW 2010
Ph: (02) 9212 1111 Fax: (02) 9211 8872
The Comfort Inn Cambridge is a short stroll
from the bustling retail mecca of Oxford
Street and the exotic culinary delights of Sydney's famous Stanley Street. Also located
within easy walking distance is the CBD, Darling Harbour, Sydney Cricket & Sports
Grounds and most of Sydney's major attractions.
- On major bus routes to the beaches.
- Museum Rail Station 500m, 750m to City Centre
Footprints Backpackers Westend Sydney
412 Pitt St, Sydney NSW 2000 Ph: (02) 9211 4588
www.footprintswestend.com.au
Footprints seeks to create a
market leading company that is
innovative within the budget
hotel/backpacker market. At
Footprints we are committed to
making our guests and staff feel
at home in a safe, comfortable
and fun environment.
Right in the heart of Sydney,
Footprints is only a few blocks
away from: Darling Harbour;
Chinatown; Town Hall Station
Central Station; Hyde Park;
Oxford Street; and City
Shopping.
www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
Sydney is the largest city in Australia with a population of 22,000 in central Sydney and 4 million people in
greater Sydney. The working population in central Sydney is around 10 times the residential population at
235,000. The CBD is quite small in comparison to other cosmopolitan cities occupying an area of less than 6.2
square kilometres, greater Sydney on the other hand, comprises over 600 suburbs and localities and occupies an
area of 2,500 square kilometres.
The city is located on the southern coast of New South Wales between the smaller coastal cities of Woolongong
and Newcastle. The CBD is situated on the southern bank of Sydney Harbour, 10 kms west from the mouth of
Port Jackson.
The temperature averages a warm 23 ° C (72° F) in summer and averages around 13° C (55° F) in winter. Sydney
is bathed in sunshine for around 342 days of the year and has an average annual rainfall of approximately 1220
millimetres (48 inches).
Attractions and Entertainment
Sydney Harbour Bridge
Built during the Great Depression of the 1930's, its 504
metre long steel span arches to a height of 134 metres
with a width of 49 metres and weighs 65,000 tonnes.
The bridge was constructed from both shores and met
over the centre of the harbour with precise accuracy in
the winter of 1930. The bridge 'world's widest long span
bridge' was opened in March 1932, with eight road lanes,
two railway tracks, a cycleway and a footpath. The great
granite pylons of the bridge are constructed from rocks
quarried 300 km south of the city, the South/ Eastern
Pylon has a lookout, 200 steps to the top, for a 360
degree view of the harbour.
You can climb the bridge and check out the view for
yourself with Bridge Climb Sydney.
See www.bridgeclimb.com for more information.
Sydney Harbour
The Harbour contains 240 km of foreshore, while the city region's Coastline extends for 60 km. The Sydney
Harbour National Park has a number of Islands - Shark, Clark, Goat, Rodd and the rocky island (Mattewai which
means 'touch the sky') 'Pinchgut' where, until 1857, the Island became the famous Fort Denison constructed to
defend Sydney against a possible Russian invasion during the Crimean War or after two American ships that got
into the harbour undetected, which made authorities realize how vulnerable the harbour was.
Darling Harbour
Darling Harbour is an exciting blend of entertainment, shopping, restaurants and nightspots. Darling Harbour
Visitors Centre is extremely helpful. Located between Cockle Bay and Tumbalong Park. Phone (02) 9286 0111.
Sydney Opera House
The Opera House was built on Bennelong Point which was named after the first Aboriginal man who befriended
Captain Arthur Phillip of the First Fleet. It was designed by Danish architect Joern Utzon, who won an
International competition launched in 1955. He got the idea for the design from a pile of orange peel. The one
million off-white tiles for the roof were imported from Sweden, the brown glass from France, and the rosecoloured granite on the podium was quarried at Tarana, near Bathurst (NSW). The cost came to $102 million
and the first performance was held at the Opera House on 28 September, 1973 with the Australian Opera's "War
and Peace" and officially opened by Queen Elizabeth on 20 October, 1993.
The Opera House averages around 3,000 events each year using either of Concert Hall (2690 seats), Opera
Theatre (1547), Drama Theatre (544) and Playhouse (398), with audiences totalling up to two million.
For tours and Box Office information, see: www.sydneyoperahouse.com
Sydney Olympic Games Site
Since opening in 1999, Telstra Stadium has been the scene of a host of sensational
sporting moments. From the spectacular Olympic opening ceremony to
Johnny Wilkinson’s unforgettable drop goal to win the Rugby World Cup, the Stadium
holds a special place in the hearts of sports fans throughout the world. The new
interactive Explore tour will allow you to follow in the footsteps of the heroes of the
2000 Sydney Olympic Games. You’ll experience the stadium where fearless teams do
battle for the Bledisloe Cup and Rugby League Grand Final and see where Australian
Football and State of Origin idols psyche themselves up before the big game. This
privileged inside view of one of the world’s finest and most technologically advanced
stadiums is an experience you will never forget!
Tours operate daily from 10am to 4pm every half hour (with the exception of some event days and Christmas
Day), and cost $27.50 for an adult. See www.telstrastadium.com.au for more information.
Chinatown
Recently upgraded, the sides of the streets in Chinatown are adorned with lights and Chinese lanterns. Within the
vicinity, floor upon floor of shopping centres offer designer fashion at the lowest costs, a perfect contrast to the
nearby Chinese Grocers and the hustle and bustle of the streets. Let the aromatic scent of over 200 Asian cuisine
outlets infiltrate your senses! Chinatown is an easy 15 minute walk from Central railway station. A light rail
service operates from Central to Haymarket, just outside Chinatown. The nearest Sydney Explorer stop to
Chinatown is stop number 17.
Taronga Zoo
Taronga Zoo was officially opened on October 7th, 1916. Perched on the banks of Sydney Harbour, the animals
at Taronga enjoy some of the best views in the city. The Zoo is approximately 12 minutes by ferry from Circular
Quay and the CBD. (Ferries depart Circular Quay, every quarter past and quarter to the hour). Sky Safari cable
car operates between the Zoo wharf and the Top Entrance from 9.30am to 5.00pm daily. The all-inclusive
Zoopass includes return ferry, Sky Safari/bus and Zoo admission and is available for the independent traveller
from Circular Quay. For more information on public transport to the Zoo, contact Sydney’s Transport
hotline:www.131500.com.au or call 13 15
00. Entry is $27 (group discounts for
groups of more than 12 people) and
General Zoo enquiries can be made by
phoning +61 2 9969 2777, or visit
www.zoo.nsw.gov.au
Sydney's Aquarium
This is one of the world's best aquariums,
featuring underwater walkways through
two enormous tanks filled with fish, stingrays and three meter long Grey Nurse Sharks. The magnificent Great
Barrier Reef Section has thousands of coral fish and coral outcrops. There are also salt-water crocodiles and fairy
penguins and lots more!
Open daily from 9am -10pm. Aquarium Pier, Darling Harbour. www.sydneyaquarium.com.au
Sydney Fish Markets
Sydney Fish Market offers the unique opportunity to experience a vibrant, leading edge, working-market
environment in the heart of the city. Sydney Fish Market hosts the largest market of its kind in the Southern
Hemisphere and the world’s second largest seafood market in terms of variety outside of Japan, with over 100
species per day. Each day, around 55 tonnes of seafood is auctioned and product is sourced both nationally and
internationally.
Tours are conducted by a trained Sydney Fish Market tour guide and explore all facets of the Market and its
operations, including a tour of the Auction floor, the sashimi pavilion and crustacea pen. The tours are available
Monday – Friday, at 7.00am, to ensure your group will view the Auction which begins at 5.30am and experience
the full range of seafood. This is a wholesale and seafood retail dream where you can have spectacular lunches!
SFM is located on Pyrmont Bridge Road, visit www.sydneyfishmarket.com.au or phone 02 9660 1611 for more
information.
Star City Casino
There are about 7 restaurants, four bars and the Lyric theatre to choose from as well as the casino of course.
Check out www.starcity.com.au for venue and event information.
Sydney Tower
The Sydney Tower experience takes you a staggering 250 metres above Sydney, commanding breathtaking views
of one of the most beautiful cities in the world, including the
Harbour Bridge and Opera House. From the beaches to the
mountains, you’ll be amazed at what you can see from the highest
point in town.
Skytour, the largest simulated ride in the Southern hemisphere,
takes you on an amazing virtual adventure through Australia’s
cultural history and geography. Immersed in Skytour's surround
sound technology and "Peppers Ghost" 3D imagery, your virtual
Australian tour is an experience not to be missed. Feel the
exhilaration of white water rafting down Queensland's Tully River,
climb the Northern Territory's Uluru, get up close and personal in a
game of Aussie Rules Football and experience a dangerously close
brush with a huge saltwater crocodile.
Entry is $22, and Sydney Tower is located within the city, on the
corner of Pitt & Market Street. Access: by Bus: Sydney Explorer
Bus Stop 14; by Ferry: Ferries from Circular Quay; by Monorail:
City Centre Station; by Train: Town Hall Station. Phone: +61 2
8251 7800 www.sydneyskytour.com.au Open Sunday to Friday:
9:00am to 10:30pm, Saturday: 9:00am to 11:30pm.
Shopping
The Queen Victoria Building was a purpose built shopping centre opened in 1898 celebrating Queen
Victoria's Golden Jubilee. In more recent years the building was largely neglected and fell in to a state of disrepair
until the early 1980's when the Centre was painstakingly restored to its original granduer. Today the QVB is one
of the most stunning examples of Victorian architecture in Sydney. The Centre now houses a superb collection
of 190 designer label and specialty stores and excellent eateries. The QVB occupies a full block along George
Street between Town Hall and Market Street.
The Strand Arcade is a more hip and groovy version of the QVB. The Strand was opened in 1892 and was
almost destroyed by fire in 1976. The resident shopkeepers restored the building which now houses some of
Australia's top designer labels, jewellers, boutiques and beauty salons. The Strand extends from the middle of Pitt
Street mall through to George Street, a block towards Circular Quay from the QVB.
Skygarden is a newer shopping centre located almost directly opposite The Strand Arcade in Pitt Street Mall.
The Centre houses over 50 fashion, accessory, furniture, homeware, gift and specialty stores. On the top floor
you'll find a beautiful rooftop food court enclosed under a magnificent glass atrium.
Picadilly houses some of Sydney's more interesting and innovative fashion retailers. With over 40 specialty
stores and boutiques from footwear to homewares the centre is a great place to pick up an interesting gift for
someone special. The centre is located opposite the Hilton Hotel in Pitt Street, a 5 minute walk from Town Hall
railway station.
Grace Brothers' city department store is the retailer's flagship store. The seven levels and mezzanine floor are
more like an exhibition space than a store. Grace Brothers boasts the biggest range of cosmetics in Australia and
comits a whole level to the latest and greatest appliances and computer equipment. The store is a landmark in
itself, situated on the corner of Market and George Streets.
David Jones is Sydney's oldest department store and one of the world's only department stores still trading
under its original name. After refurbishing the George Street store in 1877, David Jones boasted the city's first
hydraulic lift and now stocked furniture and furnishings. Today the store still stands by its founder's original
commitment, to sell "the best and most exclusive goods" and to carry "a stock that embraces the everyday wants
of mankind at large." The stores are located at 65-77 Market Street & 86-108 Castlereagh Street. The nearest
railway stations are St James and Museum.
At the southern end of Pitt Street Mall you will find Centrepoint which houses over 130 specialty stores and
forms the foyer to the 305 metre high AMP tower. Other shopping areas in or close to Pitt Street Mall include
the Glasshouse and the MLC Centre which are linked to one another via a covered overpass. Further down
towards the Quay is Chifley Plaza, home to a selection of the world's most famous and stylish international
brands.
Paddy's Markets are Sydney's biggest market in the city. It's more mainstream in that the stalls stock new items,
albeit cheap or discounted because of the lower overheads incurred as a result of having a temporary shop front.
Some retailers use the markets to extend their reach to consumers and others to sell overstocked items at a
discount. The very fresh fruit and veg is plentiful and at excellent prices making the markets worth a visit on a
regular basis if your staying for a while.
Paddy's Markets are open from 10am to 6pm on Thursday and from 9am to 4pm on Friday, Saturday and
Sunday. They are situated under Market City on the corner of Hay & Thomas Streets.
The Rocks Markets mainly trade in good quality crafts, homewares, arts and collectibles. The setting is
magnificent and the pubs are good for a snack and a beer or if you’re looking for something more substantial, try
one of the many first class restaurants nearby.
The Rocks markets are a short stroll north from Circular Quay railway station along George Street. They are held
on both Saturday and Sunday every weekend from 10am to 5pm.
Bondi Markets have got the spot. If your looking to fill your day by going to the markets but don't actually
want to spend the whole day at the markets, then Bondi is for you. Similar to Glebe in size and content, these
markets have a good selection of pre-loved clothing and second-hand goods from electricals to hardware. When
you've finished browsing retire to the beach or one of Bondi's many al fresco eateries.
The Bondi Beach markets are held in the Bondi Beach Public School Grounds on Campbell Parade and they are
open every Sunday from 10am to 4pm. The best way to get there is to catch the 380 or 382 bus either from the
city or Bondi Junction railway station.
Museums & Galleries
Art Gallery of NSW
The Art Gallery of NSW showcases one of the finest collections of Australian art, including the outstanding
Yiribana Gallery, the world’s largest permanent exhibition of Australian Aboriginal Art.
Open daily 10:00am-5:00pm. Art Gallery Road, The Domain. Phone: (02) 9225 1744 or (02) 9221 1790
Australian Museum
Discover Australia’s natural history and cultural diversity at the Australian Museum. Open daily 9.30am-5:00pm
(Closed Christmas Day). 6 College Street (opposite Hyde Park). Phone: (02) 9320 6000
Justice and Police Museum
Learn about Sydney’s most spectacular crimes at this grisly and realistic museum. Open Saturday & Sunday
10:00am - 5:00pm. Corner of Phillip & Albert Streets, Circular Quay. Phone: (02) 9252 1144
Museum of Contemporary Art
Australia’s most important collection of contemporary art is housed within this striking waterfront museum.
Open daily 10:00am - 5:00pm. Circular Quay West. 140 George Street, The Rocks.
Phone: (02) 9252 4033 or (02) 9241 5892
Museum of Sydney
Learn about Sydney’s colonial history, Aboriginality and the environment at this fascinating and provocative
museum. Open daily 10:00am-5:00pm. Corner of Phillip & Bridge Streets. Phone: (02) 9251 4611
Australian National Maritime Museum
Discover the exciting story of Australia’s relationship with the sea. Open daily 9:30am -5:00pm
Darling Harbour (next to Pyrmont Bridge) Phone: (02) 9298 3777 or 1900 962 002
Hyde Park Barracks Museum
Visit the Hyde Park Barracks and discover how Sydney’s early convicts lived. See where they slept, what they ate
and how they were punished. There’s also changing exhibitions of Australian history and culture.
Open daily 10:00am-5:00pm. Queens Square, Macquarie Street. Phone: (02) 9223 8922
Powerhouse Museum
Science, technology and the decorative arts are explained through fun, hands-on exhibits at this interactive
museum. Open daily 10:00am-5:00pm (except Christmas Day). 500 Harris Street, Ultimo.
Phone: (02) 9217 0111 or (02) 9217 0444
Public Transport
Perfect! Most modes of transport are within a 2 minute walk from your hotel. Please see concierge for
directions.
Mono-Rail
Leaving from Haymarket Station, the Sydney Monorail runs above ground and does a complete loop of the City
Centre and Darling Harbour region. It departs every 3-5 minutes and runs up to 10pm on week nights, 12pm on
weekends. Visit www.metromonorail.com.au for further details.
Light-Rail
This is a fairly new method of transportation that costs approximately $5 depending on the destination. It
operates from Central Station to Star City Casino, onward to the Fish markets and then through to Lilyfield in
the inner western suburbs of Sydney.
Central Railway Station
Renovated in early 2000 for the Olympics this is Sydney's major train station. All suburban and interstate trains
stop at Central Station so, whether Chatswood, Wollongong, Homebush Bay (Olympic Stadium) or even
Melbourne is your destination, this is where you will catch the train. See www.cityrail.info for timetables, ticket
and travel information.
Council Buses
These provide frequent and convenient service to Sydney City and all metropolitan suburbs. Many buses run
along George Street and are recommended when wishing to explore Circular Quay and The Rocks. See
www.sydneybuses.nsw.gov.au for timetables, ticket and travel information.
Taxis
You can book Taxis from your hotel. It is also possible to hail one down outside the front doors of the hotel.
Ask reception to help you if you’re having any problems.
Ferries
Sydney Ferries has been a part of life on Sydney Harbour for more than 135 years. They can take you from
Circular Quay to 41 wharves - including Parramatta, Darling Harbour, Pyrmont Bay, Taronga Zoo and Manly,
also operating harbour cruises during the day and in the evening.
Visit www.sydneyferries.nsw.gov.au for everything you need to know about travelling with Sydney Ferries
Corporation – from timetable and fare information, to assistance planning your trip, and special deals on popular
harbour attractions.
Blue Mountains
The Blue Mountains is Sydney's greatest recreation area for people who
prefer the bush to the sea. They are part of the Great Dividing Range, which
stretches from Gippsland region of Victoria in the south to the tropical
rainforests of north Queensland. The Blue Mountains actually got their name
from the blue-tinged leaves of the Eucalyptus that cascade down the valleys.
The views will not disappoint.
Scenic Skyway - Australia’s only horizontal passenger carrying cable car. It is
a 7 minute ride 200 metres above the Jamison Valley where you can
appreciate superb views of the Three Sisters, Katoomba Falls, Mt Solitary and Orphan Rock. The Skyway
operates every 10 minutes. The price is currently $10.00 per adult.
Scenic Railway - This is the world’s steepest incline railway. Travel through the tunnel and ancient rainforest as
the railway descends 415 metres down the escarpment at a gradient of 52 degrees. The railway takes you to the
rainforest boardwalk connecting to the Sceniscender platform and operates every 10 minutes. The price is
currently $12.00 per adult return or $6 one way.
Sceniscender - The steepest aerial cable car in Australia will take you on a 545 metre ride into the World
Heritage Listed rainforest of the Jamison valley. The Sceniscender is completely wheelchair accessible. The price
is currently $12.00 per adult return, or AUD $6.00 one way.
www.scenicworld.com.au
CANBERRA
Accommodation:
Olims Hotel, Corner Ainslie & Limestone Avenues, Braddon, Canberra, ACT, 2612
Ph: +612 6248 5511 Fax: +612 6247 0864 www.olimshotel.com
This Boutique style 4 star hotel is located minutes from the Canberra City Centre and local attractions such as
The National Gallery of Australia, the Australian War Memorial and Parliament House.
Opened in 1927 the hotel surrounds a landscaped courtyard and combines the grandeur of yesteryear with all of
the comfort and conveniences.
Olims Hotel Canberra is one of Canberra's oldest and best loved hotels. Originally known as the Hotel Ainslie,
Olims was designed by architect CFA Voysey. Built in English deco style, it was initially established to house
members of parliament and public servants. Hotel Ainslie opened its doors in September of 1927, the same year
as the Old Parliament House was opened. Privately run from 1930 by the Spendlove family, it was known to
many as Spendlove's Hotel. In its early days, the hotel consisted of accommodation for just 60 persons, 16
single rooms and 22 double rooms, and to quote one popular magazine of the day, there is hot and cold water in
every bedroom.
Pre-World War II, the Hotel Ainslie was a lively place, and the centre of many social gatherings. The hotel is
remembered by many as a Canberra landmark, it was the largest building north of Civic.
The hotel was classified by the National Trust, entered on the Royal Institute of Architect's Register of
Significant Twentieth Century Architecture and on the Australian Heritage Commission's Register of National
Estate, which is a Government body working to identify and protect places of heritage value.
