Wellington, New Zealand

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New
Zealand. The urban area is situated on the southwestern tip of the country's
North Island, and lies between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range. It is
home to 386,000 residents, with an additional 3,700 residents living in the
surrounding rural areas.

The Wellington urban area is the major population centre of the southern
North Island, and is the seat of the Wellington Region - which in addition
to the urban area covers the Kapiti Coast and Wairarapa. The urban area lies
across four cities. Wellington City, on the peninsula between Cook Strait
and Wellington Harbour, contains the central business district and about
half of Wellington's population. Porirua City on Porirua Harbour to the
north is notable for its large Māori and Pacific Island communities. Lower
Hutt City and Upper Hutt City are suburban areas to the northeast, together
known as the Hutt Valley.

Name

Wellington was named after Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington
and victor of the Battle of Waterloo. The Duke's title comes from the town
of Wellington in the English county of Somerset.

In Māori, Wellington goes by three names. Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara refers to
Wellington Harbour and means "the great harbour of Tara". Pōneke is a
transliteration of Port Nick, short for Port Nicholson (the city's central
marae, the community supporting it and its kapa haka have the pseudo-tribal
name of Ngāti Pōneke). Te Upoko-o-te-Ika-a-Māui, meaning The Head of the
Fish of Māui (often shortened to Te Upoko-o-te-Ika), a traditional name for
the southernmost part of the North Island, derives from the legend of the
fishing up of the island by the demigod Māui.

Wellington also has nicknames including The Harbour Capital, Wellywood and
the Windy City .

Importance

Wellington is New Zealand's political centre, housing Parliament and the
head offices of all Government Ministries and Departments, plus the bulk of
the foreign diplomatic missions that are based in New Zealand.

Wellington's compact city centre supports an arts scene, café culture and
nightlife much larger than many cities of a similar size. It is an important
centre of New Zealand's film and theatre industry, and second to Auckland in
terms of numbers of screen industry businesses. Te Papa Tongarewa (the
Museum of New Zealand), the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the Royal New
Zealand Ballet, Museum of Wellington City & Sea and the biennial New Zealand
International Arts Festival are all sited there.

Wellington has the 12th best quality of living in the world in 2009, a
ranking holding steady from 2007, according to a 2007 study by consulting
company Mercer. Of cities with English as the primary language, Wellington
ranked fourth in 2007. Of cities in the Asia Pacific region, Wellington
ranked third (2009) behind Auckland and Sydney, Australia. Of New Zealand
cities only Auckland rated higher with a ranking of fourth best in the world
in 2009, rising slightly from fifth in 2006 and 2007. Wellington became much
more affordable, in terms of cost of living relative to cities worldwide,
with its ranking moving from 93rd (more expensive) to 139th (less expensive)
in 2009, probably as a result of currency fluctuations during the global
economic downturn from March 2008 to March 2009. "Foreigners get more bang
for their buck in Wellington, which is among the cheapest cities in the
world to live", according to a 2009 article, which reported that currency
fluctuations make New Zealand cities affordable for multi-national firms to
do business, and elaborated that "New Zealand cities were now more
affordable for expatriates and were competitive places for overseas
companies to develop business links and send employees".

Settlement

Legend recounts that Kupe discovered and explored the district in about the
tenth century.

European settlement began with the arrival of an advance party of the New
Zealand Company on the ship Tory, on 20 September 1839, followed by 150
settlers on the Aurora on 22 January 1840. The settlers constructed their
first homes at Petone (which they called Britannia for a time) on the flat
area at the mouth of the Hutt River. When that proved swampy and flood-prone
they transplanted the plans, which had been drawn without regard for the
hilly terrain.

Earthquakes

Wellington suffered serious damage in a series of earthquakes in 1848 and
from another earthquake in 1855. The 1855 Wairarapa earthquake occurred on a
fault line to the north and east of Wellington. It ranks as probably the
most powerful earthquake in recorded New Zealand history, with an estimated
magnitude of at least 8.2 on the Richter scale. It caused vertical movements
of two to three metres over a large area, including raising an area of land
out of the harbour and turning it into a tidal swamp. Much of this land was
subsequently reclaimed and is now part of Wellington's central business
district. For this reason the street named Lambton Quay now runs 100 to 200
metres (325 to 650 ft) from the harbour. Plaques set into the footpath along
Lambton Quay mark the shoreline in 1840 and thus indicate the extent of the
uplift and reclamation.

The area has high seismic activity even by New Zealand standards, with a
major fault line running through the centre of the city, and several others
nearby. Several hundred more minor fault lines have been identified within
the urban area. The inhabitants, particularly those in high-rise buildings,
typically notice several earthquakes every year. For many years after the
1855 earthquake, the majority of buildings constructed in Wellington were
made entirely from wood. The 1996-restored Government Buildings, near
Parliament is the largest wooden office building in the Southern Hemisphere.
While masonry and structural steel have subsequently been used in building
construction, especially for office buildings, timber framing remains the
primary structural component of almost all residential construction.
Residents also place their hopes of survival in good building regulations,
which gradually became more stringent in the course of the twentieth century

New Zealand's capital

In 1865, Wellington became the capital of New Zealand, replacing Auckland,
which William Hobson had established as the capital in 1841. Parliament
first sat in Wellington on 7 July 1862, but the city did not become the
official capital for some time. In November 1863 the Premier Alfred Domett
moved a resolution before Parliament (in Auckland) that "... it has become
necessary that the seat of government ... should be transferred to some
suitable locality in Cook Strait." Apparently there was concern that the
southern regions, where the gold fields were located, would form a separate
colony. Commissioners from Australia (chosen for their neutral status)
pronounced the opinion that Wellington was suitable because of its harbour
and central location. Parliament officially sat in Wellington for the first
time on 26 July 1865. The population of Wellington was then 4,900.

Wellington is the seat of New Zealand's highest court, the Supreme Court of
New Zealand. The historic former High Court building is to be enlarged and
restored for the court's use.

Government House, the official residence of the Governor-General, is in
Newtown, opposite the Basin Reserve.

Geography

Wellington is at the south-western tip of the North Island on Cook Strait,
the passage that separates the North and South Islands. On a clear day the
snowcapped Kaikoura Ranges are visible to the south across the strait. To
the north stretch the golden beaches of the Kapiti Coast. On the east the
Rimutaka Range divides Wellington from the broad plains of the Wairarapa, a
wine region of national acclaim.

With a latitude of 41° 17' S, Wellington is the southernmost national
capital city in the world. It is also the most remote capital in the World
(i.e. the furthest from any other capital). It is more densely populated
than most other settlements in New Zealand, due to the small amount of
building space available between the harbour and the surrounding hills.
Wellington has very few suitable areas in which to expand and this has
resulted in the development of the surrounding cities in the greater urban
area. Because of its location in the roaring forties latitudes and its
exposure to omnipresent winds coming through Cook Strait, the city is known
to Kiwis as "Windy Wellington".

More than most cities, life in Wellington is dominated by its central
business district (CBD). Approximately 62,000 people work in the CBD, only 4
000 fewer than work in Auckland's CBD, despite that city having three times
Wellington's population. Wellington's cultural and nightlife venues
concentrate in Courtenay Place and surroundings located in the southern part
of the CBD, making the inner city suburb of Te Aro the largest entertainment
destination in New Zealand.

Wellington has a median income well above the average in New Zealand and a
much higher proportion of people with tertiary qualifications than the
national average.

Wellington has a reputation for its picturesque natural harbour and green
hillsides adorned with tiered suburbs of colonial villas. The CBD is sited
close to Lambton Harbour, an arm of Wellington Harbour. Wellington Harbour
lies along an active geological fault, which is clearly evident on its
straight western coast. The land to the west of this rises abruptly, meaning
that many of Wellington's suburbs sit high above the centre of the city.

There is a network of bush walks and reserves maintained by the Wellington
City Council and local volunteers. The Wellington region has 500 square
kilometres (190 sq mi) of regional parks and forests.

In the east is the Miramar Peninsula, connected to the rest of the city by a
low-lying isthmus at Rongotai, the site of Wellington International Airport.
The narrow entrance to Wellington is directly to the east of the Miramar
Peninsula, and contains the dangerous shallows of Barrett Reef, where many
ships have been wrecked (most famously the inter-island ferry Wahine in
1968).

On the hill west of the city centre are Victoria University and Wellington
Botanic Garden. Both can be reached by a funicular railway, the Wellington
Cable Car.

Wellington Harbour has three islands: Matiu/Somes Island, Makaro/Ward Island
and Mokopuna Island. Only Matiu/Somes Island is large enough for settlement.
It has been used as a quarantine station for people and animals and as an
internment camp during the First and Second World Wars. It is now a
conservation island, providing refuge for endangered species, much like
Kapiti Island further up the coast. There is access during daylight hours by
the Dominion Post Ferry.

Climate

The city averages 2025 hours (or about 169 days) of sunshine per year. The
climate is generally moderate all year round, and rarely sees temperatures
rise above 25 °C (77 °F), or fall below 4 °C (39 °F). The hottest recorded
temperature in the city is 31.1 °C (88 °F), while -1.9 °C (28 °F) is the
coldest. The city is notorious however for its southerly blasts in winter,
which may make the temperature feel much colder. The city is generally very
windy all year round with a lot of rainfall. Average annual rainfall is 1249
mm, June and July being the wettest months. Frosts are quite common in the
hill suburbs and the Hutt Valley between May and September. Snow is very
rare, although snow was reported to have fallen on the city on July 17, 1995

Architecture

Wellington contains a variety of architectural styles dating back from the
past 150 years; from nineteenth century wooden cottages, such as the
Italianate Katherine Mansfield Birthplace in Thorndon, some streamlined Art
Deco structures such as the old Wellington Free Ambulance headquarters, the
City Gallery, and the Former Post and Telegraph Building, as well as the
curves and vibrant colours of post-modern architecture in the CBD.

The oldest building in Wellington is the late Georgian Colonial Cottage in
Mount Cook. The tallest building in the city is the Majestic Centre on
Willis Street at 116 metres high, the second tallest being the structural
expressionist BNZ Tower at 103 metres. Futuna Chapel is located in Karori,
was the first bicultural building in New Zealand, and is thus considered one
of the most significant New Zealand buildings of the twentieth century.
The bucket fountain, Cuba Street

Old Saint Paul's is an example of 19th-century Gothic Revival architecture
adapted to colonial conditions and materials, as is Saint Mary of the Angels
The Museum of Wellington City & Sea building, the Bond Store is in the
Second French Empire style, and the Wellington Harbour Board Wharf Office
Building is in a late English Classical style. There are several restored
theatre buildings, the St. James Theatre, the Opera House and the Embassy
Theatre.

Civic Square is surrounded by the Town Hall and council offices, the Michael
Fowler Centre, the Wellington Central Library,Capital E, Home of the
National Theatre for Children, the City-to-Sea bridge, and the City Gallery.

Wellington also contains many iconic sculptures and structures. Elijah Wood
mentioned that he urinated in the Bucket Fountain in Cuba Street in an
interview with Jay Leno. More recently a number of new kinetic sculptures
were commissioned, such as the Zephyrometer. This giant 26-meter orange
spike built for movement by artist Phil Price has been described as "tall,
soaring and elegantly simple" and which "reflects the swaying of the yacht
masts in the Evans Bay Marina behind it" and "moves like the needle on the
dial of a nautical instrument, measuring the speed of the sea or wind or
vessel."

