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Australian Capital Territory

Australian Capital Territory

 

Australian Capital Territory (ACT), formerly “The Territory for the Seat of Government” and later the “Federal Capital Territory“), is a territory in the southeast of Australia, enclaved within New South Wales. The only city and by far the most populous community is Canberra, the capital city of Australia.

The need for a national territory was flagged by colonial delegates during the Federation conventions of the late 19th century. Following Federation in 1901, land was transferred to the Commonwealth by the state of New South Wales in 1911. Two years later in 1913, Canberra was named the national capital. The floral emblem of the ACT is the Royal Bluebell and the bird emblem is the Gang-gang Cockatoo.

Map of Australian Capital Territory

Map of Australian Capital Territory

The ACT is bounded by the Goulburn-Cooma railway line in the east, the watershed of Naas Creek in the south, the watershed of the Cotter River in the west and the watershed of the Molonglo River in the north-east. The ACT also has a small strip of territory around the southern end of the Beecroft Peninsula, which is the northern headland of Jervis Bay.

Apart from the city of Canberra, the ACT contains small townships and communities which include Williamsdale, Naas, Uriarra, Tharwa and Hall. It has agricultural land and a large national park, the Namadgi National Park with a large range of mountains, rivers and creeks. Tidbinbilla is a locality to the southwest of Canberra that features the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve and the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex, operated by the United States’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of its Deep Space Network.