Portal:Australia
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Introduction
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Australia, officially 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 km2 (2,968,464 sq mi), making it the sixth-largest country in the world and the largest in Oceania. It is the world's oldest, flattest, and driest inhabited continent, with some of 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 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 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 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 economy and one of the highest per capita incomes globally. Its abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade relations are crucial to the country's economy. It ranks highly for quality of life, health, education, economic freedom, civil liberties and political rights.
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Featured articles are displayed here, which represent some of the best content on English Wikipedia.
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) operated Vultee Vengeance dive bombers during World War II. The Australian Government ordered 297 of the type in late 1941 as part of efforts to expand the RAAF. This order was later increased to 400 aircraft. A few Vengeances arrived in Australia during 1942, and large-scale deliveries commenced in early 1943; further orders were cancelled in 1944 after 342 had been delivered. (Full article...)
Selected biography -
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Sidney George Barnes (5 June 1916 – 16 December 1973) was an Australian cricketer and cricket writer, who played 13 Test matches between 1938 and 1948. Able to open the innings or bat down the order, Barnes was regarded as one of Australia's finest batsmen in the period immediately following World War II. He helped create an enduring record when scoring 234 in the second Test against England at Sydney in December 1946; exactly the same score as his captain, Don Bradman, in the process setting a world-record 405-run fifth wicket partnership. Barnes averaged 63.05 over 19 innings in a career that, like those of most of his contemporaries, was interrupted by World War II. (Full article...)
Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... that 2022 documentary The Australian Wars explores "the great Australian silence" about massacres of Indigenous Australians?
- ... that Zali Steggall, an independent member of the Parliament of Australia, is an Olympic skiing medallist?
- ... that a newspaper in Kentucky reported that the solar eclipse of November 22, 1900, would pass over Austria instead of Australia?
- ... that Edward Thonen, one of the miners killed in the Eureka Rebellion, had gained notoriety in England as a jewellery thief prior to his emigration to Australia?
- ... that "The Potato King of Colorado" survived a shipwreck, mined for gold in Australia, and helped establish an alcohol-free Methodist colony?
- ... that Episode 2351 of the Australian soap opera Home and Away was filmed in England, marking the first time the serial was filmed overseas?
- ... that Australia-born rugby union player Jason Jones-Hughes was the subject of a protracted legal battle over his international eligibility after Wales called him up for the 1999 Rugby World Cup?
- ... that the dominant species in the Iron-grass Natural Temperate Grassland of South Australia are often not grasses at all?
In the news
- 16 December 2024 – 2024 Australia heat wave
- Walpeup, Victoria, Australia, reports a temperature of 47.1 °C (116.8 °F), the hottest temperature reported in the state since 2019. Extreme heat wave warnings and fire risk warnings are also issued for areas across Australia. (The Guardian) (ABC News Australia)
- 15 December 2024 – Australia–Indonesia relations
- Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announces that the remaining five members of the Bali Nine drug-trafficking group, who were serving life sentences in Indonesia, have returned to Australia following an agreement between the two countries to end their imprisonment. (CNN)
- 9 December 2024 – Australia–Nauru relations
- Australia and Nauru announce a joint security treaty that will see Australia sending Nauru AU$100 million (US$64 million) in direct support over five years in exchange for Nauru consulting Australia before signing any bilateral agreements with other countries. (DW) (Nikkei Asia)
- 6 December 2024 – Antisemitism in Australia
- Two people are injured in an arson attack on a synagogue in Melbourne, Australia. (DW) (The Australian Jewish News)
- 2 December 2024 – Maritime drug smuggling into Australia
- Australian Federal Police announces they have arrested thirteen men, including the vice president of the outlaw Comanchero Motorcycle Club and two teenagers, for illegally smuggling 2.34 tonnes of cocaine into the country after their fishing boat broke down off the coast of Urangan, Queensland, Australia. (Al Jazeera) (RNZ) (ABC News)
- 29 November 2024 – 2024–25 Australian region cyclone season
- The death toll from the floods and landslides in North Sumatra, Indonesia, increases to 31, with ten others injured, and dozens of others missing. (DW)
Selected pictures -
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Perth Mint
The Perth Mint is Australia's oldest operating mint. After the foundation stone was laid in 1896 by John Forrest, the Mint opened on June 20, 1899 as a branch of the Royal Mint in London to refine gold and manufacture gold sovereigns and half sovereigns to be used as currency in the colony.
