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112-626: The Australian Women's Ice Hockey League ( AWIHL ) is Australia 's top-tier women's ice hockey league. Established in 2005 as Australia's first women's national league, the AWIHL has amateur status and is sanctioned by Ice Hockey Australia (a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation ). The AWIHL is currently contested by five teams from five Australian states , including South Australia , Queensland , New South Wales , Western Australia and Victoria . The league champion

224-479: A Mediterranean climate . The south-east ranges from oceanic (Tasmania and coastal Victoria) to humid subtropical (upper half of New South Wales), with the highlands featuring alpine and subpolar oceanic climates . The interior is arid to semi-arid . Driven by climate change , average temperatures have risen more than 1°C since 1960 . Associated changes in rainfall patterns and climate extremes exacerbate existing issues such as drought and bushfires . 2019

336-511: A belt of Brigalow grasslands lie between the coast and the mountains, while inland of the dividing range are large areas of grassland and shrubland. These include the western plains of New South Wales, and the Mitchell Grass Downs and Mulga Lands of inland Queensland. The northernmost point of the mainland is the tropical Cape York Peninsula . The landscapes of the Top End and

448-793: A large wave of immigration from across Europe , with such immigrants referred to as " New Australians ". This required a relaxation of the white Australia policy , which was justified to Australians using the slogan "populate or perish". A member of the Western Bloc during the Cold War , Australia participated in the Korean War and the Malayan Emergency during the 1950s and the Vietnam War from 1962 to 1972. During this time, tensions over communist influence in society led to unsuccessful attempts by

560-614: A 4v4 stop time overtime period of 10 minutes in accordance with the IIHF Rule Book. The winner of the grand final is named AWIHL champion and lifts the Joan McKowen Memorial Trophy and has their name inscribed on the original trophy, retained in the IHA Office. Gold, silver and bronze medals are given to rostered players and team officials on the teams who finish first, second and third in finals. References: Since 2010–11,

672-461: A date which later became Australia's national day . Most early settlers were convicts , transported for petty crimes and assigned as labourers or servants to "free settlers" (willing immigrants). Once emancipated , convicts tended to integrate into colonial society. Convict rebellions and uprisings were suppressed under martial law, which lasted for two years following the 1808 Rum Rebellion , Australia's only successful coup d'état . During

784-504: A legally binding document (i.e., a treaty), one needs to examine the parties’ intent as well as the signatories' position (e.g., Minister of Foreign Affairs vs. Minister of Environment). A careful analysis of the wording will also clarify the exact nature of the document. The International Court of Justice has provided some insight into the determination of the legal status of a document in the landmark case of Qatar v. Bahrain , 1 July 1994. One advantage of MoUs over more formal instruments

896-586: A license to join the league proper in 2025-26. Adelaide was one of the four founding teams of the AWIHL in 2007 and also competed in the showcase series in 2006. Originally established as the Adelaide Assassins , the South Australian outfit began life as the dominant force in women's hockey in Australia, winning the first five straight AWIHL championship titles. In 2011–12, the team merged and became part of

1008-578: A men's program in the Australian Ice Hockey League . The agreement saw the Dragons change their name and branding to match the Melbourne Ice and a sharing of off-ice resources and guidance. However, the Dragons organisation retained a lot of self-control and is run as a separate club with their own committee. The team are seven-time AWIHL champions and five-time AWIHL premiers. Sydney was one of

1120-465: A national women's ice hockey league was discussed by the National Women's Council. Due to large costs to players to participate in such a league, an alternative proposal for a much shorter Showcase Series was passed around for consideration to begin in the 2006 season. The Series would see four teams competing in mini-tournaments during February to June. Each round robin style tournament would occur over

1232-568: A settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land (present-day Tasmania ), and in 1813, Gregory Blaxland , William Lawson and William Wentworth crossed the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, opening the interior to European settlement. The British claim extended to the whole Australian continent in 1827 when Major Edmund Lockyer established a settlement on King George Sound (modern-day Albany ). The Swan River Colony (present-day Perth )

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1344-548: A short distance off the north-east coast and extends for more than 2,000 km (1,200 mi). Mount Augustus , claimed to be the world's largest monolith, is located in Western Australia. At 2,228 m (7,310 ft), Mount Kosciuszko is the highest mountain on the Australian mainland. Even taller are Mawson Peak , at 2,745 m (9,006 ft), on the remote Australian external territory of Heard Island , and, in

1456-850: A weekend and throughout the Showcase Series period between February and June, each team would travel twice and host the tournament once. The first Showcase series was planned in February 2006 for Newcastle, New South Wales . The second series would be in March 2006 in Bendigo, Victoria , the third would occur in April 2006 in Canberra , Australian Capital Territory. In May, the series would be held in Adelaide, South Australia , and in June

1568-576: A weekend each month in a different city. The Showcase Series returned for a second season in October 2006, and ran until February 2007. A national women's league did not start in November 2006, as previously hoped. In this second season four mini-series were held, one weekend mini tournament was played each month between only four teams representing Canberra , Australian Capital Territory, Brisbane , Queensland, Adelaide, South Australia and Sydney. The purpose of