Christchurch, New Zealand

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the
country's second-largest urban area. It is one third the way down the South
Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006,
lies within the formal limits of Christchurch.

The city was named by the Canterbury Association, which settled the
surrounding province of Canterbury. The name of Christchurch was agreed on
at the first meeting of the association on 27 March 1848. It was suggested
by John Robert Godley, who had attended Christ Church, Oxford. Some early
writers called the town Christ Church, but it was recorded as Christchurch
in the minutes of the management committee of the association.

The river which flows through the centre of the city (its banks now largely
forming an urban park) was named Avon at the request of the pioneering Deans
brothers to commemorate the Scottish Avon, which rises in the Ayrshire hills
near what was their grandfathers' farm and flows into the Clyde.

The usual Māori name for Christchurch is Ōtautahi ("the place of Tautahi").
This was originally the name of a specific site by the Avon River near
present-day Kilmore Street and the Christchurch Central Fire Station. The
site was a seasonal dwelling of Ngāi Tahu chief Te Potiki Tautahi, whose
main home was Port Levy on Banks Peninsula. The Ōtautahi name was adopted in
the 1930s. Prior to that the Ngāi Tahu generally referred to the
Christchurch area as Karaitiana, a transliteration of the English name.

Geography

Christchurch lies in Canterbury, near the centre of the east coast of the
South Island, east of the Canterbury Plains. It is located near the southern
end of Pegasus Bay, and is bounded to the east by the Pacific Ocean coast
and the estuary of the Avon as well as the Heathcote River. To the south and
south-east the urban portion of the city is limited by the volcanic slopes
of the Port Hills separating it from the Banks Peninsula. As of 2006, the
Banks Peninsula was incorporated into the city, in effect tripling the city
s land area while adding only about 8,000 people to the city's population.
To the north the city is bounded by the braided Waimakariri River.

Christchurch is one of only eight pairs of cities in the world that has a
near-exact antipodal city. Half of these antipodal pairs are in New Zealand
and Spain/Morocco – with A Coruña, Spain as Christchurch's antipode.

Christchurch has one of the highest-quality water supplies in the world,
rated one of the purest and cleanest water in the world. The water is
sourced via more than 50 pumping stations from aquifers which conduct it
from the foothills of the Southern Alps and provide natural filtering.

Central city

At the centre of the city is Cathedral Square, surrounding the Anglican
cathedral, Christ Church. The area around this square and within the "four
avenues" of Christchurch (Bealey Avenue, Fitzgerald Avenue, Moorhouse Avenue
and Deans Avenue) is considered the central business district of the city.
The central city also has a number of residential areas, including Inner
City East, Inner City West, Avon Loop, Moa Neighbourhood & Victoria.

Inner suburbs

Mairehau; Shirley; Dallington; Richmond; Avonside; Linwood; Woolston; Opawa;
Waltham; St Martins; Beckenham; Sydenham; Somerfield; Spreydon; Addington;
Riccarton; Ilam; Burnside; Fendalton; Bryndwr; Strowan; Merivale; Papanui;
St Albans.

Outer suburbs

Marshland; Burwood; Parklands; Waimairi Beach; Avondale; New Brighton;
Bexley; Aranui; South Brighton; Southshore; Bromley; Mt Pleasant; Redcliffs;
Sumner; Ferrymead; Heathcote Valley; Hillsborough; Murray Aynsley; Huntsbury
Cashmere; Westmorland; Hillmorton; Hoon Hay; Halswell; Oaklands; Wigram;
Middleton; Sockburn; Hornby; Islington; Templeton; Yaldhurst; Russley;
Avonhead; Harewood; Bishopdale; Casebrook; Redwood; Northwood; Belfast;
Spencerville; Brooklands;

Climate

Christchurch has a dry, temperate climate, with mean daily maximum air
temperatures of 22.5 °C (72.5 °F) in January, 11.3 °C (52.3 °F) in July. The
summer climate is often moderated by a sea breeze from the Northeast, but a
record temperature of 41.6 °C (107 °F) was reached in February 1973. A
notable feature of the weather is the nor'wester, a hot föhn wind that
occasionally reaches storm force, causing widespread minor damage to
property.

In winter it is common for the temperature to fall below 0 °C (32 °F) at
night. There are on average 70 days of ground frost per year. Snow falls
occur on average once or twice a year in the hill suburbs and about once or
twice every two years on the plain.

On cold winter nights, the surrounding hills, clear skies, and frosty calm
conditions often combine to form a stable inversion layer above the city
that traps vehicle exhausts and smoke from domestic fires to cause smog.
While not as bad as smog in Los Angeles or Mexico City, Christchurch smog
has often exceeded World Health Organisation recommendations for air
pollution. The city has funding available to upgrade domestic home heating
systems, and in order to limit air pollution has banned the use of open
fires as of 1 January 2006. As of 2008, woodburners more than 15 years old
are prohibited.

Demographics

The area administered by the Christchurch City Council has a population of
372,600 (June 2009 estimate), making it the second-largest in New Zealand,
and the largest city in the South Island. The Christchurch urban area is the
second-largest in the country by population, after Auckland.

Economy

The agricultural industry has always been the economic core of Christchurch.
The city has long had industry based on the surrounding farming country. PGG
Wrightson, New Zealand's leading agribusiness, is based in Christchurch. Its
local roots go back to Pyne Gould Guinness an old stock and station agency
serving the South Island. That firm helped take deer farming techniques
abroad. PGG Wrightson's overseas diversification includes dairy farming in
Uruguay.

Other agribusineses in Christchurch have included malting, seed development
and dressing, wool and meat processing, and small biotechnology operations
using byproducts from meat works.

Dairying has grown strongly in the surrounding areas with high world prices
for milk products and the use of irrigation to lift grass growth on dry land
With its higher labour use this has helped stop declines in rural
population. Many cropping and sheep farms have been converted to dairying.
Conversions have been by agribusiness companies as well as by farmers, many
of whom have moved south from North Island dairying strongholds such as
Taranaki and the Waikato.

Cropping has always been important in the surrounding countryside. Wheat and
barley and various strains of clover and other grasses for seed exporting
have been the main crops. These have all created processing businesses in
Christchurch.

In recent years, regional agriculture has diversified, with a thriving wine
industry springing up at Waipara, and beginnings of new horticulture
industries such as olive production and processing.Deer farming has led to
new processing using antlers for Asian medicine and aphrodisiacs. The high
quality local wine in particular has increased the appeal of Canterbury and
Christchurch to tourists.

Tourism is also a significant factor of the local economy. The closeness of
the ski-fields and other attractions of the Southern Alps, and hotels, a
casino, and an airport that meet international standards make Christchurch a
stopover destination for many tourists. The city is popular with Japanese
tourists, with signage around Cathedral Square in Japanese.

Government

Christchurch's local government is a democracy with various elements
including:

* Christchurch City Council, comprising the Mayor of Christchurch, and
13 councillors elected in seven wards.
* Community boards , each covering one ward, with five members each plus
the two ward councillors. The Banks Peninsula Ward has 2 community boards
with five members each, plus the ward councillor, who is also a member of
each Board.
* District councils in surrounding areas: Selwyn, and Waimakariri. The
Banks Peninsula district council was amalgamated into Christchurch City in
March 2006 after a vote by the Banks Peninsula residents to disestablish in
November 2005.
* Canterbury Regional Council, known as 'Environment Canterbury',
including four Christchurch constituencies with two members from each
constituency.
* District Health Board (Canterbury), with five members for Christchurch

In 1993, Christchurch was selected as the "Best Run City in the World", also
known as the 'Carl Bertelsmann Prize: Local Government', by the Bertelsmann
Foundation of Germany. Especially noted was the increased efficiency of
communal services in competition with private enterprises. Christchurch
shared the award honour with Phoenix, Arizona, USA.


History

Archeological evidence found in a cave at Redcliffs in 1876 has indicated
that the Christchurch area was first settled by moa-hunting tribes about
1250. Māori oral history relates that humans occupied the area around the
year 1000. These first inhabitants were thought to have been followed by the
Waitaha tribe, who are said to have migrated from the East coast of the
North Island in the 16th century. Following tribal warfare, the Waitaha
(made of three peoples) were dispossessed by the Ngati Mamoe tribe. They
were in turn subjugated by the Ngāi Tahu tribe, who remained in control
until the arrival of European settlers.

Following the purchase of land at Putaringamotu (modern Riccarton) by the
Weller brothers whalers of Otago and Sydney a party of European settlers led
by Herriott and McGillivray established themselves in what is now
Christchurch, early in 1840. Their abandoned holdings were taken over by the
Deans brothers in 1843 who stayed. The First Four Ships were chartered by
the Canterbury Association and arrived on 16 December 1850, bringing the
first 792 of the Canterbury Pilgrims to Lyttelton Harbour. These sailing
vessels were the Randolph, Charlotte-Jane, Sir George Seymour, and Cressy.
The Canterbury Pilgrims had aspirations of building a city around a
cathedral and college, on the model of Christ Church in Oxford. The name
Christ Church" was decided prior to the ships' arrival, at the Association's
first meeting, on 27 March 1848.

Captain Joseph Thomas, the Canterbury Association's Chief Surveyor, surveyed
the surrounding area. By December 1849 he had commissioned the construction
of a road from Port Cooper, later Lyttelton, to Christchurch via Sumner.
However this proved more difficult than expected and road construction was
stopped while a steep foot and pack horse track was constructed over the
hill between the port and the Heathcote valley, where access to the site of
the proposed settlement could be gained. This track became known as the
Bridle Path, because the path was so steep that pack horses needed to be led
by the bridle.

Goods that were too heavy or bulky to be transported by pack horse over the
Bridle Path were shipped by small sailing vessels some eight miles (13 km)
by water around the coast and up the estuary to Ferrymead. New Zealand's
first public railway line, the Ferrymead railway, opened from Ferrymead to
Christchurch in 1863. Due to the difficulties in travelling over the Port
Hills and the dangers associated with shipping navigating the Sumner bar, a
railway tunnel was bored through the Port Hills to Lyttelton, opening in
1867.

Christchurch became a city by Royal Charter on 31 July 1856, the first in
New Zealand. Many of the city's Gothic buildings by architect Benjamin
Mountfort date from this period.

Christchurch was the seat of provincial administration for the Province of
Canterbury, which was abolished in 1876.

In 1947, New Zealand's worst fire disaster occurred at Ballantyne's
Department Store in the inner city, with 41 people killed in a blaze which
razed the rambling collection of buildings.

The Lyttelton Road Tunnel between Lyttelton and Christchurch was opened in
1964.

Christchurch was also host to the 1974 British Commonwealth Games.

Gateway to the Antarctic

Christchurch has a history of involvement in Antarctic exploration – both
Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton used the port of Lyttelton as a
departure point for expeditions, and there is a statue of Scott, sculpted by
his widow, Kathleen Scott, in the central city.

Within the city the Canterbury Museum preserves and exhibits many historic
artifacts and stories of Antarctic exploration.

Christchurch International Airport serves as the major base for the Italian
and United States Antarctic programs as well as the New Zealand Antarctic
programme. The International Antarctic Centre provides both base facilities
and a museum and visitor centre focused upon current Antarctic activities.
The United States Navy and latterly the United States Air National Guard,
augmented by the New Zealand and Australian air forces, use Christchurch
Airport as take-off for the main supply route to McMurdo and Scott Bases in
Antarctica. The Clothing Distribution Center (CDC) in Christchurch, has more
than 140,000 pieces of extreme cold weather (ECW) gear for issue to nearly 2
000 U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP) participants in the 2007-08 season.

