Murray

**Australian Capital Territory** Aborigines have lived in the A.C.T. for 21,000 years, experiencing an ice age 6,000 years later causing changes in conditions majorly. In the A.C.T. three groups of aborigine tribes known as language groups lived and hunted within each of the groups with as much as 30 to 40 people, remembering to move around like nomads whenever they hunted for food to keep sources alive. Just before Europeans took over, the groups had flourished, to have 500 aborigines belong to each group. The 13th of May in 1813 three European travellers – Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson – discovered a way through the Blue Mountains, finding rich, green pastures for their cattle. Charles Throsby, a former naval surgeon, was thought of as the first white man to explore the A.C.T. in 1820, also discovering the Murrumbidgee River, one year later accompanied by Joseph Wild and James Vaughan **Government and Laws** There are three places in government: Federal; which is in charge of taxes and defence, State; who keep education and health in perfect working order, and Local; who are responsible for landfills and local roads. The commonwealth is responsible for lands that are not states but territories. People need to feel safe and their houses need to be too. The AFP- the Australian Federal Police are responsible for keeping peace in the ACT. They are also in charge of solving federal crimes. None of this was established almost fifteen years ago, until an arrangement was made in 1990. Facts ** Some of the famous annual festivals in Canberra are: the Royal Canberra Show; Autumnfest and the Canberra Festival of Drama. The A.C.T. flag was adopted by the legislative Assembly on the 25th of March, 1993. The floral emblem of the A.C.T. is the Royal blue bell, the faunal emblem presents two of the famously known gang-gang cockatoos. The coat of arms features one black and another white swan, a triple towered castle and the swords of justice. The state’s total population is known as much as 340,800 people. The time zone they belong to is the Australian Eastern Standard time zone which make cool to cold winters and warm or hot summers. Landmarks and Tourist Attractions ** One of the most popular landmarks and attractions is the new Parliament House of A.C.T. another great tourist attraction I recommend to you is the war memorial. Another place to visit for the day is the reflection pool, where a brave man laid in peace, gives us the names of all the world war soldiers. The Black Mountain Tower, another popular sight of A.C.T. looming 200 metres over the summit is built onto the Black Mountain itself. The high court of A.C.T. has the highest order of law in the entire country of Australia. Native Plants and Animals **  There are some shocking facts about the A.C.T.’s native plants and animals. For example, 1 in 5 of our animal species have met their demise. Lucky for the remaining species of threatened animal in Australia, they are protected by the Threatened species Act 1995. Australia’s cruelty of animals is unbelievable: we have the highest ever extinct animal rate of any fully developed country. My hope is for all animals in Australia to be given peace, never to be harmed again. Mapping and Directions ** From the heart of Bendigo to Canberra is close to 650 km, so it should take approximately 8 hours to get to the heart of the A.C.T. The main highways to get you there are the McIvor, Hume and Barton highways, which are in a NE direction. And for those at sea who might want to come ashore to Canberra’s docks, the approximate latitude-longitude is 36s and 149e. I hope you don’t have any further problems with getting to Canberra from Bendigo.
 * History **
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References ** Gott, R 1997, //Australian Capital Territory,// Heinemann Library, Melbourne. Aussie Info [].