Tourism
Helped by faster and cheaper long-haul flights, and the growth of the Japanese market, tourism has grown very rapidly since 1970. It is now one of the most dynamic sectors of the economy, accounting for some 500,000 jobs, or 6 per cent of the workforce, in the early 1990s. Foreign exchange earnings were worth more than US$5 billion a year, equivalent to about 10 per cent of earnings on the current account of the balance of payments.
There has been a strong growth in domestic tourism during this period, which has tapped the expanding range of attractions in each state and territory—theme and amusement parks, zoos, art galleries and museums, certain mines and factories, national parks, historic sites, and wineries. Foreign visitors show broadly similar interests, but most come on standardized packages which focus on a few key attractions, notably Sydney, the Great Barrier Reef, in Queensland, the Northern Territory’s Kakadu National Park, and the beach resorts in the Brisbane, Cairns, and Sydney regions.
Energy
Electricity supply is the responsibility of the state governments. In the early 1990s about 89 per cent of electricity was generated in thermal facilities, the great majority of which burned bituminous coal or lignite. The country also had several hydroelectric plants, notably the major Snowy Mountains Scheme (primarily serving Canberra, Melbourne, and Sydney) and a number of smaller facilities in Tasmania. In the early 1990s Australia’s aggregate installed electric-generating capacity was about 33.8 million kW, and its annual production of electricity totalled almost 160 billion kWh. Australia is almost self-sufficient in oil requirements; about 4 per cent of annual consumption was imported in the early 1990s.
Geology
Australia was originally part of the ancient continent of Gondwanaland, which had earlier formed part of the supercontinent of Pangaea. Much of it is geologically ancient; the oldest known rock formations have been dated at between 3 and 4.3 billion years old. The great plateau of the Western Australian Shield is underlaid by a vast, stable shield of Precambrian metamorphic and igneous rocks, ranging in age from 570 million to 3.7 billion years. These form the core of the ancestral continent, which, with Antarctica, split off from Gondwanaland during the Jurassic era, less than 200 million years ago, and began to drift eastwards and northwards (see Plate Tectonics; Continent). Australia emerged as a separate continent about 100 million years ago, when Antarctica broke away and drifted southward. Australia is still moving, northwards, away from Antarctica and is in the process of merging with Asia. Its life as a separate continent will be relatively short, in geological time.
The thick sedimentary rocks of the Great Dividing Range were deposited in a great north-south trending geosyncline during an interval that spanned most of the Palaeozoic Era, ending some 245 million years ago. Compressive forces buckled these rocks at least twice during the era, forming mountain ranges and chains of volcanoes.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Australian culture
Culture
Initially the dominant way of life in Australia substantially reflected the heritage of the British settlers. Customs were modified as the settlers adapted to the new country and its exceptionally fine climate. A culture evolved that, although based on British traditions, is peculiar to Australia. Since the 1960s, the arrival of large numbers of immigrants from continental Europe and Asia has led to the development of a more multicultural society in which the Aborigines, marginalized since the arrival of Europeans, have also begun to play a larger part.
Australia produced noted writers and painters from the earliest days, and Nobel Laureates like the author Patrick White. However, a much wider cross-section of society now participates in the arts, thanks to government subsidies and the provision of greatly improved facilities. State capitals and provincial towns alike have built or expanded art galleries and performing arts centres. The architecturally stunning Sydney Opera House is the best known of the modern venues. The biennial Adelaide Festival is a renowned focus for the performing arts, bringing together the best artistes and companies in the world, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Kirov Ballet. Opera, ballet and dance companies, orchestras, artists, playwrights, and writers are supported by the Australia Council. The federally funded Australian Broadcasting Corporation is also a notable patron of the arts. Australia has many other media companies as well as a wide range of newspapers and magazines that contribute to local culture (although some are now foreign owned) and a flourishing film industry.
Initially the dominant way of life in Australia substantially reflected the heritage of the British settlers. Customs were modified as the settlers adapted to the new country and its exceptionally fine climate. A culture evolved that, although based on British traditions, is peculiar to Australia. Since the 1960s, the arrival of large numbers of immigrants from continental Europe and Asia has led to the development of a more multicultural society in which the Aborigines, marginalized since the arrival of Europeans, have also begun to play a larger part.