Olims has all the charm and elegance of early federation architecture and the appeal of the bygone era, yet boasts
facilities and services to cater for the modern traveller. In 1987 a further 87 rooms were added to the original
thirty seven, in addition to extensive landscaping and remodelling of the public areas including the public bar,
bistro bar and restaurant and beer garden. All extensions and refurbishments have been carried out in keeping
with the original architecture, ensuring none of the old world charm of the property is lost.
In 1989 the hotel changed its name to Olims Canberra Hotel when it was purchased by the current owners. The
hotel still provides today's visitor with a taste of Canberra as it was in 1927, but with all the comforts of the 21st
century.
Burgmann College, Australian National University, Canberra ACT 2061
Phone: (02) 6125 6100 Fax: (02) 6257 2655
Burgmann College is a residential college affiliated with, and located on the campus of, the Australian National
University in Canberra, Australia. Burgmann College offers a unique co-educational environment for the pursuit
of academic, social and recreational goals. Established in 1971, it has an enviable reputation as a lively academic
community with a strong spirit and high standards. It accommodates 350 residential students (undergraduates
and postgraduates) and 17 academic tutors.
The College is idyllically situated amid parkland within the ANU campus, on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin
under Black Mountain. It is ten minutes walk to the civic centre and there are bus services to the door. The
capital's main attractions are within easy reach.
Facilities include:


Common Room - equipped with a large-screen TV, video, deluxe chairs, table-tennis and pool table.
TV room





Tutorial Rooms
grand piano (in Dining Hall)
College Bar
Computer Rooms
Pay Phones
Burgmann rooms are modest and designed to suit the needs of today's students. Standard features include:
 desk and chair
 single bed
 phone with built-in answering machine
(voicemail) and own phone number
 computer network connection
 washbasin
 hanging space
 lockable storage space
 mirror
 adjustable central-heating
Floor Facilities: each floor has a kitchen (microwave, fridge, kettle and toaster), bathrooms (three blocks of
showers and toilets), and a laundry with free washing machines, dryers, drying room, ironing facilities and
vacuum cleaner.
History
Aboriginal people lived for thousands of years in the Canberra region, moving across the plains and into the
mountain valleys in small groups to hunt and camp. The first Europeans to visit the area arrived in 1820. They
came in search of the Murrumbidgee River which they failed to find but several returned in the autumn of 1821
with an Aboriginal guide who led them to the river near Pine Island at Tuggeranong. The first European
settlement occurred in 1824 and other settlers followed.
The Canberra Valley has been transformed from rolling sheep pastures to a great National Capital city in one
person's lifetime. Where the National Capital now stands was originally savannah woodlands with dry
schlerophyll forests on the slopes of Black Mountain and other hills, seriously depleted by over-grazing of stock,
ringbarking of trees and the destruction wrought by a plague of rabbits, droughts and bushfires.
In 1911 an international design competition for the capital was launched by the Federal Government. Prizes of
1750, 750 and 500 pounds for the best three entries were announced. A model of the site was put on display in
all Australian capital cities and in London, Washington, New York, Chicago, Ottawa, Paris, Berlin, Cape Town,
Pretoria and Wellington. The origin of today's landscape is in the prize-winning plan for the city prepared by
Walter Burley Griffin, an architect from Chicago. From a landscape viewpoint, one of Griffin's most important
insights was his use of topographic elements to form and structure the city. Griffin recognised particularly the
importance of the surrounding and distant hills and the Molonglo River landscapes as features capable of
providing a basis for the design of the City and a starting point for modifications to the landscape that urban
development would bring.
Selecting the site for the National Capital:
The Commonwealth of Australia came into existence on 1 January 1901 and at the first meeting of the Federal
Cabinet, the problem of finding a site for the National Capital was discussed. The Constitution provided that
the 'Seat of Government' would be determined by the Parliament and be within a Territory acquired by or
granted to the Commonwealth, not closer than 100 miles from Sydney. The reason for this was the failure of
delegates to the Federal Convention in 1898 to agree on a site for the capital due to jealousy between Sydney and
Melbourne. The compromise solution was to find a new site for an ideal city in NSW.
Various sites were chosen with much discussion and disagreement until finally the Senate voted in favour of
Canberra in 1908.
Australia's Parliament House
Parliament House was designed by Mitchell/Giorgola and Thorp Architects. Their design was chosen from 329
entries from 28 countries. The first sod was turned on the site in late 1980 and it was officially opened on 9
May, 1988. Parliament commenced its first sitting in the building on 22 August, 1988.
Parliament House was built by 10,000 workers from 50 different ethnic backgrounds. It has 4,500 rooms with a
gross floor area of more than 250,000 square metres.
The building is made of 300,000 cubic metres of concrete - enough to build 25 Sydney Opera Houses and is one
of the largest buildings in the Southern Hemisphere. Ninety per cent of the materials used in the construction is
Australian. The total cost of the building was approximately $1.1 billion.
The two Chambers have large central roof skylights which act as glass prisms allowing natural light in during the
day. At night the skylights emit a glow indicating Parliament is sitting. The colours in the Senate and the House
of Representatives Chambers are representative of the Australian bush and landscape. The Senate Chamber has
396 seats in the Public Galleries, compared to 536 seats in the House of Representatives.
The flagmast is 81 metres high and weighs 220 tonnes and the Australian flag flown from the flagmast is 12.8
metres by 6.4 metres.
Planning for the Art Program began 6 years before the opening of Parliament House. Over 3000 works were
purchased or commissioned for the collection.
The centrepiece of the Great Hall is a tapestry based on a painting by Australian artist, Arthur Boyd, of a
eucalyptus forest in the Shoalhaven area of New South Wales. It measures 20 metres x 9 metres and is one of
largest tapestries in the world. A team of 13 master weavers from the Victorian Tapestry Workshop took just
under 2½years to complete the work.
The embroidery is a Bicentennial gift to the nation from embroiderers' guilds throughout Australia. It is 16
metres long by 6.5 cm high. It is made from cotton, linen, wool and some synthetic fibres.
Australian War Memorial
The Australian War Memorial is an historic national landmark containing the Tomb of the Unknown Australian
Soldier and is the national focus for commemoration of Australia's war dead.There are twenty museum galleries
and film-video theatres which give access to a national collection of war relics and works of art that present the
history and personal stories of the Australian experience of war.
Shopping
City Centre: Gathered around City Walk and Northbourne Avenue are several travel businesses and the main
post office. Across the road in the City Markets you'll find fresh food stores, cafes and restaurants and specialty
shops.
Canberra Centre: Located in the heart of Canberra's CBD, this large shopping mall includes the major
department stores David Jones and Myer, various fashion outlets including Sportsgirl, Cue, Witchery and
Country Road, ample parking. Open daily. Alinga Street.
Manuka: Upmarket fashion labels, homewares and a street of alfresco cafes make this the epicentre of Canberra.
Manuka Plaza, open daily, has a 24-hour supermarket, specialty shops and food outlets.
Manuka Plaza, Corner Franklin Street and Flinders Way, Manuka
Westfield Belconnen: Myer, Kmart, Woolworths, Coles, Toys R Us, Hoyts, The Reject Shop, Best n Less,
Rebel, Dan Murphys Liquor Intencity, over 200 specialty stores, an 820 seat food court, free parking.
Benjamin Way, Belconnen
Woden Plaza
Recently redeveloped at a cost of $120 million, this is the most comprehensive shopping and leisure experience
in the ACT. David Jones, Big W, Dick Smith Electronics Powerhouse and Hoyts 8 cinemas are just some of the
attractions. A wide array of delicious dining options. Open 7 days, Keltie Street, Phillip
Socialising/Eating/Drinking
Recommended venues for a Friday night are the Irish pub King O’Malley’s and Mooseheads nightclub which
now has 4 floors including 2 pub floors and 2 club floors. Also great to visit on a Friday are the Green Square in
Kingston (Eyre Street) where there are four great pubs: Filthys (highly recommended); The Durham; the Holy
Grail and the Belgian Beer Cafe (also highly recommended). These pubs have a great 'friday after work'
atmosphere and are generally pretty packed out from 7pm onwards. There are also two bars (B Bar and Lot
33) in Kingston just around the back of the green square. B Bar (also highly recommended) has a great chilled
out atmosphere with DJs that play funky fresh beats. Lot 33 usually has a $10 cover charge as they have more
renowned DJs.
A must for overseas visitors coming in the warmer months is OPH. The Ginger Room at OPH is a part of old
parliament house which has basically been turned into a beer garden and is packed out with public servants and
the general public on Fridays after work. Offering very cheap drinks from 5-7pm (including delicious cocktails),
and funky music and a buzzing atmosphere this is the best way to wind down on a Friday. (Though OPH is not
as popular in the winter months because its too cold).
On a Saturday night, as well as King O’Malley’s and Mooseheads, try Hippo Bar (for a great chill out lounge
and good cocktails), and Academy (for techno/ house).
Manuka (10min walk from Kingston) is another area with a lot of great cafes and restaurants and a few good
bars, including Minque.
Restaurants
Ardeche delivers one of the best value for money dining experiences with a la carte or blackboard specials
showcasing traditional French cuisine. Licensed and BYO L & D Mon-Sat; 222 City Walk, Canberra City 6230
4800
Axis Stunning lake views and exceptional service, combined with high-quality food and an extensive wine list.
$$ B Sat-Sun, L 7 days, D 7 days; National Museum of Australia, Acton Peninsula, Acton 6208 5176
A Foreign Affair Mostly modern Italian dishes served in elegant surrounds. BYO. $ L Tue-Fri, D Mon-Sat; 8
Franklin Street, Manuka 6239 5060
The Ginger Room a great location, cutting edge cuisine and an outstanding wine list. $ D Wed-Sat Old
Parliament House, enter via Queen Victoria Terrace Parkes 6270 8262
Grapefoodwine Award-winning restaurant set in a vineyard where you can sample the latest vintage.
Contemporary dishes are linked to seasonal produce. $ L & D Fri-Sat, B & L Sun; Madew Wines, Federal
Highway, Lake George 4848 0165 Fri-Sun, 6269 8901 Mon-Thur.
The Hermitage Sophisticated yet relaxed ambience for casual or celebrative dining. This award winning
restaurant features prime beef and seafood on its menu in addition to a range of light meals. $ L & D: 170
London Circuit, Civic 6230 0857
La Scala Traditional Italian menu with a innovative specials menu. Set and special menu at lunch, al la carte for
evenings. $ L Mon-Fri & D daily: Centre Cinema Building, Bunda Street, Canberra City 6248 8338
The Lobby Set in the National Rose Garden, with views to Parliament House, the Canberra institution offers
fine dining. The menu changes with the seasons, drawing on the finest, freshest produce from the land and the
sea. $ L Mon-Fri D Tue-Sat: King George Terrace, Parkes 6273 1563
Montezumas Fully licenced a la carte Mexican restaurants with Aztec trimmings. Varied menu with vegetarian
and kid choices. Try the famous Margaritas. $ L & D 197 London Circuit, Civic 6248 0062
The Palette Cafe Tasty contemporary Australian dishes including several brunch specialities. Cakes and pastries
baked daily. $ B & L daily; Beaver Galleries, 81 Denison Street, Deakin 6282 8416
Poachers Pantry & The Smokehouse Cafe Gourmet smoked meat producer located on a farm close to Hall.
Try their succulent smoked duck breast or emu and kangaroo prosciutto. Cafe features in SMH Good Food
Guide 2004. Marakei, Nanima Road, Hall: Open Tastings & sales 10am-5pm daily Cafe 10am-5pm Fri, weekends
& public holidays 6230 2487
The Promenade Cafe Casual dining in stylish surroundings of the Hyatt Hotel. Buffet or a la carte.
$ B, L & D daily; Hyatt Hotel Canberra, Commonwealth Ave, Yarralumla 6269 8810
Rocksalt Winners of the Best New Restaurant at the 2001 Restaurant and Catering Awards. BYO
$ L Tues-Sun, D Tues-Sat; Shop 4, Hawker Shopping Centre, Hawker 6254 7865
Silo Canberra's most popular bakery where sumptuous breakfasts and lunches are a specialty. Wines by the
glass, cheese room featuring interesting Australian and imported cheeses. Arguably Australia's best bread.
$ B & L Tue-Sat (closed Dec 25-Jan 20); 36 Giles Street, Kingston 6260 6060 Closed 24 December - 27 January.
Teatro Vivaldi Fine dining on the ANU Campus! Modern Mediterranean a la carte cuisine. Prix Fix linch
available: 2 courses with beverage for $19. Live evening entertainment $ L Mon-Fri D Mon-Sat; ANU University
Arts Centre 6257 2718
The Tea Lounge Enjoy a traditional afternoon high tea at the Hyatt Hotel with freshly baked scones and
selection of cakes. $ Open daily; Hyatt Hotel Canberra, Commonwealth Ave, Yarralumla 6269 8815
Waters Edge Modern French style cuisine, try the prawn ravioli. Spectacular lakeside setting with outdoor
dining with views over Lake Burley Griffin. Licensed. $ L daily except Sat & Mon D Tue-Sun; 40 Parkes Place
North, Parkes 6273 5066
Windows on the Park Located in Canberra Casino, this award-winning restaurant is priced to suit all budgets
from snacks to a-la-carte. $ L & D daily; Fri-Sat till 2am; 21 Binara Street, Canberra 6257 7074
BRISBANE
Accommodation:
Toowong Villas 9 Ascog
Tce, Toowong, Brisbane
QLD 4066
Phone: 07 3371 4855
Fax: 07 3371 4661
www.toowongvillas.com.au
Toowong Villas serviced apartments offers quality, comfortable accommodation 4kms from the city centre, yet
far enough away from the rat race. Each apartment is air-conditioned and has a balcony or courtyard, and
features a fully self-contained kitchen and laundry. Enjoy the comfort and style of the apartment, or relax by one
of the pools. Not only is the vibrant city centre so close by, but a major shopping centre, restaurants and public
transport are within walking distance from Toowong Villas.
Attractions & Entertainment
South Bank Parklands
Originally the meeting place for indigenous groups, Southbank Parklands was
transformed and the eyes of the world focused on South Bank when it became the
site for the hugely successful World Expo 88. In 1992 the parklands opened and
today they are Brisbane's favourite recreational destination and playground. The
17-hectare public park stretches for more than a kilometre along the bank of the
Brisbane River, looking out across Brisbane's modern city skyline. Over 5.5
million people each year enjoy the recreation, entertainment and dining pleasures
the parklands have to offer including a man-made beach that is open to the public
(free) and is even patrolled by lifesavers.
Mt Coot-tha & Botanical Gardens
Mt Coot-tha offers wonderful views of the city and surrounding areas from its lookout located 8km from the
city. You can see as far as the Glass House Mountains to the North, Gold Coast hinterland to the South and
Moreton and Stradbroke Islands to the East. Mt Coot-tha is also a great place for walking. There are various
trails giving spectacular vies of the scenery, and an Aboriginal art Trail where you can see tree carvings and rock
paintings.
At the foot of the mountain are the Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens, containing around 20,000 species of plants.
You can visit the gardens everyday from 8.30am - 5.30pm and join a tour at 11.00am or 1.00pm (except Sunday).
You can get to Mt Coot-tha on bus number 471 which leaves from the corner of Adelaide and Albert Streets.
The bus drops you at the base of the mountain so be prepared for an uphill trek. Alternatively hop on the City
Heights Tour leaving at 2.00pm from Adelaide Street in the city.
Brisbane Powerhouse - Centre for Arts
A unique mid-sized venue featuring cutting-edge performances from Australia and overseas, the Brisbane
Powerhouse has been created within a historic old powerhouse situated on the banks of the Brisbane River.
An initiative of Brisbane City Council, the Powerhouse exposes and celebrates the diversity of contemporary arts
in Brisbane and connects it to the rest of the country and the world.
Bold industrial structures, raw textures and graffitied walls combine with well-equipped performance spaces,
meeting and rehearsal rooms, outdoor areas and a glorious riverside location make the Powerhouse a
remarkable feature of Brisbane city.
Located on Lamington Street, New Farm, Brisbane Powerhouse is easily accessible by all forms of public
transport (or a combination of them). See www.brisbanepowerhouse.org for more information.
Queensland Art Gallery
Located next to Southbank Parklands on Melbourne Street, the Queensland Art Gallery is Queensland's premier
visual arts institution and a leading art museum nationally. The Gallery's driving philosophy is to connect art and
people. The Gallery was established in 1895 as the Queensland National Art Gallery. Throughout its early
history the Gallery was housed in a series of temporary premises, and did not have a permanent home until the
opening of its current architecturally-acclaimed building on Brisbane's south bank in 1982.
Since opening, the Gallery's Collection, exhibitions, audiences and programs have grown in size, complexity and
diversity. To cater for the community's future needs, a second building, The Queensland Gallery of Modern Art,
which will open at Kurilpa Point in late 2006.
See www.qag.qld.gov.au for exhibitions and more information.
Sports
Rugby Union www.qru.com.au & www.rugby.com.au
Ballymore is the home ground of Rugby in Queensland, and also of the mighty Queensland Reds team. It's the
place where fierce battles have been wagered against sporting foes from across the border and across the seas.
Great as this sporting pedigree is, Ballymore, perhaps more so than any other ground in the world, is more than
just a football park. Tucked into a leafy green inner-suburban pocket of Brisbane, bordered by a meandering
creek, it has gradually evolved into an oasis of casual style, conviviality and relaxed entertainment. Buy your
tickets online at www.ticketmaster7.com For the latest information on the Wallabies, Test matches, International
touring matches, Bledisloe Cup, Tri Nations Series, Match draws, Scores, Players, and all Australian rugby related
stories visit www.rugby.com.au
Rugby League www.qrl.com.au
The home of rugby league, Suncorp Stadium has recently had a AUD$280million makeover - nicknamed 'The
Cauldron' it was designed specifically for rugby. Suncorp Stadium has hosted rugby league and rugby union Test
matches, including Rugby World Cup 2003 as well as Youth World Cup soccer, but is best known as the home
of the Brisbane Broncos NRL and Queensland State of Origin rugby league teams.
Before its re-development, Suncorp Stadium was known as Lang Park, named after the Reverend John Dunmore
Lang who was an influential figure in colonial Brisbane and who established a cemetery on the site in 1840. The
graves and headstones were later moved and the land converted to recreational use at the beginning of the 20th
century.
Suncorp Stadium is located in Milton. Pedestrians can enter the stadium from Milton Road, Castlemaine Street
or Caxton Street. Public transport is the best way to go. Ticket holders are entitled to free travel on all regular
network wide Brisbane Transport bus and QR city train services on the day of the event. Free shuttle buses will
run from the city and South Bank before and after Suncorp Stadium games.
An elevated walkway gives pedestrians access to Milton Rail Station and a 12 bay bus station offers shuttle
services to the CBD for events. Buy your tickets online at www.ticketek.com.au
Australian Rules Football (AFL) www.afl.com.au & Cricket www.cricket.com.au
Formally known as the Brisbane Cricket Ground but called ‘The Gabba’ by everyone, this venue is the spiritual
home of cricket in Queensland. During the summer months, the Gabba hosts the Queensland Bulls and the
Australian cricket team. In winter, the Gabba becomes the home of Aussie Rules in Brisbane and is the home
ground to the Brisbane Lions Football Club.
The Gabba is located between Vulture and Stanley Streets, Woolloongabba. Ticket holders (excluding domestic
cricket matches) are entitled to free travel on all regular network wide Brisbane Transport bus and QR city train
services on the day of the event. Free shuttle buses will run from the city and South Bank before and after the
Gabba games. Transinfo provides full public transport information for Gabba matches.
