Documents for "Australian and New Zealand Political Geography":

• Adelaide city (1991 pop. 957,480), capital and chief port of South Australia, S Australia, at the mouth of the Torrens River on Gulf St. Vincent. It has automotive, textile, and other industries. Grains,...

• Albany town (1996 pop. 14,590), Western Australia, SW Australia. It is a port on Princess Royal Harbour of King George Sound. The town has woolen mills and fish canneries. Founded in 1826 as a penal...

• Albury-Wodonga twin cities (1991 combined pop. 63,614). Albury is in New South Wales, SE Australia, on the Murray River. Wodonga is on the S side of the river in Victoria. They form an agricultural market as...

• Alice Springs town (1991 pop. 20,448), Northern Territory, Australia. It lies in a pastoral area surrounded by desert near the center of the continent and is a stop on the Adelaide Darwin Railway. The town...

• Arnhem Land 37,100 sq mi (96,089 sq km), N Northern Territory, Australia, on a wide peninsula W of the Gulf of Carpentaria. The great majority of the region belongs to the Arnhem Land Aboriginal Reserve, the...

• Ashmore and Cartier Islands unhabited tropical islands, 2 sq mi (5 sq km), E Indian Ocean, a dependency of Australia located 190 mi (300 km) NW of N Western Australia. Ashmore Reef is comprised of three coral islets (West,...

• Auckland city (1996 pop. 345,768; urban agglomeration pop. 991,796), N North Island, New Zealand. It is situated on an isthmus and is the largest urban region and chief port of the country. The chief...

• Australia smallest continent, between the Indian and Pacific oceans. With the island state of Tasmania to the south, the continent makes up the Commonwealth of Australia, a federal parliamentary state (2005 est. pop. 20,090,000), 2,967,877 sq mi (7,686,810 sq km). Australia's capital is Canberra. Its largest city is Sydney , closely followed in population by Melbourne. There are five continental states ( Queensland , New South Wales , Victoria , South Australia , and Western Australia , in addition to the aforementioned Tasmania) as well as the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory (an enclave within New South Wales, containing Canberra). Australia's external territories include Norfolk Island, Christmas Island, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and the Australian Antarctic...

• Australian Capital Territory (1991 pop. 276,468), 939 sq mi (2,432 sq km), SE Australia, an enclave within New South Wales, containing Canberra , capital of Australia. It was called the Federal Capital Territory until 1938. Most of the territory consists of an area formerly known as Yass-Canberra, which was ceded to the commonwealth by New...

• Ballarat city (1991 pop. 64,980), Victoria, SE Australia. It is an industrial center; clothing, food products, paper, brick and tile, and other goods are made. The city flourished during the gold rush...

• Bathurst Island c.1,000 sq mi (2,590 sq km), Northern Territory, N Australia, near Melville Island, between the Timor and Arafura seas. The island is a reservation owned by the Tiwi people.

• Bendigo city (1991 pop. 57,427), Victoria, SE Australia. Founded in 1851 during the gold rush, Bendigo was the center for the greatest goldfield in Victoria. Mining continues, but the city is now an...

• Brisbane city (1991 pop. 1,145,537), capital of Queensland, E Australia, on the Brisbane River above its mouth on Moreton Bay. Brisbane is Australia's third largest city and an administrative, commercial,...

• Broken Hill city (1991 pop. 23,263), New South Wales, SE Australia, near the South Australia border. Since 1883 it has been a principal center of zinc and silver mining in Australia.

• Bundaberg city (1991 pop. 38,074), Queensland, E Australia, on the Burnett River. It is a sugar-refining center and a port.

• Cairns city (1991 pop. 64,463), Queensland, NE Australia, on Trinity Bay. It is a principal sugar port of Australia; lumber and other agricultural products are also exported. The city's proximity to the...

• Canberra city (1991 pop. 276,162), capital of Australia, in the Australian Capital Territory , SE Australia. The Canberra urban agglomeration includes a small area in New South Wales. The federal government is the largest employer in Canberra; there are also printing and service industries...

• Central Australia see Northern Territory , Australia.