Australia produced noted writers and painters from the earliest days, and Nobel Laureates like the author Patrick White. However, a much wider cross-section of society now participates in the arts, thanks to government subsidies and the provision of greatly improved facilities. State capitals and provincial towns alike have built or expanded art galleries and performing arts centres. The architecturally stunning Sydney Opera House is the best known of the modern venues. The biennial Adelaide Festival is a renowned focus for the performing arts, bringing together the best artistes and companies in the world, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Kirov Ballet. Opera, ballet and dance companies, orchestras, artists, playwrights, and writers are supported by the Australia Council. The federally funded Australian Broadcasting Corporation is also a notable patron of the arts. Australia has many other media companies as well as a wide range of newspapers and magazines that contribute to local culture (although some are now foreign owned) and a flourishing film industry.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
RELIGION / CEREMONY
The Dreaming, the Dreamtime has become a handy phrase used to describe what is in fact a sophisticated and interconnected mosaic of knowledge, beliefs and practises concerning the creativity of Ancestral Beings, and the continuity and values of Aboriginal life.
The vibrant ceremonial and religious life of Northern Territory people generated a spectacular array of art forms, including body painting and personal ornamentation, ground sculpture, bark painting, wood carving, and rock painting and engraving. Artistic creativity and innovation were informed by religious belief. Designs and motifs embodied multiple sets of meanings about group ownership of lands and relationships to particular Ancestral Beings. These expressions along with the rich oral traditions, elaborate song and dance styles and personal performance of them, were all regarded as manifestations of the original ancestral creative power. Each generation accepted responsibility for passing on the economic, social and religious knowledge, beliefs and actions that ensured the reproduction of Aboriginal societies and cultures.
Before the dawn of the present age was "the Dreaming", or the Alchera of the Aranda, a time when the ancestors of the Aborigenes wandered over a featureless land. These ancestors were unlike people of today ; they possessed special powers and were so intimately associated with certain animals and plants that an ancestor of the kangaroo totem "many sometimes be spoken of either as a man-kangaroo or as a kangaroo-man. As the ancestors journeyed over the land, their actions gave if form, created the natural features such as rivers and ranges. The land they shaped is today occupied by their descendants.
During their travels the dreamtime ancestors carried one or more sacred tjurunga, each "intimately associated with the idea of a spirit part of some individual". Many tjurunga were buried, each burial site marked by a natural object such as a rock or a tree.
Other places of significance are where ancestors entered the earth, at which time they died, but their spirits remained within the buried tjurunga. These places were also marked by natural objects.
There are thus at the present day, dotted about all over the Arrernte country, a very large number of places associated with these Alcheringa spirits, one group of whom will be Kangaroo, another Emu, another Hakea plant, and so on. When a woman conceives it simply means that one of these spirits has gone inside her, and knowing where she first became aware that she was pregnant, the child, when born, is regarded as the reincarnation of one of the spirit ancestors associated with that spot, and therefore it belongs to that particular totemic group.
The vibrant ceremonial and religious life of Northern Territory people generated a spectacular array of art forms, including body painting and personal ornamentation, ground sculpture, bark painting, wood carving, and rock painting and engraving. Artistic creativity and innovation were informed by religious belief. Designs and motifs embodied multiple sets of meanings about group ownership of lands and relationships to particular Ancestral Beings. These expressions along with the rich oral traditions, elaborate song and dance styles and personal performance of them, were all regarded as manifestations of the original ancestral creative power. Each generation accepted responsibility for passing on the economic, social and religious knowledge, beliefs and actions that ensured the reproduction of Aboriginal societies and cultures.
Before the dawn of the present age was "the Dreaming", or the Alchera of the Aranda, a time when the ancestors of the Aborigenes wandered over a featureless land. These ancestors were unlike people of today ; they possessed special powers and were so intimately associated with certain animals and plants that an ancestor of the kangaroo totem "many sometimes be spoken of either as a man-kangaroo or as a kangaroo-man. As the ancestors journeyed over the land, their actions gave if form, created the natural features such as rivers and ranges. The land they shaped is today occupied by their descendants.
During their travels the dreamtime ancestors carried one or more sacred tjurunga, each "intimately associated with the idea of a spirit part of some individual". Many tjurunga were buried, each burial site marked by a natural object such as a rock or a tree.
Other places of significance are where ancestors entered the earth, at which time they died, but their spirits remained within the buried tjurunga. These places were also marked by natural objects.