Tickets for AFL matches are available from ticketek three weeks before the game. Book early as Brisbane Lions
games are extremely popular and often sell out. Tickets for international cricket matches are available from
ticketmaster7. Tickets to domestic cricket matches can be bought from the Gabba box office on the day of play.
Shopping
There are a wide range of shops in Brisbane for you to browse around.
The heart of shopping in Brisbane, Queen Street Mall, is lined with a colourful mix of heritage facades, historic
arcades and modern shopping galleries with the extra pizzazz of bold new architecture in canopies and pavement
cafes. From your accommodation you can get to Queen Street mall which is the centre of the city by train or
bus easily. Queen Street Mall has over 500 shops to explore. Some of Australia’s most stylish shopping arcades
and galleries lead off from the Mall, the largest being the Myer Centre with a department store, food court,
cinemas and more than 200 specialty stores. Opposite, the Queen Adelaide Building houses up-market boutiques
and stylish designer stores. At Broadway on the Mall and the Wintergarden, you’ll find fashion, food and a range
of home goods and gift stores. For new labels and the hottest gear on the street, check out the Brisbane Arcade
where the city’s best designers continue to showcase their latest ranges.
Shopping Centres
For a one-stop-shop, Toowong Shopping Village is your nearest centre. This shopping centre has a Coles
Variety store which is a grocery store, fruit and vegetable store, newsagency, food outlets, David Jones, shoe
stores, clothing stores etc. Also try Westfield Indooroopilly, or further out at Garden City (in Mt Gravatt) and
Carindale.
Stones Corner is the place for bargains with the precinct around Logan Road home to seconds and samples
stores for big-name brands and imported shoe specialists. You can get there by train or bus from the city.
The Valley (Fortitude Valley), is a short bus ride or single-stop train trip from the CBD. This area has emerged
as a hipster's heaven with the junction of Ann and Brunswick Streets as the place to head for Doc Martens, local
designs, and funky street wear. On Saturdays there are the Valley markets in the Brunswick Street Mall.
Inner City Suburbs
For designer boutiques stroll along Milton's Park Road, or Paddington’s La Trobe Terrace, and for fantastic
galleries visit New Farm. If you want to browse around some wonderful antiques then head to Paddington,
which offers great variety. West End is full of coffee shops, restaurants and bars that are interesting to visit and
also a variety of clothing, book and health stores.
Markets
Brisbane also holds various markets. There are 3 weekend art and craft markets. if you want a wonderful and
rather special market then head to the Friday Lantern Village along South Bank which is very pretty and open
from 5.00pm - 10.00pm. Along South Bank you can also visit the Crafts Village which is open from 11.00am 5.00pm on Saturday and from 9.00am - 5.00pm on Sunday.
The Fortitude Valley Market is in Brunswick Street Mall and hosts entertainment as well as market stalls to
keep you occupied, every Saturday from 9.00am - 5.00pm. On Sunday you can head over to the Eagle Street
where there are two markets. The Eagle Street Pier market is open from 8.00am - 4.00pm and the Riverside
Market is open from 7.00am - 4.00pm
Socialising/Eating/Drinking
People often travel for great food and visitors to Brisbane are no exception. The locals have watched and tasted
the food scene steadily evolve into one of the most innovative in the country. Here's a guide to the latest and
greatest, the affordable, and the simply delicious foodie experiences Brisbane serves up.
www.ourbrisbane.com.au Search for restaurant/ venue contact info on www.yellowpages.com.au
Its fairly challenging to get anything in a restaurant for $20 these days, so discovering fabulous places that leave
you with spare change is a rare gem. You can't go past the Gun Shop Cafe in West End for breakfast, lunch or
dinner. Most of the menu hovers between $12-$20 with the exquisite Merlo Coffee just $2.50 a cup!
Mondo Organics on Hargrave Rd, Highgate Hill does a tasty, cheap and cheerful organic continental breakfast
for sidewalk diners on the weekends. While you're there stock up on their house made organic pasta sauces and
icecreams.
Lazy Sunday mornings just got better at Bar Merlo on Market Street, the City, with the introduction of Brunch
from 8am until 2pm. For a great atmosphere, try Salt on Nash Road, Rosalie. The food is worth it, and it
certainly the place to be seen on a Friday or Saturday, and Sunday morning.
If you're one of those who would happily skip the business end of eating and head straight for desert, make for
Freestyle Tout at Rosalie. Freestyle is heaven on a stick for sugar fiends. They do ice cream, sorbets all manner
of cakes and tarts and sticky date pudding and bread and butter pudding that your grandmother couldn't fault for
under $15! Be sure to check out the ever-changing local artwork that adorns the walls.
www.freestyle-online.com
If you're after great food with water views book a table at Watt Modern Dining beside the Brisbane River at
New Farm. www.watt.net.au
Celebrated Melbourne chef Cath Claringbold has just opened her Middle Eastern inspired Mecca Bah at the
new Emporium in Fortitude Valley. You can't go past the Tunisian carrot salad or the roast pumpkin, fetta and
pomegranate jam Turkish Pizza. The food is designed to share, making it a great spot for informal group get
togethers.
Close to Toowong Villas
Asian Fusion a stroll away from Toowong Villas: try Jackpot Noodles, Sherwood Road, Toowong. Meals are
cheap ($5.50 - $12) and they’ll deliver for an extra $3. Ph. 3870 0488.
If you feel like Chinese, try The Bamboo Shoot, 58 High Street Toowong. Dishes range from $9 to $15.
Like Thai? Try Renu Thai, 52 High Street Toowong, a meal here won’t cost you more than $15.
Or Raun Thai on Sherwood Road.
Feel like something different? Try Jaz Bar & Restaurant, Jephson Street Toowong. www.jazbar.com.au
DIY Dining
Learning to work magic in the kitchen is a passion for some and a challenge for others! One of the best ways to
follow your culinary dream is to give yourself over to innovative chefs who offer hands-on instruction and their
most important trade secrets. www.jamesstcookingschool.com.au
Pubs
Brisbane's famous Story Bridge Hotel has undergone an impressive refurbishment and pub food has never
tasted so good. Try the Guinness pie with braised beef, salad and mash for $ 9.90 or a 400g rump steak with
your choice of sauce for just $21.
The Breakfast Creek Hotel is arguably the most famous watering hole in Queensland and probably one of the
top two or three in the country. The menu is great, and they do a mean steak. It’s more than just a venue – it’s a
major destination in Brisbane, one of the best-loved in the city. www.breakfastcreekhotel.com
Nightspots
The Family on Maclachlin Street, Fortitude Valley is a huge nightclub set over 4 levels. FAMILY is the most
dynamic, versatile and beautifully decorated entertainment venue ever to grace Brisbane's entertainment scene.
They’re open Friday to Sunday nights, and have regular events. Take a look at www.thefamily.com.au for more
info.
If you want to be seen with the beautiful people, sit back and relax on the couches at The Press Club,
Brunswick Street Fortitude Valley.
For a drink with a view, visit Jade Buddah, Eagle Street Pier, Brisbane City www.jadebuddha.com.au
The Regatta has recently been renovated and is situated on Coronation Drive in Toowong. This is a bar and
also has a restaurant but is a popular hangout for University students from UQ and local Toowong residents.
Across the road is a recently installed City Cat stop. This is the place to be on a Sunday evening. Be sure to
check out the décor in the bathrooms. www.regattahotel.com.au
The Royal Exchange Hotel (the RE) is the original University/local hangout. It also has been upgraded and
you will find local musicians playing there on a Friday night. Traditionally overflows with UQ students on a
Thursday night. Has a great atmosphere and cheap beer and is close to your accommodation. They also serve
cheap meals.
Caxton Street – Paddington Generally a football crowd hangout and a more conservative alternative to the
Valley depending on your taste. There are a variety of restaurants and clubs along this street to investigate.
Fortitude Valley (also known as Chinatown)
The Valley as it is known to Brisbane residents is situated in Fortitude Valley. The Valley area is situated in the
Wickham/Ann Street/Brunswick street precinct. The valley has a long history in Brisbane, in the early years it
had a reputation as a rough area, full of prostitution, strip clubs and gay nightclubs and various underground
goings on. Alternative nightclubs and live music venues were concentrated in this area and only a minority of
Brisbane residents ventured into this area. Nowadays the Valley has cleaned up its image, and as a result, its level
of popularity has soared. It is now a popular area for young people to reside and to go out, and a preferred
alternative to the city. There are restaurants, clubs, pubs and cafes, some interesting shops exist along the Ann
Street strip.
A lot of our popular bands started performing in venues in the valley such as the Arena, The Zoo and The
Empire. There is a thriving club scene at places like the Zoo, The Beat (formally and still primarily a gay club
but it has a lot of straight clientele) The Empire and The Family and Ric’s café in the Brunswick street mall
has various live music events throughout the week and on the weekend. The Valley can get extremely busy on a
Friday and Saturday night. Most of these clubs have odd dress rules so don't be offended if you are turned away
at the door. This policy has formed a fair bit of controversy with locals as well. Just don't dress too casually.
Shorts and t-shirts will most likely not get you into the family and the Empire. However the Zoo does not care
and nor does Ric’s really.
Public Transport
Public Transport in Brisbane is generally very good. The following brochures are designed to provide you with
information on the different tickets available, as well as the zones that determine fares. Be sure to catch the City
Cat ferry for a pleasant trip along the Brisbane River.
For students staying at Toowong Villas, it’s best for them to purchase a 2 Zone weekly ticket, which allows
unlimited travel within 2 zones, on buses, ferries and trains for one week from the date of issue. It includes key
destinations like St Lucia, Brisbane City & Southbank. If students wish to travel beyond the 2 zones, they simply
need to pay the extra fare separately on the day of travel. The cost is $19.20 for an adult.
For more information go to www.translink.com.au or phone 13 12 30.
Stradbroke Island
Picturesque North Stradbroke Island is an enticing blend of rugged coastal
landscape, tranquil inland lakes, and pristine beaches just one hour from Brisbane.
One of the world's largest sand islands, it is situated at the southern end of Moreton
Bay and is easily accessible by vehicle ferry ("barge") and water taxi from Cleveland.
North Stradbroke Island has some of the most spectacular scenery found in
Queensland. White sandy beaches stretch into an endless horizon fringed by the aqua blue ocean, while a system
of freshwater lakes in the island's centre provides beautiful picnic and swimming spots.
Tangalooma Wild Dolphin Resort - Moreton Island
Fringed on three sides by Moreton Island National Park, Tangalooma Wild
Dolphin Resort is subtly nestled amongst landscaped gardens and natural
bushland. A highlight of any stay at Tangalooma Wild Dolphin Resort will
be the opportunity to interact closely with our native wild life. Each evening
the Tangalooma in-shore dolphins eagerly swim up to the beach, adjacent to
the well lit jetty, where they are rewarded with fresh fish hand fed to them by
our Dolphin Care staff and Resort Guests. Whether you are actually
participating in the feeding or simply watching from the jetty, you will be
overwhelmed by these beautiful creatures.
As well as our world renowned wild dolphins, Tangalooma offers a wide range of activities such as: tennis,
squash, archery, snorkelling, fishing, sailing, scuba diving, bush walking, golf driving net, putting green and
wilderness Four Wheel Drive escorted tours to many National Park highlights. These include visiting
Queensland's oldest lighthouse at Cape Moreton, the Ocean Beach and the "Blue Lagoon" or enjoy a short trip
to the "Desert" for the exhilarating sport of "Sand Tobogganing".
See www.tangalooma.com for more information
THE GOLD COAST
Famous for its sun, surf and sand, Gold Coast City stretches along 57 kilometres of coastline. Located one
hours’ drive south of Brisbane, the Gold Coast is a dynamic city with an average of 300 days of sunshine in the
year. The region hosted 9.8 million visitors in 2003/4. Domestic visitors numbered 3.5 million (16.1 million
nights) and international visitors at 752,900 (6.4 million nights). Leading international markets include Japan,
New Zealand, UK, China, Europe, Korea, Singapore. In 2003 domestic expenditure (excluding airfares and long
distance transport) totalled $2.6 billion.
www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au or www.goldcoasttourism.com.au will provide you with more information on the area.
Surfers Paradise is the tourist heart of the Gold Coast. Countless restaurants, nightspots and duty free shops line
the streets, and the beach is never empty (even in winter). Despite the name, the better surf beaches can actually
be found further south, and include the renowned Kirra Beach. See www.surfersparadise.com.au for events and
information.
Theme Parks
Dreamworld
So many worlds in one, Dreamworld is an action-packed adventure with some of the wildest
rides and attractions in Australia, braved by millions of visitors every year. Why not try some of
the tallest fastest thrill rides in the world including the Giant Drop, the Tower of Terror, the
Cyclone, the Claw, and lots more. Don’t miss the park’s rare
Bengal Tigers at Tiger Island or venture into the Australian
Wildlife Experience to cuddle a Koala, pat a Kangaroo, feed
native birds and maybe even shear a sheep. Dreamworld is
also the official home of the Australian Big Brother television
series, filmed and produced live from Dreamworld studios.
Entry is $60, read more about Dreamworld at
www.dreamworld.com.au
Sea World
At Sea World you can make contact with marine life wonders and
experience a whole world of amazing rides, shows and attractions at a
Gold Coast theme park favourite! More than just a theme park, Sea
World is committed to educating guests about the marine
environment, and playing an active role in Australian marine research
and rescue. See dolphins perform with their trainers at Dolphin
Cove, watch Polar Bears play in Polar Bear Shores, visit the new
Shark Bay and lots more. Entry is $60, tickets can be purchased
cheaper online at www.seaworld.com.au
Movie World
Visit Warner Bros. Movie World on Australia’s Gold Coast - where movie magic
happens every day! As the only Australian movie related theme park, you will
experience a fun-filled, Gold Coast theme park family adventure with all the glitz
and glamour of Hollywood. Meet your favourite stars and enjoy all the behind-thescenes action, comedy stunts and exhilarating rides, shows and attractions! Entry
is $60, tickets can be purchased at a discount online: www.movieworld.com.au
Wet‘n’Wild Water World
Wet'n'Wild Water World combines all the fun and excitement of the world's latest water
slides and leisure pools with a shaded twenty acre subtropical garden. Whether you choose
to laze in the shallows of the Wave Pool or plunge down a seven-story high Speed
Coaster, at Wet'n'Wild Water World we are committed to providing a full day of
splashtacular fun and relaxation for everyone! Entry is $38 see www.wetnwild.com.au for
details.
Shopping & markets
Endless shopping choices including resort, unique lifestyle centres, malls and retails centres. Some include:
 Pacific Fair (Broadbeach) www.pacificfair.com.au
 Chevron Renaissance (Surfers Paradise) www.chevronrenaissance.com/village
 Australia Fair (Southport) www.australiafair.com.au
 Main Beach (Tedder Avenue and The Spit)
 Harbour Town (Biggera Waters) www.harbourtownshopping.com.au
 Sanctuary Cove www.sanctuarycove.com.au
 Oasis Shopping Centre (Broadbeach)
THE SUNSHINE COAST
Located just over one hour’s drive north of Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast is a great alternative to the touristy
Gold Coast. National Parks and majestic mountain ranges make for great scenic drives, and the beaches are
pristine. There's a huge range of surf beaches on the Sunshine Coast from the rolling open waters of Rainbow
Beach through to the sheltered King's Beach at Caloundra. Other popular beaches include Noosa, Mooloolaba,
Alexandra Headlands and Coolum. For sea-based adventures, cruise the Pumicestone Passage in a canoe or see
the glassy tannin-filled water reflections at the Noosa Everglades. Snorkel in rock pools or take in one of the
Sunshine Coast's major events including surfing and triathlon carnivals.
Travel west within an easy drive of Caloundra, Mooloolaba or Noosa to pretty hinterland areas such as Maleny
and Montville. There's shopping, dining, art galleries, interesting crafts and walking options.
Explore one of Queensland's oldest and best-preserved subtropical rainforests at Mary Cairncross Park, Maleny
or climb the stunning Glass House Mountains, remarkable volcanic crags that rise from the coastal plains.
Captain Cook named these mountains and they remain a vivid silhouette on the skyline. Cooloola National Park
covers 56,000ha from everglades through to dramatic coloured sand cliffs. There are many freshwater rivers and
lakes and tracks suitable for 4WD. Noosa National Park has some of south-east Queensland's most stunning
coastal scenery. You can view Fraser Island from Inskip Point at Rainbow Beach.
From high fashion to fine art, local craft to casual clothing, gorgeous gifts to fresh produce, you'll find it all here.
All top quality and at a reasonable price. From antiques to appetising gourmet foods, tasteful trinkets to
traditional bric-a-brac, jewelery to jam, there's something for everyone. Shopping precincts are located at Noosa,
Mooloolaba, Maroochydore, and Caloundra. There's handcrafted jewellery and woodwork at Gympie, Cooroy,
Kenilworth, Montville, Maleny and Mapleton. And don't miss the markets, there's a market most days including
the famous Eumundi markets on Wednesday and Saturday mornings.
See www.queenslandholidays.com.au/sunshine_coast for details.
Australia Zoo
Australia Zoo is the home of world-famous Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin, located at Beerwah on the Sunshine
Coast, an hour north of Brisbane. At Australia Zoo, you can encounter Australian native animals, and other
animals like cheetahs, tigers, and of course – crocodiles. See www.australiazoo.com.au for more information.
CAIRNS
Cairns is the international gateway into Tropical North Queensland, and carries with pride the mantle of safest
tropical city in the world. Residents of the area are also proud to be custodians of two of the world’s greatest
natural treasures - the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics Rainforests. Both of these wonderful attractions
are World Heritage listed, and there are very few places on Earth where two such treasures rest side by side.
Cairns International Airport is the nation’s sixth busiest in terms of international and domestic passenger
movements, and the city also is rated the third most popular tourist destination in the country after Sydney and
Brisbane.
The city is a vital, cosmopolitan centre and its residents enjoy an enviable tropical lifestyle. Palms line many
streets, and parks and gardens are a riot of colour from bougainvillea, hibiscus, poinciana and other tropical
blossoms. The Esplanade provides a charming frontage on to the bay and a 5 km stroll under tamarinds, figs
and Indian almonds is a must during your time in Cairns. A three-legged spire on the Esplanade is a memorial to
two RAAF Catalina squadrons based here during World War II.
Discover the delights of the region, from the magnificent Great Barrier Reef and the World Heritage listed
Rainforests, the diverse attractions of the tropical Atherton Tablelands, and west to the outback plains and
gorges of the Gulf Savannah. The scenic beauty of the Bellenden Ker ranges extend south of Cairns to Mission
Beach, and the long white beaches north link to Port Douglas, Daintree and Cape Tribulation, which lead further
into the Cape York Peninsula wilderness.
See www.tropicalaustralia.com.au for more tourist ideas.
Accommodation:
Gilligan’s Backpackers Hotel & Resort
57-89 Grafton Street, Cairns QLD 4870
Phone: (07) 4041 6566
Fax: (07) 4041 6577
www.gilligansbackpackers.com.au
Gilligan's is Cairns' newest and most up-market
budget accommodation, offering a blend of
traditional backpacker accommodation (with a few
added comforts) plus three and a half star hotel
rooms.
No matter what your age, if you're a traveller on a
budget (or a traveller who just wants value for money), this is your ultimate one-stop holiday venue … a superb
Far North Queensland holiday experience at an affordable price.
Gilligan's offers stylish and comfortable rooms set over four-stories,
complemented by a ground floor packed with more leisure activities and
facilities than you'd find in your average five-star resort.
As a Gilligan's guest you can play soccer or beach volleyball, laze in the pool,
sample local cuisine, sip cocktails, shop, browse over local produce markets,
use the internet cafe, cook a barbecue, or dance the night away - all without
leaving this holiday haven.
And when it's time to explore further afield, the absolute CBD location means
you're just a few minutes walk to Cairns' waterfront
lagoon, shopping centres, galleries, restaurants and
nightclubs. Holidaying has never looked so good!
