South Australia

South Australia, state (1991 pop. 1,236,623), 380,070 sq mi (984,381 sq km), S central Australia. It is bounded on the S by the Indian Ocean. Kangaroo Island and many smaller islands off the south coast are included in the state. Adelaide is the capital; other important cities are Port Pirie, Port Augusta, Whyalla, and Mt. Gambier. Two thirds of the state's population live in the Adelaide metropolitan area. Much of South Australia is inhospitable terrain—deserts, mountains, salt lakes, and swampland. The Musgrave Ranges are in the north, the Flinders Ranges in the east, and the Great Victoria Desert and the Nullarbor Plain in the west. The only important river is the Murray, in the extreme southeast. The heavily populated southeastern area has a mild and healthful climate, while the north is arid to semiarid. Agriculture, confined almost exclusively to the Murray River area, consists of the raising of barley and grapes (for wine and brandy) and of wheat, oats, and rye. Livestock are grazed in the northern plains. There are valuable mineral deposits in the state; iron ore, salt, and gypsum are mined, and coal and natural gas are exploited. Industry developed rapidly during and after World War II; the chief products are industrial metals and transportation equipment. South Australia's coastal areas were visited by the Dutch in 1627. The British explorer Matthew Flinders noted likely settlement sites in 1802. Prompted by the writings of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, a British colonial statesman, the English Parliament passed the South Australian Colonization Act in 1834, and in Dec., 1836, the first colonists arrived and proclaimed South Australia a colony. In South Australia, unlike most of Australia, convicts were not admitted as settlers. In 1901, South Australia was federated as a state of the commonwealth. Northern Territory, which had been included in the state in 1863, was transferred in 1911 to the commonwealth government. The government of South Australia consists of a premier, a cabinet, and a bicameral state parliament. The nominal chief executive is the governor, appointed by the British crown on advice of the cabinet.

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South Australia

State (pop., 2006: 1,514,337), south-central Australia. It covers an area of 379,725 sq mi (983,482 sq km), and its capital is Adelaide. The Dutch visited the coast in 1627. British explorers arrived in the early 1800s, and it was colonized as a British province in 1836. Its vast interior, a large part of which is barren, includes Lake Eyre and the Flinders Ranges. A major world source of opals, it also produces most of the wine and brandy consumed in Australia. It has the country's largest shipyards. It became a state of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. Its southeastern part has become industrialized since World War II.

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South Australia

a state of S central Australia, on the Great Australian Bight: generally arid, with the Great Victoria Desert in the west central part, the Lake Eyre basin in the northeast, and the Flinders Ranges, Murray River basin, and salt lakes in the southeast. Capital: Adelaide. Pop.: 1 531 375 (2003 est.). Area: 984 395 sq. km 380 070 sq. miles)

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South Australia 

a state in the Australian Commonwealth, located on the coast of the Great Australian Bight of the Indian Ocean. Area, 984,400 sq km (approximately 13 percent of Australia’s total area). Population, 1,244,600 (1976). About 85 percent of the population is urban (1971). The capital is the city of Adelaide.

Most of South Australia is a desert plain, with isolated individual mountain massifs (Musgrave and Stuart ranges, among others) and numerous depressions occupied by salt lakes (for example, Lakes Eyre, Gairdner, and Torrens). The Mount Lofty, Flinders, and Gawler ranges are located in the east and southeast; bordering on the Eyre Peninsula in the north, they are covered with evergreen shrub thickets. In the extreme south is the plain of the Murray River, where most of the state’s population and economic life is concentrated. As of 1974, 2.4 million hectares of land were under cultivation, of which about 80,000 hectares were irrigated. Crops include wheat, barley, and oats; wheat occupies 54 percent of the total cultivated land, and the state’s wheat harvest accounts (1973–74) for 15 percent of the total Australian wheat harvest. There are orchards and vineyards; South Australia, which accounts for about 40 percent of the country’s grapes, is the country’s leading grape producer. Livestock is raised on pastures; in 1976 there were 17.3 million sheep, mainly merinos, and 1.9 million head of cattle, including 100,000 cows. South Australia accounts for approximately 14 percent of the total Australian wool clip, about 20 percent of the cheese, which makes it the second largest cheese producer (after Victoria), and a significant portion of the meat and butter.

The mining industry is also important, with extraction of copper (9,700 tons in 1973), iron ore, natural gas, and coal. South Australia is the country’s second largest producer of iron ore (4.3 million tons; after Western Australia) and natural gas (1.122 billion cu m; after Victoria), and the third largest producer of coal (1.6 million tons; after New South Wales and Queensland).

South Australia has well-developed ferrous metallurgy (Whyalia), nonferrous metallurgy (Port Pirie), and machine building (Adelaide, Whyalla), including the production of general machines, agricultural and electrotechnical machinery, ships, and aircraft. Also important are the petrochemical industry (Port Stanvac) and wine-making; the state accounts for 67 percent of Australia’s wine output. The chief ports are Whyalla, Port Stanvac, Port Adelaide, and Port Pirie.

V. M. ANDREEVA