1680-411: A wide variety of landscapes, with tropical rainforests in the north-east, mountain ranges in the south-east, south-west and east, and desert in the centre. The desert or semi-arid land commonly known as the outback makes up by far the largest portion of land. Australia is the driest inhabited continent; its annual rainfall averaged over continental area is less than 500 mm. The population density

1792-436: Is 3.4 inhabitants per square kilometre, although the large majority of the population lives along the temperate south-eastern coastline. The population density exceeds 19,500 inhabitants per square kilometre in central Melbourne. In 2021 Australia had 10% of the global permanent meadows and pastureland. Forest cover is around 17% of Australia's total land area. The Great Barrier Reef , the world's largest coral reef, lies

1904-413: Is a constitutional monarchy , a parliamentary democracy and a federation . The country has maintained its mostly unchanged constitution alongside a stable liberal democratic political system since Federation in 1901. It is one of the world's oldest federations, in which power is divided between the federal and state governments. The Australian system of government combines elements derived from

2016-414: Is awarded for a regulation time win, 2 points for a shootout win, 1 point for a shootout loss and 0 points for a regulation time loss. In the unlikely event of a draw, both teams will be awarded 1 point each. AWIHL teams are allowed to sign a maximum of four imports for their team's roster for any given season. Teams are allowed to dress a maximum of three imports for any given AWIHL game with one exception,

2128-593: Is awarded the Joan McKowen Memorial Trophy and the premier is awarded The Gower Memorial Shield (which replaced the Stephanie Boxall Trophy in 2023). The most successful team in AWIHL history is Melbourne Ice , who have claimed seven championship titles. The current champion, from 2022–23 , is the Melbourne Ice , who claimed their record eighth title. In 2005, the probability of establishing

2240-539: Is governed by convention and their precise scope is unclear. The most notable exercise of these powers was the dismissal of the Whitlam government in the constitutional crisis of 1975 . Memorandum of understanding Whether a document constitutes a binding contract depends only on the presence or absence of well-defined legal elements in the text proper of the document (the so-called " four corners "). The required elements are offer and acceptance , consideration , and

2352-517: Is now Southeast Asia. It is uncertain how many waves of immigration may have contributed to these ancestors of modern Aboriginal Australians. The Madjedbebe rock shelter in Arnhem Land is possibly the oldest site showing the presence of humans in Australia. The oldest human remains found are the Lake Mungo remains , which have been dated to around 41,000 years ago. Aboriginal Australian culture

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2464-480: Is often used in the context of devolution , for example the 1999 concordat between the central Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Scottish Environment Directorate . MoUs can also be used between a government agency and a non-commercial, non-governmental organization. In international relations, MoUs fall under the broad category of treaties and should be registered in

2576-609: Is one of only two pristine Archaean 3.6–2.7 Ga (billion years ago) crusts identified on the Earth. Having been part of all major supercontinents , the Australian continent began to form after the breakup of Gondwana in the Permian , with the separation of the continental landmass from the African continent and Indian subcontinent. It separated from Antarctica over a prolonged period beginning in

2688-460: Is one of the oldest continuous cultures on Earth. At the time of first European contact, Aboriginal Australians belonged to wide range of societies, with diverse economies spread across at least 250 different language groups . Estimates of the Aboriginal population before British settlement range from 300,000 to 3 million. Aboriginal Australians cultures were (and remain) deeply connected with

2800-469: Is that, because obligations under international law may be avoided, they can often be put into effect without requiring legislative approval. Hence, MoUs are often used to modify and adapt existing treaties, in which case these MoUs have factual treaty status. The decision concerning ratification, however, is determined by the parties' internal law and depends to a large degree on the subject agreed upon. MoUs that are kept confidential (i.e., not registered with

2912-524: Is typically a legally non-binding agreement between two (or more) parties, outlining terms and details of a mutual understanding or agreement, noting each party's requirements and responsibilities—but without establishing a formal, legally enforceable contract (though an MoU is often a first step towards the development of a formal contract). In the United Kingdom , the term MoU is commonly used to refer to an agreement between parts of The Crown . The term

3024-411: Is unique. About 85% of flowering plants, 84% of mammals, more than 45% of birds , and 89% of in-shore, temperate-zone fish are endemic . Australia has at least 755 species of reptile, more than any other country in the world. Besides Antarctica, Australia is the only continent that developed without feline species. Feral cats may have been introduced in the 17th century by Dutch shipwrecks, and later in

3136-467: The 2017–18 season against the Sydney Sirens before joining the AWIHL regular season in 2018–19 . The AWIHL regular season is played between October and March each year. The regular season consists of 30 games in total, with each team playing twelve games. Each team will play two games every scheduled weekend during the regular season. There is no overtime period played in the AWIHL regular season. In

3248-625: The Adelaide Adrenaline organisation. Between 2011–12 and 2015–16 the Adrenaline ran both the women's and men's programs in the AWIHL and AIHL . Ahead of the 2016–17 season , the AWIHL team parted ways with the Adrenaline and the new organisation was established to run the AWIHL licence in Adelaide, the Adelaide Rush . Brisbane was the first team to join the AWIHL in 2006. They participated in

