Canberra and Hervey Bay (Kea, Fabian, Ben)

The Differences between the cities Canberra and Hervey Bay

Hervey Bay

Hervey Bay is a small town with 41.225 inhabitants. It is located in Queensland about 300km north of Brisbane.
Before the Europeans came to this part of Australia, people of the Butchullas lived there. In 1770 came James Cook to the bay and named it Hervey Bay after the British soldier Augustus Hervey. The first European settlers lived there since 1863. In 1920 many people came to Hervey Bay because of the agriculture (for example sugar or cattle breeding).

Hervey Bay is a nice place for tourism, too. After the Second World War many people came because of the weather. The city has a wonderful subtropical climate. Temperatures range from 14 to 23 degrees celsius in winter and 22 to 29 degrees celsius in summer. More and more visitors come to the little town and the area around it. Between September 2007 and September 2008 1, 17 million visitors could be counted. Tourist attractions are for example whale watching, or visiting the biggest sand-island in the world; Fraser Island.

To come to Hervey Bay there are different ways. The next station is about 30 km southwest from the city. From there the train drives to Brisbane and Cairns. Hervey Bay has a little airport too, from there are connections to Brisbane and Sydney since 1930.  You can also go by bus to Brisbane.

Canberra

Canberra is an artificial city, that means it is drafted by an architect. The architect was Walter Burley Griffin. They begun to build the city in 1913, since May 1927 it is the capital of Australia. In 1911 a competition for the plan of the new capital was started. The price for the winner was 1750 pounds. 137 proposals were submitted. The plan from Walter Burley Griffin was special because the city adapts to the nature and this is why the government took this plan. At first there were many proposals for a name. At first the structure was limited in north- and south Canberra. It took more time than expected, because of the First World War and the want of money. In December 1920 Griffin stopped his work because a few people he didn’t like coordinated the project. After the Second World War the Australian parliament wanted an airport. In April they built the Royal Australian Air Force airport between Canberra and Queanbeyan.

In 1911, 1714 people live in Canberra, in 1947 it was already 16.905 people and today about 330.000 people. Canberra is often called also garden city, because of many green areas, rivers and lakes.

In Canberra there are many of sights like the Shine Dome (the Australian Academy of Science), the old Parliament House and the Aboriginal Tent Embassy. The Aboriginal Tent Embassy is semi-permanent assemblage claiming to represent the political rights of Australian Aborigines. It is made up of a group of activists, signs and tents that reside on the lawn of Old Parliament House in Canberra. It is not considered an official embassy by the Australian Government.

There are also many national parks like Namadgi National Park and the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve in Canberra. Both are in the south of Canberra and quickly to reach by car . You can see there many wild animals like Koalas, Kangaroo’s and others. The Namadgi National Park has an important meaning for the Aborigines because therenature and person can live in harmony together. The Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve is an important place for Archeologists from the whole world.

Conclusion

In this part we will compare the two cities and we explain what is similar and what is different.

General: Canberra has much more inhabitants than Hervey Bay, but Hervey Bay has like        Canberra many sights and nice places. Canberra is a very important city for Australia because it is the capital of Australia and Hervey Bay is not so important because it is a small city and there are no big firms or institutions. The weather in Hervey Bay is hotter than in Canberra, but in Canberra there is much less rain than in Hervey Bay and Canberra is at the south of Australia and Hervey Bay in the east. In opposition to Hervey Bay, Canberra is an artificial city and both cities are popular holiday destinations.

History: The history of the two cities is very different. Hervey Bay first was a British colony, then a settlement of white settlers and then place liked by many tourists. Canberra is developed because there was a conflict between Sydney and Melbourne. Both cities wanted to be the capital and then Canberra was built as a capital for Australia. Because of this Canberra was drafted and Hervey Bay was slowly growing in a long time. In Hervey Bay first Aborigines lived, and later white people came too.

Nature: You can see nearly untouched nature in both cities. It is very special that you can see also in Canberra so beautiful nature, because it is a big city and many big cities have just houses and stoned places etc., but no untouched nature. In Hervey Bay the main focus is on the nature and the water (you can do “whale watching” or you can dive to the beautiful reefs there) and in Canberra there are many natural parks where you can see wild animals.

Economy and Tourism: In Hervey Bay the industry, the building of houses and the leasing of flats have the main meaning and are good for the most jobs. In Canberra there are many jobs of management because the government is placed there.
Tourism is very important for both cities, but Hervey Bay is more a touristic city because it is placed at the sea and there are many hotels and restaurants…etc.

Written by: Fabian, Kea, Ben