Cairns Plaza Hotel
Cnr The Esplanade & Minnie St, Cairns QLD
4870
Phone: (07) 4051 4688 Fax: (07) 4051 8129
www.cairnsplaza.com.au
Cairns Plaza Hotel is located close to the city centre
and
offers spectacular views across Trinity Bay. The hotel has a mix of hotel rooms and
apartments which all provide comfortable accommodation whether you come to Cairns for Business or Leisure.
Located at the start of the strand the property is one of the better located Cairns hotels and surrounded by
parklands and set among lush tropical gardens this is your ideal home away from home. Relax over drinks by the
hotels swimming pool or laze luxuriously in the spa, sip a cocktail in the bar or enjoy the casual dining
atmosphere of the Waterside Restaurant.
Local Attractions
The Cairns Esplanade
Just a short stroll from your accommodation, you’ll find the newly redeveloped Cairns Esplanade known fondly
as “the Nard” to locals. This is an exceptional recreational area positively buzzing with fun excitement and
energy. A place where visitors and residents alike can kick back and relax…swim…. play and laugh…
exercise…dine…shop…picnic and enjoy life to the fullest in their very own piece of tropical paradise!
The Lagoon
The works, which were undertaken in several stages,
include the amazing 4800 sq metre saltwater swimming
lagoon, state of the art barbeque facilities, work out and
exercise areas, functional modern seating and picnic
areas, all of which are set amidst landscaped gardens
with plenty of shade trees and heaps of open space. The
vast triangular lagoon with it’s dramatic steel fish
sculptures is the focal point, providing a water to water
view from Shields St in the CBD across the lagoon and
out across Trinity Bay.
3.8 million litres of seawater is continually filtered
through four huge sand filters and through state of the art filtration and
chlorination processes to ensure the safe disinfection of the lagoon for the
many families and visitors who come here every day to cool off, soak up the sun
and relax by the lagoon on it’s sandy beaches.
Trained lifeguards patrol the lagoon from 6 am to 10 pm through summer and
from 7 am to 9 pm in winter.
The kiosk in the amenities building adjacent to the Lagoon supplies food items,
ice creams and drinks along with bathroom facilities.
The Foreshore Promenade (Boardwalk)
Suspended over the mudflats at the water’s edge is the Foreshore Promenade or
the “Boardwalk” as locals like to call it. The boardwalk provides a pedestrian
access-way from Upward Street in the north… right around past the Pier
Marketplace in the south.
There are lots of activities offered every day of the year in the early hours of each morning at the
Esplanade…including Tai Chi, Yoga, Just Walk It, Pilates, Aqua Aerobics, and Sahaja Yoga Meditation. Start
times 6.30am (in summer) and 7 am (in winter)
The Esplanade provides an exciting venue for a wide variety of entertainment and events. Come along on Friday
night to see Fire By The Sea…watch the fire dancers perform between roughly 8.00 pm and 9.30 pm. It’s
spectacular! You will find them on the sand beach off the boardwalk at the end of Florence Street right opposite
Villa Romana.
Dotted along the Esplanade (and across the street from the Boardwalk and park areas) are an exciting array of
restaurants offering a wide variety of differing cuisines. It’s great fun to walk “down” the boardwalk and “back”
through the myriad of Esplanade restaurants and shops. While you’re there…don’t forget to check out the Night
Markets which operate every night (and day) of the year.
Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world's greatest reef system, stretching more than
2000km along Queensland's north-east coast. As the world's largest and most
complex reef system, it has thousands of individual coral reefs and hundreds of
continental islands, reef islands and cays, small bare sand cays, and permanent
vegetated cays.
Exploring the Great Barrier Reef is both exhilarating and easy. You can snorkel or
scuba dive with equipment provided and a trained crew on hand to assist, or view
the reef from the comfort of a semi-submersible or underwater observatory.
Swimmers and non-swimmers are catered for or take a scenic flight in a plane or
helicopter. There is easy access to the outer reef and islands from points all along
the coast, to suit your style or budget.
Ocean Spirit Cruise to Michaelmas Cay
www.oceanspirit.com.au
This Cruise offers a wide range of activities including snorkelling, scuba diving (both certified and first time
beginner), semi-submersible coral viewing, coral cay scientific tours, nature walks among a bird sanctuary, live
musical entertainment and a glass of champagne on the homeward sail.
Michaelmas Cay is a small vegetated coral cay (1.5 ha in area and 3.5 m high) lying 43 km north-east of Cairns.
The cay sits on the western tip of Michaelmas Reef, a mid-shelf reef formed by living coral animals, polyps
which secret a limestone skeleton.
Snorkelling on the cruise is free, Scuba Dive rates are:
The cay itself was formed when fragments of the reef (coral, algae and shells) were washed to the leeward side of
the reef by wave action and prevailing winds, to form a single bank. In the sheltered areas behind the sand bank,
seeds deposited by birds and waves are able to establish, stabilising the cay and encouraging seabirds to roost and
nest. Their droppings fertilise the sand and more plants are able to grow. Vegetation covers the centre of the
cay.
Michaelmas Cay is a major seabird nesting island in the northern Great Barrier
Reef, and one of the most accessible along the entire reef for day visitors. 38
species of birds have been recorded on Michaelmas Cay (3 woodland species
and 35 seabirds). The main breeding species are sooty terns, crested terns,
common noddies and lesser crested terns. Occasional breeders include silver
gulls, black-naped terns, bridled terns, black noddies, roseate terns and ruddy
turnstones. Breeding activity and care of young occurs throughout the year,
with sooty terns breeding every 8.5 months and others breeding annually.
Vegetation on the cay consists of a few low-growing plants (pioneer species) such as grasses, herbs, succulents
and creepers. The plants cover an area of approximately 300 x 60 metres. Common species include: hairy
spinifex (Spinifex hirsutus), stalky grass (Lepturus repens), sea purslane (Sesuvium portulacastrum). The
vegetation dries out during winter but the summer wet season usually results in plant regrowth.
Michaelmas Cay is monitored monthly by the Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage and works
directly with the staff of tourist operations that visit the cay and utilise the waters around the reef to educate
visitors not to disturb the natural history of the area, but still allow total enjoyment of this spectacular pristine
environment.
Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park
Tjapukai is a stunning theatrical interpretation of Aboriginal culture from the
beginning of time into the future. Seven separate arenas allow visitors to
experience every facet of the rainforest people’s culture - from the
provocative History Theatre to the inspiring Creation Theatre, and the original Dance Theatre and the
interactive Camp Village, where visitors can learn didgeridoo playing and boomerang throwing.
www.tjapukai.com.au
Skyrail
The Skyrail experience, spanning 7.5kms over pristine rainforest, allows you to
explore the wonders of an ancient tropical rainforests and learn about one of the
most botanically fascinating and diverse areas on earth.
Gliding just metres above the rainforest canopy in comfortable 6-person gondola
cabins the Skyrail journey immerses you in an intimate rainforest experience where
you’ll see, hear, smell and become part of the tropical rainforest environment.
Relax and enjoy the stunning rainforest scenery, panoramic views of the Cairns’
tropical region and the glittering waters of the Coral Sea. Alight at Skyrail’s two
rainforest mid-stations, Red Peak and Barron Falls, where you’ll explore this amazing
environment from the forest floor on boardwalks, scenic look-outs and in the stateof-the-art Rainforest Interpretive Centre. www.skyrail.com.au
Kuranda Scenic Railway
For one and a half fabulous hours, you'll travel on board historical carriages
through some of the lushest rainforest, pass deep gorges, rugged mountains
and the spectacular waterfalls. It's a view that was originally captured 100
years ago by teams of railway men armed only with picks and shovels.
Today, that 34km track still winds its way through 15 hand made tunnels up
to Kuranda Station - a Station which looks more like a beautiful botanical
garden. Sun to Fri from Cairns at 8.30am & 9.30am.- Return 2.00pm &
3.30pm. Saturday 8.30am only return at 3.30pm.
White Water Rafting
Raging Thunder Adventures pioneered rafting in
Queensland, Australia in 1984 with our first commercial
trip consisting of three nervous passengers on the Tully
River.
Even today we still raft the Mighty Tully River, because is
regarded as the best rafting river across Australia and New
Zealand. This awesome adventure is located in spectacular
surroundings only 2 hours south of Cairns, with
departures from Port Douglas, Cairns, Northern Beaches
and Mission Beach.
Plus we also raft the Barron River located just outside
Cairns, with a half day raft perfectly suited for first time
adventurer or those who want to cram more into their
Adventure Holiday. Tours and prices are on
www.ragingthunder.com.au
Skydiving / Parachuting
If you want to try skydiving, this is the place to do it. The
views of the reef and rainforest are out of this world.
There are a number of companies around that offer
packages, check with the tour desk at your accommodation.
Take a look at www.paulsparachuting.com.au or
www.jumpthebeach.com.au,
If you’ve just been scuba diving, check the regulations
Shopping
Cairns Central is a one-stop shopping centre in the heart of Cairns City, on the corner of McLeod & Spence
Streets. The Pier is nice and touristy, and just a stroll from the Esplanade.
Browse in the funky stalls at the Cairns Night Markets on the Esplanade that operate every night of the year.
Buy local fruits and goodies at Rusty’s Markets on Sheridan Street.
Eating/ Drinking / Socialising
There are many world class restaurants in Cairns City and its surrounding regions, and they reflect the
cosmopolitan nature of both its residents and visitors, with nearly all making a special point of presenting their
own variation of Tropical specialities such as succulent prawns, delicate barramundi, mud crabs, reef species like
the famed coral trout and red emperor, along with the subtle indigenous flavours of kangaroo, emu and
crocodile. Be adventurous and you'll be rewarded by the very special experience that is 'a taste of the tropics'!
The Red Ochre Grill has brought Australian cuisine out of the outback and within reach of lovers of fine food
along the way earning a reputation for truly capturing the taste of Australia. 43 Shield Street, Cairns.
www.redochregrill.com.au
Be sure to try some fresh local seafood at Barnacle Bill’s or Skippers Fish and Chip Café on the Esplanade in
Cairns. www.barnaclebills.com.au
Have a drink in a former government building at the Courthouse Hotel 38 Abbott St, Cairns.
For Blues and Rock, go to Johno’s Nightclub & Bar, Corner of Abbott & Aplin Streets.
The young and high-energy dance crowd go to Tropos Nightclub, located on the Corner of Lake & Spence
Streets. www.troposnightclub.com.au
For an Irish-style pub, drop by Shenanigans, 48 Spence Street.
Fox & Firkin is an English-style Pub with live music, located on Level 1, Corner Lake & Spence Streets.
If you’re cruising along the Esplanade, try Rattle ‘n’ Hum for Pizza and Beer, or the Chapel Café for a relaxed
drink.
The Wool Shed Char Grill & Saloon Bar is always full of locals and backpackers, 24 Shields St Cairns.
The Cairns Casino is probably the most well known entertainment venue, having a mix of restaurants, live
entertainment and gaming available every day until the early hours.
Public Transport
Public transport is readily available in the CBD. The main mall in the CBD is also the transit terminal for public
transport (blue buses). Taxi ranks are located throughout the City itself. Ask the staff at your accommodation
for more information.
HISTORY OF AUSTRALIA
© Copyright. The University of Queensland and Clive Moore, 1993
ABORIGINAL AUSTRALIA
Aborigines, the first Australians, have lived in this country for at least 60 000 years, and archaeological research
keeps extending the period of time for which evidence of human occupation of Australia can be unearthed.
The challenge in dealing with the history of a non-literate society such as those of Aboriginal Australia or the
societies of the surrounding peoples of the Pacific Islands is to give it depth over time. Aborigines have not just
been here 200 years; they have been here 50,000 to 60,000 years.
Aborigines did alter their environment over thousands of years. Along with climatic changes, their hunting of
the large marsupials probably ensured the extinction of the latter. They entered Australia from the north, at a
time when sea levels were lower and land masses larger; but there never was a time when they could have walked
from Asia to Australia, so they were the earliest humans to use sea-going craft of some type. For the first several
thousand years of their occupation the Australian environment was much more hospitable than today, with many
inland rivers and lakes, which enabled them to spread out through the now barren centre of Australia.
Gradually, as Australia became drier they moved more towards the coast and the permanent river systems.
Their use of fire helped create the Australian environment that existed in 1788. They created grasslands where
they wanted them by lighting fires in strategic places. Aboriginal technology altered over time. Heavier stone
tools were replaced by lighter tools. There is evidence of artificial drainage systems, the remains of permanent
dwellings in large communities, and of specialised fishing practices. This does not fit our generally accepted
picture of Aborigines since 1788. Exactly why changes occurred can only be conjectured. Changes in climate
may have led to intensified use of resources. Remember that the population may have been much larger once: in
excess of one million. And perhaps alliance systems through kinship networks built up elaborate social systems
and ceremonies that required more efficient management of resources. But when European settlers first arrived,
Aborigines were linked to the natural world by totems creating a symbiotic bond of land and people.
The Great Australian Silence
Until recently most Australians paid little heed to Aborigines, and until 1967 they did not even have the basic
rights of Australian citizenship. This neglect applies to historians just as much as to ordinary citizens. When
eminent anthropologist Professor W.E.H. Stanner presented the ABC Boyer Lectures (a famous annual lecture
series on national radio) in 1968, his second lecture was entitled 'The Great Australian Silence'. Stanner criticised
Australian historians for their ethnocentrism and 'silence on all things aboriginal'. If Aborigines appeared in
books on Australian history they were seldom more than a 'melancholy anthropological footnote', as one
historian lamented.
Aboriginal Australians have lived here for upwards of 60,000 years, in a highly developed society that was closely
linked to nature. But they were ill-prepared to face the onslaught of European weapons, technology, diseases,
laws and ways. The conflict that developed between Aboriginal society and immigrant European society was
immense and destructive. There is ongoing debate over how many Aboriginal inhabitants of Australia there
were in 1788. For decades, books have stated boldly that there were about 300,000, an estimate that has now
been proved far too low. Professor N.G. Butlin renewed the debate with his Our Original Aggression: Aboriginal
population of southeast Australia, 1788-1850 (1983) in which he argued that the population had been much larger
and that hundreds of thousands were probably killed off very early by disease epidemics, mainly smallpox.
Fatality rates possibly reached 75 per cent in virgin areas and even 45 per cent in areas where there was a second
outbreak decades later. Smallpox may have come from the north through Macassan fisherman and from the east
through European settlers, the disease spreading like a bushfire far in advance of the settler frontier. We now
think that the Aboriginal population of the east coast may have been around 300,000 but for the whole of
Australia the number was probably more like 750,000 to one million. Immigrant Australians have always been
uncomfortably aware of the almost complete genocide of the Aboriginal Tasmanians but become even more
embarrassed by the thought that their arrival may have caused the deaths of close to a million Aborigines, even if
inadvertently, because Aborigines lacked any immunity to diseases from other parts of the globe. The Aboriginal
society our forebears observed may have already been operating on only 25 percent of its original strength.
Torres Strait Islanders
Queensland has a group of Aboriginal inhabitants unique to Australia, the Melanesian people of Torres Strait.
Their presence serves to remind us that it was only 8,000 to 10,000 years ago that New Guinea and Australia
were one land mass, separated after the end of the last ice age when ocean levels rose. No one knows when the
Torres Strait Islanders first settled in the Strait, but it was probably at least 3,000 years ago. Their physical
appearance and culture suggest that they came from the southern part of New Guinea, the large island separated
from Cape York in far northern Queensland by the narrow Strait. Their languages have Aboriginal as well as
New Guinea features, which probably means that Melanesian settlers intermarried with an earlier Aboriginal
population.
When Europeans first visited Torres Strait there were several thousand Islanders living there, and today they
number some 15,000, but more than half of the population has migrated to the cities and towns of the Australian
mainland, particularly in north Queensland. They retain a heritage quite distinct from the other Aboriginal
people of Australia and Tasmania.
Undeclared War
Another fascinating point that has been long ignored, but has recently begun to be documented beyond doubt, is
that Australia was not peacefully settled and pioneered. It was invaded and conquered, but the invaders have
never acknowledged that there was in fact an unrecorded war between themselves and the Aborigines. Henry
Reynolds and other historians have documented the frontier wars. They were not just skirmishes with
treacherous blacks, they were wars and the Aborigines resisted the invasion forcefully, using a classic guerilla
mode of warfare, though they could never compete equally against the technology of Europeans' weaponry.
Europeans isolated on a vast frontier, often far outnumbered by neighbouring Aboriginal clans, suffered from
periods of acute anxiety. Frontier society bristled with guns. Men and women carried guns when they went
outdoors and slept with guns under their pillows. Settlers felt no qualms about wiping out whole clans of
Aborigines who threatened their lives and stood in the way of their possession of land on the frontier. How
many died in these wars? Probably about 50,000 Aborigines, Europeans and Chinese, approximately the same
number of Australians that were killed fighting for their country in each of the World Wars this century. We
carefully commemorate Armistice day (11th November, the final day of World War I) and Anzac day, (25th
April, a national holiday to remember our citizens who have died in wars) lest we forget; but we prefer not to
remember the unrecorded battlefields on the frontier.
Terra nullius
The doctrine underlying the traditional view of settlement was that before 1788 Australia was terra nullius, a land
belonging to no-one. European powers chose to adopt the view that countries without a large scale political
organisation, recognisable systems of authority or legal codes could legitimately be annexed and regarded as
sovereign territory of the European power. It was a very convenient legal fiction for the invaders, and means
that until 1992 Aboriginal Australians have been unable to establish legally that they were the prior `owners' of
the continent of Australia and Tasmania.
1992 saw an important change in the law. The High Court of Australia made a path-breaking judgement in the
Mabo Case, brought by several Murray Islanders against the government of Queensland, claiming that they had
prior ownership rights to their small island in Torres Strait. This is the first time that indigenous land rights have
been recognised. There are enormous ramifications in terms of future land claims, and the negotiation of a
treaty of reconciliation between indigenous and immigrant Australians.
Aboriginal Australians from 1788 had enormous disadvantages: denied land rights, decimated by imported
diseases, and slaughtered like kangaroos, they only just survived into the twentieth century as a people. Only
tens of thousands survived into early this century and it was widely believed that the Aborigines would die out
and that as long as we provided minimal comforts - a blanket a year - immigrant Australians only had to wait a
few decades to be the inheritors of the new land. But this did not occur and the Aboriginal population, even
with continuing severe health problems, has steadily increased until today it stands at around 300,000, the
number that even the most conservative estimates gives as the lowest population in 1788. The current life
expectancy is still twenty years below that of the rest of the population, and their rate of imprisonment fifteen
times higher than that of other Australians. They are also much poorer than the average Australian and about
four times more likely to be unemployed. Yet they have survived and can boast considerable recent
accomplishments as leaders within communities, in politics, in professions, and in sport.
Aboriginal Australia is fundamental to the future harmony of Australia and it is important that all Australians
come to terms with each other. Eighteen million Australians of immigrant descent are not planning to leave, but
they must understand the rights of prior ownership and acknowledge the truth of the destruction of Aboriginal
society. Angry Aboriginal Australians also have to make their way in modern Australia and learn to live with
immigrant Australians.
ATTITUDES TO LAND
European Settlement
Aborigines and Europeans view land and their relationship to the environment in totally different ways.
Aborigines saw - and still see - themselves as inseparable from their environment and the land. They are
guardians of the land, responsible custodians. Europeans imported their concept of land with them. They were
incorporating new land into the British empire and were quite willing to reshape the environment when it did not
suit their purposes.
From a European point of view Australia was a resource to be used. European settlers believed in their own
destiny and their total right to the resources they discovered. Europeans brought ideas about private property,
individual ownership of areas of land and the enclosure of land. Forests were cleared for pasture land for the
imported sheep and cattle. After twenty years of settlement, deforestation was so severe that in the first decade
of the 19th century Governor King had to forbid tree-felling along rivers and watercourses. The huge expanses
of open country on the coastal fringe of south-eastern Australia are the result of large scale tree-felling.