3360-568: The Brisbane Lightning organisation, who had their men's program accepted into the AIHL for 2023, and officially changed their name to match, becoming the Brisbane Lightning. Melbourne was one of the four founding teams of the AWIHL in 2007. Established in 2005 as Melbourne Dragons , in 2010, the team entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Melbourne Ice organisation that runs

3472-731: The Colonial Office that it be formally adopted. In 1824, the Admiralty agreed that the continent should be known officially by that name. The first official published use of the new name came with the publication in 1830 of The Australia Directory by the Hydrographic Office . Colloquial names for Australia include " Oz ", " Straya " and " Down Under ". Other epithets include "the Great Southern Land", "the Lucky Country" (from

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3584-524: The Commonwealth of Australia , is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent , the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands . Australia has a total area of 7,688,287 km (2,968,464 sq mi), making it the sixth-largest country in the world and the largest country by area in Oceania . It is the world's oldest, flattest, and driest inhabited continent, with some of

3696-579: The Gulf Country —with their tropical climate—include forest, woodland, wetland, grassland, rainforest and desert. At the north-west corner of the continent are the sandstone cliffs and gorges of The Kimberley , and below that the Pilbara . The Victoria Plains tropical savanna lies south of the Kimberley and Arnhem Land savannas, forming a transition between the coastal savannas and the interior deserts. At

3808-542: The Indian Ocean Dipole and the El Niño–Southern Oscillation , which is correlated with periodic drought , and the seasonal tropical low-pressure system that produces cyclones in northern Australia. These factors cause rainfall to vary markedly from year to year. Much of the northern part of the country has a tropical, predominantly summer-rainfall ( monsoon ). The south-west corner of the country has

3920-529: The Iraq War from 2003 to 2009. The nation's trade relations also became increasingly oriented towards East Asia in the 21st century, with China becoming the nation's largest trading partner by a large margin. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic , several of Australia's largest cities were locked down for extended periods and free movement across the national and state borders was restricted in an attempt to slow

4032-638: The Menzies Government to ban the Communist Party of Australia , and a bitter split in the Labor Party in 1955. As a result of a 1967 referendum , the federal government gained the power to legislate with regard to Indigenous Australians, and Indigenous Australians were fully included in the census . Pre-colonial land interests (referred to as native title in Australia) was recognised in law for

4144-701: The Pacific Community ; the Commonwealth of Nations ; and the defence and security organisations ANZUS , AUKUS , and the Five Eyes . It is also a major non-NATO ally of the United States. The name Australia (pronounced / ə ˈ s t r eɪ l i ə / in Australian English ) is derived from the Latin Terra Australis ( ' southern land ' ), a name used for a hypothetical continent in

4256-520: The Permian and continuing through to the Cretaceous . When the last glacial period ended in about 10,000 BC, rising sea levels formed Bass Strait , separating Tasmania from the mainland. Then between about 8,000 and 6,500 BC, the lowlands in the north were flooded by the sea, separating New Guinea, the Aru Islands , and the mainland of Australia. The Australian continent is moving toward Eurasia at

4368-663: The Territory of Papua and New Guinea in 1949 and gained independence from Australia in 1975. In 1914, Australia joined the Allies in fighting the First World War, and took part in many of the major battles fought on the Western Front . Of about 416,000 who served, about 60,000 were killed and another 152,000 were wounded. Many Australians regard the defeat of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) at Gallipoli in 1915 as

4480-514: The Torres Strait Islands . The Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines and named the island continent " New Holland " during the 17th century, and although no attempt at settlement was made, a number of shipwrecks left men either stranded or, as in the case of the Batavia in 1629, marooned for mutiny and murder, thus becoming the first Europeans to permanently inhabit

4592-555: The Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement are counted as imports for the first two consecutive seasons, after that they are exempted from the import rules and count as a ‘local’ player. If they cease to live permanently in Australia, they lose their exemption status and must start the process over. Playoffs are known in the AWIHL as the Finals. They are played over a single weekend in a chosen location. The AWIHL Commission chooses

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4704-519: The United Nations treaty collection. In practice and in spite of the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs ' insistence that registration be done to avoid 'secret diplomacy', MoUs are sometimes kept confidential. As a matter of law, the title of MoU does not necessarily mean the document is binding or not binding under international law . To determine whether a particular MoU is meant to be

4816-678: The bombing of Darwin and other Japanese attacks on Australian soil , led to a widespread belief in Australia that a Japanese invasion was imminent , and a shift from the United Kingdom to the United States as Australia's principal ally and security partner. Since 1951, Australia has been allied with the United States under the ANZUS treaty. In the decades following World War II, Australia enjoyed significant increases in living standards, leisure time and suburban development. Governments encouraged

4928-426: The emu and the kookaburra . Australia is home to many dangerous animals including some of the most venomous snakes in the world. The dingo was introduced by Austronesian people who traded with Indigenous Australians around 3000 BCE . Many animal and plant species became extinct soon after first human settlement, including the Australian megafauna ; others have disappeared since European settlement, among them