• Christchurch city (1996 pop. 309,027), E South Island, New Zealand, on the Avon River. It is the third largest city in New Zealand and the commercial center of the productive Canterbury Plains. Industries...

• Christmas Island tropical island (2001 pop. 1,508), 60 sq mi (155 sq km), an external territory of Australia, in the Indian Ocean c.200 mi (320 km) S of Java. The majority of the inhabitants descendants of Chinese...

• Commonwealth of Australia see Australia.

• Coolgardie Australia: see East Coolgardie Goldfield ; Kalgoorlie.

• Coral Sea Islands external territory of Australia, comprising scattered small islands and reefs spread over c.400,000 sq mi (1,035,995 sq km) of the South Pacific Ocean, E of the Great Barrier Reef , off NE Australia....

• Darwin city (1991 pop. 67,946), capital of the Northern Territory, N Australia, on Port Darwin, an inlet of the Timor Sea. Remotely situated on the sparsely settled north coast, Darwin had no rail...

• Dunedin city (1996 pop. 118,143), SE South Island, New Zealand, at the head of Otago Harbor. Dunedin, with Port Chalmers, is an important port and industrial center. The chief exports are wool, meat, and...

• East Coolgardie Goldfield Western Australia, SW Australia. It is the richest gold field in Australia. The chief mining center is the town of Kalgoorlie. Coolgardie, of little importance today, was the first gold-rush town...

• Federal Capital Territory see Australian Capital Territory.

• Fitzroy rivers in Australia. 1 River, 174 mi (280 km) long, formed by the junction of the Dawson and the Mackenzie rivers, E Queensland, Australia, and flowing past Rockhampton to Keppel Bay of the Coral Sea....

• Flinders Island Australia: see Furneaux Group.

• Fremantle city (1996 pop. 24,276), Western Australia, SW Australia, a suburb of Perth, on the Indian Ocean at the mouth of the Swan River. It is the terminus of the Trans-Australian RR and the chief...

• Furneaux Group about 25 islands, c.900 sq mi (2,330 sq km), Tasmania, SE Australia, in Bass Strait between Tasmania and the Australian mainland. The largest is Flinders Island, and the group forms Flinders...

• Geelong city (1991 pop. 126,306), Victoria, SE Australia, on an inlet of Port Phillip Bay. It is a major port. Wool, wheat, meat, and hides are the principal exports; oil and phosphates are imported...

• Gippsland geographical area, 13,655 sq mi (35,366 sq km), Victoria, SE Australia, E of Melbourne. There are deposits of coal, oil and natural gas (offshore), and limestone. Gold was formerly mined. Dairy...

• Gisborne city (1996 pop. 32,608), East Coast North Island, New Zealand, on Poverty Bay. It is a resort and a port, exporting wool, frozen meat, timber, and fish. Captain Cook made his first New Zealand...

• Gold Coast city (1991 pop. 256,275), Queensland, E Australia, on the Pacific Ocean. The city, a major resort, stretches for many miles along the coast and extends into New South Wales. In 1994, Queensland...

• Groote Eylandt [Du.,=large island], 950 sq mi (2,461 sq km), Northern Territory, N Australia. It is the largest island in the Gulf of Carpentaria and part of the Arnhem Land Aboriginal Reserve. Manganese ore is...

• Hamilton city (1996 pop. 108,429), N central North Island, New Zealand, on the Waikato River. Situated between Auckland and Wellington, Hamilton is the transportation and industrial center of a densely...

• Hastings city (1996 pop. 58,495), SE North Island, New Zealand, close to Napier. It has extensive food-processing industries, including meatpacking, canning, and dairy processing.

• Hobart city (1990 pop. 127,134), capital and principal port of Tasmania, SE Australia, at the foot of Mt. Wellington (4,166 ft/1,270 m high). Hobart's harbor is one of the finest in the world. The city...

• Hutt City city (1996 pop. 95,871), S North Island, New Zealand, in the Hutt River valley, part of the greater Wellington urban area; formerly called Lower Hutt. Industries in the area include metalworking, engineering, textiles, and consumer products manufacturing. Several scientific research institutions are located...

