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Introducing Mystery Class #10 Port Lincoln, Australia (South Australia) 34.733 S, 135.867 E     Hello, and welcome from Port Lincoln Primary School! Our School  We are year 7 students from Port Lincoln Primary School. Our teacher is Ms Lincoln. Mrs Mc Connell helps us with the Journey North project. Our school has 580 boys and girls from Year 3 to year 7. In our year level we have 126 students. Our class has 27 students.   Our City Port Lincoln is situated on Eyre Pensinsula, in South Australia, 670 kilometres from Adelaide (or 250 km as the crow flies) and has a population of 14 000. It is a major commercial centre for the Eyre Peninsula and a popular destination for visitors. Port Lincoln offers a wealth of recreational activities including fishing, surfing, swimming, sailing, local National Parks and beaches. An ocean pier in Port Lincoln Port Lincoln's primary industries include the production of lamb, wool and beef, as well as cereal crops including wheat, oats, barley, canola, lupins etc. Tuna, prawns, lobster, oysters, abalone and scale fish are the major fishing and aquaculture industries. Port Lincoln has sometimes been called the "Seafood Capital of Australia". A few fishing boats here at the Seafood Capital of Australia Two aerial views of the port and loading pier Port Lincoln was discovered by Matthew Flinders in February, 1802 and named Port Lincoln after his native Lincolnshire in England. Matthew Flinders lost eight seamen off Memory Cove, near Port Lincoln a few days earlier and many of the landmarks in the area are named in their honour. Port Lincoln was initially considered as the capital for South Australia but in 1838, due to lack of fresh water supplies, Colonel Light decided on Adelaide as the capital. The first settlers arrived in March, 1839. Our Country Australia is sometimes referred to as ‘The Land Down Under’ because it lies entirely within the Southern Hemisphere. The name Australia comes from the Latin word ‘australis’, which means southern. Australia is the world's largest island and smallest continent. It is the flattest and (after Antarctica) the driest of the continents. Australia has many different kinds of environment and climates, from tropical in the north to cool and temperate in the south. The huge interior of Australia is mostly desert or dry grassland and has few settlements.. Australia's population is approximately 20 million. It is unevenly distributed around the nation. Most Australians live in urban or suburban areas in the major cities, which lie around the coastline. Australia is famous for its vast open spaces, bright sunshine and unusual wildlife. Kangaroos, koalas, platypuses and wombats are only a few of the many unusual animals that live in Australia. The vast interior of Australia is known as the Outback. A mother and baby kangaroo A koala Platypus The original inhabitants of Australia were Aborigines. Today, they make up less than 1 per cent of the country’s population. More than nine-tenths of the people are descended from Europeans, and most of these are of British or Irish descent. During the past 30 years, many more people have arrived from South East Asia and China to settle in Australia. The Aborigines originally travelled from South East Asia around 60,000 years ago. In 1770 Captain James Cook sailed from England and claimed the east coast of Australia for Britain, naming the region New South Wales Australia’s national day, Australia Day, on 26 January, marks the date in 1788 when Captain Arthur Phillip, of the British Royal Navy, commanding a fleet of 11 ships, sailed into Port Jackson (Sydney Cove). Phillip formally took possession of the eastern part of the continent for Britain and established a settlement, now Australia’s largest city, Sydney.   Would You Like to Write to Us? Farewell and Keep in Touch. See ya later cobbers! If you want to write us, that would be great to hear from you. Please write to Mrs. McConnell at this address: karen.mcconnell@plps.sa.edu.au