5040-584: The governor-general at the federal level and by the governors at the state level, who by section 63 of the Constitution and convention act on the advice of their ministers. Thus, in practice the governor-general acts as a legal figurehead for the actions of the prime minister and the Cabinet. The governor-general may in some situations exercise reserve powers : powers exercisable in the absence or contrary to ministerial advice. When these powers may be exercised

5152-518: The intention to be legally bound ( animus contrahendi ). In the US, the specifics can differ slightly depending on whether the contract is for goods (falls under the Uniform Commercial Code ) or services (falls under the common law of the state). Many companies and government agencies use MoUs to define a relationship between departments, agencies or closely held companies. In business , an MoU

5264-643: The "baptism of fire" that forged the new nation's identity . The beginning of the campaign is commemorated annually on Anzac Day , a date which rivals Australia Day as the nation's most important. From 1939 to 1945, Australia joined the Allies in fighting the Second World War. Australia's armed forces fought in the Pacific , European and Mediterranean and Middle East theatres . The shock of Britain's defeat in Singapore in 1942, followed soon after by

5376-575: The "island continent" and is sometimes considered the world's largest island . Australia has 34,218 km (21,262 mi) of coastline (excluding all offshore islands), and claims an extensive exclusive economic zone of 8,148,250 square kilometres (3,146,060 sq mi). This exclusive economic zone does not include the Australian Antarctic Territory . Mainland Australia lies between latitudes 9° and 44° south , and longitudes 112° and 154° east . Australia's size gives it

5488-428: The 18th century by European settlers. They are now considered a major factor in the decline and extinction of many vulnerable and endangered native species. Seafaring immigrants from Asia are believed to have brought the dingo to Australia sometime after the end of the last ice age—perhaps 4000 years ago—and Aboriginal people helped disperse them across the continent as pets, contributing to the demise of thylacines on

5600-407: The 1964 book of the same name ), "the Sunburnt Country", and "the Wide Brown Land". The latter two both derive from Dorothea Mackellar 's 1908 poem " My Country ". Indigenous Australians comprise two broad groups: Human habitation of the Australian continent is estimated to have begun 50,000 to 65,000 years ago, with the migration of people by land bridges and short sea crossings from what

5712-416: The 2018 Environmental Performance Index . There are more than 1,800 animals and plants on Australia's threatened species list, including more than 500 animals. Paleontologists discovered a fossil site of a prehistoric rainforest in McGraths Flat , in South Australia, that presents evidence that this now arid desert and dry shrubland / grassland was once home to an abundance of life. Australia

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5824-439: The AWIHL has five active teams, including four founding members and one expansion team. The five teams are from five different Australian states and capital cities, including, Queensland , New South Wales , Victoria , South Australia and Western Australia . Future expansion has been mooted, including into New Zealand, which, since 2014, runs a four team national league of its own, NZWIHL , but there are no active bids to join

5936-571: The AWIHL in that time until the COVID-19 hiatus. Ice Hockey Australia opened an expression of interest process on 26 August 2022 to find Rulli's replacement, with applications closing on 16 September 2022. This provides IHA enough time to appoint a new Commissioner ahead of the 2022–23 season start in November 2022. After a two-year hiatus, the AWIHL announced it would return to action for the 2022–23 season , scheduled to kick off in November 2022 and run through til March 2023. The Sydney Sirens secured their first back-to-back championship title by lifting

6048-461: The AWIHL played 54 minute games, with 17 minutes played in each of the first two periods, followed by a full 20 minute third period. Teams are allowed a minimum of 5 minutes warm-up before each game and are allowed one 30 second timeout during regulation game time. The AWIHL has adopted the current International Ice Hockey Federation Official Rule Book for playing rules. The AWIHL points system, follows similar systems widely used in Europe . 3 points

6160-405: The AWIHL. Initially the league had four teams based in Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne (x2). By 2019 the AW2SCS had five teams and had expanded to Adelaide and Perth. The AWIHL officially expanded in August 2018 for the first time, with the introduction of the Perth Inferno to the league. Perth had played two exhibition games against the Sydney Sirens the season before and had competed in and won

6272-500: The Australian Antarctic Territory, Mount McClintock and Mount Menzies , at 3,492 m (11,457 ft) and 3,355 m (11,007 ft) respectively. Eastern Australia is marked by the Great Dividing Range , which runs parallel to the coast of Queensland, New South Wales and much of Victoria. The name is not strictly accurate, because parts of the range consist of low hills, and the highlands are typically no more than 1,600 m (5,200 ft) in height. The coastal uplands and

6384-544: The Australian Women's Tier 2 Show Case Series two years in a row on their road to AWIHL entry. Two AWIHL teams featured in Australasia's Best Sporting Team list 2019. The list, conducted by Platinum Asset Management and GAIN LINE Analytics, ranked and named the top 25 sporting teams in Australasia. In 2019, AWIHL teams, Sydney Sirens and Melbourne Ice were ranked inside the top 25 sporting teams. The Sirens were ranked twenty-first and Melbourne Ice were ranked twenty-third. The AWIHL, like many other Australian sporting leagues,