Photo credit: Moondyne -
Photo credit: James Francis HurleySoldiers of an Australian 4th Division field artillery brigade on a duckboard track passing through Chateau Wood, near Hooge in the Ypres salient, October 29, 1917. The photo was taken in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele, also known as the Third Battle of Ypres, which was one of the major battles of World War I. -
Photo credit: Noodle snacksA view of the greater Hobart area, as seen from Mount Wellington. The state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania, Hobart is located in the state's south-east, on the estuary of the River Derwent. -
The Petrov Affair was a Cold War spy drama in Australia in April 1954, involving the defection of Vladimir Petrov, third secretary in the Soviet embassy in Canberra. Petrov's wife, Evdokia Petrova, a Russian spy, came to the centre of the affair when she was seized by Australian Security Intelligence Organisation agents from MVD agents who were escorting her from the country. Images of Petrova as she was taken by ASIO agents and made her decision to defect became iconic in Australia in the 1950s.
Photo credit: National Archives of Australia -
Photo credit: Fir0002The Common bluetail (Ischnura heterosticta) is a small Australian damselfly of the family Coenagrionidae. Most males have blue eyes, blue thorax and a blue ringed tail. The females are green or light brown. -
Photo credit: John O'NeillA panoramic view across the interior of the Australian Synchrotron (a subatomic particle accelerator) in Clayton, Victoria. Dominating the image is the storage ring, showing the optical diagnostic beamline at front right. In the middle of the storage ring is the booster synchrotron and linac. The yellow, green and red magnets on the trolley (front left) are a demonstration of the bending and focusing magnets used in the storage ring to produce the synchrotron radiation and maintain the electron beam. -
Photo: JJ HarrisonThe Dusky Robin (Melanodryas vittata) is a small passerine bird native to Tasmania. A member of the Australian Robin family, it is not related to European or American Robins. It is a brown-plumaged bird of open woodland, measuring 16–17 cm (6.3–6.7 in) in length. -
Hakea laurina, or Pincushion Hakea
Hakea is a genus of about 150 species of plants in the Family Proteaceae, endemic to Australia. Hakeas are found in every state of Australia with the highest species diversity being found in the south west of Western Australia.
Photo credit: Fir0002 -
Alpine Range scenery as viewed just past Mt Hotham.
The Australian Alps are the highest mountain ranges of mainland Australia. They are located in south-eastern Australia, straddling far southern New South Wales and eastern Victoria. The Alps contain the Australian mainland's only peaks exceeding 2,000 metres AHD and it is only here that snow occurs regularly.
Photo credit: Fir0002 -
View of Limestone cliffs and beach looking towards Point Avoid in Coffin Bay National Park circa March 2006.
Coffin Bay is a national park in on the Eyre Peninsula of South Australia, 301 kilometres west of Adelaide, and 46 kilometres west of Port Lincoln. The township of Coffin Bay is near the entrance to the National Park. The National Park features a long peninsula with a sheltered bay, coastal dunes, swamps and a spectacular coastline of islands, reefs, limestone cliffs and white surf beaches.
Photo credit: Takver -
Photo credit: Noodle snacksThe Tasmanian Native-hen (Gallinula mortierii) is a flightless rail between 43 to 51 cm (17 to 20 in) in length, one of twelve species of birds endemic to the Australian island of Tasmania. Although flightless, it is capable of running quickly and has been recorded running at speeds up to 30 miles per hour (48 km/h). -
The Gold Coast from The Spit
The Gold Coast is a coastal region approximately 70 kilometres south of Brisbane, Australia that, over the past 50 years, has coalesced from a collection of scattered villages into a city of approximately 480,000 people - currently Australia's seventh largest city - and Australia's largest tourist resort. -
Photo: JJ HarrisonThe Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is a carnivorous marsupial found in the wild only on the Australian island of Tasmania. It is characterised by its stocky and muscular build, black fur, pungent odour, extremely loud and disturbing screech, keen sense of smell, and ferocity when feeding. Its large head and neck allow it to generate the strongest bite per unit body mass of any living mammal. -
Ninety Mile Beach, Victoria, is believed to the longest un-interrupted beach in the world.
