Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens

The Royal Exhibition Building and its surrounding Carlton Gardens were designed for the great international exhibitions of 1880 and 1888 in Melbourne. The building and grounds were designed by Joseph Reed. The building is constructed of brick and timber, steel and slate. It combines elements from the Byzantine, Romanesque, Lombardic and Italian Renaissance styles. The property is typical of the international exhibition movement which saw over 50 exhibitions staged between 1851 and 1915 in venues including Paris, New York, Vienna, Calcutta, Kingston (Jamaica) and Santiago (Chile). All shared a common theme and aims: to chart material and moral progress through displays of industry from all nations.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1131

The Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens represent the 19th century international exhibition movement, showcasing technological innovation and change that was made possible by the industrialisation. 

The Exhibition Building was designed by the architect Joseph Reed. It was completed in 1880, in preparation for the Melbourne International Exhibition. The building consisted of a Great Hall of Industry of over 12,000 square metres and many temporary annexes in the Gardens.

The Melbourne Centennial Exhibition was held at the same Exhibition Building in 1888 to celebrate a century of European settlement in Australia. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/royalexhibitionbuilding.html

Macquarie Island

Macquarie Island (34 km long x 5 km wide) is an oceanic island in the Southern Ocean, lying 1,500 km south-east of Tasmania and approximately halfway between Australia and the Antarctic continent. The island is the exposed crest of the undersea Macquarie Ridge, raised to its present position where the Indo-Australian tectonic plate meets the Pacific plate. It is a site of major geoconservation significance, being the only place on earth where rocks from the earth’s mantle (6 km below the ocean floor) are being actively exposed above sea-level. These unique exposures include excellent examples of pillow basalts and other extrusive rocks.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/629

Macquarie Island is the only place on earth where rocks from the earth's mantle (6 km below the ocean floor) are being actively exposed above sea-level. This makes it an important focus of geological study. 

The island lies in the southwest corner of the Pacific Ocean, about half-way between Australia and Antarctica. Fauna found on the island include: Subantarctic Fur Seals, Antarctic Fur Seals, New Zealand Fur Seals and Southern Elephant Seals - over 80,000 individuals of this species. Royal Penguins breed only on this island; King Penguins, Southern Rockhopper Penguins and Gentoo penguins also breed here. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/macquarieisland.html

Willandra Lakes Region

The fossil remains of a series of lakes and sand formations that date from the Pleistocene can be found in this region, together with archaeological evidence of human occupation dating from 45–60,000 years ago. It is a unique landmark in the study of human evolution on the Australian continent. Several well-preserved fossils of giant marsupials have also been found here.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/167

The Willandra Lakes Region is a geologically unique area of dry lakebeds rich in fossils. Globally it is important for its very earlyhomo sapiens findings. They include the world's oldest cremation site (26,000 years old) and remains of settlement up to 40,000 years ago (agricultural use, stone tools). 

It is the most important site in Australia to observe the period when the giant marsupials became extinct and the human race became dominant. 

The WHS covers 7 former lakes in 2,400 square kilometres. The lakes dried out about 15,000 years ago. High winds on the exposed lake floors formed large clay dunes, lunettes, which are rare in the world. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/willandralakes.html

Wet Tropics of Queensland

This area, which stretches along the north-east coast of Australia for some 450 km, is made up largely of tropical rainforests. This biotope offers a particularly extensive and varied array of plants, as well as marsupials and singing birds, along with other rare and endangered animals and plant species.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/486

The Wet Tropics of Queensland is an area mainly consisting of wet tropical rainforest with a great variety in animal and plant species.

Its area extends along the north-east coast of Queensland for a distance of ca. 45Okm. It comprises 41 national parks and dozens of other forests and reserves, including Barron Gorge National Park, Cedar Bay National Park, Daintree National Park, Girringun National Park and Wooroonooran National Park. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/wettropicsofqueensland.html

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park

This park, formerly called Uluru (Ayers Rock – Mount Olga) National Park, features spectacular geological formations that dominate the vast red sandy plain of central Australia. Uluru, an immense monolith, and Kata Tjuta, the rock domes located west of Uluru, form part of the traditional belief system of one of the oldest human societies in the world. The traditional owners of Uluru-Kata Tjuta are the Anangu Aboriginal people.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/447

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park is a striking physical landscape that contains two rock formations which contrast sharply with the surrounding sand plains and desert. The area holds numerous sites sacred to the local Aboriginal people, the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara.

The park was first accepted as a natural WHS in 1987. Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Kata Tjuta (Mount Olga) are isolated remnants left after the slow erosion of an original mountain range. The Uluru rock was originally sand, deposited as part of an extensive alluvial fan. The layers of sand were nearly horizontal when deposited, but were tilted to their near vertical position during a later episode of mountain building. Uluru rock is 348m high, and a further two-thirds of it is beneath the sand. The 36 domes of Kata Tjuta are composed of conglomerate, a sedimentary rock consisting of cobbles and boulders of varying rock types.