Parks and nature

The large number of public parks and well-developed residential gardens with many trees has given Christchurch the name of The Garden City. Hagley Park and the 30-hectare (75 acre) Christchurch Botanic Gardens, founded in 1863, are in the central city, with Hagley Park being a site for sports such as golf, cricket, netball, and rugby, and for open air concerts by local bands and orchestras. To the north of the city is the Willowbank wildlife park. Travis Wetland, an ecological restoration programme to create a wetland, is to the east of the city centre in the suburb of Burwood.

Lyttelton, New Zealand

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lyttelton (43°36′00″S 172°43′00″E / 43.6000°S 172.7167°E / -43.6000; 172
7167) is a port town on the north shore of Lyttelton Harbour next to Banks
Peninsula, 12 km by road from Christchurch on the eastern coast of the South
Island of New Zealand. According to the 2001 census, the usually resident
population of Lyttelton (including neighbouring bays such as Rapaki and
Corsair Bay) was 3,042.

The town is linked to Christchurch by railway and road tunnels through the
Port Hills. At 1.9 km long, the Lyttelton Road Tunnel (opened in 1964) is
the country's longest road tunnel; and the railway tunnel of the Main South
Line, officially opened on 1867-12-09, is the country's oldest.

The harbour is an inlet on the northwestern side of Banks Peninsula,
extending 18 km inland from the southern end of Pegasus Bay. It is
surrounded by steep hills formed from the sides of an extinct volcanic
crater, which rise to a height of 500 m. Several smaller settlements are
dotted along the shore of the harbour, notably Governors Bay and Diamond
Harbour. A small island, Quail Island, sits in the upper harbour southwest
of Lyttelton.

A home for Māori for about 700 years, Lyttelton, or Te whaka raupo was
discovered by European settlers on 16 February 1770 during the Endeavour's
first voyage to New Zealand. The earliest evidence of a human presence in
the area are moa bones dating from roughly 1250.

In August 1849 it was officially proclaimed a port.

Lyttelton was formerly called Port Cooper and Port Victoria. It was the
original settlement in the district (1850). The name Lyttelton was given to
it in honour of George William Lyttelton of the Canterbury Association,
which had led the colonisation of the area.

The Lyttelton Times was one of the principal newspapers of the Canterbury
region for 80 years, published from 1851 until 1929, at which time it became
the Christchurch Times, until publication ceased in 1935.

Aiming to establish a Church of England colony in New Zealand, the
Canterbury Association was founded in 1850. As Lyttelton was a harbour, and
had a large amount of flat land suitable for farming and development nearby,
it was ideal for a colony.

In 1862 the first telegraph transmission in New Zealand was made from
Lyttelton Post Office.

In 1870 fire destroyed all the wooden buildings in Norwich Quay, on the main
street of Lyttelton.

On January 1 1908, the Nimrod Expedition, headed by Ernest Shackleton to
explore Antarctica left from the harbour here.

The Lyttelton Harbour Board was created in 1877 to be in charge of the
harbour's management. It was dissolved in 1989 after the passing of the 1988
Port Companies Act, which forced it to split into two separate organizations
one commercial (the Lyttelton Port Company, currently owned by Christchurch
City Holdings, the commercial arm of the city council) and one
non-commercial. In 1996 the Lyttelton Port Company registered on the New
Zealand Stock Exchange.

One of the features of Lyttelton is the Timeball station. The Lyttelton
Timeball Station was erected in 1876 and is one of only five remaining
timeball stations in working order in the world. The castlelike building is
located high on a ridge above the port with extensive views over the harbour
It is now operated as a museum by the Historic Places Trust and is open for
visitors from 10:00am-5:30pm daily.

On 19 November 2005, it was announced that 60% of the Banks Peninsula
District ratepayers voted to amalgamate with the neighbouring Christchurch
City Council, which took place on 6 March 2006.

Pilgrim's Rock shows the place that European settlers first set foot in the
harbour. The location of the rock is well inland from the sea, because much
of Lyttelton's land has been reclaimed from the ocean since the Pilgrims
arrived.

The Holy Trinity Church, the oldest stone church in Canterbury, was built
out of stone transported from Quail Island on land intended for the
Cathedral of the Diocese.

Lyttelton was the location for most of the exterior scenes in Peter Jackson
s 1996 horror movie The Frighteners.

Dunedin, New Zealand

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and
the principal city of the region of Otago. It has the largest council
boundary area of any New Zealand city, and is the hub of the fifth-largest
urban area. For historical and cultural reasons and its location, Dunedin is
considered one of the country's four main centres, although Hamilton has
overtaken Dunedin in its urban-area population.

The city of Dunedin stands on the hills and valleys surrounding the head of
Otago Harbour. The harbour and hills are the remnants of an extinct volcano.
This city is also is the home of the University of Otago.

History of Dunedin

Māori settlements

Modern archaeology favours a date around 1100 AD for the first human (Māori)
occupation of New Zealand with population concentrated along the southeast
coast. A camp site at Kaikai's Beach, near Otago Heads, has been dated from
about that time. There are numerous archaic (moa hunter) sites in what is
now Dunedin, several of them large and permanently occupied, particularly in
the fourteenth century. The population contracted but expanded again with
the evolution of the Classic culture which saw the building of several pā,
fortified settlements, notably Pukekura at (Taiaroa Head), about 1650. There
was a settlement in what is now central Dunedin (Ōtepoti) occupied as late
as about 1785 but abandoned by 1826.

Maori tradition tells first of a people called Kahui Tipua living in the
area, then Te Rapuwai, semi-legendary but considered to be historical. The
next arrivals were Waitaha followed by Kāti Mamoe late in the sixteenth
century and then Kai Tahu (Ngai Tahu in modern standard Māori) who arrived
in the mid seventeenth century. These migration waves have often been
represented as 'invasions' in European accounts but modern scholarship has
cast doubt on that. They were probably migrations like those of the European
which incidentally resulted in bloodshed.

The sealer John Boultbee recorded in the 1820s that the 'Kaika Otargo'
(settlements around and near Otago Harbour) were the oldest and largest in
the south.

European settlement

Captain James Cook stood off what is now the coast of Dunedin between
February 25, 1770 and March 5, 1770,naming Cape Saunders on the Otago
Peninsula and Saddle Hill. He reported penguins and seals in the vicinity,
which led sealers to visit from the beginning of the 19th century. The early
years of sealing saw a feud between sealers and local Maori, from 1810-1823,
the "Sealers' War" sparked by an incident on Otago Harbour, but William
Tucker became the first European to settle in the area in 1815. Permanent
European occupation dates from 1831 when the Weller brothers founded their
whaling station at Otago, modern Otakou, on the Otago Harbour. Epidemics
badly reduced the Maori population. By the late 1830s, the harbour was an
international whaling port. Johnny Jones established a farming settlement
and a mission station, the South Island's first, at Waikouaiti in 1840.

In 1844, the Deborah, captained by Thomas Wing and carrying, among others
his wife Lucy and a representative of the New Zealand Company, Frederick
Tuckett, came south to determine the location of a free church settlement.
After inspecting several areas around the eastern coast of the south island,
Tuckett selected the site which would become known as Dunedin.

The Lay Association of the Free Church of Scotland founded Dunedin at the
head of Otago Harbour in 1848 as the principal town of its special
settlement. The name comes from Dùn Èideann, the Scottish Gaelic name for
Edinburgh, the Scottish capital. Charles Kettle the city's surveyor,
instructed to emulate the characteristics of Edinburgh, produced a striking,
'Romantic' design. The result was both grand and quirky streets as the
builders struggled and sometimes failed to construct his bold vision across
the challenging landscape. Captain William Cargill, a veteran of the war
against Napoleon, was the secular leader. The Reverend Thomas Burns, a
nephew of the poet Robert Burns, was the spiritual guide.

Gold rush era

In 1852, Dunedin became the capital of the Otago Province, the whole of New
Zealand from the Waitaki south. In 1861 the discovery of gold at Gabriel's
Gully, to the southwest, led to a rapid influx of population and saw Dunedin
become New Zealand's first city by growth of population in 1865. The new
arrivals included many Irish, but also Italians, French, Germans, Jews and
Chinese. The Dunedin Southern Cemetery was established in 1858, the Dunedin
Northern Cemetery in 1872.

Dunedin and the region industrialised and consolidated, and the Main South
Line connected the city with Christchurch in 1878 and Invercargill in 1879.
The University of Otago, the oldest university in New Zealand, was founded
in Dunedin in 1869. Otago Girls' High School (1871) is said to be the oldest
state secondary school for girls in the Southern Hemisphere. Between 1881
and 1957, Dunedin was home to cable trams, being both one of the first and
last such systems in the world. Early in the 1880s the inauguration of the
frozen meat industry, with the first shipment leaving from Port Chalmers in
1882, saw the beginning of a later great national industry.

After ten years of gold rushes the economy slowed but Julius Vogel's
immigration and development scheme brought thousands more especially to
Dunedin and Otago before recession set in again in the 1880s. In these first
times of prosperity many institutions and businesses were established, New
Zealand's first daily newspaper, art school, medical school and public art
gallery the Dunedin Public Art Gallery among them. There was also a
remarkable architectural flowering producing many substantial and ornamental
buildings. R.A. Lawson's First Church of Otago and Knox Church are notable
examples, as are buildings by Maxwell Bury and F.W. Petre. The other visual
arts also flourished under the leadership of W. M. Hodgkins. The city's
landscape and burgeoning townscape were vividly portrayed by George O'Brien
1821-1888. From the mid 1890s the economy revived. Institutions such as the
Otago Settlers Museum and the Hocken Collections – the first of their kind
in New Zealand – were founded. More notable buildings such as the Railway
Station and Olveston were erected. New energy in the visual arts represented
by G.P. Nerli culminated in the career of Frances Hodgkins.

Early Modern era

By 1900, Dunedin was no longer the country's biggest city. Influence and
activity moved north to the other centres ("the drift north"), a trend which
continued for much of the following century. Despite this, the university
continued to expand, and a student quarter became established. At the same
time people started to notice Dunedin's mellowing, the ageing of its grand
old buildings, with writers like E.H. McCormick pointing out its atmospheric
charm. In the 1930s and early 1940s a new generation of artists such as M.T.
(Toss) Woollaston, Doris Lusk, Anne Hamblett, Colin McCahon and Patrick
Hayman once again represented the best of the country's talent. The Second
World War saw the dispersal of these painters, but not before McCahon had
met a very youthful poet, James K. Baxter, in a central city studio.

Numerous large companies had been established in Dunedin, many of which
became national leaders. Late among them was Fletcher Construction, founded
by Sir James Fletcher in the early 20th century. Kempthorne Prosser,
established in 1879 in Stafford Street, was the largest fertiliser and drug
manufacturer in the country for over 100 years. G. Methven, a metalworking
and tap manufacturer based in South Dunedin, was also a leading firm, as was
H. E. Shacklock, an iron founder and appliance manufacturer later taken over
by the Auckland concern Fisher and Paykel. The Mosgiel Woollens was another
Victorian Dunedin foundation. Hallensteins was the colloquial name of a
menswear manufacturer and national retail chain while the DIC and Arthur
Barnett were department stores, the former a nationwide concern. Coulls,
Somerville Wilkie - later part of the Whitcoulls group - had its origins in
Dunedin in the 19th century. There were also the National Mortgage and
Agency Company, Wright Stephensons Limited, the Union Steamship Company and
the National Insurance Company and the Standard Insurance Company among many
others, which survived into the 20th century.

