When to Go

Any time is a good time to be in Australia. Summer (December to February) can get uncomfortably hot but it’s great beach weather. Up north, the summer wet season is very, very humid and the sea is swarming with box jellyfish. Winter (June to August) offers skiing in NSW, Victoria and sometimes Tasmania. In spring and autumn the weather is mild.

Canberra

Canberra (pronounced /ˈkænbɹə/[2]) is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Australia. With a population of over 334,000, it is Australia’s largest inland city. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory, 280 km (170 mi) south-west of Sydney, and 650 km (400 mi) north-east of Melbourne. The site of Canberra was selected for the location of the nation’s capital in 1908 as a compromise between age-old rivals Sydney and Melbourne, Australia’s two largest cities. It is unusual among Australian cities, being an entirely purpose-built, planned city. Following an international contest for the city’s design, a design by the Chicago architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin was selected and construction commenced in 1913. The city’s design was heavily influenced by the garden city movement and incorporates significant areas of natural vegetation that have earned Canberra the title “bush capital”. Although the growth and development of Canberra were hindered by the World Wars and the Great Depression, it emerged as a thriving city after World War II. As the seat of the government of Australia, Canberra is the site of Parliament House, the High Court of Australia and numerous government departments and agencies. It is also the location of many social and cultural institutions of national significance, such as the National Gallery of Australia and the National Museum of Australia. The federal government contributes the largest percentage of Gross State Product and is the largest single employer in Canberra.

The Commonwealth of Australia

The Commonwealth of Australia is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the mainland of the world’s smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and a number of other islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.^N4 The neighbouring countries are Indonesia, East Timor, and Papua New Guinea to the north, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia to the north-east, and New Zealand to the south-east.

The Australian mainland has been inhabited for more than 42,000 years by indigenous Australians.^[2] After sporadic visits by fishermen from the north and then European discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606,^[3] the eastern half of Australia was later claimed by the British in 1770 and initially settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales, commencing on 26 January 1788. As the population grew and new areas were explored, another five largely self-governing Crown Colonies were established during the 19th century.

On 1 January 1901, the six colonies became a federation, and the Commonwealth of Australia was formed. Since federation, Australia has maintained a stable liberal democratic political system and remains a Commonwealth realm. The capital city is Canberra, located in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The population is just over 21 million, with approximately 60% of the population concentrated in and around the mainland state capitals of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide.