Sydney Opera House (World Heritage)
The Opera House is the symbol of Sydney and one of the most famous buildings of the 20th century. It was completed in 1973 and sits at the tip of a peninsula above the city’s harbor. The opera was created according to plans by the Danish architect Jørn Utzon. The curved shells of the 67 m high roof are reminiscent of sails.
Sydney Opera House: Facts
| Official title: | Sydney Opera House |
| Cultural monument: | At the end of a peninsula jutting out into Sydney Harbor, it was inaugurated in 1973 and has a groundbreaking, innovative roof structure; Roofing of the two main buildings, the concert halls, the three theater rooms and the restaurant, which are erected on a platform, with three groups of interlocking, shell or sail-like structures; Association of the 67 m high shell roof formations consisting of over a million glazed white ceramic tiles as components of imaginary hemispheres; Bordered by walkable terraces; Glazing of the open sides with over 2,000 panes; Access to the 180 m long and 120 m wide opera house via a monumental, 100 m wide staircase construction; Construction using a revolutionary, completely new type of construction technology |
| Continent: | Australia and Oceania; See collegesanduniversitiesinusa |
| Country: | Australia |
| Location: | Sydney, New South Wales |
| Appointment: | 2007 |
| Meaning: | Architectural masterpiece of the 20th century; unparalleled innovative design and engineering; groundbreaking structure for future generations of architects and engineers; unique combination of location, architecture and artistic function of a cultural building |
Sydney Opera House: History
| 1956 | Call for tenders for the Sydney Opera House construction project |
| 1957 | Danish architect Jørn Utzon winner of the tender |
| 1959 | Start of construction |
| 1966 | Jørn Utzon resigns because of artistic differences and disputes over the steadily growing construction costs |
| 1966-1973 | Completion of the construction project by a team of Australian architects |
| 1973 | Official inauguration of the Opera House by Queen Elizabeth II. |
Historic prison camps of Australia (World Heritage)
The British had set up thousands of prison camps in Australia from the late 18th century onwards. Eleven of them are part of the world cultural heritage. Tens of thousands of convicts, men, women and children, were resettled mainly in the southeast and Tasmania. For this, the native Aborigines had to leave their ancestral land.
Australia’s Historic Prison Camps: Facts
| Official title: | Historic prison camps in Australia |
| Cultural monument: | Compilation of eleven typical prison camps from the 18th and 19th centuries on the coast of Sydney, Tasmania, on the Norfolk Island and on the west coast near Fremantle; Places of custody of tens of thousands of men, women and children (from the age of nine) convicted in Great Britain as well as their use for forced labor to build up the colonial infrastructure (houses, ports, mines, etc.); Instrument for conquering the Australian continent and displacing the Aborigines into the hinterland |
| Continent: | Australia and Oceania |
| Country: | Australia |
| Location: | Coastal strip off Sydney, Tasmania, Norfolk Island, Fremantle |
| Appointment: | 2010 |
| Meaning: | A concise example of a punishment system in modern European society with large-scale deportation; special testimony to colonial expansion and human labor employed for it; Document of the emergence of the European settlement of a continent and the displacement of the indigenous people |
Ningaloo Coast (World Heritage)
The nearly 300 km long Ningaloo Reef on the west coast of Australia is a habitat for a variety of marine plants, for over 300 coral and countless animal species, including manatees, sea turtles, sharks and whales.
Ningaloo Coast: Facts
| Official title: | Ningaloo coast |
| Natural monument: | Over 6 km² large marine and coastal site on the west side of Australia on the Indian Ocean with approx. 280 km long reef close to the coast; Home to 300 colorful coral species, over 700 species of fish, approx. 600 species of molluscs, approx. 10,000 nests of various species of sea turtles as well as manatees, manta rays, humpback whales and sharks; annual return of up to 500 whale sharks; on the coast karstified limestone formations with a multitude of underground caves, canals and groundwater flows |
| Continent: | Australia and Oceania |
| Country: | Australia |
| Location: | Southwest of Exmouth, Western Australia |
| Appointment: | 2011 |
| Meaning: | Unique biodiversity and outstanding biodiversity in an intact marine and coastal landscape; Shelter for a variety of special animal species; incomparable underwater landscape with coral reef and rich marine fauna; extraordinary combination of fossil rainforest fauna and marine invertebrates with unparalleled diversity in an underground cave system |
Hobart
Hobart [ hə ʊ b ɑ ː t], capital of the state and the island of Tasmania, Australia, on the deep bay-like mouth of the Derwent and at the foot of Mount Wellington (1,270 m above sea level), 208 300 residents;Tasmania’s cultural, economic and transport center; Seat of a Catholic archbishop and an Anglican bishop; University (founded in 1890) and colleges, scientific institutes for Antarctic research, Tasmania State Library, Tasmania Museum and Art Gallery, Folklore Museum, Theater, Casino, Botanical Garden; Boat building, wood processing, paper, textile and food industries, breweries and wineries, zinc ore smelting (in Risdon) on the energy basis of a hydroelectric power station, trade center, tourism. The well-protected natural harbor, spanned by the Tasman Bridge (1,395 m long, built 1964) and the Bowen Bridge (976 m long, opened 1984), is the island’s main export port (including fruit) and a landing stage for cruise ships; international airport 22 km northeast of Hobart.
Hobart, founded in 1804, is Australia’s second oldest city after Sydney. Like Sydney, the city emerged from a convict colony.