6496-438: The Australian mainland. The first ship and crew to chart the Australian coast and meet with Aboriginal people was the Duyfken , captained by Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon . He sighted the coast of Cape York Peninsula in early 1606, and made landfall on 26 February 1606 at the Pennefather River near the modern town of Weipa on Cape York. Later that year, Spanish explorer Luís Vaz de Torres sailed through and navigated

6608-434: The Commonwealth of Australia. This continued a process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom, highlighted by the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 , and culminating in the Australia Acts of 1986. Australia is a federal parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy comprising six states and ten territories . Its population of more than 28 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on

6720-415: The JMK Memorial Trophy in 2023. In early 2023, the Melbourne Ducks applied to enter the AWIHL as an expansion team. The Ducks entered into playing exhibition games ahead of a decision on a AWIHL license. In 2024, the Perth Inferno secured their first AWIHL title, claiming the 2024 Premiership. The Melbourne Ice defeated Perth in the grand-final in 2024 to claim their eighth championship title. As of 2022,

6832-410: The Joan McKowen Memorial Trophy has been the highest title honour in the AWIHL. The trophy is awarded to the AWIHL champions, the team that wins the grand final of the finals weekend (playoffs) at the end of each season. The trophy is named after Joan McKowen , who was a prominent figure in Australian Ice Hockey before her death in 1992. Her husband, Maxwell McKowen donated the trophy for its first use as

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6944-597: The Showcase Series continued to be as a precursor to a national women's league that was being actively planned. The official formation of the Australian Women's Ice Hockey League (AWIHL) was in 2007, following the two seasons of "Showcase Series" that were held in 2006 and 2007. The Australian Women's Ice Hockey League is recognised by Ice Hockey Australia (IHA) as the premier senior women's national ice hockey competition. The league conducted its inaugural season with four teams: Adelaide Assassins , Brisbane Goannas , Melbourne Dragons , and Sydney Sirens . The team that won

7056-586: The Southern Hemisphere since ancient times. Several 16th-century cartographers used the word Australia on maps, but not to identify modern Australia. When Europeans began visiting and mapping Australia in the 17th century, the name Terra Australis was applied to the new territories. Until the early 19th century, Australia was best known as New Holland , a name first applied by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in 1644 (as Nieuw-Holland ) and subsequently anglicised. Terra Australis still saw occasional usage, such as in scientific texts. The name Australia

7168-438: The centre and Phanerozoic sedimentary basins , metamorphic and igneous rocks in the east. The Australian mainland and Tasmania are situated in the middle of the tectonic plate and have no active volcanoes, but due to passing over the East Australia hotspot , recent volcanism has occurred during the Holocene , in the Newer Volcanics Province of western Victoria and south-eastern South Australia. Volcanism also occurs in

7280-420: The colonies was achieved after a decade of planning, constitutional conventions and referendums , resulting in the establishment of the Commonwealth of Australia as a nation under the new Australian Constitution . After the 1907 Imperial Conference , Australia and several other self-governing British settler colonies were given the status of self-governing dominions within the British Empire. Australia

7392-475: The continent. In 1770, Captain James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast, which he named " New South Wales " and claimed for Great Britain. Following the loss of its American colonies in 1783, the British Government sent a fleet of ships, the First Fleet , under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip , to establish a new penal colony in New South Wales . A camp was set up and the Union Flag raised at Sydney Cove , Port Jackson , on 26 January 1788,

7504-478: The convict system culminated in its abolition in the eastern colonies by the 1850s. Initially a free colony, Western Australia practised penal transportation from 1850 to 1868. The six colonies individually gained responsible government between 1855 and 1890, thus becoming elective democracies managing most of their own affairs while remaining part of the British Empire . The Colonial Office in London retained control of some matters, notably foreign affairs. In

7616-425: The country's economy. It ranks highly for quality of life, health, education, economic freedom, civil liberties and political rights. Australia is a middle power , and has the world's thirteenth-highest military expenditure . It is a member of international groups including the United Nations; the G20 ; the OECD ; the World Trade Organization ; Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation ; the Pacific Islands Forum ;

7728-420: The current one. In the early 2010s there was a move to align AWIHL teams with Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) counterparts. This strategy led to three of the four AWIHL teams to either sign a memorandum of understanding or merge with AIHL teams to create dual program organisations. The Melbourne Dragons became the Melbourne Ice by signing a MOU, that allowed the Dragons management to remain in control of

7840-459: The early 2010s after the 2000s Australian drought . Although most of Australia is semi-arid or desert, the continent includes a diverse range of habitats from alpine heaths to tropical rainforests . Fungi typify that diversity—an estimated 250,000 species—of which only 5% have been described—occur in Australia. Because of the continent's great age, extremely variable weather patterns, and long-term geographic isolation, much of Australia's biota