Post War developments

Baldwin Street

After World War II, prosperity and population growth revived, although
Dunedin trailed as the fourth 'main centre'. A generation reacting against
Victorianism started demolishing its buildings, and many were lost, notably
William Mason's Stock Exchange in 1969. (Dunedin Stock Exchange building)
Although the university continued to expand, the city's population growth
slowed and then contracted, notably from 1976 to 1981. This was, however, a
culturally vibrant time with the university's new privately endowed arts
fellowships, bringing such luminaries as James K Baxter, Ralph Hotere, Janet
Frame, and Hone Tuwhare to the city.

During the 1980s the city's popular music scene blossomed, with many acts,
such as The Chills, The Clean, The Verlaines, and Straitjacket Fits, gaining
national and international recognition. The term "The Dunedin Sound" was
coined to describe the 1960s-influenced guitar-led music which flourished at
the time. The music scene continues to thrive[neutrality disputed], with
bands and musicians playing and recording in many styles, from electronica
to reggae to folk.

By 1990, population decline had steadied and Dunedin had re-invented itself
as a 'heritage city' with its main streets refurbished in Victorian style
and R.A. Lawson's Municipal Chambers in the Octagon handsomely restored. It
was also recognised as a centre of excellence in tertiary education and
research. The university and polytechnic's growth accelerated. The city has
continued to refurbish itself, embarking on major developments and
redevelopments of the art gallery, railway station, and Otago Settlers
Museum.

Dunedin has flourishing niche industries including engineering, software
engineering, bio-technology and fashion. Port Chalmers on the Otago Harbour
provides Dunedin with deep-water port facilities. The port is served by the
Port Chalmers Branch, a branch line railway which diverges from the Main
South Line and runs from Christchurch by way of Dunedin to Invercargill.

The cityscape glitters with gems of Victorian and Edwardian architecture -
the legacy of the city's gold-rush affluence - many including First Church,
Otago Boys' High School and Larnach Castle are designed by one of New
Zealand's most eminent architects R A Lawson. Other prominent buildings
include Olveston and the Dunedin Railway Station. Other attractions include
Baldwin Street, the world's steepest street; the famous Captain Cook Tavern;
Cadbury Chocolate Factory (Cadbury World); and the local Speight's brewery.

Dunedin is also notable now as a centre for ecotourism. Uniquely, the world
s only mainland Royal Albatross colony and several penguin and seal colonies
lie within the city boundaries on Otago Peninsula. To the south, on the
western side of Lake Waihola, lie the Sinclair Wetlands.

The thriving tertiary student population has led to a vibrant youth culture
(so named 'Scarfies'), consisting of the before mentioned music scene, and
more recently a burgeoning boutique fashion industry. A strong visual arts
community also lives in Dunedin and its environs, notably in Port Chalmers
and the other settlements which dot the coast of the Otago Harbour, and also
in communities such as Waitati.

Sport is catered for in Dunedin by the floodlit rugby and cricket venue of
Carisbrook, the new Caledonian Groundsoccer and athletics stadium near the
University at Logan Park, the large Edgar Centre indoor sports centre, the
University Oval cricket ground, and numerous golf courses and parks. There
are also Forbury Park horseracing circuit in the south of the city and
several others within a few kilometres. St Clair Beach is a well-known
surfing venue, and the harbour basin is popular with windsurfers and
kitesurfers. Dunedin has four public swimming pools: Moana Pool, Port
Chalmers Pool, Mosgiel, and St Clair Salt Water Pool.

Geography

Dunedin City has a land area of 3,314.8 square kilometres (1,279.9 sq mi),
slightly larger than the American state of Rhode Island or the English
county of Cambridgeshire, and a little smaller than Cornwall. It is the
largest city in land area in New Zealand. The Dunedin City Council
boundaries since 1989 have extended to Middlemarch in the west, Waikouaiti
in the north, the Pacific Ocean in the east and south-east, and the
Waipori/Taieri River and the township of Henley in the south-west.

Dunedin is the most remote city in the world from London at 19,100 km (11,870 mi) (90 km (56 mi) more than Invercargill, and 100 km (62 mi) more than Christchurch), and from Berlin at 18,200 km (11,310 mi). Its antipodes are some 300 km (190 mi) north of the Spanish city of A Coruña, in the Bay of Biscay.

Port Chalmers, New Zealand

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Port Chalmers is the main port of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. Although
it has been a suburb since local body reorganisation in the 1980s, it is
still regarded by most people throughout Dunedin as a separate town. It has
a population of 3,000. Port Chalmers lies ten kilometres inside Otago
Harbour, some 15 kilometres northeast from Dunedin's city centre.

Much of Port Chalmers is located on a small hilly peninsula, at the northern
end of which is a large reclaimed area which is now the site of Dunedin's
container port. Close to the southeastern shore of this peninsula are a pair
of islands, which lie across the harbour between Port Chalmers and the Otago
Peninsula. These two islands are Quarantine Island/Kamau Taurua and Goat
Island. Prior to the local body reorganisation in the 1980s Port Chalmers
was made up of several suburbs, as well as the central area, Roseneath,
Blanket Bay, Upper Junction, Brick Hill, Sawyers Bay, Mussel Bay, Upper Port
Chalmers, Dalkeith, Careys Bay, Reynoldstown, Deborah Bay, Hamilton Bay,
Waipuna Bay, Te Ngaru, and Aramoana, as well as the outlying townships of
Long Beach, Purakanui and several other smaller nearby villages and
farmsteads.

Although the harbour beyond Port Chalmers is regularly dredged, most of the
port activity is centred on Port Chalmers rather than on central Dunedin.
Part of the reason for this is the narrowness of the Victoria Channel, the
one part of the Otago Harbour navigable by large ships, which makes it far
easier for berthing to take place at Port Chalmers, closer to the open sea.
Any big ships venturing into the upper harbour and Dunedin's own wharfs need
to be piloted in with the help of tugs.

The port was the last visited by Robert Falcon Scott before heading south on
his final expedition to Antarctica. A large stone monument now stands above
the town dedicated to Scott's final expedition.

Most of Port Chalmers' economic activity centres on the container terminal.
Fishing, of historic importance, is now only a small part of the economy.
The creative arts are also important to the town's economy; Port Chalmers
and the surrounding suburbs of Careys Bay, Roseneath and Sawyers Bay have a
thriving arts community, and the town is regarded as a haven for alternative
lifestylers. Noted residents of the town include Māori artist Ralph Hotere.

Port Chalmers was also the appellation of a ship which sailed between
England, Australia and New Zealand at the beginning of the 20th century. It
was torpedoed in mid-October 1940 and sunk, with some crew surviving 14 days
at sea on the lifeboat.

History

According to Herries Beattie an old Māori name for Port Chalmers was
Potakere' or 'Pou-takere' which may have indicated the hill where the tuahu,
or altar, was sited. 'Koputai' is a later name and refers to an incident in
which the tide rose and beached canoes were set adrift. When a peace was
made between Kati Mamoe ('Ngati Mamoe' in modern standard Māori) and Kai
Tahu ('Ngai Tahu' in modern standard Māori), about 1780, Koputai was one of
two southern terminuses of Kai Tahu territory.

By February 1839 the Weller brothers of Otago (modern Otakou) on the
opposite side of the harbour had set up a saw pit which appears to have been
at Sawyers Bay. By September the following year a 'big boat', supposedly the
schooner Anne, was under construction, apparently there. In 1840 Port
Chalmers and the whole western shore of Otago Harbour from about Burkes to
Otafelo Point was included in Te Matenga Taiaroa's sale of land to the
French whalers Pierre Darmandarits and Edouard DuBern, brothers in law and
business partners. The first Christian service at Koputai was held by the
Reverend James Watkin, the Wesleyan missionary at Waikouaiti, in 1842.
Taiaroa's cousin Kohi was living at Koputai Bay in 1843 but, according to
Shortland, allowed himself to be strangled by Taiaroa, over a boat Kohi had
burnt at Koputai. By 1844 the place was deserted.

In that year Captain Wing anchored the Deborah in the bay now bearing its
name where he was joined by Frederick Tuckett who selected an adjoining
block of land (the Otago Block) as the site for the Scottish New Edinburgh
settlement. He nominated Koputai as its deep water port to be called 'Port
Chalmers' after the Presbyterian Free Church leader Thomas Chalmers. The
sale of the Otago Block from Māori to the Otago Association was concluded at
Port Chalmers 31 July 1844. Already, by June 9th, there were two whares,
Māori-style houses, and a pile of bricks waiting to be turned into Tuckett's
house. Mr. and Mrs. Lethbridge were in residence, David Scott and several
others. In December 1844 Alexander McKay and his wife arrived to open the
first public house, the 'Surveyors' Arms'. The town was surveyed by Charles
Kettle in 1846 and a Town Board was formed in that year. The first ships of
Otago Association settlers, the John Wickliffe and the Philip Laing,
anchored at Port Chalmers in March and April 1848.

Thereafter the town developed as a port for the city and the province,
superseding the earlier Otago (modern Otakou) as the harbour's international
port. It was first connected by lighter with Dunedin at the head of the
harbour, then also by a steep road from North East Valley to Sawyers Bay, a
spur of the main road north. By the 1860s a harbourside road from the city
had been formed. In 1866 the Town Board was superseded by a Borough. On 1
January 1873, the first 1,067 mm narrow gauge railway in New Zealand opened:
the Port Chalmers Branch, linking Dunedin and Port Chalmers. It was
subsequently incorporated into the national rail network through a
connection to the Main South Line, which was opened through to Christchurch
on 7 September 1878 and Invercargill on 22 January 1879. 1881 saw the
opening of the Victoria Ship Channel allowing ocean-going vessels passage up
the harbour to Dunedin. 1882 saw the inauguration of New Zealand's
refrigerated meat trade when the ship Dunedin left Port Chalmers with the
first such cargo.

Ship servicing and building industries developed in the 19th century while
the adjacent Carey's Bay became a fishing port. The development of the town
reflected the growth of Dunedin and Otago with rivalry between the city and
Port Chalmers over which would handle the bulk of shipping. After an early
fast start the city and the province declined in relative national
importance in the course of the 20th century.

Port Chalmers was a port of call for several notable expeditions during the
heroic era of Antarctic exploration. Following the 1923 transfer of the Ross
Dependency (Antarctica) to New Zealand, and the New Zealand Government's
lease of rights, the giant Norwegian whaler, C.A. Larsen, became the largest
vessel serviced in the Otago Dock, Port Chalmers, in April 1928.

A road tunnel linking Sawyers Bay with Waitati as part of a new north
motorway was proposed in the 1930s but never built. A new faster,
harbourside road from the city was completed in 1965. Passenger services
from the port ended in 1967. However the selection of Port Chalmers as the
South Island's first container terminal in 1971 demonstrated its advantages
over Lyttelton and relegated Dunedin as an overseas port. In 1979, passenger
trains between Port Chalmers and Dunedin ceased after 106 years of operation

The container traffic has continued to expand and a new expanding trade in
timber developed in parallel but the greatly reduced labour needs of these
trades saw the town's population contract. Controversial attempts to site an
aluminium smelter at Aramoana at the mouth of the harbour in 1975 and 1980
didn't succeed. The Otago Harbour Board, established in 1874, was replaced
by a quasi-autonomous local government entity, Port Otago Ltd, in 1988. The
1913 Port Chalmers Old Identities Society's collection was transferred to
the old Post Office building and reopened as the Port Chalmers Museum in
1987, and has since been renamed the Regional Maritime Museum. In 1989 the
borough of Port Chalmers and the whole surrounding district were absorbed
into an enlarged City of Dunedin.