There are thus at the present day, dotted about all over the Arrernte country, a very large number of places associated with these Alcheringa spirits, one group of whom will be Kangaroo, another Emu, another Hakea plant, and so on. When a woman conceives it simply means that one of these spirits has gone inside her, and knowing where she first became aware that she was pregnant, the child, when born, is regarded as the reincarnation of one of the spirit ancestors associated with that spot, and therefore it belongs to that particular totemic group.
ARRERNTE LANGUAGE
The Arrernte region is large and traditionally, there are many different family areas within it, each with their own dialect. Language is strongly connected with family membership and the relationships to land and Dreamings that go with this. Identifying as a speaker of a particular language or dialect can be very important for Arrernte people in a way that goes beyond just the actual language. It is a way of expressing membership in a particular family, or association to particular country. The differences between dialects, even when they are only small differences, are often very significant to speakers.
The coming together of speakers of different dialects of Arrernte in Alice Springs, in government and mission settlements, and on cattle stations, has also resulted in some confusion about the traditional dialect distinctions within the area. There have been quite large changes in some dialects form older generations to younger, and there are many words that only the oldest speakers now know. Arrernte people still know the different family areas, but it is sometimes less clear which ones a particular word belongs in. Rather than trying to identify exactly which family dialect a word belongs to in this dictionary, we identify the part of the Eastern and Central Arrernte region where is from using the following map.
From time immemorial - that is, as far back as traditions go - the boundaries of the tribes have been where they are now fixed. Within them their ancestors roamed about, hunting and performing their ceremonies just as their living descendants do at the present day. There has never apparently been the least attempt made by one tribe to encroach upon the territory of another.
The coming together of speakers of different dialects of Arrernte in Alice Springs, in government and mission settlements, and on cattle stations, has also resulted in some confusion about the traditional dialect distinctions within the area. There have been quite large changes in some dialects form older generations to younger, and there are many words that only the oldest speakers now know. Arrernte people still know the different family areas, but it is sometimes less clear which ones a particular word belongs in. Rather than trying to identify exactly which family dialect a word belongs to in this dictionary, we identify the part of the Eastern and Central Arrernte region where is from using the following map.
From time immemorial - that is, as far back as traditions go - the boundaries of the tribes have been where they are now fixed. Within them their ancestors roamed about, hunting and performing their ceremonies just as their living descendants do at the present day. There has never apparently been the least attempt made by one tribe to encroach upon the territory of another.
HUNTING / GATHERING
At contact, the Aboriginal economy was based on a stable, considered management of the environment and an effective organisation of labour. Males and females made different but complementary economic contributions. Women were primarily the gatherers of vegetables, roots, herbs, fruits and nuts, eggs and honey, and small land animals such as Snakes, Goannas. Men were the hunters of large land animals and birds and also co-operated to organise large-scale hunting drives to catch Emu's and Kangaroos. The collection and preparation of this wide variety of bush food required the development of an efficient, multifunctional technology, considerable practical skills, and its seasonal changes. Some plant foods were easy to collect but required complex preparation before they could be eaten.
SHELTER
A combination of nomadic lifestyle and the regions sunny climate meant that there was no need to build substantial dwellings. The shelter was relatively used in permanent camps and was consisting in a frame work of saplings covered with a thatch of material locally available.
SHELTER
A combination of nomadic lifestyle and the regions sunny climate meant that there was no need to build substantial dwellings. The shelter was relatively used in permanent camps and was consisting in a frame work of saplings covered with a thatch of material locally available.
TRADE / ART / MUSIC
Aboriginal group exchanged natural resources, such as ochres, and tools, such as stone axes and boomerangs, thus creating extensive trading networks. Goods travelled hundreds of kilometres from their original source.
For example, boomerangs made in Central Australians would find their way to Arnhem Land and the surrounding islands. Didgeridoos from Arnhem Land would find their way down to Central Australia. Pearl shells from the Kimberley were traded through Central Australia down into South Australia.
Trading networks were frequently incorporated into formal exchange systems. Large, gatherings of people came together for "exchange ceremonies" where regional specialities were traded. Ritual paraphernalia, sacred ceremonial objects , song verses and dance styles were also passed on from one group to the next at such gatherings.