The Ninety Mile Beach is a sandy stretch of south-eastern coastline of Victoria, Australia which separates the Gippsland Lakes region from Bass Strait.It is believed to be the longest un-interrupted beach in the world — just over 151 kilometres (94 miles) running northeastward from a spit near Port Albert to the man-made channel at Lakes Entrance. For the northern part of its route the beach runs along a sandbar on what amounts to a series of tidal islands and behind which are several large lakes and numerous shallow littoral lagoons. The area comprises the Gippsland Lakes Coastal Park. -
Photo: John O'NeillAn officer of the Victoria Police, the primary law enforcement agency of the Australian state of Victoria. The agency was founded in 1835 from an existing colonial police force of 875 men. As of 2011, the Victoria Police has over 12,190 sworn members, and over 2,900 civilian staff across 393 police stations. -
Photo: JJ HarrisonThe Metallic Ringtail (Austrolestes cingulatus) is an Australian species of damselfly, so named because of its glossy metallic colouration and the "rings" on each abdominal segment. It is widely distributed in Tasmania, Victoria, eastern New South Wales and south eastern Queensland. -
Photo credit: John O'NeillA Common Grass Blue (Zizina labradus), a small Australian butterfly. This specimen, perched on a rose, is approximately 10 millimetres (0.4 in) in size. Females generally have a larger wingspan compared to males (23 and 20 mm or 0.9 and 0.8 in respectively). -
A Beautiful Firetail (Stagonopleura bella) male (top) and female. In this common Australian species of estrildid finch, nest-building and raising children is done collaboratively. -
Photo: John O'Neill; edit: JJ HarrisonBrian Nankervis (b. 1956), an Australian comedian and writer, shown here during a live performance. Nankervis rose to popularity while playing Raymond J. Bartholomeuz on Hey Hey It's Saturday; since 2005 he has been a host of the gameshow RocKwiz. -
Photo credit: Noodle snacksThe 26-metre (85 ft) radio telescope at Mount Pleasant Radio Observatory, located 20 kilometres (12 mi) east of Hobart, Tasmania, is the southernmost antenna used in Australia's Very Long Baseline Interferometry network. The facility is owned and operated by the University of Tasmania. -
Photo credit: Fir0002The Cairns Birdwing (Ornithoptera euphorion) is a birdwing butterfly of the Papilionidae family. It is Australia's largest butterfly, and is native to the tropical north of Queensland. -
Photo credit: Fir0002Two whole Cripps Pink apples and a cross-section of a third. More commonly known by the trademarked name "Pink Lady", this apple cultivar was originally bred by John Cripps by crossing the Australian apple Lady Williams with a Golden Delicious. The apple shape is ellipsoid, it has a distinctive pink hue mixed with a green "background," and taste is tart.
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On this day
- 1930 – For the first time Perth is linked by telephone to the rest of Australia.
- 1949 – Robert Menzies becomes Prime Minister of Australia for a second time, serving until 1966.
- 1955 – Dame Edna Everage, played by Barry Humphries, makes her stage debut.
- 1967 – John McEwen becomes the eighteenth Prime Minister of Australia following the disappearance of Harold Holt.
- 1991 – Paul Keating makes his second Labor leadership challenge. This time, he wins 56–51 and becomes Australia's 24th Prime Minister the next day.
General images
The following are images from various Australia-related articles on Wikipedia.
