North Australia

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North Australia was a short-lived territory of Australia. On February 1, 1927, the Northern Territory was split into two territories, North Australia and Central Australia. On June 12, 1931, the two were reunited as Northern Territory.

A colony of North Australia existed briefly from 17 February 1846 which included all land in the Northern Territory and the present state of Queensland lying north of 26ºS with the capital at Gladstone under Colonel George Barney as Lieutenant-Governor. [1][2] The Letters Patent establishing the colony were revoked in December the same year although Barney and his party did not receive the news and return to Sydney until 1847. The colony was intended as a new penal colony after the end of transportation in the older Australian colonies.

'North Australia' has also been proposed as the name to be adopted by the Northern Territory if it becomes a state of Australia.