For example, boomerangs made in Central Australians would find their way to Arnhem Land and the surrounding islands. Didgeridoos from Arnhem Land would find their way down to Central Australia. Pearl shells from the Kimberley were traded through Central Australia down into South Australia.
Trading networks were frequently incorporated into formal exchange systems. Large, gatherings of people came together for "exchange ceremonies" where regional specialities were traded. Ritual paraphernalia, sacred ceremonial objects , song verses and dance styles were also passed on from one group to the next at such gatherings.
ARRERNTE TRIBAL GROUP
At the time of European contact there were about 126 "tribal" groups having all or most of their territories in the Northern Territory, with an estimated total population of 35,000.
These people were hunter-gatherers who lived in small family groups of 15, 30, called bands. Bands were the basic residential and economic unit. Groups of bands formed larger social units that anthropologists have called "communities", "tribes", or "culture blocs", depending on whether a political, linguistic or religious perspective is taken.
People within such social networks frequently co-operated to exploit abundant resources during good seasons or to share scarce resources during drought or flood. The links between groups were based on kinship and marriage ties, common ceremonial affiliation and shared ownership of, or responsibility for, sacred sites and objects.
The geographic distribution, density and mobility of the Aboriginal population were closely related to the availability or water, food and other resources. Generally, the size of the bands did not vary as much as the extent of the tract of land (called the range) needed by each group for its survival. In the desert regions of the Centre population densities as low as one person per 100 sq km reflected Aboriginal adaptation to a far harsher environment. The Walpiri, for example, inhabited an area of nearly 40 000 sq km, while the Wangkanguru even successfully adapted to the Simpson Desert. In arid regions large territories allowed groups to survive by foraging in a seasonal and systematic manner over vast areas.
These people were hunter-gatherers who lived in small family groups of 15, 30, called bands. Bands were the basic residential and economic unit. Groups of bands formed larger social units that anthropologists have called "communities", "tribes", or "culture blocs", depending on whether a political, linguistic or religious perspective is taken.
People within such social networks frequently co-operated to exploit abundant resources during good seasons or to share scarce resources during drought or flood. The links between groups were based on kinship and marriage ties, common ceremonial affiliation and shared ownership of, or responsibility for, sacred sites and objects.
The geographic distribution, density and mobility of the Aboriginal population were closely related to the availability or water, food and other resources. Generally, the size of the bands did not vary as much as the extent of the tract of land (called the range) needed by each group for its survival. In the desert regions of the Centre population densities as low as one person per 100 sq km reflected Aboriginal adaptation to a far harsher environment. The Walpiri, for example, inhabited an area of nearly 40 000 sq km, while the Wangkanguru even successfully adapted to the Simpson Desert. In arid regions large territories allowed groups to survive by foraging in a seasonal and systematic manner over vast areas.
ARRERNTE TRIBAL GROUP
The Eastern and Central Arrernte people live in Central Australia, their traditional land including the area of Alice Springs and East MacDonnell Ranges. They are also referred to as Aranda, Arrarnta, Arunta, and other similar spellings. Their neighbours are the Southern Arrernte, Luritja, Anmatyerr, Alyawarr and Western Arrernte peoples. There are five dialects of the Arrernte language: South-eastern, Central, Northern, Eastern and North-eastern.
Arrernte country is rich with mountain ranges, waterholes, and gorges; as a result the Arrernte people set aside 'conservation areas' in which various species are protected.
Arrernte people maintain a strong presence in Alice Springs, and have formed the Arrernte Council of Central Australia, as well playing a major role in the Aboriginal organisations in Alice Springs. Many Arrernte people also live in communities outside of Alice Springs and on outstations.
There are roughly 1800 speakers of Eastern and Central Arrernte, making it the largest spoken language in the Arandic family, and one of the largest speaking populations of any Australian language. It is taught in schools, heard in local media and local government.
Arrernte country is rich with mountain ranges, waterholes, and gorges; as a result the Arrernte people set aside 'conservation areas' in which various species are protected.
Arrernte people maintain a strong presence in Alice Springs, and have formed the Arrernte Council of Central Australia, as well playing a major role in the Aboriginal organisations in Alice Springs. Many Arrernte people also live in communities outside of Alice Springs and on outstations.
There are roughly 1800 speakers of Eastern and Central Arrernte, making it the largest spoken language in the Arandic family, and one of the largest speaking populations of any Australian language. It is taught in schools, heard in local media and local government.
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