Europeans not only demolished the old environment, they tried to mould Australia to their own vision,
importing flora and fauna. The rabbit is the classic example; by the late 19th century there were hundreds of
millions of rabbits in the wild in NSW and Victoria. Sheep, the backbone of the Australian economy in the
colonial period, also destroyed large areas; over grazing thus turned pastures into wastelands.
One of the main points of contention between Aboriginal Australians and immigrant Australians is the
ownership of land. Europeans have persisted in believing the fiction that Australia was an empty continent in
1788. But Aborigines had distinct concepts of land tenure and associated rituals that bound the people to the
land. Dispossession from their land had dramatic effects on the Aborigines that we must try to comprehend.
Leading historian Henry Reynold in Frontier: Aborigines, Settlers and Land, and The Law of the Land challenges the
legal and moral assumptions underlying the European occupation of Aboriginal Australia. International law of
the late 18th century did allow the British to claim sovereignty over eastern Australia by right of discovery. If an
indigenous society had not developed in such a way as to enclose and cultivate land, develop large scale political
organisation and recognisable systems of authority, then they were not recognised as owners of the land. In
1788 the British designated Australia as terra nullius, waste and uncultivated land without owners, and claimed
sovereignty over it.
Immigrant Australians have generally concluded that while British actions in 1788 might be difficult to justify by
modern standards, they were fully legal by the theory and practice of European colonisation of the time.
Reynolds challenges this by pointing out that the early settlers were very selective in their study of international
law. Sovereignty gave the nation the sole right of acquiring the soil from the natives and establishing settlements
upon it. It did not of itself deliver up, unencumbered, all land held by the indigenes. The question of native land
rights had to be resolved afterwards. And further, Henry Reynolds has proved conclusively that in the 18th
century and in the early decades of the 19th century, the vast areas under pastoral leases came under the aegis of
an imperial land act which provided for Aboriginal rights to continue to use and occupy the land. What
happened then, asks Reynolds, to the rights to occupy and enjoy traditional lands? For the most part, Europeans
ignored them, and from the 1850's onwards with the advent of colonial legislatures, the humanitarian intentions
of British legislation went under to the greed for land alienation and development. But were the rights
extinguished? Only the courts can determine that, and up until 1992, court decisions have been based totally on
the legality of the concept of terra nullius. The 1992 Mabo judgement has destroyed the legal basis of European
settlement over the last two centuries. The possible ramifications are enormous.
Agricultural and Pastoral Use of the Land
The early years were a struggle for survival against what settlers saw as a hostile environment, and a struggle for
power by the authorities over the convicts in the open air prison and over the New South Wales Corps, which
eventually rebelled against Governor Bligh in 1808. Bligh was replaced by Macquarie who governed New South
Wales in a more established period, although settlement was still limited to New South Wales (the area of the
modern state), Norfolk Island and Van Dieman's Land (Tasmania). In the years up to 1830 colonial society was
taking shape and exploration was opening up wider areas, making enforcement of the limits of settlement
impossible.
Although there had been an early attempt at settlement at Port Phillip in 1803, the main thrust of settlement
came from Van Diemen's Land much later in the early 1830s. Moreton Bay (Brisbane) was settled as a penal
colony in 1824. In the same year primitive forts were established on Melville Island and near the present site of
Darwin in the Northern Territory; Swan River settlement in Western Australia was established in the late 1820s.
The secure tenure of the whole land mass was ensured by the 1820s, blocking other European nations from
establishing colonies. Although it seems normal to us now, Australia is the only continent settled by one nation;
you have only to think about the many European colonies established in North and South America to realise that
the Australian situation is unusual.
Sheep fitted into the environment well, and the pastoral industry spread with settlement. Europeans needed
secure tenure to the land they used and thus came into head-on confrontation with the Aborigines, who opposed
white expansion but did not have the technological advantage and soon went under to the white invasion.
Agricultural and pastoral activities have played a central part in Australian history, and these pursuits required the
alienation of large areas of land. Crown land could be disposed of in three ways. The land could be alienated,
which meant it passed from government to private hands. There were two methods of alienation: grants and
sales. Another alternative was for land to be held by individuals or companies under lease, which allowed large
areas of Crown land to be used, but with the provision that the land could be reclaimed by the Crown.
The granting of land was introduced in 1788 at the discretion of the governor. Land was granted extensively in
New South Wales, Van Diemen's Land and Western Australia until 1831. Most of it went to wealthy settlers.
Land was also sold and from 1831 was sold at public auction at not less than five shillings an acre, the proceeds
being used to bring immigrants to the colonies. Provision was also made for lease of Crown land at a low annual
charge. Squatters used vacant crown land as pasture for their sheep and cattle within and beyond the boundaries
of settlement. Though 'squatter' was originally a derogatory word, as time went on the 'squatters' became the
respectable landed class, and battled the governors, and in the legislatures, to keep control of vast areas of land.
In 1842 the price of land was raised to not less than one pound ($2) per acre. In 1847 another change provided
generous leases and opportunities for purchase by squatters. Then from the early 1850's, new regulations were
introduced, following the flood of immigration after the discovery of gold. The newly self-governing colonies
were faced with demands to unlock the land, challenging the squatters' control Colonial legislators endeavoured
to break up the squatters' holdings in the 1860s. The principle of the new Land Acts was the right to the free
selection of land leased by the squatters. Legislation began in New South Wales in 1861 with the Robertson Act
which remained in force with minor revisions over the next twenty years. Land could be selected before survey
and any selector could acquire from 40 to 320 acres (16 to 130 ha) by residing on the land, paying a quarter of its
cost and the balance within three years. There were problems: 'dummying' was a common practice, whereby
large holders used others to select land for them; and 'peacocking' occurred, picking out the best sections of land
(for instance, water frontages), and leaving the surrounding land useless.
Later colonies, particularly South Australia and Queensland, stressed the actual occupation of land rather than
just its alienation. And Queensland introduced 'agricultural homestead' to encourage closer settlement. From
the 1880s selection was replaced by closer settlement to break up the large estates. Laws in the 1890s and 1900s
promoted closer settlement, as did the returned soldier settlement schemes of the 1920s and the various
irrigation schemes after 1945.
Pastoral enterprises depended on cheap land. Pastoral expansion began in the 1820s. By 1850 livestock had
spread from the main points of European settlement across the inland plains of New South Wales, Victoria and
Tasmania. In South Australia pastoral occupation spread across natural grasslands. Western Australia lagged
behind the other early colonies. Pastoral expansion into Queensland remained in the south until the 1860s when
the whole coast began to be opened up for pastoral and agricultural enterprises. By 1890 many pastoralists had
begun to seek new grazing lands in the tropical north and the dry interior.
The agricultural potential of Australia was actually quite limited because of transport and climatic restraints.
From the 1820s wheat became Australia's most important crop. After 1860 wheat growing was seen as the best
means of promoting closer settlement and as the mainstay of family farms. By 1860 there was the beginning of a
crescent shaped wheat belt in south-eastern Australia, scattered through pastoral areas. Barley was always
cultivated but it was never a major crop. A sugar industry grew up in Queensland from the 1860s. Early
orchards were located near major cities and towns, as were dairy farms; however, after 1880, the dairy industry
was transformed by new technology which included refrigeration and mechanical cream separation, and by cooperative factories. Irrigation systems were constructed from the 1880s, making it possible to settle large areas
of the Murray basin. Agriculture was more than an economic activity: it represented an alternate way of life to
that of the urban or rural wage worker.
MIGRANTS, CAPITAL AND POLITICS IN THE 18TH AND 19TH CENTURIES
Immigration has always been by far the most important way of increasing Australia's population, but immigrants
came in waves, in particularly large numbers when the economy was booming. Capital investment from overseas
has always been the governing factor in the growth of our economy since 1788. And the 19th century was a
period of rapid political change as representative government was established.
Immigration 1788-1850
We are inclined to think only in terms of the European population in Australia, slowly building up from the
initial 1,000 or so convicts and warders, but at the same time there was an Aboriginal population of perhaps one
million; so until there were significant numbers of European immigrants the population level was actually falling
constantly as Aborigines died from introduced diseases and violent confrontations with the settlers.
More than most countries, Australia has depended on immigration for existence and growth. Between 1788 and
1868 about 137,000 males and 25,000 female convicts were transported to Australia. But free immigrants also
arrived in small numbers from 1793. Initially, policy was to attract capitalists wishing to take up land, rather than
labourers, as the convicts provided the labour to run the colonies. But the emphasis changed from the 1830s.
The decision was made to assist immigrants, using the income from land sales and government bounties. The
proportion of free immigrants to convicts rose from 56 per cent in the 1830s to 77 per cent in the 1840s. Most
of the early free immigrants were English but about one-quarter were Irish and one-seventh Scottish. By 1850
about 146,000 convicts and 187,000 free settlers had arrived. The gold rushes dramatically increased the number
of immigrants, attracting an influx of 601,000 between 1851 and 1860, mainly from Britain but also from
Continental Europe, as well as some 38,000 Chinese. 1861, with a population of 1,151,000 immigrants and their
off-spring, was probably the first time that the total population level equalled the supposed Aboriginal
population of 1788.
Convicts
Much has been written about the convict era, which is often viewed as a separate period in Australian history.
There has been a great deal of argument over whether Australia was founded primarily as a penal settlement to
relieve overcrowding in English goals, or whether the British government had more far-reaching imperial aims
and the Australian settlements were part of a grand tactical plan. There is still no clear answer and there
probably never will be. Another issue of real interest is the convicts themselves - were they really hardened
criminals or were many transported for minor crimes that today would only rate a fine?
Most of the prisoners were young men. Most came from towns, especially London. Most often their offence
was theft, and in many cases transportation was imposed in lieu of the death penalty which, until the 1830s, was
the punishment for a wide range of offences. Political prisoners formed only a small minority: no more than
about 1,000 of the total number.
The convicts were a product of rapid industrialisation, particularly in England, with its tendency to uproot people
and resettle them in the larger urban areas, which intensified the potential for crime. Most were serving seven
year sentences and most stayed in the Australian colonies at the end of their time. Convicts were used for public
works and also assigned to work for settlers. Some also received a 'ticket-of-leave' which allowed them to work
for themselves before their sentence was up. Some settlements were purely for convicts. Newcastle, Port
Macquarie and Moreton Bay (Brisbane) were founded as places of severe punishment; and Tasmania and
Norfolk Island were notorious as places catering for harsher treatment.
As the number of free settlers increased, so did agitation to bring an end to transportation. A combination of
factors, improvements in prison accommodation in Britain, the discovery of gold in Australia, and a new
Secretary of State for the Colonies, finally brought an end to the first phase of European migration to Australia.
The convicts brought economic benefits to Australia, supplying labour and a market for colonial produce.
Free Immigrants
The first free migrants arrived in the early 1790s, but large scale free migration did not begin until the 1830s.
After the 1850s gold rushes, Australian immigration assumed its characteristic wavelike pattern, with crests in the
1850s and the 1880s, immediately before World War I, again in the 1920s, between 1949 and 1951, and again
between 1969 and 1971. These high points correspond with periods of economic prosperity and of government
assistance. Between 1860 and the end of the 19th century, close to three-quarters of a million immigrants arrived
in Australia, the majority were from Britain and Ireland but pockets of migrants from Continental Europe were
also to be found. Queensland attracted many Scandinavians during the 1870s and 1880s, their descendants still
to be found in towns like Mackay and Rockhampton today; and South Australia attracted German settlers. In
North Queensland a significant proportion of the settlers in the first half of this century came from Italy.
Each colony pursued a different policy, influenced by land legislation, labour markets, the development of trade
unions and racial attitudes. Attempts were made to maintain a balance of English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish
immigrants in roughly the same proportion as existed in the British Isles. Queensland imported Melanesian
indentured labourers to work in its sugar industry. Legislation was introduced to limit Asian and 'coloured'
immigration in most colonies, which led eventually to what was called the 'White Australia' policy in Federal
politics from 1901. Between 1861 and 1900, the net population gain through immigration was 766,000.
In 1901 Australia had a population of 3,773,801, 77 per cent of whom were Australian-born. Almost 80 per cent
of the immigrants were British or Irish, so Australia entered the twentieth century as a predominantly white
nation. The only substantial minority racial groups were the Chinese, immigrant Melanesians, and of course the
Aborigines and indigenous Melanesians, the Torres Strait Islanders.
Economic Development in the 19th Century
So far we have dealt with land and labour. The missing component is capital, associated economic development
and the formation of the colonial state. The convict settlements and the mercantile and pastoral economy that
grew up in 19th century Australia were an extension of British capitalism. The social relations, operation of
labour markets, and class boundaries which developed in Australia were in part an inheritance from Britain and
to some extent from wider Europe, and in part an indigenous product of colonial Australia.
By the first decades of the 19th century Europeans in Australia had established complex economies with a wide
range of service and manufacturing industries. By the middle of the century the general standard of living was
better than in many areas of Europe. The most important factors in the early economy were the great influx of
convict and free immigrants, large scale British government investment of capital followed by substantial private
British investment in the colonies, and the opportunity for large-scale ownership of property and resources.
From a very early stage private enterprise and decision making were basic to the economy. Even the convicts
were allowed to use their free time to work for wages. Officers in the government usually also involved
themselves in private business ventures. A great deal of the economic development of the colonies was beyond
the control of the governors or the British government. Professor N.G. Butlin, Australia's leading economic
historian, considers that by the 1820s Australia was well on the way to assuming the form of capitalism that we
have today.
1840s Depression
In this period the Australian economy was purely rural, and predominantly pastoral. Increasing wool production
had lowered the export price. Finance for expanding pastoral production was easily available and many squatters
had overextended themselves. Then drought cut back production and profits, and the poor transport system of
the time added costs to production. British investors, understandably, were not impressed when pastoralists
defaulted on their loan repayments and cut back their investments. Urban business closed as the depression
spread from rural to urban areas. The worst years were 1841-1843; the economy recovered slowly over the
second half of the 1840s, but recovery was not complete until the gold boom of the 1850s.
Early economic growth was blighted by the depression in the 1840s, but the discovery of gold in the 1850s set
Australia back on the path of rapid development. The gold rushes encouraged large scale immigration which
greatly increased the scale of the Australian economy and in turn encouraged large scale investment. British
capital and technology was available to exploit and develop Australia's natural and human resources. British
capital was always heavily invested in the pastoral industry. In the 1870s and 1880s Anglo-Australian business
houses were lending English capital for a wide range of pastoral, agricultural, mining and urban investments in
Australia. The years 1860-1890 were the high point in Australian productivity during the 19th century. Rural
production was not labour intensive and Australians increasingly clustered in the towns and cities, to produce
one of the most urbanised societies in the world.
The crunch came in the early 1890s. The investment boom became increasingly unstable, and our export
earnings failed to keep pace with our foreign debts. The 1890s were depressed years and there was no real
recovery until the early 20th century when the rural economy was diversified and manufacturing of rural
products developed.
1890s Depression
With the gold rushes came a long boom, which lasted until 1890. The Australian economy was transformed.
The population of Australia in 1890 was nine times higher than that in 1851. The higher level of population
enabled an increase in local manufacturing. The number of factories increased by 149 per cent from 1871 to
1891, and the factory employment by almost 175 per cent. Agricultural production expanded but technological
innovations (wire fences, agricultural machinery, refrigeration and irrigation) meant that less labour was needed
in rural industries. Two associated developments significantly altered Australia. First, legislation was passed to
unlock the land, enabling closer rural settlement so that yeoman-type farmers could take up land rather than just
the squatters of the earlier period. Second, urbanisation proceeded rapidly. By 1891 two thirds of the
population lived in the towns and cities; and there was a speculative boom in urban property and construction.
These developments accentuated the decline when it came.
Severe drought in 1888 reduced rural production. Grazing and cropping had reached economic limits; too much
marginal land was in use and much of the land was overstocked. Australia was riding high on the sheep's back
but increases in world wool production lowered prices. This with poor seasons was enough to undermine the
Australian economy. British investors withdrew their funds. Urban land speculators crashed and many banks
went under. The rich lost fortunes and many small investors lost their jobs and their life's savings.
Rural properties and businesses laid off employees, urban factories and businesses closed. Unemployment was
about 25 per cent for skilled workers and much higher for the unskilled. There were no comprehensive social
welfare services so the unemployed had to survive by charity and their wits. As a consequence people travelled
long distances to find work. Trade unions were still in their infancy and although there were several longrunning strikes during the 1890s depression (the 1890 Maritime Strike which drew in a wide range of workers,
the Queensland shearers' strikes of 1891 and 1894, and the Broken Hill miners' strike of 1892), all were lost by
the unions.
The 1890s had a complex effect on Australian society. Already high unemployment was made worse by sackings
after the strikes. Class divisions heightened. The average working person was bitter and disillusioned. Some
people uprooted their lives in the eastern states and headed off to the Western Australian goldfields. Brisbanebased socialist William Lane took a party of his followers off to found a utopian colony in Paraguay. The labour
movement altered direction as trade unions went into decline and the first colonial Labor parties were formed,
shifting the employee-employer contest from workplace to parliament. And arbitration and wage-setting
mechanisms were set up in most of the Australian colonies.
Geoffrey Serle has suggested that even in the 1880s between a quarter and a third of Melbourne's population
remained only marginally above the breadline. During the 1890s the urban poor suffered most. Brian de Garis
outlines the rigours of the depression for all levels of society, in his '1890-1900' chapter in A New History of
Australia (1974):
"The respectable folk, especially the elderly and the widowed, who had invested their all in defunct companies,
were left in a desperate predicament, and some starved rather than accept charity. Young middle class families
who had been living beyond their means in heavily mortgaged villas in the new outer-suburban housing areas
were in trouble. Some were put out into the streets for failure to keep up their repayments; others sold their
furniture to raise cash and camped in cold and empty houses. In a few Melbourne suburbs there were streets
and streets of deserted houses. Those lucky members of the working class who kept their jobs were not too
badly off at first for although wage cuts were universal, prices fell further and faster, but later in the decade when
the cost of living began to rise again wages did not keep in step and wage-earners, particularly the unskilled,
found it hard to make ends meet. However the greatest privations were experienced by the tens of thousands of
unemployed."
There are no firm statistics for unemployment during the 1890s, but as indicated above it has been estimated that
during the worst of the depression 25 to 30 per cent of skilled workers and a much higher proportion of
unskilled workers, were out of work. Wendy Lowenstein suggests that at the height of the Great Depression
unemployment was running as high as fifty per cent. Today we are too used to the dole and the benefits of the
welfare state to appreciate how grim life was for the unemployed. If a man had savings (not very likely given the
estimate that one quarter to one third of the urban population was only just managing to survive during the
1880s), he spent them. Then he and his family were totally dependent on private charity. The colonial
governments refused to accept responsibility for the bulk of the unemployed, though there were a few schemes
to help those out of work. Thousands of the urban unemployed had no option but to leave the cities and try to
find employment in rural areas.
The history of the Australian capitalist state in the 19th century contains three divergent trends. The colonial
business class, pastoralists and urban business men, moved into the newly established parliaments and controlled
the legislation. Second, there was growth in the autonomy of the state, as the bureaucracy and separate public
sector of the economy developed, often in response to ever-increasing urbanisation. Third, a labour movement
developed which eventually formed a counter to employer-dominance in industry and politics.