• Invercargill city (1996 pop. 53,208), extreme S South Island, New Zealand, on the Southland Plain. It is an agricultural center with timber, wool, and food-processing industries. The Bluff, on the Foveaux...

• Kalgoorlie town (1991 pop. 25,016), Western Australia, SW Australia. It is the chief mining town of the state and the center of the East Coolgardie Goldfield. Gold was found at nearby Coolgardie in 1892;...

• Kangaroo Island small island, South Australia, S Australia, at the entrance to Gulf St. Vincent. It is 90 mi (145 km) long and 34 mi (55 km) wide. The chief products are barley, sheep, salt, gypsum, and eucalyptus...

• Kimberley geographical area, c.139,000 sq mi (360,010 sq km), Western Australia, NW Australia. The Kimberley Goldfield was the site (1882) of the first major Western Australian gold strike. Cattle and sheep...

• Kwinana city (1991 pop. 13,517), Western Australia, SW Australia, a suburb of Perth. A new industrial city, Kwinana has oil refineries and steelworks.

• Launceston city (1991 pop. 66,747), on Tasmania, SE Australia, where the North Esk and South Esk rivers join to form the Tamar estuary; founded 1806. Launceston is the second most populous city in Tasmania...

• Lismore city (1991 pop. 27,246), New South Wales, E Australia, on the North Arm of the Richmond River. An important industrial city, Lismore is a leading producer of butter. Its port is Ballina.

• Lower Hutt New Zealand: see Hutt City.

• Mackay city (1991 pop. 40,250), Queensland, NE Australia on the Pioneer River. A port city, Mackay exports sugar, beef, and coal.

• Maitland city (1991 pop. 45,209), New South Wales, SE Australia, on the Hunter River. It is a railroad junction and agricultural center with light manufacturing. Maitland began as a convict settlement in...

• Melbourne city (1991 pop. 2,761,995), capital of Victoria, SE Australia, on Port Phillip Bay at the mouth of the Yarra River. Melbourne, Australia's second largest city, is a rail and air hub and financial...

• Melville Island 2,240 sq mi (5,802 sq km), Northern Territory, N Australia, in the Timor Sea 16 mi (26 km) off the coast. It is 65 mi (105 km) long and 45 mi (72 km) wide and is separated from Bathurst Island by...

• Napier city (1993 est. pop. 51,800), E central North Island, New Zealand, on Hawke Bay, close to Hastings. It is a major center for wool, as well as meat, fruit, and dairy exports; tourism is also...

• Nelson city (1996 pop. 40,242), N South Island, New Zealand, at the head of Tasman Bay. It is a center of fruit production, with other light industries. The Cawthron Institute for scientific research is...

• New Plymouth city (1996 pop. 48,871), West Coast North Island, New Zealand, on the Tasman Sea. It is a port and a major center for dairying. Other industries include natural gas processing and metal working.

• New South Wales state (1991 pop. 5,164,549), 309,443 sq mi (801,457 sq km), SE Australia. It is bounded on the E by the Pacific Ocean. Sydney is the capital. The other principal urban centers are Newcastle , Wagga Wagga , Lismore , Wollongong , and Broken Hill. More than half the population live in the Sydney metropolitan area. Located in the temperate zone, the state has a generally favorable climate. There are four main geographic regions: the coastal...

• New Zealand island country (2005 est. pop. 4,035,000), 104,454 sq mi (270,534 sq km), in the S Pacific Ocean, over 1,000 mi (1,600 km) SE of Australia. The capital is Wellington ; the largest city and leading...

• Newcastle city (1991 pop. 262,331), New South Wales, SE Australia, on the Pacific Ocean. It is the center of one of the country's largest coal-mining areas and is a large port. Coal, wool, iron and steel,...

• North Australia see Northern Territory , Australia.

• North Island (1996 pop. 2,718,188), 44,702 sq mi (115,777 sq km), New Zealand. It is the smaller but more populous of the two principal islands of the country. The principal cities are Wellington , capital of New Zealand, and Auckland. Separated from South Island by Cook Strait, North Island is irregularly shaped with a long peninsula projecting northwest. There are volcanic mountains, the highest being Ruapehu (9,175 ft/2,797...