In 1994 Uluru-Kata Tjuta was renominated under cultural criteria, to be recognized as a cultural landscape. It illustrates the combined works of nature & man by making use of the physical constraints and opportunities of the landscape. It also is an associative landscape via the spiritual relationship the Aboriginal owners have with the land. About 80 people still live inside the park and survive by hunting and gathering.

In 1985, the Australian government returned ownership of Uluru to the local Aborigines, with one of the conditions being that they would lease it back to the National Parks and Wildlife agency for 99 years and that it would be jointly managed. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/ulurukatatjuta.html

Tasmanian Wilderness

In a region that has been subjected to severe glaciation, these parks and reserves, with their steep gorges, covering an area of over 1 million ha, constitute one of the last expanses of temperate rainforest in the world. Remains found in limestone caves attest to the human occupation of the area for more than 20,000 years.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/181

The Tasmanian Wilderness area constitutes one of the last expanses of temperate wilderness in the world, including the renowned South West Wilderness. Also, important prehistoric aboriginal sites were discovered here.

The following National Parks and reserves make up the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area:

- Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park (on the postcard)

- Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park 

- Hartz Mountains National Park 

- Mole Creek Karst National Park 

- Southwest National Park 

- Walls of Jerusalem National Park 

- Central Plateau Conservation and Protected Areas 

- Devils Gullet State Reserve 

The sites's natural features have been compared to Fiordland, part of Te Wahipounamu(New Zealand) and Los Glaciares (Argentina). 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/tasmanianwilderness.html

Sydney Opera House

Inaugurated in 1973, the Sydney Opera House is a great architectural work of the 20th century that brings together multiple strands of creativity and innovation in both architectural form and structural design. A great urban sculpture set in a remarkable waterscape, at the tip of a peninsula projecting into Sydney Harbour, the building has had an enduring influence on architecture. The Sydney Opera House comprises three groups of interlocking vaulted ‘shells’ which roof two main performance halls and a restaurant. These shell-structures are set upon a vast platform and are surrounded by terrace areas that function as pedestrian concourses. In 1957, when the project of the Sydney Opera House was awarded by an international jury to Danish architect Jørn Utzon, it marked a radically new approach to construction.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/166

The Sydney Opera House is one of the most distinctive and famous 20th century buildings. It is situated on Bennelong Point in Sydney Harbour. The building and its surroundings (like the Harbour Bridge) form an iconic Australian image.

In 1955 a competiton for a design of a large, dedicated opera house and concert hall was started. It was won by the Danish architect Jorn Utzon. It was later finished by Arup & Partners and Australian architects Hall, Todd & Littlemore and Ted Fmer. 

The Opera House was formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II, in her capacity as Queen of Australia, on October 20, 1973. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/sydneyopera.html

Purnululu National Park

The 239,723 ha Purnululu National Park is located in the State of Western Australia. It contains the deeply dissected Bungle Bungle Range composed of Devonian-age quartz sandstone eroded over a period of 20 million years into a series of beehive-shaped towers or cones, whose steeply sloping surfaces are distinctly marked by regular horizontal bands of dark-grey cyanobacterial crust (single-celled photosynthetic organisms). These outstanding examples of cone karst owe their existence and uniqueness to several interacting geological, biological, erosional and climatic phenomena.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1094

Purnululu National Park is famous for the sandstone domes, unusual and visually striking with their striping in alternating orange and grey bands. The banding of the domes is due to differences in clay content and porosity of the sandstone layers: the orange bands consist of oxidised iron compounds in layers that dry out too quickly for cyanobacteria to multiply; the grey bands are composed of cyanobacteria growing on the surface of layers of sandstone where moisture accumulates.

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/purnululu.html

Kakadu National Park

This unique archaeological and ethnological reserve, located in the Northern Territory, has been inhabited continuously for more than 40,000 years. The cave paintings, rock carvings and archaeological sites record the skills and way of life of the region’s inhabitants, from the hunter-gatherers of prehistoric times to the Aboriginal people still living there. It is a unique example of a complex of ecosystems, including tidal flats, floodplains, lowlands and plateaux, and provides a habitat for a wide range of rare or endemic species of plants and animals.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/147

Kakadu National Park is one of the larger national parks in the world, consisting of four major river systems and various landforms. It is the breeding habitat of the endangered saltwater crocodile and the pig-nosed turtle. Its flora is very diverse and includes 46 rare or threatened species.

The park is also renowned for the richness of its Aboriginal cultural sites. There are more than 5000 recorded art sites illustrating Aboriginal culture over thousands of years. The archaeological sites demonstrate Aboriginal occupation for at least 20 000 and possibly 50 000 years.