From the 1970s an artists' colony grew up in Port Chalmers and Carey's Bay contributing to tensions over the port's continuing industrial development and giving a different flavour to the town. In the 1990s a new trade in visiting cruise ships added another element and continues to expand.

Milford Sound

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The location of Milford Sound.

Milford Sound (Piopiotahi in Māori) is a fjord in the south west of New
Zealand's South Island, within Fiordland National Park and the Te
Wahipounamu World Heritage site. It has been judged the world's top travel
destination in an international survey, and is acclaimed as New Zealand's
most famous tourist destination. Rudyard Kipling had previously called it
the eighth Wonder of the World.

Etymology

Milford Sound is named after Milford Haven in Wales, while the Cleddau River
which flows into the sound is also named for its Welsh namesake. The Māori
named the sound Piopiotahi after the thrush-like piopio bird, now extinct.
Piopiotahi means "a single piopio", harking back to the legend of Māui
trying to win immortality for mankind - when Maui died in the attempt, a
piopio was said to have flown here in mourning.

Geography

Milford Sound runs 15 kilometres inland from the Tasman Sea and is
surrounded by sheer rock faces that rise 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) or more on
either side. Among the peaks are The Elephant at 1,517 metres (4,980 ft),
said to resemble an elephant's head, and Lion Mountain, 1,302 metres (4,270
ft), in the shape of a crouching lion. Lush rain forests cling precariously
to these cliffs, while seals, penguins, and dolphins frequent the waters and
whales can be seen sometimes.

Climate

With a mean annual rainfall of 6,813 mm on 182 days a year, a high level
even for the West Coast, Milford Sound is known as the wettest inhabited
place in New Zealand and one of the wettest in the world. Rainfall can reach
250 mm during a span of 24 hours. The rainfall creates dozens of temporary
waterfalls (as well as a number of major, more permanent ones) cascading
down the cliff faces, some reaching a thousand metres in length. Smaller
falls from such heights may never reach the bottom of the sound, drifting
away in the wind.

Accumulated rainwater can at times cause portions of the rain forest to lose
their grip on the sheer cliff faces, resulting in tree avalanches into the
sound. The regrowth of the rain forest after these avalanches can be seen in
several locations along the sound.

History

Milford Sound was initially overlooked by European explorers, because its
narrow entry did not appear to lead into such large interior bays. Sailing
ship captains such as James Cook, who bypassed Milford Sound on his journeys
for just this reason, also feared venturing too close to the steep
mountainsides, afraid that wind conditions would prevent escape (this refers
to Doubtful Sound, so named as Cook thought it doubtful he would escape if
he sailed in).

While Fiordland as such remained one of the least-explored areas of New
Zealand up to the 20th century, Milford Sound's natural beauty soon
attracted national and international renown, and led to the discovery of the
Mackinnon Pass in 1888, soon to become a part of the new Milford Track, an
early walking tourism trail. In the same year, the low watershed saddle
between the Hollyford River and the Cleddau River was discovered, where the
Homer Tunnel was to be developed about sixty years later to provide road
access.

Overview

The beauty of this landscape draws thousands of visitors each day, with over
550,000 in total per year. This makes the sound one of New Zealand's
most-visited tourist spots, and also the most famous New Zealand tourist
destination, even with its remote location and the long journey from the
nearest population centres. Almost all tourists going to the sound also take
one of the boat tours which usually last between 1-2 hours. They are offered
by several companies, departing from the Milford Sound Visitors' Centre.
There is also the option of extended overnight cruises on Milford Sound.

Tramping, canoeing and some other water sports are also possible. A small
number of companies also provides overnight boat trips. There is otherwise
only limited accommodation at the sound, and only a very small percentage of
tourists stay more than the day.

An underwater tourist observatory found in one of the bays of the sound
provides viewing of black coral, usually only found in much deeper waters. A
dark surface layer of fresh water, stained by tannins from the surrounding
forest, allows the corals to grow close to the surface here.

Transport in Milford Sound

By road, Milford Sound is 295 km from Queenstown and 279 km from
Invercargill (about four hours' drive), with most of the tour buses to the
sound departing from Queenstown. Some tourists also arrive from the smaller
tourism centre of Te Anau, 121 km away. There are also scenic flights by
light aircraft and helicopter tours to and from Milford Sound Airport. The
drive to Milford Sound itself passes through unspoiled mountain landscapes
before entering the 1.2 km Homer Tunnel which emerges into
rain-forest-carpeted canyons that descend to the sound. The winding mountain
road, while of high standards, is very prone to avalanches and closures
during the winter half of the year.

The long distance to the sound means that tourist operators from Queenstown
all depart very early in the day, arriving back only late in the evening.
This ensures that most tourists visit Milford Sound within a few hours
around midday, leading to some congestion on the roads and at the tourist
facilities during the main season. The peak-time demand is also the reason
for the large number of tour boats active in the sound at much the same time

Over the years, various options of short-cutting the distance to Milford
Sound from Queenstown have been mooted, including a gondola route, a new
tunnel from Queenstown, or a monorail from near Lake Wakatipu to Te Anau
Downs. All would reduce the current round-trip duration (which has to travel
via Te Anau), thus allowing tourism to be spread out over more of the day.
While a gondola is considered to be out of the running after the DOC refused
it for environmental reasons, the two other options are aiming to start
consenting processes in 2007.

Milford Sound can also be reached on foot as the final destination of the
several-day Milford Track.

Other aspects

On 8 February 2004 a spill of 13,000 litres of diesel fuel was discovered, resulting in a 2-kilometre oil spill which closed the sound for two days while intensive cleanup activities were completed. Apparently a hose was used to displace the fuel from the tanks of one of the tour vessels, and various government officials claimed it appeared to be an act of ecoterrorism motivated by rising numbers of tourists to the park, though more details did not become known. The spill has been removed and damage to the park's wildlife appears to have been minimal.

Hobart, Tasmania

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island
state of Tasmania. Founded in 1803 as a penal colony, Hobart is Australia's
second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2008, the city had a greater
area population of approximately 209,287. The city is the financial and
administrative heart of Tasmania, and also serves as the home port for both
Australian and French Antarctic operations.

The city is located in the state's south-east on the estuary of the Derwent
River. The skyline is dominated by Mount Wellington at 1,271 metres high.

History of Hobart

The first settlement began in 1803 as a penal colony at Risdon Cove on the
eastern shores of the Derwent River, amid British concerns over the presence
of French explorers. In 1804 it was moved to a better location at the
present site of Hobart at Sullivan's Cove. The city, initially known as
Hobart Town or Hobarton, was named after Lord Hobart, the Colonial Secretary
The area's original inhabitants were members of the semi-nomadic
Mouheneener tribe. A series of bloody encounters with the Europeans and the
effects of diseases brought by the settlers forced away the aboriginal
population, which was rapidly replaced by free settlers and the convict
population. Charles Darwin visited Hobart Town in February, 1836 as part of
the Beagle expedition. He writes of Hobart and the Derwent estuary in his
Voyage of the Beagle:

...The lower parts of the hills which skirt the bay are cleared; and the
bright yellow fields of corn, and dark green ones of potatoes, appear very
luxuriant... I was chiefly struck with the comparative fewness of the large
houses, either built or building. Hobart Town, from the census of 1835,
contained 13,826 inhabitants, and the whole of Tasmania 36,505.

But since the Derwent River was one of Australia's finest deepwater ports
and was the centre of the Southern Ocean whaling and the sealing trade, it
rapidly grew into a major port, with allied industries such as shipbuilding.
Hobart Town became a city on 21 August 1842, and was renamed Hobart in 1875.

Topography

This section discusses the topography of the Greater Hobart area and as such
pinpoints the regions of urban sprawl of the suburbs and the towns included
in the Greater Hobart area as well as land formations. Hobart is located on
the estuary of the Derwent River in the state's south-east at 42°52′S
147°19′E / 42.867°S 147.317°E / -42.867; 147.317. Geologically Hobart is
built predominantly on Jurassic Dolerite around the foothills interspersed
with smaller areas of Triassic siltstone and Permian Mudstone. Much of the
waterfront of the Hobart CBD is built on Reclaimed land such as the
Sullivans Cove and Salamanca areas, done during the convict era of Tasmania.

Hobart extends along both sides of the Derwent River, on the Western Shore
from the Derwent Valley in the North through the flatter areas of Glenorchy
which rests on older Triassic sediment and into the hilly areas of New Town,
Lenah Valley both resting on the younger Jurassic dolerite deposits, before
stretching into the lower areas such as the beaches of Sandy Bay in the
South, in the Derwent Estuary. The Eastern Shore also extends from the
Derwent Valley area in a Southerly direction hugging the Meehan Ranges in
the East before sprawling into flatter land in suburbs such as Bellerive.
These flatter areas of the Eastern Shore rest on far younger deposits from
the Quaternary. From there the city extends in an easterly direction through
the Meehan Ranges into the hilly areas of Rokeby and Oakdowns, before
reaching into the tidal flatland area of Lauderdale

Hobart has access to a number of beach areas including those in the Derwent
Estuary itself; Sandy Bay, Nutgrove, Kingston, Bellerive and Howrah Beaches
as well as many more in Frederick Henry Bay such as; Seven Mile, Roaches,
Cremorne, Clifton and Goats Beaches.
Hobart area from Bellerive

Climate

Hobart has a mild temperate oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb). The highest
temperature recorded was 40.8°C on 4 January 1976 and the lowest was −2.8°C
on 25 June 1972. Compared to other major Australia cities, Hobart has the
second fewest daily average hours of sunshine, with 5.9 hours per day.
(Melbourne has the fewest) Although Hobart rarely receives snow during the
winter, the adjacent Mount Wellington is often seen with a snowcap.
Unseasonal mountain snow covering has been known to occur during the other
seasons. During the 20th century, Hobart did receive many snowfalls at sea
level because of cold air masses arriving from Antarctica. These
snow-bearing winds often carried on through Tasmania and Victoria to the
Snowy Mountains in southern New South Wales and northern Victoria. Though
snow is unusual in general at sea level in Australia, Hobart has had the
most sea level snowfalls out of any Australian capital city, although
Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide have sometimes recorded some snow.

Economy

Hobart is a busy seaport, notably serving as the home port for the Antarctic
activities of Australia and France. The port loads around 2,000 tonnes of
Antarctic cargo a year for the Australian research vessel Aurora Australis.

The city also supports several other industries, including a high-speed
catamaran factory Incat and a zinc smelter operated by Nyrstar, as well as a
vibrant tourist industry. Visitors come to the city to explore its historic
inner suburbs, to visit the weekly market in Salamanca Place, as well as to
use the city as a base from which to explore the rest of Tasmania.

Other notable businesses in the area include the Cadbury chocolate factory
and the Cascade Brewery located in South Hobart near the natural spring
waters of Mount Wellington. The Hobart surrounding area has many vineyards,
including Moorilla Estate at Berriedale.