Political Development
When Australia was changing from a series of penal settlements to colonies of free settlement, there were also
dramatic changes to the style of government. Initially the Governors ruled like a combination of King and
Prime Minister. They had total power over life and death and administered all aspects of administration. Then
gradually as the population increased the settlers demanded that they have a role in government; their cry was no
taxation without representation, much as the American settlers demanded from Britain before the wars of
independence there. From the 1820s to the 1850s changes came slowly, as Governors first introduced advisory
councils, then representative parliaments. The citizens of the Australian colonies began to take part in the
process of government. All of the colonies ended up with two houses of parliament: a lower house that was
elected by adult males with property; and an upper house of review, partly elected and partly appointed.
Beyond the demand for representation there was a second tension, between the big pastoral landholders and the
settlers who wanted to see Australia divided into smaller holdings. Initially, parliaments were dominated by the
'squatters', the large-scale pastoralists, who tried to ensure that land legislation favoured their interests, but
onwards from the 1850s and 1860s their power was broken and land legislation favoured the concept of
'yeoman' farmers, allowing settlers to establish agricultural farms in the fertile coastal areas, and eroding the
pastoral properties.
The Labour Movement
The labour market is always the focus of class struggle between the possessors of capital and the possessors of
labour. The second half of the 19th century is a fascinating period in Australian history, with the development
of a labour movement and the entry of labour into the political arena. There had been a few trade unions since
the 1840s, mostly urban craft guilds. Labour shortages during the gold rushes enabled labour to make some
gains in wage negotiation and the length of the working day, but these gains proved difficult to maintain into the
1860s. In the buoyant economic climate of the 1880s the labour movement made further advances, but the poor
economic conditions of the 1890s decreased union power. In the face of declining union membership, the
labour movement moved to create political labour parties which were successful in colonial and later state and
federal politics. Trade union penetration of the workforce was not really successful until the early 20th century.
Labour history has become an important component of Australian history. The working class was neglected in
historical writing from the 19th and early 20th century, but since the 1960s has been part of the movement to
write the history of the majority of the people of Australia - a people's history - not just the history of the
company and the governors.
MIGRANTS, CAPITAL AND POLITICS IN THE 20TH CENTURY
Economic Development in the 20th Century
The discovery of gold in Australia in the 1850s was the first great resources boom. Because of the gold boom,
immigration rose substantially, which increased the scale of the economy and made investment in Australia
attractive. Early texts on Australian history often talk about the 'gold revolution', but recent assessments by
economic historians suggest that despite the expansion of both the population and the economy there was no
great increase in the standard of living, and there was a reduction in local manufacturing. Nevertheless, the
mineral wealth and expanding wool industry, the larger population, the availability of British capital, and new
technology provided the necessary ingredients for a long period of economic expansion until 1890.
Much of the following is based on the work of N.G. Butlin, Australia's leading economic historian.
Butlin suggests that the 1860-1890 period was the high point of Australian productivity and real income relative
to the rest of the world. Rural production and mining produced great wealth but did not require large amounts
of labour. The consequence was that the population concentrated increasingly in urban areas, setting the scene
for the 20th century.
Exploitation of resources may not have required large amounts of labour but it did require large scale
investment. Investment went into pastoral expansion and rural diversification. Large mistakes were made which
damaged the environment: areas were overstocked, and rabbits became a rural pest of enormous proportions.
Governments also spent too much borrowed money on building up urban infrastructure. Australia's export
earnings failed to keep pace with the foreign debt. Private and government investment depended on British
capital which was no longer freely available.
A general depression occurred in the 1890s and it was not until 1905 that the economy was again expanding.
After 1914 the First World War isolated Australia, which was forced to rely more on its own resources. Cut off
from British shipping and manufactured goods, Australia began to build up its own manufacturing industries.
After 1918 Australia erected a high and ever rising tariff wall to protect local industry. Urban centres expanded
even further. New technology in the form of artificial fertilisers and farm machinery increased rural production
and reduced the need for labour. Rural people moved to cities and urban manufacturing and service industries
expanded.
From 1914 Australia had begun to be cut off from overseas competition. This trend was strengthened by the
Great Depression. By the early 20th century Australia's birthrate was declining, to a level where Australians were
no longer producing enough off-spring to maintain the population. The government encouraged assisted
immigrants to expand the size of the population, so increasing the scale of the domestic market. With a
bolstered domestic market, Australia was also able to sustain foreign borrowing and increased investment in
urban infrastructure.
1930s Depression
The 1930s depression is regarded as the worst ever experienced. Part of the intensity came from vulnerability of
the Australian economy to shifts in the world economy. As pointed out in the previous topic Australian exports
came from a few rural products. A fall in world prices meant an economic downturn in Australia. But what did
it all mean to the average worker?
Male unemployment rose from 19 per cent in 1930 to 32 per cent in 1932. People had no option but to depend
on 'susso' (sustenance - the dole), and handouts of soup and bread. Work could not be found and many people
remained unemployed for years. Imagine the desperation of having a wife and family and being unable to find
work for years. Imagine being a temporarily or permanently deserted wife with six children having to fend for
yourself for years. The older generation today has very bitter memories of the Great Depression.
The Second World War stimulated economic growth and changed gender relations irreparably. Though
expenditure on civilian production was drastically reduced, the extra defence manufacturing, which involved
large-scale production using new technology, expanded the economy. And, importantly, the total war situation
made it necessary for large numbers of women to enter the workforce, thus acquiring new skills and new status.
After 1945 restrictions on imports grew even stronger, remaining in place until the 1960s. The restrictions on
imports and the rapid expansion of the economy attracted foreign capital to invest in the Australian
manufacturing industry. The size of the manufacturing industry and the domestic market encouraged the use of
more new technology. As N.G. Butlin explains:
Australians adapted to foreign technology and world tastes, particularly in the mass consumption of consumer
durables. These, with related base industries, were the springboard for a postwar boom in manufacturing. The
growth of population was accelerated by large-scale assisted immigration; the domestic market expanded and the
domestic workforce grew and diversified. But manufacturing was not the only major sector to be rejuvenated.
The rural industries also experienced vital technical change. Myxomatosis wiped out rabbits, lifting the limits of
the output capacity of the rural sector; pasture improvements, fertilisers and farm equipment added further to
productivity. Until the mid-1960's, it seemed as if Australia was entering another golden age.
The prosperity of the 1950s and 1960s did not last. The expansion of the European Economic Community
narrowed markets for Australian rural production. Although Australian manufacturing had been modernised it
could not keep pace with world technical developments, and in comparison with competitors with low wages
and costs, Australian manufactured goods were, and remain, expensive. The mineral boom of the late 1960s and
early 1970s did bolster the economy but Butlin judges it to have been as much a disruption as a boom to the
Australian economy. Increasingly from the 1960s, foreign investment in Australia's manufacturing and mining
industries has come from multinational companies, whose decisions are calculated to enhance the profits of the
parent companies. Australian manufacturing has been declining since 1970, and from the 1970s rising oil prices
caused inflation which persists today.
There is no doubt that the Australian economy will have to be restructured to enable it to compete with more
efficient world producers. Public policy has stressed regulation of economic activity and provision of capital.
Butlin suggests that Australia will have to develop its human capital more efficiently to lower youth
unemployment and to retain workers and develop skills.
As well, he suggests that the future economics focus of Australia will be the Pacific basin, which will increasingly
become the focus of the world economy. By comparison with its Asian neighbours Australia has a small
population and a high standard of living, both of which make it difficult to compete for markets. The Hawke
government in the 1980s advocated increased privatisation of the economy and selling off of large government
assets in banking and transport, which were built up many decades ago when the economy was much smaller. It
is ironic that a Labour government sees deregulation and privatisation of the economy as the means to securing
Australia's future. Whatever happens, Australians cannot afford to be complacent about the nation's economy
during the 1990s.
Immigration
In 1901 the population of Australia was 3,773,801: 77 per cent were Australian born; of the remaining 23 per
cent, the vast majority came from Britain and Ireland. In 1981, the date of the last Commonwealth census, the
population of Australia was 14,576,000. In 1989 the population exceeds sixteen million, but the 1981 figures on
the birthplaces of the population are still fairly accurate. Seventy-nine per cent are Australian born, and of the
remaining 21 per cent only 8 per cent were born in Britain and Ireland.
From 1901 the recruitment of migrants came under Commonwealth control. In the early decades of the 20th
century immigrants to Australia were predominantly from Britain and were part of wider Empire settlement
schemes. Assisted immigration schemes to the various colonies were common in the 19th century; they were
revived as the Australian economy recovered from the 1890s depression in the early 20th century, but lapsed in
the Great Depression. One notable development was the migration of southern Europeans in the 1920s and
1930s. They came without assisted passages and often as part of chain-migrations where whole families, even
whole villages, migrated over a number of years. They settled in ethnic groups, mainly in rural areas. The only
other significant non-British migrants before 1945 were Jewish settlers, refugees from central and eastern
Europe, and they mainly stayed in Sydney and Melbourne.
The largest immigration in Australia's history commenced in 1945. Upwards of 3,500,000 migrants entered
Australia between 1945 and 1978, the majority with assisted passages. Slightly under half were from Britain, the
next largest numbers coming from Italy and Greece. In the 1950s and 1960s many western European countries
began to recruit 'guest workers' from southern Europe, which left fewer southern Europeans willing to migrate
to Australia. From 1956 Australia began slowly to allow non-European migrants. Since then, Asia - particularly
southeast Asia - has provided many migrants: from 1966 to 1970 Australia received an average of 6,500 Asian
migrants each year; between 1969 and 1971 this increased to 10,000 each year. In 1973 the government ceased
to discriminate between familial, migrants on ground of race, nationality or religion, relying on educational and
work qualifications as deciding factors.
Several points need to be made here. Notice that immigration policies are linked closely to economic policies.
First, when Australia needed to increase its population the government purposely sought certain types of
migrants. Government policies on immigration are not humanitarian, except in the case of fairly limited refugee
groups. Second, the result of post-war immigration has been a considerable diversification of the Australian
population. The basic national character of Australia was formed in the late 19th century, of British and Irish
stock. Three-quarters of Australia's population is still Anglo-Celtic, so there has not been any massive change in
socio-cultural origins. Third, official policy has changed from absorption of all migrants into the mainstream
Anglo-Celtic culture, to one of multiculturalism, which encourages ethnic groups to maintain their cultural
identity. Australia will develop into a much less 'British' nation, presuming that this policy continues.
REGION AND RACISM
The Region
This topic views the European settlement of Australia within the perspective of the wider Pacific region.
Australian history is too often viewed in isolation from Aboriginal Australia, Southeast Asia, the Asian mainland,
and the Pacific islands and archipelagos, even though the indigenous peoples of the region spread across the
recent - and mainly European-sponsored - national boundaries. Over the last two hundred years of settlement
Australia has always had economic and political interests connecting the colonies and the Commonwealth of
Australia to the wider region. During the 18th and 19th centuries the Australian colonies had trading links with
Asian and Pacific ports. Right from the earliest days of settlement at Sydney, merchants traded with the Pacific
islands. During the 19th century, ships sought whale and seal oil, sandalwood, pearl and turtle shell, sea slugs
and other commodities as far east as Hawaii, south to New Zealand, and north into Melanesia and Micronesia.
Queensland recruited Melanesian labourers to work in its sugar industry during the second half of the 19th
century, and all of the east coast colonies were vitally interested in persuading Britain to annex Fiji and New
Guinea.
Australian colonies were not just an imperial outpost; they had expansionist ambitions of their own. We are
inclined to think of the Australian colonies as merely an extension of Britain. In foreign policy they were, as was
the early Commonwealth of Australia, but in other ways they developed an independent relationship with the
region. Australian capital was crucial to much of the early European economic development of the Pacific
islands; Australian churches assisted missionaries to spread Christianity to the Islanders; and the Australian
colonies had territorial ambitions in the Pacific. Before the carving up of the Pacific Islands into European
colonies and areas of influence, the governors of the Australian colonies had authority over British citizens in the
islands; a power that lessened in the 1870s with the British annexation of Fiji in 1874 and the creation of the
Western Pacific High Commission based in Fiji in 1877. During the 1880s when the Germans and French
became active in the Pacific, the Australian colonies wanted Britain to intervene and annex more islands. In
1883 the colony of Queensland went as far as to annex southern New Guinea on behalf of Britain; though
Britain refused to support its audacious annexation bid, the next year Britain was forced to annex an almost
identical area when north Melanesia was divided between Britain and Germany.
The Australian company, Colonial Sugar Refining (CSR), invested heavily in Fiji in the 1880s. Burns Philp,
originally a Queensland company but later trading mainly out of Sydney, became one of the largest shipping
companies in the South Pacific. Queensland had no formal control over the neighbouring Melanesian islands
but used them as a labour reserve, importing 62,000 Melanesian labourers to work in the Queensland sugar
industry between 1863 and 1904.
From the 1890s, with the economic downturn, interest in the Pacific waned. The price for tropical products was
reduced and investors were short of funds, though gold discoveries in Papua stimulated interest, and new
techniques for copra processing improved the economic potential of coconut plantations. After federation,
Australian interests were mainly channelled through its companies, CSR and Burns Philp. CSR extended its
sugar growing and milling operations in Fiji, and Burns Philp bought into plantations while maintaining its
shipping line. From 1901 Australia formally took over the administration of Papua, though no real change
occurred until 1906. Then in 1914 Australia seized German New Guinea on behalf of the allies and installed a
military government there until 1921 when Australia was granted the area as a 'C' class mandate from the League
of Nations. This eventually became a Trust territory of the United Nations, which Australia administered jointly
with Papua until Papua New Guinea was granted internal self-government in 1972 and independence in 1975.
Australians are inclined to regard control of Papua and New Guinea as an act of benign protection, but actually
Australia was one of the last of the colonial powers in the Pacific.
After the Second World War Australia attempted to fill the gap left by the departing British. Internationally,
through pacts with New Zealand and the United States, Australia sought to increase its influence in the region.
The South Pacific Commission was established in 1947 as the principal authority for development in the islands,
and Australian companies CSR, W.R. Carpenters, Steamships and Burns Philp dominated the economies of
Papua and New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Fiji. Since the 1970s, with the independence of most of the
island states, Australian influence is no longer as powerful, though perhaps it is just that Australia has to be less
direct in the post-colonial Pacific states. Certainly Australian financial aid and the possibility of the use of
Australian military power as a peace-keeping force are factors to be considered in our future relationship with the
region.
Racism
All of this sits uneasily beside Australian racist attitudes towards indigenous people in Australia and neighbours
in the wider Pacific region. But first, to define race, and racism, and racialism. A race is a group of related
intermarrying individuals, a population which differs from other populations in a relative commonness of certain
hereditary traits. From the root word race, come two terms closely allied and often used interchangeably racism and racialism. Racism assumes inherent racial superiority or the purity and superiority of certain races. It
also denotes any doctrine or program of racial domination based on such an assumption. More generally it also
refers to race hatred and discrimination. Racialism assumes similar ideas, but describes especially race hatred and
racial prejudice. Race is a biological division of human kind, but the idea of racism goes far beyond the
biological sense of race. In racialism, the word is used pseudo-scientifically for particular political and economic
purposes and is mixed with myth.
Up until recent decades almost all Australian immigrants were of European origin, and the vast majority from
the British Isles. Right from the early period of British occupation of Australia, racist ideas were common.
Many early explorers and settlers regarded Aborigines as savages closer to the animal kingdom than to
humankind. This played a useful part in justifying the European invasion of Australia. It was easier to justify the
dispossession and often extermination of the Aborigines if they were depicted as less than human. There were
early settlers who drew their views more from Christian principles and the traditions of the enlightenment who
believed in the 'noble savage' and believed that Aborigines were fully human and had the capacity to develop, but
they were always a small minority. Belief in racial equality dwindled in colonial Australia with persistent conflict
on the frontier and the increasing destitution of the surviving Aborigines.
But Aboriginal Australians were not the only people to face racial discrimination from the European settlers.
Chinese goldminers suffered violence at the hands of individuals and mobs. The governments of the Australian
colonies chose to deal with this race hatred through discriminatory legislation, limiting the entry of Chinese until
the 1880s and totally prohibiting the entry of a wide range of races after that time. Non-European residents in
Australia also faced restrictions on their rights. The thousands of Melanesian immigrants brought to Australia in
the 19th century faced deportation at the turn of the century, or, if they stayed, restrictions on their opportunities
to earn a living. By the early twentieth century the remnants of the once large Aboriginal population were
controlled by discriminatory legislation, denying them basic human rights such as free movement, control of
their own assets and citizenship.
Part of all this is the 'White Australia' policy, formally adopted by all political parties in the first federal
parliament, but something that had grown out of racialism and discriminatory legislation during the 19th century.
The 1901 Immigration Restriction Act included a dictation test whereby unwanted immigrants could be
subjected to a written test in any European language. From 1905 this was broadened to any language to deal
with Japanese opposition to the racial connotation of the requirement. Also in 1901 the Federal parliament
passed the Pacific Islands Labourers Act, which ordered the deportation of all Pacific Islands labourers. The
'White Australia' policy lasted through until the 1960s when it became easier for non-European migrants to enter
Australia.
From the late 19th century until at least the Second World War, racist ideas occupied a dominant, rarely
questioned position in Australian society. Ideas of biological determinism were gradually replaced by a belief in
the assimilability of diverse peoples. Discriminatory legislation was removed and from about the same time
Aboriginal Australians were incorporated into wider Australian society. By the 1970s Federal legislation was
passed to specifically outlaw discrimination based on race and it is now possible to prosecute anyone who can be
proved to have behaved in a racist manner. But legislation does not change long-held personal beliefs; many
Australians, particularly amongst the older generation, still have racist ideas. Only education over a couple of
generations can eradicate racist ideology and practice.
There is no simple answer to why people behave in a racist manner. Attitudes to Aborigines probably relate to
early competition over land. The different economy of the Aborigines, with their hunter-gatherer lifestyle was in
direct opposition to the needs of the settlers, and the Aborigines showed no interest in adopting European ways.
But it is more difficult to explain discrimination against non-European immigrants. Andrew Markus suggests
that discrimination against Chinese miners resulted from the threat that their numbers posed to the success of
the European miners. A contrary argument holds that racist ideas were a necessary precondition for the attacks
on the Chinese. Raymond Evans' analysis of Australian racism conflicts with the view of Markus. Markus in his
book Fear and Hatred: purifying Australia and California, 1850-1901 (1979) has argued that there was initially no
presumption that non-Europeans would occupy a subservient position in the Australian colonies and that a
strong body of opinion was in favour of equal rights for all.
Australians have nothing of which to be proud in their racist ideology and legislation. Although changes have
now been made for the better it will be a long time before the rest of the world, particularly the Third World
nations, forgets the two centuries of discrimination. And how much has changing the laws actually changed the
attitudes of the average Australian? Australia's relationship with the region and racialism are two very important
problem areas in Australian history. You can not ignore them if you are trying to come to grips with what makes
Australia.
DAILY LIVING, GENDER, THE FAMILY AND WELFARE
It is impossible to understand any society without knowing how people kept themselves fed, clothed and housed,
how they got around from place to place, how they bore and cared for their children, and how they worked to
provide for themselves and their families. Yet Australian historians have often passed over these questions as
too basic, too mundane, too 'obvious', to be taken seriously.
The emergence of women's history has brought to the fore issues concerning the home. After all, many women
still spend most of their lives at home; and most of us spend more hours at home than out in the public domain.
Historians have been preoccupied with what happens in public and have taken the structure of households for
granted. The four issues that we will explore are food, clothes, housing and transport.
Food
The Aborigines lived quite comfortably in Australia for tens of thousands of years by hunting animals, birds,
reptiles, shell and scale fish and crustaceans, and gathering grubs and caterpillars, eggs, roots, berries, vegetation
and fungi. They practised rudimentary food processing in grinding nuts and seeds. The first fleet in 1788
introduced the foods and technology of 18th century England to Australia, which seem as strange and quaint to
us as the Aborigines' food habits seemed to the first settlers.
