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.
Featured article -
Featured articles are displayed here, which represent some of the best content on English Wikipedia.
From 31 May to 8 June 1942, during World War II, Imperial Japanese Navy submarines made a series of attacks on the Australian cities of Sydney and Newcastle. On the night of 31 May – 1 June, three Ko-hyoteki-class midget submarines, (M-14, M-21 and M-24) each with a two-member crew, entered Sydney Harbour, avoided the partially constructed Sydney Harbour anti-submarine boom net, and attempted to sink Allied warships. Two of the midget submarines were detected and attacked before they could engage any Allied vessels. The crew of M-14 scuttled their submarine, whilst M-21 was successfully attacked and sunk. The crew of M-21 killed themselves. These submarines were later recovered by the Allies. The third submarine attempted to torpedo the heavy cruiser USS Chicago, but instead sank the converted ferry HMAS Kuttabul, killing 21 sailors. This midget submarine's fate was unknown until 2006, when amateur scuba divers discovered the wreck off Sydney's northern beaches. (Full article...)
Selected biography -
Phillip Davey, VC, MM (10 October 1896 – 21 December 1953) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for gallantry in battle that could be awarded to a member of the Australian armed forces at the time. Davey enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in December 1914 for service in World War I, and joined his unit, the 10th Battalion, on the island of Lemnos on 10 April 1915. Along with his battalion, he landed at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli, on 25 April. He fought at Anzac until he was evacuated sick in early November, returning to Australia the following January. (Full article...)
Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... that Marie Breen retired from the Australian Senate to care for her husband, who had been badly injured in a car accident?
- ... that the Victoria State Government has ordered 100 G-class trams, which is the largest domestic order in Australian history?
- ... that St Mary's Anglican Church, Busselton, Australia, has been a part of six dioceses, namely Canterbury, Calcutta, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth and Bunbury?
- ... that Australian train driver Bill Morrow received the Soviet Union's Lenin Peace Prize alongside Fidel Castro?
- ... that the search for a lost radioactive capsule along a 1,400-kilometre (870 mi) stretch of road in Western Australia was likened to looking for a needle in a haystack?
- ... that a baby penguin from Australia is "an absolute unit"?
- ... that the Australian government tried to censor a film of Quail Island's starving koalas?
- ... that in 2007, Arthur Gray's £2 Kangaroo and Map stamp sold for a world record price for a single Australian stamp?
In the news
- 24 December 2024 – 2024–25 Australian bushfire season
- Residents of the Grampians region of Victoria, Australia, evacuate due to bushfires, with more than 41,000 hectares (100,000 acres) already burnt by the bushfires. (BBC News)
- 23 December 2024 –
- A man is arrested and charged with animal cruelty for shooting and killing 98 kangaroos on a military base in Singleton, New South Wales, Australia. (news.com.au)
- 20 December 2024 – Australia–Solomon Islands relations
- Australia agrees to provide Solomon Islands with financing, training, and infrastructure support worth AU$190 million (US$118 million) over four years to strengthen its police force as part of a renewed security partnership between the two countries. (France 24)
- 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)
Selected pictures -
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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 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: 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). -
Photo: Steven Rasmussen; edit: KeraunoscopiaAustralian artistic gymnast Lauren Mitchell (b. 1991) performing a layout step-out on the balance beam during the 41st World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in London, United Kingdom, on 14 October 2009; at the Championships, Mitchell won two silver medals, one for the balance beam and another for floor exercises. Since her first medal in 2007, Mitchell has placed in the World Championships, World Cup, and Commonwealth Games, and competed in two Olympic Games. -
Weedy Sea Dragon.
The Weedy Sea Dragon or Common Sea Dragon (Phyllopteryx taeniolatus) is a marine fish related to the seahorse. It is the only member of the genus Phyllopteryx. They occur in water 3 to 50 metres deep round the southern coastline of Australia, approximately between Port Stephens, New South Wales and Geraldton, Western Australia, as well as around Tasmania. Weedy Sea Dragons are named for the weed-like projections on their bodies that camouflage them as they move among the seaweed beds where they are usually found.
Photo credit: Richard Ling -
Photo credit: Frank HurleyA group of Australian infantry wearing Small Box Respirators (SBRs) at the Third Battle of Ypres in September 1917. After the introduction of poison gas in World War I, countermeasures were developed. SBRs represented the pinnacle of gas mask development during the war, a mouthpiece connected via a hose to a box filter (hanging around the wearer's neck in this picture), which in turn contained granules of chemicals that neutralised the gas. The SBR was the prized possession of the ordinary infantryman; when the British were forced to retreat during the German Spring Offensive of 1918, it was found that while some troops had discarded their rifles, hardly any had left behind their respirators. -
Photo: Benjamint444The Tawny Frogmouth (Podargus strigoides) is a large species of frogmouth found throughout the Australian mainland, Tasmania, and southern New Guinea. Unlike the owl for which it is often mistaken, the Tawny Frogmouth is not a bird of prey. Instead, it is almost exclusively insectivorous. For defense, it relies on cryptic camouflage, standing still to appear part of a branch. -
Satellite image of Mawson Peak on Heard Island
Heard Island and McDonald Islands is an Australian territory comprising uninhabited, barren islands in the Southern Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Madagascar to Antarctica. The islands have been a territory of Australia since 1947 and became a World Heritage Site in 1997. It contains the only two active volcanoes in Australian territory, one of which, Mawson Peak, is the highest Australian mountain.