Kakadu is one of the few mixed world heritage sites. It was listed in three stages: Stage 1 in 1981, Stage 2 in 1987, and the entire Park in 1992. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/kakadu.html

Greater Blue Mountains Area

The Greater Blue Mountains Area consists of 1.03 million ha of sandstone plateaux, escarpments and gorges dominated by temperate eucalypt forest. The site, comprised of eight protected areas, is noted for its representation of the evolutionary adaptation and diversification of the eucalypts in post-Gondwana isolation on the Australian continent. Ninety-one eucalypt taxa occur within the Greater Blue Mountains Area which is also outstanding for its exceptional expression of the structural and ecological diversity of the eucalypts associated with its wide range of habitats. The site provides significant representation of Australia's biodiversity with ten percent of the vascular flora as well as significant numbers of rare or threatened species, including endemic and evolutionary relict species, such as the Wollemi pine, which have persisted in highly-restricted microsites.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/917

The Greater Blue Mountains Area is a sandstone plateau that holds a high diversity of eucalypts, representing all four existing groups. It is an area of rugged tablelands, sheer cliffs, deep, inaccessible valleys and swamps. 

The Area also contains ancient, relict species of global significance. The most famous of these is the recently discovered Wollemi pine, a 'living fossil' dating back to the age of the dinosaurs. 

The site includes 8 protected areas:

- Blue Mountains National Park (on the card)

- Wollemi National Park

- Yengo National Park

- Nattai National Park

- Kanangra-Boyd National Park

- Gardens of Stone National Park

- Thirlmere Lakes National Park

- Jenolan Caves Karst Conservation Reserve 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/greaterbluemountains.html

Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is a site of remarkable variety and beauty on the north-east coast of Australia. It contains the world’s largest collection of coral reefs, with 400 types of coral, 1,500 species of fish and 4,000 types of mollusc. It also holds great scientific interest as the habitat of species such as the dugong (‘sea cow’) and the large green turtle, which are threatened with extinction.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/154

The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system, composed of roughly 3,000 individual reefs and 900 islands, that stretch for 2,600 kilometres covering an area of approximately 344,400 km². 

The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland in northeast Australia. A large part of the reef is protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

The coral reefs hold a huge biodiversity, with dugong, whales, Dolphins and turtles among the most notable marine species. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/greatbarrierreef.html

Fraser Island

Fraser Island lies just off the east coast of Australia. At 122 km long, it is the largest sand island in the world. Majestic remnants of tall rainforest growing on sand and half the world’s perched freshwater dune lakes are found inland from the beach. The combination of shifting sand-dunes, tropical rainforests and lakes makes it an exceptional site.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/630

Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world. It has over 100 clean freshwater dune lakes, spectacular coastal dune formations, sand cliffs and sandy beaches. Tall rainforest grows on the dunes.

The island is 120km long and measures 1630 km². It lies off the east coast of Australia, and is separated from the mainland by the Great Sandy Strait. It is made up of sand that has been accumulating for approximately 750,000 years on volcanic bedrock that provides a natural catchment for the sediment which is carried on a strong offshore current northwards along the coast.

Birds are the most abundant form of animal life on the island with over 230 species being recorded. It is a particularly important site for migratory wading birds which use the area as a resting place during their long flights between southern Australia and their breeding grounds in Siberia. Few mammal species occur. Dingoes were once common on the island, but are now decreasing. The Fraser Island dingoes are reputedly some of the last remaining pure dingoes in Eastern Australia.

The site has been an Aboriginal Reserve until 1906. Visible remains of their settlements are still remaining. The first recorded European to sight Fraser Island was James Cook who passed along the coast of the island between 18 and 20 May 1770. The name Fraser Island comes from Eliza Fraser and her story of survival from a shipwreck on the island in 1836. 

There is now a resident population of ca. 360 people. Fraser Island attracts great numbers of visitors, some 340,000 yearly.

The original nomination included Cooloola, a similar sandy site on the mainland. Inclusion of that part was rejected because of 'land use problems'. It still is on Australia's Tentative List as 'Great Sandy Area'. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/fraserisland.html

Australian Convict Sites

The property includes a selection of eleven penal sites, among the thousands established by the British Empire on Australian soil in the 18th and 19th centuries. The sites are spread across Australia, from Fremantle in Western Australia to Kingston and Arthur's Vale on Norfolk Island in the east; and from areas around Sydney in New South Wales in the north, to sites located in Tasmania in the south. Around 166,000 men, women and children were sent to Australia over 80 years between 1787 and 1868, condemned by British justice to transportation to the convict colonies. Each of the sites had a specific purpose, in terms both of punitive imprisonment and of rehabilitation through forced labour to help build the colony. The Australian Convict Sites presents the best surviving examples of large-scale convict transportation and the colonial expansion of European powers through the presence and labour of convicts.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1306

The Australian Convict Sites consists of a series of 11 sites that, in combination, express the key aspects of the Australian convict experience that are of outstanding universal value from the point of view of global history.


The sites are:
- First Government House Site, New South Wales
- Hyde Park Barracks, New South Wales
- Great North Road Complex, New South Wales
- Darlington Probation Station, Maria Island National Park, Tasmania
- Port Arthur Historic Site, Tasmania (on the card)
- Coal Mines Historic Site, Tasmania
- Cascades Female Factory
- Fremantle Prison, Western Australia
- Kingston and Arthur`s Vale Historic Area
- Brickendon and Woolmers Estates
- Cockatoo Island Convict Site 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/convictsites.html