Imagine the predicament of the early settlers, when stores ran out and they eagerly awaited supplies of wheat
from India and the Cape, and salted pork from Norfolk Island and Tahiti. They investigated edible local
vegetation to ward off scurvy, turned their hand to fishing and hunting, and eyed off the stock of sheep, pigs,
goats, ducks etc which had been brought out for breeding purposes. The first five years were hungry years. By
the beginning of the 19th century there was plenty of food, but it was boring and lacked variety, consisting
mainly of salt meat and flour. Fresh meat was a luxury in early decades. And one problem was lack of skill in
preparing food. The frontier pioneers were predominantly male and few men know much about cooking. The
typical 19th century convict, rural worker or landed gentleman in the back blocks lived on boiled meat, damper
(a type of bread) and tea, fortified by strong drink if he could get hold of any. Vegetables and fruit were rare.
Women battling in the bush were more adventurous but cooks but had very limited ingredients.
Conditions improved in the second half of the 19th century. The population was larger and more diverse; it
included Chinese and continental Europeans who brought 'exotic' food tastes with them. Transport to Australia
and around Australia had improved. Metal stoves became common. Industrialisation allowed food
manufacturing and refrigeration made it possible to preserve dairy products and store meat and vegetables. But
Coolgardie safes (screened food boxes that hung in cool places) and kerosene refrigerators were still in use in
isolated areas until reticulated electricity or generators became widely available from the 1950s onwards. In the
20th century, homes have become better and better equipped with food storage and preparation equipment, and
since the Second World War immigrants from diverse countries have changed the pattern of eating in Australia.
There was a time not so long ago when exotic (non-British!) food could only be obtained from the local Chinese
restaurant or the Greek cafe in the main street. Now we have an enormous range of imported foods in our local
stores and can wander down to the delicatessen to buy luxury foods.
Clothes
From 1788 until well into the 19th century Australian fashion was British in origin. The ruling class paraded in
fine clothes from England and occasionally France, which were often quite unsuitable for the Australian climate
and conditions. Have you ever tried to get over a barbed-wire fence wearing a long dress and copious petticoats?
Or been forced by etiquette to wear a waistcoat, coat and tie in the height of an Australian summer? Gentlemen
wore breeches, not trousers, in the early days of the colony. Convict and working class clothes were simpler.
The practical working clothes of the convicts became the accepted dress for emancipists, free immigrants and
the Australian-born.
Australians followed overseas fashions in the 19th century, just as they do today. In the mid-19th century
women's clothes became heavier and more constricting, with full skirts and masses of petticoats, and men took
to wearing three piece suits. Working class people dressed more simply and sensibly, mainly because they had
less to spend, but they mimicked the rich with their 'Sunday best' outfits. Women of any class were expected to
dress 'as women should', modestly, wearing a long dress even on horseback, or riding a bicycle.
The effect on clothes of the introduction of the bicycle as a means of mass transport for work and social
occasion is very interesting. Bloomers were introduced for women in the 1890s, and by the 1920s hemlines had
risen to the calves. Women even wore slacks and shorts! Women's legs emerged from centuries of shrouding.
The ideal feminine form altered. Tightly-laced small waists went out of fashion. The main feature of clothing
during the 20th century has been the increase in mass production. As the century progressed male dress became
more colourful and female dress became more 'masculine'. Fox makes it clear that part of the liberation of
women has involved changing fashions in clothes.
Housing
The majority of Australia's first European settlers lived in tents, calico houses, simple earth-floor huts, and small
two-room cottages made from whatever local materials were easily available. In new areas such as goldfields
whole tent cities grew up, with little attempt at sanitation. Permanent housing was difficult to finance and
tumble-down shacks were common in rural areas.
The increased population after the discovery of gold in 1851 created a housing shortage in rural and urban areas.
Australian cities expanded rapidly from the 1880s and by the turn of the century most Australians lived in the
inner suburbs of cities. Rental and tenancy agreements became the dominant feature of their lives. In Sydney
you will see the terrace houses and sub-standard dwellings crammed close to factories and warehouses where the
people worked last century; many of which have now become fashionable residences today. Urban health and
sanitation have always been problems in the working class suburbs of our cities. Visit the back lanes of
Collingwood in Melbourne or Redfern in Sydney today and you will see that not all that much has changed in a
century. The houses are much the same but the 'night-soil' cart no longer calls, replaced by a sewerage system.
And the landlord is still an exploitative spectre in many lives.
Transport
Changing transport technology has been vital in European settlement and development of the continent. Public
transport has often been run by private enterprise oriented to making a profit not providing a service, and
politics has played an important part in decisions about transport networks. In the 18th century the first settlers
either walked or used sail-craft on water. Until the colonies were well established there were not enough horses,
bullocks, donkeys etc to use for transport. In the first half of the 19th century people used coaches, drays and
wagons drawn by horses and bullocks. As was noted above, the bicycle revolutionised transport for the working
class in the second half of the century. Motor cars have had the same effect for all Australians in the 20th
century.
The first railways were built in the 1850s. They multiplied through the rest of the century and created a transport
network for most of Australia, though they were primarily oriented to moving goods from the ports to the
hinterland and back, not to moving people. Tramways were built in the big cities from the 1860s: first horse
powered, then powered by cable, and from the 1890s by electricity. Before railways, cities were built so that
people could walk to work and to leisure activities. Trams, trains and later motor cars have allowed an enormous
expansion of our cities.
Urbanisation
One fact of interest that emerges from any study of Australia is the degree of urbanisation in Australian society,
and the degree to which Australian historians have concentrated on the development of urban society in the
southeast corner of the continent. By comparison with most other countries, a high proportion of our
population has always lived in urban areas, particularly in the capital cities. In 1861, 41 per cent of the combined
population of New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland lived in urban areas. By 1901 this had increased to 64
per cent. All over Australia the percentage of the population living in centres with more than 1,000 inhabitants
increased from 62 per cent in 1921 to 86 per cent in 1976. Measure this urban existence against the 'Australian
legend', the term Russel Ward used to analyse the Australian mystique. In his The Australian Legend (1958) Ward
identified our national characteristics as mateship, independence, egalitarianism, adaptability and antiauthoritarianism and secularism. Ward traced these values back through the pastoral workers to the convicts,
stressing the contribution of the Irish and the native born. Critics have argued that the legend underplays other
key elements, particularly the rapid urbanisation, capitalism, free settlement and the role of women in developing
national characteristics.
Gender and the Family
Regardless of all other elements in the mythical Australian national character there is one constant factor: the
legend is male. Women have always been trivialised, dominated and made invisible in Australian history. Family
history was seen as too mundane to be interesting. The emergence of women's history in Australia during the
1970s was a side-product of the growing women's movement in the late 1960s and 1970s. In questioning their
place in contemporary society, women realised that they had to answer many questions historically.
Two the major works on women's history came out in the mid-1970s. Anne Summers' Damned Whores and God's
Police and Miriam Dixson's The Real Matilda used known historical materials to provide new insights on historical
questions. They examined Australian history from the convict period through to 19th century colonial life and
into the 20th century, looking at the contribution of women in the public and private domain. Their approach
and sources were conventional, but their subject, women in Australian history, was not. A third key work in
women's history, also published in 1975, is Beverley Kingston's My Wife, My Daughter and Poor Mary Ann.
Kingston deals with women's work, accepting within her definition both paid and unpaid work.
In 1977 a review appeared in Historical Studies which commented on women in Australian history, and altered the
terms of the debate. Maya Tucker identified Summers, Dixson and Kingston as the dominant group of 'leftfeminist historians', who wrote primarily for other feminists. Tucker pointed out that this approach was equally
as one-sided as the old male hegemony. Summers, Dixson and Kingston placed stress on convict and working
class women, ignoring the upwardly mobile nature of Australian society in the 19th century and the inescapable
fact that middle-class women instigated the feminist movement in the Australian colonies. Tucker went on to
say:
This raised the question why the history of Australian women should only be written by feminists for other
feminists, when feminists at all times in our history have been a minority amongst women... The kinds of areas
looked at by historians must be expanded to include social history, the role of the family in suburban life, the
effect of contraception upon early 20th century Australian life, the role of both men and women in raising
children, the development of the Australian nuclear family, and the effect of large-scale migration from areas
other than the British Isles on attitudes towards women and acceptance of the idea of the working women and
wife.
Tucker foreshadowed a major shift in the Australian debate about women's history. In 1979 Historical Studies also
carried an important review of The Real Matilda by Patricia Grimshaw. She argued that there was an overemphasis on women in the public sphere and the changing economic and political position of women outside of
the family. Grimshaw suggested that changing patterns of family relationships have played an important role in
changing the status of women. Grimshaw's publications since then have been part of the reassertion of the
centrality of middle class women to the debate on women's history in Australia, and study of the family. Other
historians have also placed emphasis on the importance of the family. Portia Robinson certainly does in her
seminal Hatch and Brood of Time, a study of the first generation of native born Australians.
Kay Daniels in 'Women's History' gives a good outline of the complex nature of the historiography of women in
Australia up to the early 1980s.
Like Australian women, historians of women's history do not form a homogeneous group and the history they
produce is various and conflicting, full of disagreement and diverse views on feminism, capitalism and the nature
of Australian society. While all would hope that the history of women becomes an integral part of the 1970s
and will be louder in the 1980s and more clearly defined.
This forecast has proved correct. Mature studies in women's history have appeared in the last few years. Three
important books were published in 1984 and 1985: Jill J. Matthews, Good and Mad Women: The Historical
Construction of Femininity in Twentieth-Century Australia, Katrina Alford's Production or Reproduction?: An Economic
History of Women in Australia, 1788-1850, and Kerren M. Reiger's The Disenchantment of the Home: Modernising the
Australian Family, 1880-1940. With these came valuable collections of chapters, such as So Much Hard Work:
Women and Prostitution in Australian History (1984), edited by Kay Daniels, and regional studies such as Helen
Jones' In Her Own Name: Women in South Australian History (1986). In 1992 Kay Saunders and Raymond Evans
edited Gender Relations in Australia, a superb overview which will remain the standard text for many years.
The burgeoning study of the history of women and the family in Australia is one of the liveliest and most
important areas of Australian history. In examining relations between the sexes, and entering the private domain
of the bedroom and the nursery, rather than just the public domain of the living room, the street and the work
place, we are getting closer to understanding the national character of Australia. If, at the same time, we consider
the place of race, ethnicity and racism in Australian society the picture becomes even more complex. As the
writing of Australian history enters the 1990s it is clear that the product will concentrate less on the bourgeois
white male bread-winner.
Australian men and women inhabited different cultures: theirs was the intimacy of strangers. Much of this came
from the social organisation of production. For most of the last two hundred years in Australia, women have
been confined to unpaid labour at home and until better methods of birth control and rising health care and
hospital standards in this century, women have had to contend with frequent pregnancies, miscarriages and
births. Within the home, violence was quite common and there was little that a wife could do to free herself and
children from an unpleasant marriage. When women enter the workforce they earn less than males - on average
about two-thirds of the male wage. The trade union movement is actually a men's movement and has never
been interested in obtaining equality for women in the workforce. Women's participation in paid work and the
equal integration of men in reproduction and child care are necessary for the emancipation of women.
On small farms and selections it was mostly women and their families that maintained production. Husbands
frequently had to work elsewhere on seasonal work, in the same district or in neighbouring districts, to provide
extra income for a family to survive. Often it was the presence of women and their families which ensured that
the residence clause in selection leases was satisfied. Their ingenuity in making repairs, producing their own food
and making clothes was as important in the function of any household as the income of the male bread-winner.
In the 20th century there has been an industrialisation of women's work, which has left more free time to spend
on other pursuits, particularly paid work. Times are changing and it is no longer common for a daughter to stay
at home working at unpaid domestic duties until she marries and performs the same unpaid chores for a
husband.
The family emerged as the central social unit from the 1860s, though it has changed considerably over time, as
the structure of the family unit reacted to economic and social circumstances. The colonial state had little
function in sustaining families broken by death, desertion or poverty. Women married young and had large
families. Changes in the demographic profile of the colonial family were obvious from the 1870s. Between the
1870s and the 1930s the rate of childbearing declined until it was lower than the level needed for the long-term
replacement of the population. In the early 20th century more emphasis was placed on child-rearing practices.
Labour-saving devices enabled women to give more attention to their children. Between 1940 and 1970 the
pattern of marital behaviour again changed. Women married younger than they had early in the century, and
with many children living at home, marriage came to mean independence from their parents. More recently
women have been better educated, have participated more in the paid work force and have been influenced by
the feminist movement. Age at marriage has increased; 20 to 25 per cent of this generation will never marry; and
40 per cent of marriages end in divorce.
Childhood
The type of childhood you have depends on whether you are black or white, male or female and whether your
parents are rich or poor. Over the last 200 years it also depended on whether you were the child of a convict, a
native-born or recent settler, and whether you were born in a rural or urban area. Aboriginal children suffer
astoundingly poor health of a magnitude difficult to comprehend in such a rich nation.
Health and Social Welfare
Although major epidemics, such as scarlet fever, influenza and polio, have struck Australia at various times, the
most serious health problems in colonial Australia were actually common gut and respiratory illnesses. Early
settlers were usually in healthier surroundings than those they had lived in before migrating to Australia.
Sanitary reforms and the development of urban services during the 19th century were part of local, colonial, state
and federal efforts to control diseases. Aboriginal infant mortality is three or four times higher than in the rest
of the community, and that death rates for Aborigines around the age of forty are about fifteen times higher than
for other Australians.
Welfare is the most important state-sponsored activity in the 20th century, except for wars. Welfare services are
provided by the various levels of government, private charities and benevolent services and range from child care
and unemployment benefits to meals-on-wheels. Welfare acts as an agent of social control. The free enterprise
capitalist system is based on the assumption of differential rewards, which produces inequality and sociallydependent members of the population. Wealth and income are far from equally distributed in Australia. A
million Australians live below the poverty line. The worst off are women, children, non-English speaking
migrants and blacks.
'Charity', a 19th century term, concentrated on relief to the deserving poor, usually through volunteers from
agencies of a religious or moral nature. 'Social welfare' is the equivalent phrase used today. Since the 1950s
welfare workers increasingly have been professionally trained. Social welfare is seen by most people as a
necessary part of community activity, largely paid for by taxes. We often forget how much of the resources of
the modern state are tied up in welfare services.
WAR AND FOREIGN POLICY
Unrecorded Battlefields
Warfare began as soon as European settlers invaded the continent. We have usually confined our thinking to
declared wars between nations, but in doing this we neatly sweep under the mat an unpleasant part of our
history. As mentioned briefly, an unrecorded and largely forgotten war was fought between the Aborigines and
the settlers. The initial Aboriginal response to the invasion was usually avoidance and distant observation,
followed by signs of fear and fright. Then they returned and the men, backed by the women, tried to defend
their land and their families. They were usually the losers and had to establish an uneasy peace, with breaks for
further fighting.
The Aborigines fought mainly as specific groups, defending particular clan territories. They used guerilla tactics,
raiding settlements and flocks then disappearing again. On the occasions that they chose to confront Europeans
directly in a pitched battles they lost badly. From 1788 until the middle of the 19th century European guns,
known as muskets, were actually cumbersome affairs that were slow to reload and inaccurate. Aborigines had a
good chance against them. But after the mid-1860s breach-loading and repeating rifles were introduced, as well
as revolvers. These new weapons were more deadly and the frontier battles of the second half of the 19th
century and into the early 20th century were all European victories. We do not know how many died in this
unrecorded warfare. Even the most conservative sources suggest that 2,000 Europeans and 20,000 Aborigines
died on undeclared battlefields. The figure for European deaths is probably reasonably accurate but many
Aboriginal deaths went unrecorded and it is reasonable to presume that 40,000 may be closer to the truth.
We must also add to this the deaths of Melanesians in Australian territory in the Torres Strait and in what
became Papua New Guinea, where the frontier was still extending through the New Guinea highlands during the
early 1950s. To this should be added deaths caused by Australian adventurers in the Pacific, early traders and the
labour recruiters who worked through the New Hebrides, the Solomons and the islands off eastern New Guinea
onwards from the 1860s. We know even less about the numbers killed here but the figure certainly amounts to
several thousands. Thus around 50,000 Europeans, Aborigines and Melanesians were killed on unrecorded
battlefields, an equivalent number to Australian troops killed in each of the world wars this century.
Recorded Battlefields
Fear of invasion has been a continuing theme in Australian history. Yet, as Burgmann and Lee point out in their
introduction to the 'Australians at War' section of A Most Valuable Acquisition, the double irony is lost on most
Australians. First, modern Australia was created by the European invasion of Aboriginal Australia and almost a
century and a half of undeclared war on the frontier. Second, compared with other areas of the world, Australia
has remained virtually untouched by 'foreign' invaders. Yet Australians have invaded the Sudan, South Africa,
Somaliland, Egypt, Palestine, Turkey, many European countries, several Pacific Islands, Korea and Vietnam.
Occasional scares of war and rumours of war occupied the public mind almost from 1788. European wars
spilled over into European colonial possessions; and Britain as a major power was often at war. The Crimean
war (1853-1856) was fought between Russia and the allied powers of Turkey, England, France and Sardinia.
During the Crimean war the people of both Sydney and Melbourne were alarmed lest Russian cruisers should
raid their ports. Gun emplacements were built to guard ports and channels. In the 1870s Colonel Scratchley, a
British defence expert, was employed by the various colonies to advise on fortifications. But Australia escaped
direct attack or invasion until the Japanese attempts in the early 1940s.
The colonies were an integral part of the British empire. Their actions and the actions of the federation of states
in the early decades of the 20th century were an extension of British actions. When Britain went to war, so did
Australia.
The Maori Wars (1845, 1860)
Imperial troops were sent from Australia in 1845 to help in the first Maori war. In the second, which began in
1860, in addition to Imperial units, some 2600 colonial volunteers and the Victorian colonial navy's steam
corvette Victoria crossed the Tasman.
Sudan Campaign (1885)
In March 1885, 770 soldiers sailed from Sydney to the Red Sea to join an imperial force fighting against the
followers of a Sudanese leader known as Mahdi, or the Messiah. After the massacre of General Gordon at
Khartoum, the Premier of New South Wales offered Britain a contingent to avenge the death. The offer was
accepted though similar later offers from the other colonies were refused. These men were the first volunteers
sent by a self-governing British colony to an imperial war. They saw little action. Eight died from illness and
several were slightly wounded.
Boer War (1899-1901)
The Boer war arose out of tensions between Britain and the independent Boer (Afrikaaner) republics of
Transvaal and the Orange Free State. When the war broke out in 1899 the Australian colonies immediately
offered troops. Eventually 16,000 Australian troops, mostly mounted riflemen, served in the Boer War, 500 died
in South Africa, about half from disease. Although the campaign was at first enthusiastically supported by the
Australian colonists, as the war dragged on, and British actions such as their 'concentration camps' became
known, support drained away.
Boxer Rebellion (1900)
A contingent of 451 naval volunteers from New South Wales and Victoria was sent to China with troops from
several European nations to help put down the Boxer rebellion. They were employed in police duties in Peking
and Tientsin for nine months.
World War I (1914-1918)
When Britain declared war on Germany in 1914, Australia was automatically at war. Thousands joined up
immediately and support was widespread. Australia sent a small force to occupy Rabaul, the capital of German
New Guinea, and established a military government there on behalf of the allies. Further afield ANZACs
(Australian and New Zealand Army Corp) landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula on 25 April 1915. Their sojourn
there and the evacuation in December, a defeat, have become a cause of celebration for Australians. Australian
forces also fought in many other parts of Europe and the Middle East. The trench warfare in central Europe
was horrific. At Pozieres and Monquet Farm, the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) sustained 23,000 casualties
over a three kilometre front. Of the 331,000 Australians who served overseas, about 60,000 died. The AIF
played a significant part in the defeat of Germany and Australians felt proud to have been 'blooded' so
magnificently on the world military stage. The ANZAC tradition, a proud military tradition, was established.
