Maturita Card 34: Australian and NewZealand Cities

z What are themost famous cities in Australia? Most of thecities can be found on / are situated along thecoastline of Australia because theinterior of thecountry is a desert. Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra can be found in theeast, Darwin in thenorth, and Perth in thewest. z What is thecapital of Australia? Thecapital city of Australia is Canberra, although most people think it is Sydney or Melbourne. Thecity is unusual because it was entirely planned and designed by an American architect, Walter Burley Griffin. It has amodern look and is sometimes compared to Washington D.C. because both cities are built around geometric shapes, like triangles and squares. In thecentre of thecity there is an artificial / man-made lake, Lake Burley Griffin, with TheCaptain James Cook Memorial Water Jet, astream of water that reaches up to 150 m high. It was constructed to celebrate the200th anniversary of James Cooks discovery of theAustralian east coast. z Why was Canberra chosen to be thecapital city? In 1901 theFederation joined thedifferent parts of Australia into one state, and acapital city had to be founded. In 1908 thesite of thefuture capital, Canberra, was chosen; it was decided that it should be located between thetwo rival cities: Sydney and Melbourne. Theterritory where thecapital was constructed is called The Australian Capital Territory. z What famous landmarks are there in Canberra? Canberra is apolitical centre and has many of themain Australian institutions. On Capital Hill you can find thenew Parliament House, which opened in 1988. Another spot frequented by tourists is theAustralian War Memorial, which commemorates Australian soldiers who died in wars all over theworld. z What doyou know about Sydney? Sydney is Australias oldest and largest city, thecapital of New South Wales. It was founded in 1788 as a penal colony for theBritish. Thecity was built on the hills around Port Jackson, known as Sydney Harbour. Sydney is apopular destination with travellers and tourists because of its pleasant climate, theopen nature of its inhabitants and thecitys beach culture. z What famous landmarks are in Sydney and what doyou know about them? One of themost famous buildings is theSydney Opera House. TheOpera House was designed by Danish architect Jrn Utzon. It was opened in 1973 and it has five performance areas. TheSydney Harbour Bridge is thefifth largest steel arch bridge in theworld. It stretches over akilometer, and visitors can climb over it and admire theview of theharbour and theOpera House. TheRocks is thehistoric part of Sydney, with buildings from the18thcentury. To enjoy theocean, visit themost famous beach in Sydney: Bondi Beach. z What doyou know about Melbourne? Melbourne is Australias second largest city and thecapital of Victoria province. It is also Australias cultural capital because many musicians and comedians started there. Three major annual international sporting events take place there: theAustralian Open (Grand Slam tennis tournament), theMelbourne Cup (horse racing) and theAustralian Grand Prix (Formula One). z What other Australian cities can you visit andwhy? On theeast coast, you can find Brisbane, thethird largest city and thecapital of Queensland. Its subtropical climate makes it avery outdoor city. Adelaide, thecapital of South Australia, is called thecity of churches because its first inhabitants were religious emigrants from Germany. Adelaide is noted for its many cultural and sporting events as well as food, wine and long beachfronts. Perth in Western Australia is thefourth most populated city in Australia, but has thetitle of being themost isolated city in theworld. Darwin is Australias northernmost large city. It is thecapital of theNorthern Territory. It has amonsoon climate, which means there is adry season (April to October) and awet season (November to March). On theisland of Tasmania, you can find Hobart, Australias smallest and southernmost state capital. In thecentre of thecity is Mt. Wellington, which has snow on its peak in thewinter. Anotherbeautiful sight is theTheTasman Bridge, which is visible from many locations. z What is thecapital of New Zealand? Can you tell me something about it? Thecapital of New Zealand is Wellington, which is thesecond largest city in thecountry. It is located on theNorth Island. It has many important buildings, such as parliament and theSupreme Court. Thecity suffers from many earthquakes. z What is New Zealands largest city? Can you tell me something about it? Thelargest city in New Zealand is Auckland. It has 1.3 million people. Almost one third of thecountrys population lives in thecity. Some famous landmarks within thecity include Eden Park, where thecountrys national rugby team, theAll Blacks, play and theAuckland Domain thecitys largest park. Thecity also has several volcanoes within its area. Mount Eden is thehighest of these and allows aview of thecity.

02

Canberra

Sydney

01

04

Melbourne

03

Hobart

Darwin

05

Brisbane

06

07

Perth

08

Wellington