World Heritage Listing

The East Coast of Australia should be world heritage listed because it consists of a wide range of natural and human environments which includes Sydney Harbour and City.

Year 7 Geography Assessment Task 2011

Questions

What UNESCO criteria does the East Coast of Australia fulfil for World Heritage Listing?

To be listed as a natural world heritage site, the site must show an example of one or more of the following:

• the Earth's natural processes- The Great Barrier Reef, The Blue Mountains.
• plant and animal diversity- Daintree Rainforest.
• exceptional phenomena or natural beauty-Minnumurra Rainforest and other Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, Russell Falls (Hobart).
• natural habitat- All of the Rainforests and natural landscapes throughout the east coast of Australia.

To be listed as a cultural site, it must show an example of one or more of the following:

• a monument with exceptional historical, art or scientific values-Nan Tien Temple
• a group of buildings and sites showing the interaction of humans and the environment
• an archaeological dig and research area

The East coast of Australia definitely fulfil all of the points listed in the Natural Category and most of the points listed in the Cultural Category. 

List 5 features of your site that are worth preserving.

1. There are countless natural environments located in the East Coast of Australia.
2. There are many cultural sites within the East Coast of Australia.
3. National Parks are scattered all over the Eastern Coast of Australia.
4. Gondwana Rainforests play a .HUGE role in the history of our Earth and so it should be preserved.
5. There are many special Human Environments in the East Coast of Australia, some of which include the Harbour Bridge, Sydney city and Harbour and the Opera House.

What does the World Heritage Listing achieve for the East Coast of Australia?

The East Coast of Australia achieves all of the points listed in the Natural Category. This includes:

• The Great Barrier Reef and the Blue Mountains display the Earth's Natural processes.
• The Daintree Rainforest displays great animal and plant diversity.
• The Minnumurra Rainforest , other Gondwana Rainforests of Australia and the  Russell Falls (Hobart) without a doubt displays exceptional phenomena and natural beauty.
• And all of the Rainforests and natural landscapes throughout the east coast of Australia display a great range of natural habitat.

Bibliography

http://whc.unesco.org/                                20, 21, 22 /March/2011    UNESCO website on World Heritage listing

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page   20, 21/March/2011  The Eastern Sates of Australia, Minnumurra and Daintree Rainforests and The Great Barrier Reef., Natural Sites of Australia

http://www.city-discovery.com/country/Australia/theme/Natural_Sites 22/March 2011 Natural Sites of Australia

http://www.kiama.com.au/accom_result1/minnamurra-rainforest/ 21/March/2011  Minnumurra Rainforest

http://www.google.com.au/ 19, 20, 21, 22/March/2011 The East Coast of Australia, Natural and Cultural Sites of Australia( The East Coast) 

Bliss, S and Paine, J (1998) Geo active 1 (second edition) John Wiely & Sons Australia, Ltd

The Eastern Coast and States of Australia

The Eastern states of Australia refers to the states of the east coast of Australia. These are the mainland states of New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria. The Australian Capital Territory while not a  state, are also included. The term usually includes the island state and island of Tasmania. Other terms which mean the same thing include East Coast Australia, Eastern Coast and Eastern Seaboard. Regardless of which definition is used, the eastern states include the vast majority—more than 80%—of the Australian population and the three largest cities: Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. It also includes the Gold Coast, Queensland and Newcastle, New South Wales as the two largest non-capital cities in the country. In terms of climate, the area is dominated by a humid subtropical zone, with some tropical and oceanic zones.

The Eastern States of Australia include:

§  Cairns

§  Townsville

§  Sunshine Coast

§  Brisbane

§  Gold Coast

§  Coffs Harbour, New South Wales

§  Newcastle

§  Gosford (Central Coast)

§  Sydney

§  Wollongong

§  Canberra

§  Melbourne

§  Geelong

§  Launceston

§  Hobart

History

The History of the East coast of Australia is amazing. It reaches from when Captain Cook sailed around the east coast to when the British colonized to form Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour). Some other events include the First Fleet arriving in Australia in 1788 and the Gold Rush that began in 1851. 

History of Sydney 1788-1850: British colonisation into Australia

The history of Sydney from 1788–1850 covers the early colonies period of Australia's history, from the arrival of the First Fleet of British ships at Sydney to establish the penal colony of New South Wales in 1788 to the European exploration of the continent and establishment of other colonies and the beginnings of  democratic government.

Where did Brisbane get its name from?

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, is named after Sir Thomas Brisbane (1773–1860), British soldier and colonial administrator born in Ayrshire, Scotland. Sir Thomas Brisbane was Governor of New South Wales at the time that Brisbane was named. 

Natural Environments

Natural Environments

Some Natural Environments that is located within the Eastern Coast of Australia includes rainforests such as The Daintree in Queensland and Minnumurra Rainforests in New South Wales, amazing beaches like Bondi Beach, Islands like the Whitsundays and Fraser Island and a wide range of animal habitats like the Great Barrier Reef.

Minnamurra Rainforest

Minnamurra Rainforest is an amazing environmental tourism destination located in Kiama, and is one of the best examples of Subtropical and Warm Temperate rainforest which once extensively covered the Illawarra region. This rainforest is situated in Budderoo National Park which is less than two hours drive south of Sydney, located approximately 15 kilometres west of Kiama on the NSW South Coast. Visitors regularly see first hand the fauna of the area such as the normally allusive Lyrebird, the Eastern Water Dragons, Swamp Wallabies and a host of bird species which make Minnamurra their home.Half way around the Loop visitors are able to deviate up the paved Falls Walk (2.6km return). This walk is a little more challenging offering the reward of spectacular views over the rainforest canopy and the gorge carved by Minnamurra Rivulet. The walk concludes with a viewing platform and rest area at the base of the Upper Falls.

Daintree Rainforest

The Daintree Rainforest is a tropical rainforest north of Mossman, Queensland, on the coast, north of Cairns in tropical far north of Australia. At around 1200 square kilometres the Daintree is the largest continuous area of tropical rainforest on the Australian mainland. Named after Richard Daintree, part of the forest is protected by the Daintree National Park and drained by the Daintree River.

The Daintree Rainforest contains 30% of frog, marsupial and reptile species in Australia, and 65% of Australia's bat and butterfly species. 18% of bird species in the country can be found in this area. There are also over 12000 species of insects. All of this diversity is contained within an area that takes up 0.2% of the landmass of Australia.

Some of the Daintree Rainforest's addition to the World Heritage List in 1988 in recognition of its universal natural values highlighted the rainforest. 

The Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,600 kilometres over an area of approximately 344,400 square kilometres . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland in north-east coast of Australia.

The Great Barrier Reef can be seen from outer space and is the world's biggest single structure made by living organisms. This reef structure is composed of and built by billions of tiny organisms, known as coral polyps. This reef supports a wide diversity of life, and was selected as a World Heritage Site in 1981. CNN labeled it one of the seven natural wonders of the world. The Queensland National Trust named it a state icon of Queensland.

A large part of the reef is protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, which helps to limit the impact of human use, such as fishing and tourism. Other environmental pressures on the reef and its ecosystem include runoff, climate change accompanied by mass coral bleaching, and cyclic population outbreaks of the crown-of-thorns starfish. 

The Great Barrier Reef has long been known to and used by the Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and is an important part of local groups' cultures and spirituality. The reef is a very popular destination for tourists, especially in the Whitsunday Islands and Cairns regions. Tourism is an important economic activity for the region, generating A$ 1 billion per year.