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South Australia

South Australia is located in the southern central part of Australia. South Australia covers some of the most arid parts of the continent and with a total land area of approximately 984,377 square kilometers (380,070 sq miles). South Australia is the fourth largest of Australia's eight states and territories. It is bordered to the west by Western Australia, to the north by the Northern Territory and Queensland, to the east by Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, and along the south by the Great Australian Bight and the Southern Ocean. It is estimated that approximately 1.5 million people live within South Australia and ranks fifth in population among the states and territories. The majority of its people reside in the state capital, Adelaide, with most of the remainder settled in fertile areas along the south-eastern coast and River Murray.

South Australia is Australia's defense state with several major defence projects underway and a focus on the defence industry's high-tech needs. South Australia is home to a number of world-leading aerospace and aviation businesses. Many of them support large-value defence projects in maintenance and upgrades. The aviation sector includes a pilot flight training centre providing services to international airlines. The University of South Australia offers a degree in Civil Aviation - one of only two university-owned and operated flying training facilities in Australia. The world's largest land-based test range is in South Australia at Woomera . The 127,000 square kilometre range hosts ground, air and space activities for Australian and international governments and commercial organisations.

South Australia also hosts the maritime surveillance operations of the Australian Defence Force at the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Edinburgh base, north of Adelaide, and is the home to National Air Support, which provides civilian maritime surveillance for the Coastwatch border protection program. South Australia's aerospace and aviation industries are supported by a world-class research and development sector underpinned by the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DTSO) situated near Edinburgh. Many leading defence aerospace companies are based in South Australia - BAE Systems Australia, Raytheon Australia, Australian Aerospace, Lockheed Martin, Cobham, QinetiQ and Nova Group.

For more than 20 years South Australian firms have won and delivered on the nation's most complex and dynamic defence projects. South Australia is home to major operations of some leading global defence companies, including:

• ASC
• BAE Systems Australia
• Cobham
• General Dynamics Land Systems
• Lockheed Martin
• Raytheon Australia
• Saab Technologies Australia.

Plus, more than 200 innovative small-to-medium sized businesses deliver specialist services and products to the Australian Defence Force and other defence forces around the world. Key capability areas include:

• naval shipbuilding and submarine support
• systems integration
• electronic warfare
• land force enhancement
• intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance
• defence research and development.

Ensuring companies have the opportunity to network and collaborate is critical to their success. To this end, the State Government has established three distinct defence precincts: Techport Australia, Technology Park Adelaide and Edinburgh Parks. Techport Australia is Australia's premier naval industry hub. It is focused on naval shipbuilding, systems and sustainment industries. Tenants include ASC Pty Ltd, the Air Warfare Destroyer Alliance and Raytheon Australia. Techport's giant shiplift - the largest in the southern hemisphere - is capable of lifting 9,300-tonne ships into and out of the water. Techport Australia is helping contractor ASC to deliver the Royal Australian Navy's next generation of air warfare destroyers, but is also a commercial facility available to other shipbuilding and maintenance businesses.

Technology Park Adelaide is an electronics and defence systems development and integration hub located at Mawson Lakes. Tenants include Saab Systems, BAE Systems, Raytheon Australia, CSC and Daronmont Technologies. Focused on defence research, manufacturing and sustainment in the land and aerospace environments, Edinburgh Defence Precinct incorporates the State's major Defence facilities - the Defence Science and Technology Organisation, RAAF Base Edinburgh and, from 2011, Army's 7RAR Mechanised Battalion. Tenants include Australian Aerospace, Nova Defence, Lockheed Martin and the headquarters of BAE Systems Australia - by far Australia's largest defence firm.

Adelaide has been rated as one of the world's top seven cities in which to live for lifestyle. (Economist Intelligence Unit's Liveability Survey December 2007). Adelaide is a place where you can have both a career and a family life. It is a perfectly sized city of one million people with everything in easy reach of the city centre, the many kilometres of metropolitan beaches, the scenic Adelaide Hills and 400 year-round events.

Adelaide has a world-class education system that includes five internationally recognised universities, an extensive vocational training system, a wide range of specialised tertiary institutions and a highly regarded primary and secondary school sector. South Australia is also home to the prestigious Carnegie Mellon University, the first foreign university to set up in Australia offering US degrees. Adelaide is also an easy gateway to the Outback, the dramatic Flinders Ranges, the natural beauty of Kangaroo Island, the River Murray and the many South Australian vineyards that produce some of the world's great wines. The combination of low living costs, some of Australia's most affordable housing, great amenities and entertainment events enables Adelaide to offer an enticing mix of great lifestyle and employment options.

In 1834 a Colonisation Committee, called the "South Australian Association," was formed. It consisted, in the first instance, of twenty-nine gentlemen, all of whom occupied leading positions, eighteen being Members of the House of Commons. A Bill for the colonisation of South Australia, promoted by this Committee, was introduced and passed the House of Commons with the support of the Secretary of State for the Colonies, and on the last day of the session of 1834 it received the Royal Assent. The measure provided that the entire proceeds of sales of land in that portion of Australia should be devoted to the transportation of laborers from the mother country, but that no convicts should at any time be sent to this favored colony. Adelaide of Saxe-Coburg Meiningen married William, then Duke of Clarence, in 1818 and became Queen Adelaide when he ascended to the throne as King William IV in 1830. When the colony of South Australia was founded in 1836, William asked that its capital be named for his wife.

The despatch of emigrants began, the first vessel, the "Duke of York," arriving on the 29th July,- 1836, and casting anchor in Nepean Bay. The first person to set foot on shore in the new colony, was also the youngest member of the party, namely, the infant daughter of Mr. Beare, the second officer. Other vessels began to arrive in fairly quick succession.

South Australia was founded in the spirit of reform, and that spirit still persists. South Australia was the only Australian colony to be established entirely by free settlers. Settled by the British in 1836, within 20 years the colony had the most democratic constitution of any Australian colony. When South Australians were granted adult male franchise in 1857, Aboriginal men voted at the first election. This was unique in Australia. In the years following the first Parliament, a number of reforms were passed. They included becoming the first State to give legal recognition to Trade Unions, the establishment of Australia's first Juvenile Court in 1890, and the granting of free education in 1891. In 1895, South Australia became the first Australian colony to recognise women's right to vote in Parliamentary elections, and the first place in the world to allow women to stand for Parliament.

Adelaide University, the venue for your conference, is the third oldest university in Australia. In 1880 it was authorised by Act of Parliament to grant degrees to women. Hence it was the first university in Australia to admit women to degree courses. The first female graduate earned a Science Degree in 1885. To put this into perspective, it is worth noting that Oxford and Cambridge Universities first admitted women to degrees in 1920 and 1948 respectively.

This state has been persistently at the forefront in promoting social reform to give its people fair and equitable opportunities to fully participate in the life of the community. In the last century, the government provided leadership in the area of anti-discrimination legislation, which has helped set expectations of equal rights and standards of tolerance, which have characterised the civil and secure and multicultural society in South Australia.