Centre points of Australia are those geographical locations that have been considered to be centre of Australia, as distinct from the extreme points of Australia.
John McDouall Stuart wrote "Sunday, 22 April 1860, Small Gum Creek, under Mount Stuart, Centre of Australia - today I find from my observations of the sun, 111° 00' 30", that I am now camped in the centre of Australia. I have marked a tree and planted the British flag there."
Below are five methods which have been used to locate the centre point of Australia:
23 degrees 7 minutes south latitude, 132 degrees 8 minutes east longitude (23°07′S 132°08′E); position on SF53-13 Hermannsburg 1:250 000 and 5351 Glen Helen 1:100 000 scale maps.In 1988 the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia determined the geographical centre of Australia as a Bicentennial project. A monument was erected to mark the location and named in honour of Dr. Bruce P Lambert, a former Director of the Division of National Mapping, for his achievements in the national survey, levelling and mapping of the continent. Similar to the centre of gravity method, the location was calculated from 24,500 points at the high-water mark of Australia's coastline. The computed result of the 1988 project was:
25 degrees 36 minutes 36.4 seconds south latitude, 134 degrees 21 minutes 17.3 seconds east longitude (25°36′36.4″S 134°21′17.3″E); position on SG53-06 Finke 1:250 000 and 5746 Beddome 1:100 000 scale maps.Dr. Cecil Madigan studied Central Australian geology in the 1930s. He calculated the centre of gravity by using a metal cut-out of Australia with a plumb bob and string, and selected a point less than 11 kilometres due west of this present position.23 degrees 2 minutes south latitude, 132 degrees 10 minutes east longitude (23°02′S 132°10′E); position on SF53-13 Hermannsburg 1:250 000 and 5351 Glen Helen 1:100 000 scale maps.The median point was calculated as the midpoint between the extremes of latitude and longitude of the continent.
24 degrees 15 minutes south latitude, 133 degrees 25 minutes east longitude (24°15′S 133°25′E); position on SG53-01 Henbury 1:250 000 and 5549 James 1:100 000 scale maps.Australia has not seen its population centroid move drastically since the creation of the country. In 1911, the centroid was in central New South Wales; in 1996, it was only slightly further northwest.
Just as there are various ways to calculate the centre of Australia as a whole there are various methods of calculating the centre of the states. However, the Government body responsible for determining such matters, Geoscience Australia, has adopted the following locations as the official centroid for each of the States.
The Geographic centre of New South Wales centre is located just off Cockies Road, 33 km west-north-west of Tottenham 110 km west of Dubbo.(32° 09' 48" South, 147° 01' 00" East)The Geographical centre of Queensland, is located 17 km north-west of Muttaburra.( 22° 29' 13" South, 144° 25' 54" East )The Geographic Centre of South Australia is 12 km north-east of the Mt Eba cattle station south-west of Lake Eyre.(30° 03' 30" South, 135° 45' 48" East)The Geographic Centre of Victoria is located around 10 km south-south-east of Bendigo, on the steps of the Mandurang Uniting Church.(36° 51' 15" South, 144° 16' 52" East)The Geographic Centre of Tasmania is found on the western shore of Little Pine Lagoon. (42° 01' 17" South, 146° 35' 36" East)The Geographic Centre of Western Australia is in the Gascoyne Region. (25° 19' 41" South, 122° 17' 54" East)The Geographic Centre of the Australian Capital Territory is at the former site of the Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station. (35° 29' 24" South, 149° 00' 05" East)The Geographic Centre of the Northern Territory is approximately 91 km west-north-west of Tennant Creek. (19° 23' 00" South, 133° 21' 28" East)