Distinctive features

The Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens is a popular recreation area a short
distance from the City centre. It is the second-oldest Botanic Gardens in
Australia and holds extensive significant plant collections as well as built
heritage.

Mount Wellington, accessible by passing through Fern Tree, is the dominant
feature of Hobart's skyline, indeed many descriptions of Hobart have used
the phrase "nestled amidst the foothills", so undulating is the geographical
landscape. At 1,271 metres, the mountain has its own ecosystems, is rich in
biodiversity and plays a large part in determining the local weather.

The Tasman Bridge is also a uniquely important feature of the city,
connecting the two shores of Hobart and visible from many locations.

Government

The Greater Hobart Metropolitan consists of five local government areas of
which three, City of Hobart, City of Glenorchy and City of Clarence are
designated as cities. Hobart also includes the urbanised local governments
of the Municipality of Kingborough and Municipality of Brighton. All of the
local governments are responsible for their own urban, up to a certain scale
and residential planning as well as waste management and mains water
storage.

Most city wide events such as the Taste of Tasmania and Hobart Summer Festival, are funded by the Tasmanian State Government as a joint venture with the local council. Urban planning of the Hobart CBD in particular the Heritage listed areas such as Sullivans Cove are also intensely scrutinised by State Government, which is operated out of Parliament House on the waterfront.

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Melbourne is the capital city and most populous city of the State of
Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne city
centre (also referred to as the "CBD") is the anchor of the larger
geographical area and statistical division known as the Greater Melbourne
metropolitan area – of which Melbourne is the common name. As of 2009, it
had an approximate population of 4 million. The demonym for a person from
Melbourne is a "Melburnian"

The metropolitan area is located on a large natural bay known as Port
Phillip. It extends from the CBD at the estuary of the Yarra River (which
enters the bay at its northern-most point), along the south-eastern and
south-western shorelines of Port Phillip, and extends into the hinterland.
The CBD is located in the municipality known as the City of Melbourne, and
the metropolitan area consists of a further 30 municipalities – which are
referred as "cities" and "shires".

It was established in 1835 (47 years after the European settlement of
Australia) as a pastoral township by free settlers from Van Diemen's Land.
It was named in honour of the 2nd Viscount Melbourne, William Lamb (the
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the reigns of King William IV
and Queen Victoria) in 1837. Melbourne was declared a city by Queen Victoria
in 1847; and became the capital of the newly-declared Colony of Victoria,
when it was created from the Colony of New South Wales, in 1851.
When gold was discovered in the area during the 1850s (which sparked the
Victorian gold rush), Melbourne was transformed into one of the largest and
wealthiest cities in the World by the 1880s. Upon the federation of
Australia in 1901, it served as the national capital and the seat of
government for the newly-established Commonwealth of Australia until 1927 –
while the planned national capital of Canberra was being constructed.
The CBD is also notable for its distinct blend of contemporary and Victorian
architecture, expansive parks and gardens, alleyway and arcade culture,
diverse multicultural society, and is also home to the World's largest tram
network. Since 2002, Melbourne has been consistently ranked amongst the
World's Most Livable Cities by The Economist magazine, and is recognised as
a Beta World City+ by Loughborough University. It is also classified as a
City of Literature by UNESCO, and is ranked as one of the top five
university cities by RMIT. Melbourne was ranked as one of the world's top 25
Nexus cities for innovation by 2thinknow, in the Innovation Cities Index
2009

Melbourne has played host to a number of significant international and
national events, including: the first sitting of the Parliament of Australia
in 1901, 1956 Summer Olympics, Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in
1981, World Economic Forum in 2000, 2006 Commonwealth Games and G20 Summit
in the same year.

Early history and foundation

Before the arrival of European settlers, the area was occupied for an
estimated 31,000 to 40,000 years by under 20,000 hunter-gatherers from three
indigenous regional tribes: the Wurundjeri, Boonwurrung and Wathaurong. The
area was an important meeting place for clans and territories of the Kulin
nation alliance as well as a vital source of food and water. The first
European settlement in Victoria was established in 1803 on Sullivan Bay,
near present-day Sorrento, but this settlement was abandoned due to a
perceived lack of resources. It would be 30 years before another settlement
was attempted.

In May and June 1835, the area that is now central and northern Melbourne
was explored by John Batman, a leading member of the Port Phillip
Association, who negotiated a transaction for 600,000 acres (2,400 km2; 940
sq mi) of land from eight Wurundjeri elders. Batman selected a site on the
northern bank of the Yarra River, declaring that "this will be the place for
a village", and returned to Launceston in Tasmania (then known as Van Diemen
s Land). However, by the time a settlement party from the Association
arrived to establish the new village, a separate group led by John Pascoe
Fawkner had already arrived aboard the Enterprize and established a
settlement at the same location, on 30 August 1835. The two groups
ultimately agreed to share the settlement. It is not known what Melbourne
was called before the arrival of Europeans. Early European settlers
mistranslated the words "Doutta-galla" which are believed to have been the
name of a prominent tribal member, but said by some to also translate as
treeless plain". This was nevertheless used as one of the early names for
the colony.

Batman's Treaty with the Aborigines was annulled by the New South Wales
government (that at the time governed all of eastern mainland Australia),
which compensated the Association. Although this meant the settlers were now
trespassing on Crown land, the government reluctantly accepted the settlers'
fait accompli and allowed the town (known at first by various names,
including 'Batmania' and 'Bearbrass' to remain.

In 1836, Governor Bourke declared the city the administrative capital of the
Port Phillip District of New South Wales, and commissioned the first plan
for the Hoddle Grid in 1837. Later that year, the settlement was named
Melbourne after the British prime minister William Lamb, 2nd Viscount
Melbourne, who resided in the village of Melbourne in Derbyshire, and the
General Post Office opened under that name on 13 April 1837. Melbourne was
declared a city by letters patent of Queen Victoria, issued on 25 June 1847.
The Port Phillip District became a separate colony of Victoria in 1851 with
Melbourne as its capital.

Victorian gold rush

The discovery of gold in Victoria in the same year led to the Victorian gold
rush, and Melbourne, which provided most service industries and served as
the major port for the region, experienced rapid growth.

Migration to Melbourne, particularly from overseas including Ireland and
China, caused a massive population increase. Slums developed including a
temporary "tent city" established on the southern banks of the Yarra, the
Little Lonsdale district and at Chinatown.

The population growth and flow of gold into the city helped stimulate a
program of grand civic building beginning with the design and construction
of many of Melbourne's surviving institutional buildings including
Parliament House, the Treasury Building and Treasury Reserve, the Old
Melbourne Gaol, Victoria Barracks, the State Library, Supreme Court,
University, General Post Office, and Government House, the Melbourne Town
Hall, St Paul's, St Patrick's cathedrals and several major markets including
the surviving Queen Victoria Market. The city's inner suburbs were planned,
to be linked by boulevards and gardens. Melbourne had become a major finance
centre, home to several banks, the Royal Mint to Australia's first stock
exchange in 1861.

Before the arrival of white settlers, the indigenous population in the
district was estimated at 15,000, but following settlement the number had
fallen to less than 800, and continued to decline with an estimated 80%
decrease by 1863, due primarily to introduced diseases, particularly
smallpox.

The land boom and bust

By the 1880s, Melbourne's boom was peaking. The city had become the second
largest in the British Empire (after London), and the richest in the world.
Melbourne hosted five international exhibitions at the large purpose-built
Exhibition Building in the decade of prosperity.

During an 1885 visit, English journalist George Augustus Henry Sala coined
the phrase "Marvellous Melbourne", which stuck long into the twentieth
century. Growing building activity culminated in the "Land Boom" which in
1888 reached a peak of speculative development fuelled by consumer
confidence and escalating land value. As a result of the boom, large
commercial buildings, coffee palaces, terrace housing and palatial mansions
proliferated in the city. and the establishment of a hydraulic facility in
1887 paved the way for elevators and high-rise buildings to dramatically
change the city's skyline. This period saw the expansion of a major radial
rail-based transport network.

The brash boosterism which typified Melbourne during this time came to a
halt in 1891 when the start of a severe depression hit the city's economy,
sending the local finance and property industries into chaos during which 16
small banks and building societies collapsed and 133 limited companies went
into liquidation. The Melbourne financial crisis helped trigger the
Australian economic depression of 1890s and the Australian banking crisis of
1893. The effects of the depression on the city were profound, although it
did continue to grow slowly during the early twentieth century.

Federation of Australia

At the time of Australia's federation on 1 January 1901, Melbourne became
the temporary seat of government of the federation. The first federal
parliament was convened on 9 May 1901 in the Royal Exhibition Building,
where it was located until 1927, when it was moved to Canberra. The
governor-general remained at Government House until 1930 and many major
national institutions remained in Melbourne well into the twentieth century.
While Sydney had overtaken Melbourne in size, Melbourne's transport networks
were more extensive. Flinders Street Station was the world's busiest
passenger station in 1927 and Melbourne's tram network overtook Sydney's to
become the world's largest in the 1940s. During World War II, Melbourne
industries thrived on wartime production and the city became Australia's
leading manufacturing centre.

Post-war period

After World War II, Melbourne expanded rapidly, its growth boosted by an
influx of immigrants and the prestige of hosting the Olympic Games in 1956.
The post-war period saw a major urban renewal of the CBD and St Kilda Road
which significantly modernised the city. New Melbourne City Council fire
regulations and redevelopment saw most of the taller pre-war CBD buildings
demolished, despite the efforts of the National Trust of Victoria and the
Save Collins Street movement. Many of the larger suburban mansions from the
boom era were either demolished or subdivided.
ICI House (now Orica House), commenced in 1955, was a powerful symbol of the
Olympic city's modernist aspirations.

Signs of Whelan the Wrecker became a symbol of Melbourne's progressive
spirit during this time, which saw wholesale destruction of Victorian period
architecture from Melbourne's golden era, including the so-called "Paris end
of Collins Street in the CBD. To counter the trend towards low-density
suburban residential growth, the government began a series of controversial
slum reclamation" public housing projects in the inner city by the Housing
Commission of Victoria which resulted in demolition of many neighbourhoods
and a proliferation of high-rise towers. In later years, with the rapid rise
of motor vehicle ownership, the investment in freeway and highway
developments greatly accelerated the outward suburban sprawl and declining
inner city population, that had begun in the late 19th century with the
introduction of trams and suburban railways. The Bolte Victorian government
sought to rapidly modernise Melbourne. Major road projects including the
remodelling of St Kilda Junction, the widening of Hoddle Street and then the
extensive 1969 Melbourne Transportation Plan changed the face of the city
into a car-dominated environment.

Australia's financial and mining booms between 1969 and 1970 resulted in
establishment of the headquarters of many major companies (BHP Billiton and
Rio Tinto, among others) in the city. Nauru's then booming economy fuelled
several ambitious investments in Melbourne, such as Nauru House. Melbourne
remained Australia's business and financial capital until the late 1970s,
when it began to lose this primacy to Sydney.

As the centre of Australia's "rust belt", Melbourne experienced the worst of
Victoria's economic slump between 1989 to 1992, following the collapse of
several of its financial institutions. In 1992 the newly elected Kennett
Coalition government began a campaign to revive the economy with an
aggressive development campaign of public works centred on Melbourne and the
promotion of the city as a tourist destination with a focus on major events
and sports tourism, attracting the Australian Grand Prix to the city. Major
projects included the Melbourne Museum, Federation Square, the Melbourne
Exhibition and Convention Centre, Crown Casino and CityLink tollway. Other
strategies included the privatisation of some of Melbourne's services,
including power and public transport, but also a reduction in funding to
public services such as health and education.