7952-481: The eastern seaboard. Canberra is the nation's capital, while its most populous cities are Sydney and Melbourne , both with a population of more than 5 million. Australia's culture is diverse, and the country has one of the highest foreign-born populations in the world . It has a highly developed market economy and one of the highest per capita incomes globally . Its abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade relations are crucial to

8064-482: The event of a tied score at the end of regulation time, a penalty shootout will determine the winner of a game. If there is no time for a shootout to occur, a draw will be declared. The AWIHL has adopted the international standard three 20-minute stop-time periods length for all regular season and finals regulation time periods. The AWIHL was the first national competition under Ice Hockey Australia to implement these international standards in 2018–19. Prior to 2018–19,

8176-465: The fifth series would take place in Brisbane , Queensland. At this time, a full season would follow in November 2006 and stretch over into summer 2007. The first Showcase Series proved to be successful where, in each mini-series, three teams would play each other twice in a round robin style tournament. Five clubs ended up being involved in the Showcase Series which consisted of five mini-tournaments held on

8288-546: The finals location. The Finals Weekend involves four games in total, two semi-finals played on the Saturday followed by a third-place playoff and grand final on the Sunday. The top four tams from the regular season qualify for the finals weekend. The top seed plays the fourth seed in the first semi final followed by two verses three in the second semi. Unlike in the regular season, overtime can be played in finals games. The AWIHL implements

8400-530: The finals series at the end of each season became the AWIHL champions and were presented a perpetual trophy that was donated by Westlakes Trophies and Framing and was called the West Lakes Trophy. In October 2010, the Australian Women's Ice Hockey League conducted a competition to replace the original league logo with a new one. The competition closed 1 December 2010, and the original logo was replaced by

8512-426: The first three seasons of the AWIHL, between 2007–08 and 2009–10, the West Lakes Trophy was the championship trophy for the league. However, in 2010–11, the AWIHL secured and introduced the Joan McKowen Memorial Trophy for the championship. The West Lakes Trophy was subsequently re-purposed to become the premiership trophy for AWIHL teams who finish top of the regular season standings at the end of each season. But this

8624-755: The first time when the High Court of Australia held in Mabo v Queensland (No 2) that Australia was neither terra nullius ( ' land belonging to no one ' ) or "desert and uncultivated land" at the time of European settlement. Following the abolition of the last vestiges of the White Australia policy in 1973, Australia's demography and culture transformed as a result of a large and ongoing wave of non-European immigration, mostly from Asia. The late 20th century also saw an increasing focus on foreign policy ties with other Pacific Rim nations. The Australia Acts severed

8736-595: The four founding teams of the AWIHL in 2007. The Sirens began in Sydney, New South Wales at the Sydney Ice Arena but over the years the team has moved around, playing at Canterbury Olympic Ice Rink , Penrith Ice Palace , Liverpool Catholic Club Ice Rink and Macquarie Ice Rink . Between 2011 and 2013 the team became a part of the Newcastle Northstars organisation and relocated to Hunter Ice Skating Stadium and

8848-412: The heart of the country are the uplands of central Australia . Prominent features of the centre and south include Uluru (also known as Ayers Rock), the famous sandstone monolith, and the inland Simpson , Tirari and Sturt Stony , Gibson , Great Sandy, Tanami , and Great Victoria deserts, with the famous Nullarbor Plain on the southern coast. The Western Australian mulga shrublands lie between

8960-470: The interior deserts and Mediterranean-climate Southwest Australia . Lying on the Indo-Australian Plate , the mainland of Australia is the lowest and most primordial landmass on Earth with a relatively stable geological history. The landmass includes virtually all known rock types and from all geological time periods spanning more than 3.8 billion years of the Earth's history. The Pilbara Craton

9072-417: The island of New Guinea (considered geologically as part of the Australian continent), and in the Australian external territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands . Seismic activity in the Australian mainland and Tasmania is also low, with the greatest number of fatalities having occurred in the 1989 Newcastle earthquake . The climate of Australia is significantly influenced by ocean currents, including

9184-620: The land and the environment, with stories of The Dreaming maintained through oral tradition , songs , dance and paintings. Certain groups engaged in fire-stick farming , fish farming , and built semi-permanent shelters . These practices have variously been characterised as " hunter-gatherer ", " agricultural ", "natural cultivation" and "intensification". Torres Strait Islander people first settled their islands at least 2,500 years ago. Culturally and linguistically distinct from mainland Aboriginal peoples, they were seafarers and obtained their livelihood from seasonal horticulture and

9296-450: The league. Melbourne Chargers Ice Hockey Club, who compete in the Women's Tier 2 Show Case Series, have publicly said their goal is to move up divisions to the AWIHL. The club is working towards that goal and have signed a partnership with AIHL team Melbourne Mustangs , to help them on their way to achieving this goal. In the 2019–20 Annual Report, IHA, stated its intentions to seek an increase in

9408-447: The least fertile soils. It is a megadiverse country , and its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes and climates including deserts in the interior and tropical rainforests along the coast . The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south-east Asia 50,000 to 65,000 years ago, during the last glacial period . By the time of British settlement, Aboriginal Australians spoke 250 distinct languages and had