World War II (1939-1945)
When Britain declared war on Germany in 1939 Prime Minister Menzies announced to the Australian people
that they were at war. A significant change came in 1942 after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour and brought
the war into the Pacific. Prime Minister Curtin declared that Australia was at war against Japan without
consulting Britain. Clearly something was different in Australian attitudes, and many argue that Australia came
of age not in 1901 with the federation of the Australian colonies, but in December 1941 when Curtin made
Australia's first important independent foreign policy decision.
Australia was much more involved in World War II, than in the earlier Great War. More than 900,000
Australians served in the forces during the war, almost three times as many as in the 1914-18 war. They fought
on a much wider front; from Europe and the Mediterranean basin through Africa and Asia and the Pacific
Islands. There were more than 37,000 war-related deaths, including the deaths of 8,000 prisoners in Japanese
prison camps. As well, from 1942, it was a total war, on the home front as well as overseas. For the first time
Australia faced a real threat of invasion and people at home were rationed and mobilised for the war effort.
Malayan Emergency (1950-1960)
In 1948 a communist insurgency broke out in the Malay states. In the atmosphere of the Cold War after World
War II the 1949 Menzies government committed RAAF aircraft for use in dropping supplies. In 1955, to satisfy
the United States which feared the spread of communist activity in the region, because of our commitments
under the South East Asia Treaty Organisation (SEATO) and in response to British requests, Australia
committed ground troops and fighter and bomber aircraft to the Emergency. Malaya achieved independence in
1957 and the Emergency was declared over in 1960, but Australian troops remained in the area until 1971, and a
squadron of Australian planes, remained based in Malaysia until recently.
Korean War (1950-1953)
During the Cold War between the eastern and western bloc nations, North Korea invaded South Korea.
Australia committed troops, aircraft and naval support to the United Nations peace-keeping forces. The United
States made the largest commitment and led the effort. After bitter fighting an armistice was signed in 1953,
dividing Korea. Three hundred and thirty-nine Australian service personnel died in Korea, 1,216 were wounded
and 29 made prisoners-of-war.
Vietnam War (1965-1971)
Once more at the request of the United States, Australia entered the Vietnam war in 1965 when Prime Minister
Menzies announced that Australia was sending 1,000 combat troops, supposedly at the request of the South
Vietnam government. There had been no such request. Over years the Australian commitment was increased.
In 1967 it reached its peak of 8,000 and by the end of 1971 all Australian troops were withdrawn. In 1975
Vietnam was reunified when the government of the communist north overran the South Vietnamese capital,
Saigon. Almost 500 Australians died and 2,500 were wounded. The war was a humiliating disaster for Australia
and the United States. They had chosen to ignore the experience of the French in Vietnam - that the war could
not be won.
Issues Related to War
Conscription
An issue associated with war and defence from war is conscription for military service. This issue has always
been one of the most divisive in Australian society. None of the Australian colonies had conscription, but in
1903 the Australian government introduced a provision for conscription for military service in time of war, but
only volunteers were to be sent overseas. In 1911 compulsory military training was introduced for all males aged
between twelve and twenty-six. Large numbers of exemptions were granted and in the end the regulation was
seldom applied outside urban areas and was never totally enforced.
In 1916 and 1917 Prime Minister Hughes went to the Australian people in referendums asking to introduce
conscription for overseas service. The request was rejected and the Labor Party was wrecked in the subsequent
bitter social and political conflict. In 1939 Prime Minister Menzies announced three months' conscription for all
unmarried twenty-one year old males. After some dissent this was also supported by the Labor party. Because
of the gravity of the war situation in the Pacific in 1943, Prime Minister Curtin amended the act to allow
conscripts to be sent into the Southwest Pacific battle zone for the duration of the war. In 1951 a compulsory
military training system was reintroduced but this was abandoned in 1960. The last group of conscripts served in
the army over these years, many in Vietnam. Defiance to conscription grew strong during the late 1960s and
again divided Australian society.
Nationalism
Hard to define, but related to the jingoism of war and the development of a distinctly Australian character, is
nationalism. Histories of Australians at war usually stress the virtues of Australian manhood. Australia, as a new
nation, was searching for an identity of its own. Just as the virtues of the bushman were put forward as typical
of Australians (rather strange really, when you think that most Australians have always lived in urban areas), so
too were the military virtues typified by the ANZACs and the Australian Digger (soldier). Australian
participation in wars not of our making has always been seen as patriotic (as subjects of Britain), and nationalist,
in proving the manhood (and in World War II, the womanhood) of Australia.
Foreign Policy
Australia was slow to experience formal relations with the rest of the world because from 1788 until 1901 the
inhabitants of Australia lived in British colonies, and after 1901 Australians remained in an internally selfgoverning colonial federation within the British empire. British foreign policy remained Australian foreign
policy. During the inter-war years the arrangement of the empire altered. From the early 1920s the dominions
could engage in separate diplomatic dealings with foreign powers, but Australia took no immediate advantage of
this. During World War II obvious changes occurred in the relationship with Britain. Australia began to open
its own diplomatic missions overseas, and by 1941 Australia had declared war on Japan quite independently of
any British action. Our strengthening relationship with the USA during the war also widened the gap, and by the
time the United Nations was formed in 1945, Australia saw itself, and was seen by other nations, as a fully
independent sovereign state. Since then Australia has pursued an independent foreign policy although it is
closely allied to Britain, the British Commonwealth of Nations and the USA.
LABOUR, TRADE UNIONS AND POLITICS
Over the last 200 years most Australians have spent a large part of their lives selling their labour for wages. The
individual's relationship with the state and agencies of the state has become increasingly complex during the 20th
century, as have our relationships with employers and fellow workers. Certainly labour relations are an
important theme in Australian history, as they involve conflict between labour and capital.
Selling Our Labour
The first non-Aboriginal workers in Australia were convicts, who were there at the pleasure of the state and not
in a position to sell their labour. But as the system of assigning convicts to work for free settlers developed, so
did bargaining over the value of their services. The labour market grew much more complex from the 1820s
with the influx of free immigrants, some of them skilled workers. The Masters and Servants Acts and the laws
of conspiracy discouraged collective action over conditions of employment, and instead workers united around
specific issues such as the cessation of transportation and an extension of the franchise. By the middle of the
19th century a limited amount of collective action had taken place, but no real progress in collective bargaining
with employers was made until after the 1850s gold rushes enlarged the population and changed the nature of
the Australian economy, society and political institutions. Workers who remained in cities and did not run off to
make their fortunes on the goldfields were in a far stronger bargaining position, and it is significant that the first
award of an eight hour day came to building workers in Melbourne in 1856 during the goldrushes.
Craft unions have existed for much longer than wide-based industrial unions. Craft unions were established in
Sydney and Melbourne by the 1840s. New kinds of unions emerged from the 1870s, based on industries rather
than a craft. Miners, shearers, waterside workers and seamen united across colonial boundaries. They were
inclined towards militant industrial action coupled with a radical political outlook. But the majority of workers,
unskilled, had to struggle to build industrial strength, and little was done to organise women in the workforce.
Parallel to this ran a movement towards closer unionism and the formation of trades and Labour Councils.
Initially created by the craft unions, they were intended to be mechanisms for settling industrial disputes and
coordinating the affairs of small unions. Many of the issues that they raised - the need for factory acts, legal
status for trade unions, conciliation and arbitration - could only be solved at a government level. Union leaders
began to realise that to influence governments, unions needed to enter colonial politics.
The depression of the 1890s speeded this realisation to fruition. During the strikes of the early 1890s the
pastoralists and shipowners battled with their workers, and won, because they enlisted the power of the state on
their side. The parliaments and the courts, backed by police and troops, inflicted a humiliating defeat on the
unions. As a result Labor parties were established to gain direct access to the machinery of the state. The
Australian labour movement of today grew out of that struggle between labour and capital. By the beginning of
the 20th century the unions had begun to recover their strength, aided by federal and state compulsory
arbitration systems, and made progress on industrial issues such as establishing wages boards, factory acts, and
improving safety standards in the workplace. By world standards, Australian colonial regulation of conditions of
labour was quite advanced. However, the federation of the colonies in 1901 and the formation of the Federal
Labor Party widened the gap between the party and the unions. Labor tended to present itself as a nationalist
rather than a class-based party.
In 1904 the Commonwealth established a Court of Conciliation and Arbitration. Its jurisdiction was confined to
interstate disputes, but its powers to conduct compulsory hearings and make legally binding awards set the
standard for all industrial negotiations in Australia. In 1907 this was very clear when Mr Justice Higgins handed
down his historic decision in the Harvester case, introducing the concept of a 'basic wage', set at a level
considered sufficient to support a worker and his family in 'frugal comfort', with a supplement for skill where
appropriate. Unionism expanded now that workers had the incentive of achieving such an award, particularly
unions which crossed state boundaries.
Workers were frustrated by the lack of progress in bettering working conditions and felt that the Labor party was
reluctant to help them. In the 1910s workers who wanted to pursue class politics joined socialist groups such as
the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). The IWW popularised the formation of One Big Union, the
unification of the working class by a single militant industrial organisation. The movement was widespread but
was opposed by the Labor party and Australian Workers' Union (AWU). The movement failed and the IWW
was declared illegal in 1917. However, an Australian Communist party was formed in 1920 and its members
were prominent in several unions over the next few decades. Communist officials in unions were largely
replaced in the 1950s by Labor Party candidates backed by Catholic political activists.
The level of industrial disputes has varied with economic circumstances, and has tended to fall during periods of
high unemployment but rise with the level of prosperity. The highest levels of disputes occurred in the years
1917-19, 1928-29, 1947-50 and 1974. Each of these periods was the closing years of an economic boom period,
and usually also a time of rising inflation.
The union movement expanded considerably after World War II with increased local manufacturing and a larger
population. Apart from a few short-term recessions there was virtually full employment up until the early 1970s.
Since the late 1970s inflation and declining overseas mineral markets has brought high unemployment, often
aggravated by the high rate of technological changes, which have left many workers insufficiently trained to
handle the new machines and techniques. The workers have made gains in negotiations with employers but
there has not been any greater equality achieved.
The Political Parties
Australia has three major political parties and many smaller parties. The Labor Party as described above and
two others comprise the three major parties. The other two major parties are the Liberal Party and the
National Party. Any study of politics must pay attention to all sides of the debate.
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party was formed in 1944 when Robert Menzies invited representatives of various conservative
political bodies to a conference in Canberra. The party which emerged from the conference was officially
inaugurated in 1945. It claimed to be a new party, but in fact it was built on the tradition set by Alfred Deakin's
earlier Liberal Party and carried on by the National Party under W.M. Hughes in 1917 and the United Australia
Party in 1931.
The major principles, as outlined by Menzies at the formation of the party, included individual freedom and
choice, support for the family, encouragement of effort and excellence, economic growth through competitive
private enterprise, constitutional monarchy and the rule of law, and the decentralisation of government power.
These values remain reflected in its policies today.
National Country Party
The National Country Party was originally the Country Party, the name which makes clear the interest group it
represents - the rural electorate. From the mid-nineteenth century, Australian farmers tried to establish pressure
groups that would pursue their collective interests. Slowly pressure groups formed into regional associations,
and by the 1890s relatively permanent groupings had formed. In the years at the end of the first decade of the
twentieth century farmers joined together in unions for protection against unions of employees, and in some
States rural 'blocs' existed among members of parliament. The Country Party finally emerged as an independent
parliamentary force when the first elected members entered the parliament of Western Australia in 1914. Similar
parliamentary groups appeared in Queensland in 1915, in Victoria in 1917, and in South Australia in 1918. The
Federal Country Party was formed in 1920, and the New South Wales Country Party in 1921.
Although the Country/National Party has held power in its own right more often at both State and federal levels
it has been the junior partner in a coalition with the Liberal Party and its predecessors. The party was renamed at
State and federal levels in the early 1970s and the first convention of the National Country Party was held in
1975.
Minor Parties
There has also been a series of minor political parties over recent decades - the Democratic Labor Party (DLP);
the Australia Party; the Liberal Movement; the Workers Party; the Australian Democrats; the New State party;
the Progressive Party; the Australian Conservative Party; the Party in Defence of Government Schools; and
several others. Today 'Green' political parties, which give high priority to safeguarding the environment are the
most important of the minor parties, and control a significant proportion of the vote. While few minor parties
hope to govern in their own right, they can form governing coalitions with the major parties. Alternatively they
can act as advisers, watchdogs or pressure groups, and have done this remarkably well.
There is not a clear-cut division that makes the Liberal/National Parties the defenders of capitalism, and the
Labor Party the defender of the rights of workers. Individual rural workers may feel that the National Party
represents them just as much as it does their employers; and the federal Labor Party has adopted more and more
policies once the preserve of the Liberals. The smaller parties further complicate the picture. But Australian
politics does divide roughly into two interest groups of roughly equivalent size, one protecting the interests of
wage earners and the other the advocates of free enterprise business interests. The efficient operation of modern
parliamentary democracy owes much to political parties, and they are certainly key elements in the Australian
political system.
Aboriginal Policy
We began with Aboriginal Australia 60,000 years, so it is fitting that we end with them in the 1990s. The
government and people of Australia have tried to make up for two centuries of neglect. The process is one of
reconciliation, from trying to give Aboriginal people a voice in the administration of their own affairs, to trying
to negotiate some form of treaty between black and white Australians. The problem is that despite government
goodwill all governments fear an electoral backlash if they are seen giving extra rights to one quarter of a million
descendants of indigenous Australians, which disadvantage the other seventeen million in any way. Many
Australians still harbour racist attitudes to Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, and see no reason why, in these
hard economic times, they should be given any more assistance than the average Australian. This is why the
1992 Mabo judgement of the High Court of Australia, mentioned in Topic One, is so important. No significant
change will come from government legislation; all sides of politics have been reticent to make substantial
changes. And the attitudes of citizens will take generations to change.
The High Court has taken upon itself the right to re-write the basic legal system of Australia, in recognising
indigenous land tenure. While the concept of terra nullius stood at the base of our legal system there was a
permanent impediment to reconciliation. There was no reason for any government should try to reform the way
Australians of immigrant origins deal with indigenous Australians. Now the change has begun from the highest
court in the land, overriding the constitution and two hundred years of legal precedent. Undoubtedly change will
flow from this, and governments will be forced to negotiate more readily than before. Given time, the changing
ethnic structure of immigrant Australia, and the gradual incorporation of indigenous Australians into mainstream
Australia, the people will also slowly change their way of thinking.
Conclusion
Historians seldom predict the future, except to say that there will be recurring patterns from the past; but the
brave sometimes try. Australia of the year 2000 will most probably be a republic, having cut its ties with Britain,
and be far more ethnically mixed than today. The proportion of people of Asian origin will be quite high,
probably about five per cent, and our British origins will recede into the past, just as they have in America.
Indigenous Australian will have been absorbed even more into society, and most special government assistance
for them will have ended. Trade unions, so important and powerful for a century, will no longer dominate the
work place, and industry will become increasingly high-tech. Australia will remain highly urbanised but the days
of the average person being able to dream of owning a house and a quarter acre of land will have gone, as we
move into higher density accommodation. There will be more equality between the sexes in jobs, education and
families; and gender and sexual roles will be more flexible. Christianity will continue to decline as a religious
force, replaced by more secular concerns but still based on Christian moral concepts. Culture will become
increasingly global and the revolution in communications will continue, making the world one unit. Where this
all leaves the legend of the typical Australian as an egalitarian rural-based male with his loyal wife and family is
any ones guess.
GOVERNMENT
Australia is a constitutional monarchy. Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state, and her representative in
Australia is the Governor-General.
Australia is a federation. The constitution defines the powers of the Australian government and other powers
remain with the states.
Australia has a parliamentary system. The parliament has two houses: the Senate has equal representatives from
the states and the House of Representatives has members elected from electorates with equal numbers of voters.
In some systems of government, there is a clear separation of powers between the making of laws (the
legislature), the administration of laws (the executive) and the determination of violations of the law (the
judicature). In Australia there is a clear distinction between the judicature and the legislature. The High Court
has the power to interpret the constitution.
There is no such clear separation of the legislature from the executive. The executive (the Prime Minister and
the Ministers) are members of parliament. The executive brings most bills to parliament, steers them through
the parliament and then administers them.
The two parties that have dominated federal politics since 1945 are the Australian Labor Party (now led by Kevin
Rudd) and the Liberal Party (led by Brendan Nelso. Of the minor parties (the Australian Democrats, the
National Party and the Greens), the National Party, essentially representative of rural Australia and normally
allied with the Liberals, is the most important. The fact that the balance of power in the Senate between the
Labor and Liberal-National parties is sometimes held by the minor parties, gives them unusual power.
Some differences in Government with the USA:
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The head of state, the Queen/Governor-General, is normally outside the processes of policy formation,
legislation and administration.
Basic human rights are not in the constitution.
The head of the executive, the Prime Minister, is the leader of the party or group of parties, able to
command a majority in the House of Representatives.
The executive (the Prime Minister and Ministers) is in the parliament.
The parties have stronger discipline, so party members, especially in the Labor Party, rarely vote against
party policy.
In Australia, it is easier for people without personal wealth to demonstrate capacity within the party and
gain selection to stand for a seat. The party funds the campaign.
In Australia, party loyalties are less regional and more connected to socio-economic factors (some
poorer suburbs consistently vote labor and some wealthier suburbs vote liberal) and to city versus
country.
The rhetoric of Australia politics is different. It is obvious in the term 'liberal'.
AUSTRALIA'S BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
As a large island continent with a coastline of some 37,000 kilometres, an area of 771 million hectares and a
Australian Fishing Zone of 894 million hectares, Australia contains a diverse range of biogeographic regions.
The arid interior occupies approximately 70% of the continent with tropical monsoons to the north and a
Mediterranean and temperate climate to the south. Several mountain regions in the south-east are snow clad in
winter and the external territories extend to subantarctic and antarctic regions. Australia's marine habitats are
just as diverse, ranging from extensive coral reefs to seagrass plains, giant kelp forests and the sand-bottomed
habitats that cover much of the continental shelf.
Australia's biological diversity has great scientific value, and many elements of it are unique. This results, in part,
from the tectonic history of the continent and its relative isolation for more than 20 million years following the
breakup of the ancient Gondwanan landmass, a period that saw extensive evolutionary divergence of its plants,
animals and microorganisms. Australian marsupials have evolved into a great diversity of species filling an
extraordinary range of niches, that in other countries are largely occupied by placental mammals.
Of particular significance is the high percentage of Australian species that occur nowhere else (that is, endemic
species). Six families of mammals, four of birds and fourteen of flowering plants are endemic - far more families
than in any other country. Further, at the species level about 82% of our mammals, about 45% of our land
birds, about 89% of our reptiles and about 93% of our frogs occur nowhere else. These high levels of endemism
are not restricted to terrestrial Australia. Of the estimated 600 inshore fish species in the southern temperate
zone, about 85% are found only in Australia. Australia contains eight endemic families of fish, and more than
half of the shark and ray species are confined to Australian waters. The high levels of endemism in the
Australian biota are primarily why Australia is considered one of the world's 12 'megadiverse' countries.
Australia's biota contains a number of groups of very high species richness. Victoria alone has around 270
species of orchid: on the other hand, the North American continent has only 165 and Europe 116 species.
Australian deserts have a greater number of species of lizard per locality than do either the Kalahari or American
deserts. With an estimated 4,000 species, Australian ants are also highly diverse compared with elsewhere.
Britain, for example, has only 41 species of native ants, a number well exceeded by 452 hectare Black Mountain
Nature Reserve in Canberra alone, which has more than 100 species. There are probably many other groups of
invertebrates and microorganisms that exhibit similar species richness but have not yet been adequately studied.