• Northern Territory territory (1991 pop. 132,780), 520,280 sq mi (1,347,525 sq km), N central Australia. It is bounded on the N by the Timor Sea, the Arafura Sea, and the Gulf of Carpentaria. Darwin is the territorial capital. In the north are lowlands, in the southeast are low plains sloping toward the Lake Eyre depression, and in the southwest are the MacDonnell Ranges. The main rivers are...

• Palmerston North city (1996 pop. 73,095), S North Island, New Zealand. It is a transportation and farm-marketing center with diverse industries. The city's agricultural college, founded in 1926, became Massey Univ...

• Parkes town (1991 pop. 8,784), New South Wales, SE Australia. It is the site of a radiotelescope (opened 1961) capable of receiving radio waves from a distance of 1 billion light-years.

• Parramatta city (1996 pop. 139,157), New South Wales, SE Australia, a suburb of Sydney, on the Parramatta River. It is the regional center for the western suburbs of Sydney. Founded in 1788, it is the second...

• Perth city (1991 pop. 1,018,702), capital of Western Australia, SW Australia, on the Swan River estuary. Fremantle is Perth's port. Perth is a communications and transportation center and the state's...

• Port Adelaide city (1996 pop. 37,559), South Australia, S Australia, a suburb of Adelaide, on an inlet of Gulf St. Vincent. It is the principal port and wool-trading center of the state. The chief exports are...

• Port Augusta city (1991 pop. 14,595), South Australia, S Australia, at the head of Spencer Gulf. It is a railroad center.

• Port Darwin see Darwin , Australia.

• Port Kembla Australia: see Wollongong.

• Port Pirie city (1991 pop. 14,110), South Australia, S Australia, on an inlet of Spencer Gulf. It is a railroad center and has uranium refineries and smelting works for the silver-lead mines at Broken Hill...

• Queensland state (1991 pop. 2,477,152), 667,000 sq mi (1,727,200 sq km), NE Australia. Brisbane is the capital; other important cities are Gold Coast , Toowoomba , Townsville , Rockhampton , Cairns , and Ipswich. Queensland is bounded on the NE and E by the Coral Sea and the Pacific Ocean and on the NW by the Gulf of Carpentaria and Torres Strait. The state comprises the entire northeastern...

• Riverina region, 26,560 sq mi (68,790 sq km), New South Wales, SE Australia. Located S of the Lachlan River in the south central part of the state, Riverina is a rich agricultural area with associated...

• Rockhampton city (1991 pop. 55,768), Queensland, E Australia, on the Fitzroy River. It is a rail center and, with its port at Port Alma, the principal trade center for the pastoral and mining regions of...

• Rotorua city (1996 pop. 52,953), central North Island, New Zealand. It is a popular tourist area with nearby lakes and hot springs. The area is also important for timber and agriculture.

• South Australia state (1991 pop. 1,236,623), 380,070 sq mi (984,381 sq km), S central Australia. It is bounded on the S by the Indian Ocean. Kangaroo Island and many smaller islands off the south coast are included in the state. Adelaide is the capital; other important cities are Port Pirie , Port Augusta , Whyalla , and Mt. Gambier. Two thirds of the state's population live in the Adelaide metropolitan area. Much of South Australia is inhospitable terrain—deserts, mountains, salt lakes, and swampland. The...

• South Island (1996 pop. 900,114), 58,093 sq mi (150,461 sq km), New Zealand. It is the larger but less populous of the two principal islands of the country. It is separated from the North Island by Cook Strait...

• Sydney city (1991 pop. 3,097,956), capital of New South Wales, SE Australia, surrounding Port Jackson inlet on the Pacific Ocean. Sydney is Australia's largest city, chief port, and main cultural and...

• Tamworth city (1991 pop. 63,260) and district, Staffordshire, W central England. Its products include clothing, textiles, and aluminum ware. An amusement park and zoo are nearby. Tamworth was burned by the...