9520-549: The location for the future federal capital of Canberra . While it was being constructed, Melbourne served as the temporary capital from 1901 to 1927. The Northern Territory was transferred from the control of South Australia to the Commonwealth in 1911. Australia became the colonial ruler of the Territory of Papua (which had initially been annexed by Queensland in 1883) in 1902 and of the Territory of New Guinea (formerly German New Guinea ) in 1920. The two were unified as

9632-448: The mainland. Australia is also one of 17 megadiverse countries. Australian forests are mostly made up of evergreen species, particularly eucalyptus trees in the less arid regions; wattles replace them as the dominant species in drier regions and deserts. Among well-known Australian animals are the monotremes (the platypus and echidna ); a host of marsupials , including the kangaroo , koala , and wombat , and birds such as

9744-466: The mid-19th century, explorers such as Burke and Wills charted Australia's interior. A series of gold rushes beginning in the early 1850s led to an influx of new migrants from China , North America and continental Europe, as well as outbreaks of bushranging and civil unrest; the latter peaked in 1854 when Ballarat miners launched the Eureka Rebellion against gold license fees. The 1860s saw

9856-602: The next two decades, social and economic reforms, together with the establishment of a Legislative Council and Supreme Court , saw the penal colony transition to a civil society. The indigenous population declined for 150 years following European settlement, mainly due to infectious disease. British colonial authorities did not sign any treaties with Aboriginal groups . As settlement expanded, tens of thousands of Indigenous people and thousands of settlers were killed in frontier conflicts while settlers dispossessed surviving Indigenous peoples of most of their land. In 1803,

9968-404: The number of teams participating in AWIHL to six teams. The Melbourne Ducks women's program was established in early 2023 and formally submitted an application to join the AWIHL on 7 March 2023. Six exhibition games against AWIHL opposition was organised over the 2023-24 AWIHL season . The Ducks will play another six exhibition games during the 2024-25 AWIHL season with the intention of securing

10080-498: The oldest living culture in the world. Australia's written history commenced with Dutch exploration of most of the coastline in the 17th-century. British colonisation began in 1788 with the establishment of the penal colony of New South Wales . By the mid-19th century, most of the continent had been explored by European settlers and five additional self-governing British colonies were established, each gaining responsible government by 1890. The colonies federated in 1901, forming

10192-580: The pioneers of women’s ice hockey in Australia. Keira was likely born in England and migrated to Australia with her family in 1910. She was the first captain of the Victorian Ladies Ice Hockey Club, who competed in the inaugural women’s interstate ice hockey tournament in 1922. The first Australian trophy for women’s interstate ice hockey, the Gower Cup, was named after her father Henry Gower. For

10304-428: The political systems of the United Kingdom (a fused executive , constitutional monarchy and strong party discipline ) and the United States ( federalism , a written constitution and strong bicameralism with an elected upper house), resulting in a distinct hybrid. Federal government power is partially separated between three groups: Charles III reigns as King of Australia and is represented in Australia by

10416-472: The prize for the annual national women's ice hockey tournament in 1995. Taking over from the Stephanie Boxall Trophy in 2023, is the Gower Memorial Shield. The trophy is awarded to the winner of the premiership title each season in the AWIHL. The title is decided by the team who finished top of the league standings at the conclusion of the regular season. The shield is named after Keira Gower, one of

10528-572: The protection of threatened species. Numerous protected areas have been created under the National Strategy for the Conservation of Australia's Biological Diversity to protect and preserve unique ecosystems; 65 wetlands are listed under the Ramsar Convention , and 16 natural World Heritage Sites have been established. Australia was ranked 21st out of 178 countries in the world on

10640-475: The rate of 6 to 7 centimetres a year. The Australian mainland's continental crust , excluding the thinned margins, has an average thickness of 38   km, with a range in thickness from 24 km to 59 km. Australia's geology can be divided into several main sections, showcasing that the continent grew from west to east: the Archaean cratonic shields found mostly in the west, Proterozoic fold belts in

10752-533: The remaining constitutional ties between Australia and the United Kingdom while maintaining the monarch in her independent capacity as Queen of Australia . In a 1999 constitutional referendum , 55% of voters rejected abolishing the monarchy and becoming a republic. Following the September 11 attacks on the United States, Australia joined the United States in fighting the Afghanistan War from 2001 to 2021 and

10864-419: The resources of their reefs and seas. Agriculture also developed on some islands and villages appeared by the 1300s. By the mid-18th century in northern Australia, contact, trade and cross-cultural engagement had been established between local Aboriginal groups and Makassan trepangers , visiting from present-day Indonesia. The Dutch are the first Europeans that recorded sighting and making landfall on

10976-491: The rise of blackbirding , where South Sea Islanders were coerced or abducted into indentured labour, mainly by Queensland colonists. From 1886, Australian colonial governments began removing many Aboriginal children from their families and communities, justified on the grounds of child protection and forced assimilation policies. The Second Boer War (1899–1902) marked the largest overseas deployment of Australia's colonial forces . On 1 January 1901, federation of