Geography

Melbourne is located in the south-eastern part of mainland Australia, within
the state of Victoria. Geologically, it is built on the confluence of
Quaternary lava flows to the west, Silurian mudstones to the east, and
Holocene sand accumulation to the southeast along Port Phillip. The
southeastern suburbs are situated on the Selwyn fault which transects Mount
Martha and Cranbourne.

Melbourne extends along the Yarra through the Yarra Valley toward the
Dandenong Ranges and Yarra Ranges to the east. It extends northward through
the undulating bushland valleys of the Yarra's tributaries – Moonee Ponds
Creek (toward Tullamarine Airport), Merri Creek, Darebin Creek and Plenty
River to the outer suburban growth corridors of Craigieburn and Whittlesea.
The city sprawls south-east through Dandenong to the growth corridor of
Pakenham towards West Gippsland, and southward through the Dandenong Creek
valley, the Mornington Peninsula and the city of Frankston taking in the
peaks of Olivers Hill, Mount Martha and Arthurs Seat, extending along the
shores of Port Phillip as a single conurbation to reach the exclusive suburb
of Portsea and Point Nepean. In the west, it extends along the Maribyrnong
River and its tributaries north towards Sunbury and the foothills of the
Macedon Ranges, and along the flat volcanic plain country towards Melton in
the west, Werribee at the foothills of the You Yangs granite ridge and
Geelong as part of the greater metropolitan area to the south-west.
Melbourne's major bayside beaches are located in the south-eastern suburbs
along the shores of Port Phillip Bay, in areas like Port Melbourne, Albert
Park, St Kilda, Elwood, Brighton, Sandringham, Mentone and Frankston
although there are beaches in the western suburbs of Altona and Williamstown
The nearest surf beaches are located 85 kilometres (53 mi) south-east of
the Melbourne CBD in the back-beaches of Rye, Sorrento and Portsea.

Climate

Melbourne has a moderate oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification
Cfb)and is well known for its changeable weather conditions. This is mainly
due to Melbourne's location situated on the boundary of the very hot inland
areas and the cold southern ocean. This temperature differential is most
pronounced in the Spring and Summer months and can cause very strong cold
fronts to form. These cold fronts can be responsible for all sorts of severe
weather from gales to severe thunderstorms and hail, large temperature drops
and heavy rain. Port Phillip is often warmer than the surrounding oceans
and/or the land mass particularly in spring and autumn and this can set up a
kind of 'bay effect' similar to the 'lake effect' seen in the USA where
showers are intensified leeward of the bay. Relatively narrow streams of
heavy showers can often effect the same places for an extended period of
time, usually the eastern suburbs whilst the rest of Melbourne and surrounds
stays dry. Melbourne is also prone to isolated convective showers forming
when a cold pool crosses the state, especially if there is considerable
daytime heating. These showers are often heavy and can contain hail and
squalls and significant drops in temperature but pass through very quickly
at times with a rapid clearing trend to sunny and relatively calm weather
and the temperature rises back to what it was before the shower, this occurs
often in the space of minutes and can be repeated numerous time in a day.
This has a lot to do with why Melbourne has a reputation for 'four seasons
in one day' The phrase "four seasons in one day" is part of popular culture
and observed by many visitors to the city.

Melbourne is colder than other mainland Australian state capital cities in
the winter. The lowest maximum on record is 4.4 °C (39.9 °F), on 4 July 1901
However, snowfalls are rare: the most recent occurrence of sleet in the CBD
was on 25 July 1986 and the most recent snowfalls in the outer eastern
suburbs and Mount Dandenong were on 10 August 2005, 15 November 2006, 25
December 2006 and 10 August 2008. More commonly, Melbourne experiences
frosts and fog in winter.

During the spring, Melbourne commonly enjoys extended periods of mild
weather and clear skies. Melbourne and Sydney's average January and February
daily highs are similar. However, Melbourne's summers are notable for days
of extreme heat, with Melbourne recording their all-time hottest temperature
of 46.4°C, set on 7 February 2009.

Economy

Melbourne is home to Australia's busiest seaport and much of Australia's
automotive industry, which include Ford and Toyota manufacturing facilities,
and the engine manufacturing facility of Holden. It is home to many other
manufacturing industries, along with being a major business and financial
centre.

International freight is an important industry. The city's port, Australia's
largest, handles more than $75 billion in trade every year and 39% of the
nation's container trade. Melbourne Airport provides an entry point for
national and international visitors, and is Australia's second busiest
airport.

Melbourne is also a major technology hub, with an ICT industry that employs
over 60,000 people (one third of Australia's ICT workforce), has a turnover
of $19.8 billion and export revenues of $615 million.
Most recent major infrastructure projects, such as the redevelopment of
Southern Cross Station (formerly Spencer Street Station), have been centred
around the 2006 Commonwealth Games, which were held in the city from 15
March to 26 March 2006. The centrepiece of the Commonwealth Games projects
was the redevelopment of the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the stadium used for
the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games. The project involved
rebuilding the northern half of the stadium and laying a temporary athletics
track at a cost of $434 million.

Religion

Melbourne is also home to a wide range of religious faiths. The largest of
which is Christian (64%) with a large Catholic population (28.3%). However
Melbourne and indeed Australia are highly secularised, with the proportion
of people identifying themselves as Christian declining from 96% in 1901 to
64% in 2006 and those who did not state their religion or declared no
religion rising from 2% to over 30% over the same period. Nevertheless, the
large Christian population is signified by the city's two large cathedrals –
St Patrick's (Roman Catholic), and St Paul's (Anglican). Both were built in
the Victorian era and are of considerable heritage significance as major
landmarks of the city.

The next highest response was No Religion (20.0%, 717,717), Anglican (12.1%,
433,546), Eastern Orthodox (5.9%, 212,887) and the Uniting Church (4.0%, 143
552). Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, Hindus and Sikhs collectively account for 7
5% of the population.

Melbourne has the largest Jewish population in Australia, the community
currently numbering approximately 60,000. The city is also home to the
largest number of Holocaust survivors of any Australian city, indeed the
highest per capita concentration outside Israel itself. Reflecting this
vibrant and growing community, Melbourne has a plethora of Jewish cultural,
religious and educational institutions, including over 40 synagogues and 7
full-time parochial day schools, along with a local Jewish newspaper.
Melbourne's and Australia's largest university – Monash University is named
after prominent Australian Jewish general and statesman, Sir John Monash.

Governance

The Melbourne City Council governs the City of Melbourne, which takes in the
CBD and a few adjoining inner suburbs. However the head of the Melbourne
City Council, the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, is frequently treated as a
representative of greater Melbourne (the entire metropolitan area),
particularly when interstate or overseas. Robert Doyle, elected in 2008, is
current Lord Mayor.

The rest of the metropolitan area is divided into 31 local government areas.
All these are designated as Cities, except for five on the city's outer
fringes which are classified as Shires. Local government authorities have
elected councils and are responsible for a range of functions set out in the
Local Government Act 1989, such as urban planning and waste management.

Most non-local government services are provided or regulated by the
Victorian state government, which governs from Parliament House in Spring
Street. These include public transport, main roads, traffic control,
policing, education above preschool level, health and planning of major
infrastructure projects.

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

From Wikipedia.com

Coordinates: 33°51′35.9″S 151°12′40″E / 33.859972°S 151.21111°E / -33
859972; 151.21111

Sydney is the largest city in Australia, and the state capital of New South
Wales. Sydney has a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34
million and an area of approximately 12,000 square kilometres. Its
inhabitants are called Sydneysiders, and Sydney is often called "the Harbour
City". It is one of the most multicultural cities in the world, reflecting
its role as a major destination for immigrants to Australia.

The site of the first British colony in Australia, Sydney was established in
1788 at Sydney Cove by Arthur Phillip, commodore of the First Fleet. The
city is built on hills surrounding Sydney Harbour – an inlet of the Tasman
Sea on Australia's south-east coast. It is home to the iconic Sydney Opera
House, Harbour Bridge and its beaches. The metropolitan area is surrounded
by national parks, and contains many bays, rivers and inlets.

The city is home to many prominent parks, such as Hyde Park, Royal Botanical
Gardens and national parks. This is a major factor, along with Sydney
Harbour that has led to the city's reputation as one of the most beautiful
in the world.

Sydney is considered an alpha+ world city, as listed by the Loughborough
University group's 2008 inventory and is ranked 16th among global cities by
Foreign Policy's 2008 Global Cities Index. According to the Mercer cost of
living survey, Sydney is Australia's most expensive city, and the 66th most
expensive in the world. Sydney also ranks among the top 10 most livable
cities in the world according to Mercer Human Resource Consulting and The
Economist. Sydney is also a significant international financial centre and
has been ranked 14th within the top 50 global financial cities as surveyed
by the Mastercard Worldwide Centers of Commerce Index (2007), and 1st within
Australia.

Sydney has hosted major international sporting events, including the 1938
British Empire Games, 2000 Summer Olympics and the final of the 2003 Rugby
World Cup. The main airport serving Sydney is Sydney Airport.

History

Radio carbon dating suggests that the Sydney region has been inhabited by
indigenous Australians for at least 30,000 years. The traditional Indigenous
inhabitants of Sydney Cove are the Cadigal people, whose land once stretched
from south of Port Jackson to Petersham. While estimates of the population
numbers prior to the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788 remains contentious,
approximately 4,000–8,000 Aboriginal people lived in the Sydney region prior
to contact with British settlers. The British called the Indigenous people
the "Eora", because being asked where they came from, these people would
answer: "Eora", meaning "here", or "from this place" in their language.
There were three language groups in the Sydney region, which were divided
into dialects spoken by smaller clans. The principal languages were Darug
(the Cadigal, original inhabitants of the City of Sydney, spoke a coastal
dialect of Darug), Dharawal and Guringai. Each clan had a territory, the
location of that territory determined the resources available. Although
urbanisation has destroyed much evidence of these settlements (such as shell
middens), a number of Sydney rock engravings, carvings and rock art remain
visible in the Hawkesbury sandstone of the Sydney basin.

In 1770, British sea Captain Lieutenant James Cook landed in Botany Bay on
the Kurnell Peninsula. It is here that James Cook made first contact with an
Aboriginal community known as the Gweagal. Under instruction from the
British government, a convict settlement was founded by Arthur Phillip, who
arrived at Botany Bay with a fleet of 11 ships on 18 January 1788. This site
was soon determined to be unsuitable for habitation, owing to poor soil and
a lack of reliable fresh water. Phillip subsequently founded the colony
further up the coast, at Sydney Cove on Port Jackson on 26 January 1788. He
named it after the British Home Secretary, Thomas Townshend, Lord Sydney, in
recognition of Sydney's role in issuing the charter authorising Phillip to
establish a colony. The original name was intended to be Albion until
Phillip decided upon Sydney.