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The initial human settlement of Oceania is estimated to have been between 60,000 and 40,000 years ago. Archaeogenetic results indicate a colonisation of southern Sahul (Australia) before 37,000 years ago and an incubation period in northern Sahul (Papua New Guinea), followed by westward expansions within Australia after about 28,000 years ago. (from Aboriginal Australians) -
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Men from Bathurst Island, 1939 (from Aboriginal Australians) -
St Mary Mackillop established an extensive network of schools and is Australia's first canonised saint of the Catholic Church. (from Culture of Australia) -
Countries of birth of Australian estimated resident population, 2006 (from Culture of Australia) -
Didgeridoo performers (from Culture of Australia) -
A swagman in bushman's apparel, wearing a brimmed hat and carrying swag and billy can (from Culture of Australia) -
Noongar traditional dancers in Perth (from Aboriginal Australians) -
Kylie Minogue, one of Australia's most successful pop musicians (from Culture of Australia) -
Historical image of Aboriginal Australian women and children, Maloga, New South Wales around 1900 (in European dress) (from Aboriginal Australians) -
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The surf lifesaving movement originated in Australia. (Pictured: surf lifesavers, Bondi Beach, 1930s). (from Culture of Australia) -
A Luritja man demonstrating method of attack with boomerang under cover of shield (1920) (from Culture of Australia) -
Founded in 1993, Sydney's Tropfest is the world's largest short film festival. (from Culture of Australia) -
The verandah is the dominant feature of this Federation Filigree-style pub in Ravenswood. (from Culture of Australia) -
Parliament House, Canberra (from Culture of Australia) -
The Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne (from Culture of Australia) -
A typical Queenslander house in Brisbane (from Culture of Australia) -
An Eastern Arrernte man of the Arltunga district, Northern Territory, in 1923. His hut is decked with porcupine grass. (from Aboriginal Australians) -
Golden Wattle, Australia's floral emblem and the source of Australia's national colours, green and gold (from Culture of Australia) -
Skiing in Australia began in Kiandra, a goldmining town in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, in the 1860s. (from Culture of Australia) -
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Cover of Old Bush Songs, Banjo Paterson's 1905 collection of bush ballads (from Culture of Australia) -
An Aboriginal encampment near the Adelaide foothills in an 1854 painting by Alexander Schramm (from Aboriginal Australians) -
The Princess Theatre in Melbourne (from Culture of Australia) -
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The University of Sydney (from Culture of Australia) -
Donald Bradman is often cited as statistically the greatest sportsman of any major sport. (from Culture of Australia) -
Corroboree at Newcastle by convict artist Joseph Lycett, ca. 1818. Aboriginal Australian religious practices associated with the Dreamtime have been practised for tens of thousands of years. (from Culture of Australia) -
Anzac Day dawn services are held throughout Australia every April. (from Culture of Australia) -
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The Bulletin, founded by J. F. Archibald (left), nurtured bush poets such as Henry Lawson (right). (from Culture of Australia) -
PCA of Orang Asli (Semang) and Andamanese, with worldwide populations in HGDP. (from Aboriginal Australians) -
Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney (from Culture of Australia) -
William Wentworth (1790–1872) was among the first to articulate a vision of Australian nationhood. (from Culture of Australia) -
The SBS building in Melbourne's Federation Square. SBS is Australia's multicultural broadcaster. (from Culture of Australia) -
A group of Australian men wearing speedos (from Culture of Australia) -
Interior of St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney (from Culture of Australia) -
Convict architecture at Port Arthur, Tasmania (from Culture of Australia) -
Portrait of Madame Melba by Rupert Bunny (from Culture of Australia) -
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South Australian suffragette Catherine Helen Spence (1825–1910). The Australian colonies established democratic parliaments from the 1850s and began to grant women the vote in the 1890s. -
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A commemorative statue of John Simpson Kirkpatrick, a famous stretcher bearer who was killed in the Gallipoli Campaign. (from Culture of Australia) -
Nan Tien Temple, a Buddhist temple in Wollongong. Multicultural immigration has increased Australia's religious diversity. (from Culture of Australia) -
Actor playing the bushranger Ned Kelly in The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906), the world's first feature film (from Culture of Australia) -
The Wiggles performing in the United States in 2007 (from Culture of Australia) -
Cricket match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, 1860s (from Culture of Australia) -
Statue in Fremantle of an Australian rules footballer taking a spectacular mark (from Culture of Australia) -
Governor Arthur Phillip hoists the British flag over the new colony at Sydney Cove in 1788 (from Culture of Australia) -
The Matildas, Australia's national women's football team (from Culture of Australia) -
House in Killara, New South Wales (from Culture of Australia) -
The first State of Origin shield (from Culture of Australia) -
Dwellings accommodating Aboriginal families at Hermannsburg Mission, Northern Territory, 1923 (from Aboriginal Australians) -
Sheep grazing in rural Australia. Early British settlers introduced Western stock and crops and Australian agriculture now produces an abundance of fresh produce. (from Culture of Australia) -
A billycan used for heating water (from Culture of Australia) -
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Singer-songwriter Paul Kelly (from Culture of Australia)
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As of 18 December 2024, there are 206,098 articles within the scope of WikiProject Australia, of which 595 are featured and 886 are good articles. This makes up 2.98% of the articles on Wikipedia, 5.33% of all featured articles and lists, and 2.18% of all good articles (see WP:AUSFG). Including non-article pages, such as talk pages, redirects, categories, etc., there are 527,480 pages in the project.
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