11088-633: The showcase series in 2006 and was one of the four founding teams in the AWIHL in 2007. Setup as a not-for-profit incorporated sporting organisation, the Brisbane, Queensland-based club was known as the Brisbane Goannas from establishment until 2022. The team has run a successful junior to senior development program known as the Gecko's to Goannas Program. On 3 October 2022, the Goannas announced they had partnered with

11200-709: The spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus . Surrounded by the Indian and Pacific oceans, Australia is separated from Asia by the Arafura and Timor seas, with the Coral Sea lying off the Queensland coast, and the Tasman Sea lying between Australia and New Zealand. The world's smallest continent and sixth-largest country by total area , Australia—owing to its size and isolation—is often dubbed

11312-407: The team who finished last in the league standings the season before is allowed to dress all four imports for any given AWIHL game. Import goaltenders is prohibited in the AWIHL. This regulation was implemented to support the Australian national women's teams . An import is defined as someone without Australian citizenship or permanent residency . New Zealand residents who move to Australia under

11424-610: The team. Adelaide Assassins became the Adelaide Adrenaline and Sydney Sirens became the North Star Sirens. Both Adelaide and Sydney would later return to being independently run organisations, but the Ice remain in the league since 2010. In 2016, IHA announced the formation of the annual Australian Women's Tier 2 Show Case Series (AW2SCS) to act as a feeder league to the AWIHL and provide a development pathway from state leagues to

11536-406: The thylacine. Many of Australia's ecoregions, and the species within those regions, are threatened by human activities and introduced animal, chromistan , fungal and plant species. All these factors have led to Australia's having the highest mammal extinction rate of any country in the world. The federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 is the legal framework for

11648-508: The women's game was established, Steph took on the sport's ruling body in the 1980s and won the right for women to continue to participate in men's ice hockey after the national body tried to ban women due to fears of being sued if a woman got hurt. This helped paved the way for the establishment of the women's game in Australia. Steph was an inaugural member of the Australian national team and National Women's Championship when it started in 1995. She went on to captain Australia and has been called

11760-600: The “best female ice hockey player Australia has ever had”. Steph is the first Australian, and is one of only six women, to be named in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Canada . Each season, ahead of, or at, the beginning of the AWIHL Finals, the league announces the winners of the individual player awards that recognises excellence across a number of different categories. References: Australia Australia , officially

11872-615: Was Australia's warmest recorded year, and the 2019–2020 bushfire season was the country's worst on record . Australia's greenhouse gas emissions per capita are among the highest in the world. Water restrictions are frequently in place in many regions and cities of Australia in response to chronic shortages due to urban population increases and localised drought. Throughout much of the continent, major flooding regularly follows extended periods of drought, flushing out inland river systems, overflowing dams and inundating large inland flood plains, as occurred throughout Eastern Australia in

11984-413: Was established in 1829, evolving into the largest Australian colony by area, Western Australia . In accordance with population growth, separate colonies were carved from New South Wales: Tasmania in 1825, South Australia in 1836, New Zealand in 1841, Victoria in 1851, and Queensland in 1859. South Australia was founded as a free colony—it never accepted transported convicts. Growing opposition to

12096-419: Was forced to cancel two consecutive league seasons due to multiple COVID-19 outbreaks and border and health response restrictions between 2020 and 2022. In August 2022, AWIHL Commissioner, Melissa Rulli , officially stepped down from her position after nearly five years in the role. Rulli held the position of Commissioner from December 2017 to August 2022 and oversaw steady viewership and accessibility growth of

12208-451: Was later replaced by the Stephanie Boxall Trophy. Taking over from the West Lakes Trophy in 2020 and last awarded in 2022, was the Stephanie Boxall Trophy. The trophy was awarded to the winner of the premiership in the AWIHL, the team that finishes top of the league standings at the conclusion of the regular season. The trophy is named after Stephanie Boxall , who was a pioneer of the women's game in Australia. Originally playing boys before

12320-509: Was one of the founding members of the League of Nations in 1920, and the United Nations in 1945. The Statute of Westminster 1931 formally ended the ability of the UK to pass federal laws without Australia's consent. Australia adopted it in 1942, but it was backdated to 1939 to confirm the validity of legislation passed during World War II. The Australian Capital Territory was formed in 1911 as

12432-418: Was popularised by the explorer Matthew Flinders , who said it was "more agreeable to the ear, and an assimilation to the names of the other great portions of the Earth". The first time that Australia appears to have been officially used was in April 1817, when Governor Lachlan Macquarie acknowledged the receipt of Flinders' charts of Australia from Lord Bathurst . In December 1817, Macquarie recommended to

12544-647: Was renamed North Star Sirens . When the team returned to Sydney, they reverted to their old name, Sydney Sirens. The Sirens are three-time AWIHL champions and three-time AWIHL premiers. Perth are the first ever expansion team in the AWIHL history. The Perth Inferno officially joined the league in July 2018, becoming the fifth AWIHL team. Donning purple and orange, the Inferno began as the Western Australian representative team, they went on to play two exhibition games during

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