• Tasmania island state (1991 pop. 359,286), 26,383 sq mi (68,332 sq km), SE Commonwealth of Australia. It is separated from Australia by the Bass Strait and lies 150 mi (240 km) south of the state of...

• Tauranga city (1996 pop. 82,287), N central North Island, New Zealand, on the Bay of Plenty. With Mt. Maunganui, it is a leading New Zealand port for overseas trade. Wood products and meat are the largest...

• Thursday Island (1991 pop. 2,652), Queensland, NE Australia, N of Cape York Peninsula, in Torres Strait. It is the administrative and commercial center of the Torres Strait Islands.

• Timaru city (1996 pop. 27,323), E central South Island, New Zealand, on the Pacific Ocean. It is the main port for the S Canterbury Plains. Frozen meats and other products are exported from the man-made...

• Tiwi Islands island group, Northern Territory, Australia, c.50 mi (80 km) N of Darwin, in the Timor Sea. Consisting of Bathurst Island and the much larger Melville Island to the east across the narrow Apsley Strait, the group is separated from the Australian mainland by the Beagle Gulf (SW), Clarence Strait (S), Van Dieman Gulf (SE), and Dundas Strait (NE). The...

• Toowoomba city (1991 pop. 75,990), Queensland, E Australia, in the Eastern Highlands, at the edge of the Darling Downs, c.2000 ft (610 m) above sea level. The city is an agricultural market center with...

• Townsville city (1991 pop. 101,398), NE Queensland, Australia, on Cleveland Bay. It is a major port. Wool, hides, meat, copper, and sugar are the chief exports. Copper and sugar refining, meat and fish...

• Upper Hutt city (1996 pop. 36,717), S North Island, New Zealand, in the Hutt River Valley. It is primarily residential but has some light industries.

• Van Diemen's Land see Tasmania , Australia.

• Victoria state (1991 pop. 3,770,684), 87,884 sq mi (227,620 sq km), SE Australia. It is bounded on the S and E by the Indian Ocean, Bass Strait, and the Tasman Sea. Melbourne is the capital. Other important cities are Geelong , Ballarat , and Bendigo. Australia's second smallest state, Victoria is the most densely populated. The Australian Alps and other mountains of the Eastern Highlands traverse it; the highest point is Mt. Bogong (6,508...

• Wagga Wagga city (1991 pop. 40,875), New South Wales, SE Australia, on the Murrumbidgee River. It is the center of an agricultural district with food-processing and rubber-goods plants and foundries. Wagga...

• Wanganui city (1996 pop. 41,097), SW North Island, New Zealand, near the mouth of the Whanganui (or Wanganui) River. Wanganui is a distribution center and port for coastal trade. It was founded in 1840.

• Wellington city (1996 pop. 157,647; urban agglomeration 334,051), capital of New Zealand, extreme S North Island, on Port Nicholson, an inlet of Cook Strait. Socially and economically linked with Hutt City,...

• Western Australia state (1991 pop. 1,409,965), 975,920 sq mi (2,527,633 sq km), Australia, comprising the entire western part of the continent. It is bounded on the N, W, and S by the Indian Ocean. Perth is the capital. Other important cities are Kalgoorlie , a gold-mining center; Fremantle , the chief port; and Bunbury, a port S of Perth. Western Australia is the largest state of the commonwealth, but only its southwest corner is fertile and substantially settled; the rest is arid and...

• Whangarei city (1996 pop. 45,892), N North Island, New Zealand, on the Pacific Ocean. It is the leading city on the Northland Peninsula and an important port for coastal trade. There are textile mills,...

• Whyalla city (1991 pop. 25,526), South Australia state, S Australia, on Spencer Gulf. The city has shipbuilding and iron and steel industries. Iron ore and iron and steel products are exported.

• Wollongong city (1991 pop. 211,417), New South Wales, SE Australia. It is an important iron and steel center. There are other industries, including copper refining and textile and chemical manufacturing...

• Woomera-Maralinga town (1991 pop. 1,600), in the state of South Australia, S Australia, near Lake Torrens. It is the site of a missile-testing range used by Australia and its allies. Australia's first earth...

• Yass-Canberra see Australian Capital Territory.