Australia | |
|---|---|
Village | |
.svg)  Location of Australia in Cuba | |
| Coordinates: 22°29′58.16″N 81°8′9.17″W / 22.4994889°N 81.1358806°W | |
| Country |  Cuba |
| Province | Matanzas |
| Municipality | Jagüey Grande |
| Founded | 1862 |
| Elevation | 7 m (23 ft) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (EST) |
| Area code | +53-52 |
Australia is a Cuban village and consejo popular ("people's council", i.e. hamlet) of the municipality of Jagüey Grande, Matanzas Province. It has an estimated population of 8,850.[1]
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."[2] The village is named after the factory, the Central Australia, which like others in the area were named after continents.[citation needed]
The village was the first sugar town in Cuba to stop using slave labour,[3] and served as Fidel Castro's base of operations during the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion.[2]
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.[4]