In April 1789 a disease, thought to be smallpox, killed an estimated 500 to
1000 Aboriginal people between Broken Bay and Botany Bay. There was violent
resistance to British settlement, notably by the warrior Pemulwuy in the
area around Botany Bay, and conflicts were common in the area surrounding
the Hawkesbury River. By 1820 there were only a few hundred Aborigines and
Governor Macquarie had begun initiatives to 'civilise, Christianise and
educate' the Aborigines by removing them from their clans. Macquarie's
tenure as Governor of New South Wales was a period when Sydney was improved
from its basic beginnings. Roads, bridges, wharves and public buildings were
constructed by British and Irish convicts, and by 1822 the town had banks,
markets, well-established thoroughfares and an organised constabulary. The
1830s and 1840s were periods of urban development, including the development
of the first suburbs, as the town grew rapidly when ships began arriving
from Britain and Ireland with immigrants looking to start a new life in a
new country. On 20 July 1842 the municipal council of Sydney was
incorporated and the town was declared the first city in Australia, with
John Hosking the first elected mayor. The first of several Australian gold
rushes started in 1851, and the port of Sydney has since seen many waves of
people arriving from around the world.

Rapid suburban development began in the last quarter of the 19th century
with the advent of steam powered tramways and railways. With
industrialisation Sydney expanded rapidly, and by the early 20th century it
had a population well of more than a million. The Great Depression hit
Sydney badly. One of the highlights of the Depression era, however, was the
completion of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1932. There has traditionally
been a rivalry between [[Sydney and Melbourne since the gold rushes of the
1850s made the capital of Victoria Australia's largest and richest city.
Sydney overtook Melbourne in population in the early years of the 20th
century, and has remained the largest city in Australia since this time.
During the 1970s and 1980s Sydney's CBD with the Reserve Bank and Australian
Stock Exchange clearly surpassed Melbourne as the nation's financial capital
Throughout the 20th century, especially in the decades immediately
following World War II, Sydney continued to expand as large numbers of
European and later Asian immigrants populated the metropolitan area.

Geography

The city centre is about a quarter of the way in on the south shore of the
upper inlet, the Parramatta River, directly south of the Sydney Harbour
Bridge

Topography

Sydney's urban area is in a coastal basin, which is bordered by the Pacific
Ocean to the East, the Blue Mountains to the West, the Hawkesbury River to
the North and the Royal National Park to the South. It lies on a submergent
coastline, where the ocean level has risen to flood deep river valleys (ria)
carved in the hawkesbury sandstone. Port Jackson, better known as Sydney
Harbour, is one such ria and is the largest natural harbour in the world.
The Sydney area is not affected by significant earthquakes.

The urban area has around 70 harbour and ocean beaches, including the famous
Bondi Beach. Sydney's urban area covers 1,687 km2 (651 sq mi) as at 2001
[28] The Sydney Statistical Division, used for census data, is the
unofficial metropolitan area [29] and covers 12,145 km2 (4,689 sq mi). This
area includes the Central Coast, the Blue Mountains, and national parks and
other unurbanised land. This makes Sydney the third largest urban
agglomeration in the world behind Brasília (14,400 km²) and Tokyo (13,500
km²).

Geographically, Sydney lies over two regions: the Cumberland Plain, a
relatively flat region lying to the south and west of the harbour, and the
Hornsby Plateau, a sandstone plateau lying mainly to the north of the
harbour and dissected by steep valleys. The parts of the city with the
oldest European development are located in the flat areas south of the
harbour. The North Shore was slower to develop because of its hilly
topography and lack of access across the harbour. The Sydney Harbour Bridge
was opened in 1932 and linked the North Shore to the rest of the city.

Urban structure

Sydney's central business district (CBD) extends southwards for about 3
kilometres (2 mi) from Sydney Cove to the area around Central station. The
Sydney CBD is bounded on the east side by a chain of parkland, and the west
by Darling Harbour, a tourist and nightlife precinct.

Although the CBD dominated the city's business and cultural life in the
early days, other business/cultural districts have developed in a radial
pattern since World War II. As a result, the proportion of white-collar jobs
located in the CBD declined from more than 60 per cent at the end of World
War II to less than 30 per cent in 2004.

Together with the commercial district of North Sydney, joined to the CBD by
the Harbour Bridge, the most significant outer business districts are
Parramatta in the central-west, Penrith in the west, Bondi Junction in the
east, Liverpool in the southwest, Chatswood to the north, and Hurstville to
the south.

The city's metropolitan area is characterised by large areas of urban sprawl
and, on the eastern side, beaches along the Tasman Sea

The extensive area covered by urban Sydney is formally divided into 642
suburbs (for addressing and postal purposes), and administered as 40 local
government areas. There is no metropolitan-wide government, but the
Government of New South Wales and its agencies have extensive
responsibilities in providing metropolitan services.

Economy of Sydney

The largest economic sectors in Sydney, as measured by the number of people
employed, include property and business services, retail, manufacturing, and
health and community services. Since the 1980s, jobs have moved from
manufacturing to the services and information sectors. Sydney provides
approximately 25 percent of the country's total GDP.
The City of Sydney, viewed from Balmain.

The Australian Securities Exchange and the Reserve Bank of Australia are
located in Sydney, as are the headquarters of 90 banks and more than half of
Australia's top companies, and the regional headquarters for around 500
multinational corporations. Of the ten largest corporations in Australia by
revenue, four have headquarters in Sydney: Caltex Australia, the
Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, and Woolworths. Of the 54 authorised
deposit-taking banks in Australia, 44 are based in Sydney including nine of
the 11 foreign subsidiary banks in Australia and all of the 29 local
branches of foreign banks. Major authorised foreign banks in Sydney include
Citigroup, UBS Australia, Mizuho Corporate Bank, HSBC Bank Australia and
Deutsche Bank.

Shopping locations in the central business district include the Queen
Victoria Building, the pedestrian mall on Pitt Street, and international
luxury boutiques in the quieter, northern end of Castlereagh St. Oxford
Street in Paddington and Crown Street, Woollahra are home to boutiques
selling more niche products, and the main streets of Newtown and Enmore
cater more towards students and alternative lifestyles.

Sydney received 7.8 million domestic visitors and 2.5 million international
visitors in 2004. In 2007, the (then) Premier of New South Wales, Morris
Iemma established Events New South Wales to "market Sydney and NSW as a
leading global events destination". Fox Studios Australia has large film
studios in the city.

The city has the highest median household income of any major city in
Australia (US$42,559 PPP). As of 2004, the unemployment rate in Sydney was 4
9 percent.[54] According to The Economist Intelligence Unit's Worldwide cost
of living survey, Sydney is the sixteenth most expensive city in the world,
while a UBS survey ranks Sydney as 15th in the world in terms of net
earnings.[55] As of 20 September 2007, Sydney has the highest median house
price of any Australian capital city at $9,000.[56] Sydney also has the
highest median rent prices of any Australian city at $450 a week.

Culture

Sydney hosts many different festivals and some of Australia's largest social
and cultural events. These include the Sydney Festival, Australia's largest
arts festival which is a celebration involving both indoor and free outdoor
performances throughout January; the Biennale of Sydney, established in 1973
the Big Day Out, a travelling rock-music festival which originated in
Sydney; the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras along Oxford Street; the Sydney Film
Festival and many other smaller film festivals such as the short film
Tropfest and Flickerfest.

Australia's premier prize for portraiture, the Archibald Prize is organised
by the Art Gallery of New South Wales. The Sydney Royal Easter Show is held
every year at Sydney Olympic Park, the final of Australian Idol takes place
on the steps of the Opera House, and Australian Fashion Week takes place in
April/May and September. Sydney's New Years Eve and Australia Day
celebrations are the largest in Australia.

A survey based on tracking the frequency of words and phrases in the media,
cited Sydney as number 9 on a list of the world's top fashion cities in 2009
The city is the site of the world renowned Rosemount Australian Fashion
Week, which occurs biannually, and is home to many of Australia's premier
fashion houses. Most international designers have a major presence in Sydney

Entertainment and performing arts

Sydney has a wide variety of cultural institutions. Sydney's iconic Opera
House has five halls, including a large concert hall and opera and drama
theatres; it is the home of Opera Australia—the third-busiest opera company
in the world, and the Sydney Symphony. Other venues include the Sydney Town
Hall, City Recital Hall, the State Theatre, the Theatre Royal, Sydney, the
Sydney Theatre and the Wharf Theatre.

The National Institute of Dramatic Art, based in Kensington, boasts
internationally famous alumni such as Mel Gibson, Judy Davis, Baz Luhrmann
and Cate Blanchett. Sydney's role in the film industry has increased since
the opening of Fox Studios Australia in 1998.

Sydney's most popular nightspots include Kings Cross, Oxford Street, Darling
Harbour, Circular Quay and The Rocks, which all contain various bars,
nightclubs and restaurants. Star City Casino, is Sydney's only casino and is
situated around Darling Harbour. There are many traditional pubs, cafes and
restaurants in inner-city areas such as Newtown, Balmain and Leichhardt.
Sydney's main live music hubs include areas such as Newtown and Annandale,
which nurtured acts such as AC/DC, Bliss n Eso, Midnight Oil and INXS. Other
popular nightspots tend to be spread throughout the city in areas such as
Bondi, Manly, Cronulla and Parramatta.

Tourism

In the year ending March 2008, Sydney received 2.7 million international
visitors. The most well-known attractions include the Sydney Opera House and
the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Other attractions include Royal Botanical Gardens
Luna Park, some 40 beaches and Sydney Tower.

Sport and outdoor activities

Sport is an important part of Sydney's culture. The most popular sport in
Sydney is rugby league. The NSWRFL (today known as the NRL) began in Sydney
in the 1908 season and is the largest and most prestigious domestic rugby
league competition in the Southern Hemisphere.[75] The city is home to nine
of the sixteen teams currently in the National Rugby League competition: the
Canterbury Bulldogs, Cronulla Sharks, Manly Sea Eagles, Penrith Panthers,
Parramatta Eels, South Sydney Rabbitohs, St George Illawarra Dragons, Sydney
Roosters and Wests Tigers.
Fireworks during the 2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony

Cricket is the most popular summer sport in Sydney. The Ashes Series between
Australia and England is widely popular among the people. As the state
capital, Sydney is the home of the NSW Blues cricket team in the Sheffield
Shield cricket competition. Sydney Cricket Ground and ANZ Stadium here host
cricket matches. This city has also hosted 1992 Cricket World Cup and will
also host the 2015 Cricket World Cup. Sydney Cricket Ground is at present
the only test venue in the city. Plans are going on to accommodate ANZ
Stadium as an international cricket venue for Australia.

Other events in Sydney include the start of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race,
the Golden Slipper horse race, and the City to Surf race.

Government

Apart from the limited role of the Cumberland County Council from 1945–1964,
there has never been an overall governing body for the Sydney metropolitan
area; instead, the metropolitan area is divided into local government areas
(LGAs). These areas have elected councils which are responsible for
functions delegated to them by the New South Wales State Government, such as
planning and garbage collection.

The City of Sydney includes the central business area and some adjoining
inner suburbs, and has in recent years been expanded through amalgamation
with adjoining local government areas, such as South Sydney. It is led by
the elected Lord Mayor of Sydney and a council. The Lord Mayor, however, is
sometimes treated as a representative of the whole city, for example during
the Olympics.

Most citywide government activities are controlled by the state government. These include public transport, main roads, traffic control, policing, education above preschool level, and planning of major infrastructure projects. Because a large proportion of the New South Wales population lives in Sydney, state governments have traditionally been reluctant to allow the development of citywide governmental bodies, which would tend to rival the state government. For this reason, Sydney has always been a focus for the politics of both state and federal parliaments. For example, the boundaries of the City of Sydney LGA have been significantly altered by state governments on at least four occasions since 1945, with expected advantageous effect to the governing party in the New South Wales Parliament at the time.