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Almost in the exact center of the continent, Alice Springs is some 700 kilometres from the nearest ocean and 1500 kilometres from the nearest major cities: Darwin and Adelaide. Alice Springs is now the midpoint of Adelaide-Darwin Railway.

Australia is divided into six states and several territories. The states are New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia. The two major territories are the Northern Territory (NT) and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The ACT also incorporates a separate area within New South Wales known as Jervis Bay Territory which serves as a naval base and sea port for the national capital.

Although education is not a federal concern, government grants have aided in the establishment of numerous state universities including the University of Sydney (1850), the University of Melbourne (1853), the University of Adelaide (1874), the University of Tasmania (in Hobart, 1890), the University of Queensland (in Brisbane, 1909), and the University of Western Australia (in Perth, 1911).

A reputation as a tolerant nation with strong humanitarian values is marred by past government policies excluding non-whites, and more recently a succession of scandals resulting in much criticism of Australia’s refugee programs.

Adelaide is the capital city of the Australian state of South Australia. It is a coastal city on the Southern Ocean and was named in honour of Queen Adelaide, the consort of King William IV. It is situated on the Fleurieu Peninsula overlooking the Gulf St. Vincent, bordered by the low lying Mt Lofty Ranges to the east giving the suburbs a roughly north-south rectangular layout. The population is 1,072,585 (census 2001). In terms of population, it is the fifth-largest of the Australian capital cities.

The cinema of Australia has a long history—in fact, it is claimed that the first feature-length film, was actually an Australian production, The Story of the Kelly Gang. During the late 1960s and 1970s in influx of government funding saw the development of a new generation of directors and actors telling distinctively Australian stories.