Australia, Cuba

Australia is a Cuban village and consejo popular ("people's council", i.e. hamlet)[2] of the municipality of Jagüey Grande, Matanzas Province. It has an estimated population of 8,850.[3][1]

Australia
Village
Australia, Cuba is located in Cuba
Australia, Cuba
Location of Australia in Cuba
Coordinates: 22°29′58.16″N 81°8′9.17″W
Country Cuba
ProvinceMatanzas
MunicipalityJagüey Grande
Founded1862
Elevation
[1]
7 m (23 ft)
Population
 (2011)[1]
 • Total8,850
Time zoneUTC-5 (EST)
Area code+53-52

History

The village, founded in 1862, is in a sugar growing area and "dominated by the old, out-of-service sugar factory's chimney, with "Australia" written prominently down its length."[4] The village is named after the factory, the Central Australia,[5] which like others in the area were named after continents.[2]

The village was the first sugar town in Cuba to stop using slave labour,[6] and served as Fidel Castro's base of operations during the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion.[4]

Geography

Located 2 km south of Jagüey Grande, Australia lies next to Zapata Swamp (Ciénaga de Zapata). It is served by the A1 motorway (linking Havana to Santa Clara) at the exit of Jagüey.[7]

See also

References
  1. (in Spanish) Australia on EcuRed
  2. (in Spanish) Australia (Jagüey Grande) on EcuRed
  3. "Australia's Cuban namesake is a small town with a proud history". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  4. Atfield, Cameron (22 October 2014). "Town of Australia, Cuba: The Australia you've never heard of". Traveller. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  5. (in Spanish) Central Australia on EcuRed
  6. "Australia's Cuban namesake is a small town with a proud history". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  7. Google. "Australia" (Map). Google Maps. Google.
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