Photo credit: NASA World Wind -
Photo: JJ HarrisonThe Tawny Frogmouth (Podargus strigoides) is a nocturnal species of Australian frogmouth commonly mistaken for an owl. Males and females look similar, growing to 35–53 cm (14–21 in) long and up to 680 g (1.5 lb) in weight. The Tawny Frogmouth is almost exclusively insectivorous, feeding rarely on frogs and other small prey. It generally sits very still on a low perch and catches food with its beak. -
Photo credit: ChmouelThe Sydney Opera House in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Situated on Bennelong Point at Sydney Harbour, the Sydney Opera House is one of the most distinctive and famous 20th-century buildings, and one of the most famous performing arts venues in the world. -
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 -
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: 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. -
Photo: Sport the LibraryJeremy Doyle (1983–2011) was an Australian wheelchair basketball player. Left paraplegic after a car accident, he was classified as a 1 point player. While representing his country Doyle won two gold medals, first at the 2009 Paralympic World Cup and again at the 2010 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship. -
A vineyard in Tasmania
The Australian wine industry is one of the world's largest exporters of wine, with approximately 800 million out of the 1.2 to 1.3 billion litres produced annually exported to overseas markets. The wine industry is a significant contributor to the Australian economy through production, employment, export, and tourism.
Photo credit: Fir0002 -
Sunset at Uluru.
Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone rock formation in central Australia, in the Northern Territory. It is located in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, 440 km southwest of Alice Springs. Uluru is sacred to the Pitjantjatjara (Aboriginal people of the area) and has many springs, waterholes, rock caves and ancient paintings. Uluru is notable for appearing to change colour as the different light strikes it at different times of the day and year, with sunset a particularly remarkable sight. The rock is made of sandstone infused with minerals like feldspar that reflect the red light of sunrise and sunset, making it appear to glow.
Photo credit: Thomas Schoch -
Government House, the residence of the Governor of Western Australia.
Government House in Perth is the official residence of the Governor of Western Australia and was built between 1859 and 1864. The building is a mansion in the Jacobean Revival style set on 3.2 hectares of English gardens in the centre of the Perth business district, between St. Georges Terrace and the Swan River. The buildings and gardens are listed on the Western Australian Register of Heritage Places and are open to the public from time to time. The building has 16 rooms on the ground floor and 25 on the first floor.
Photo credit: Greg O'Beirne -
Photo credit: LiquidGhoulThe head of a Coastal Carpet Python, the largest subspecies of Morelia spilota, a non-venomous Australian python, showing its forked tongue, a feature common to many reptiles, who smell using the tip of their tongue. Having a forked tongue allows them to tell which direction a smell is coming from. -
Photo credit: Fir0002A female Metallic Ringtail (Austrolestes cingulatus), an Australian damselfly, eating its prey. Each abdominal segment is marked by a pale "ring"; this combined with its glossy metallic coloration give the insect its common name. -
Soldiers of 11th Battalion posing on the Great Pyramid of Giza on 10 January 1915, prior to the landing at Gallipoli.
The Australian 11th Battalion was an Australian Army unit in World War I. It was among the first infantry units raised for the First Australian Imperial Force during the war and was the first battalion recruited in Western Australia. Along with the 9th, 10th and 12th Battalions, it formed the 3rd Brigade. By the end of the war, the Battalion suffered casualties of 1,115 killed and 2,249 wounded (including gassed). Prior to the Gallipoli landing, the Battalion was posted in Egypt.
Photo credit: Unknown -
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 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.
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On this day
- 1836 – South Australia and Adelaide are founded.
- 1847 – Augustus Short, the first Anglican bishop of Adelaide, South Australia arrives from England.
- 1916 – Floods in Clermont, Queensland claim more than 60 lives.
- 1932 – Test wicket-keeper Jack Blackham dies.
- 1938 – The Sydney Mail ceases publication.
- 1989 – Newcastle is the epicentre of Australia's only significant earthquake, 13 die and 160 are injured.
General images
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The verandah is the dominant feature of this Federation Filigree-style pub in Ravenswood. (from Culture of Australia) -
PCA of Orang Asli (Semang) and Andamanese, with worldwide populations in HGDP. (from Aboriginal Australians) -
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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The first State of Origin shield (from Culture of Australia) -
Anzac Day dawn services are held throughout Australia every April. (from Culture of Australia) -
Kylie Minogue, one of Australia's most successful pop musicians (from Culture of Australia) -
A swagman in bushman's apparel, wearing a brimmed hat and carrying swag and billy can (from Culture of Australia) -
The Matildas, Australia's national women's football team (from Culture of Australia) -
Dwellings accommodating Aboriginal families at Hermannsburg Mission, Northern Territory, 1923 (from Aboriginal Australians) -
Parliament House, Canberra (from Culture of Australia) -
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) -
Nan Tien Temple, a Buddhist temple in Wollongong. Multicultural immigration has increased Australia's religious diversity. (from Culture of Australia) -
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Didgeridoo performers (from Culture of Australia) -
Countries of birth of Australian estimated resident population, 2006 (from Culture of Australia) -
The SBS building in Melbourne's Federation Square. SBS is Australia's multicultural broadcaster. (from Culture of Australia) -
Statue in Fremantle of an Australian rules footballer taking a spectacular mark (from Culture of Australia) -
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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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) -
The Wiggles performing in the United States in 2007 (from Culture of Australia) -
Noongar traditional dancers in Perth (from Aboriginal Australians) -
Interior of St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney (from Culture of Australia) -
Portrait of Madame Melba by Rupert Bunny (from Culture of Australia) -
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Governor Arthur Phillip hoists the British flag over the new colony at Sydney Cove in 1788 (from Culture of Australia) -
The Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne (from Culture of Australia) -
Cover of Old Bush Songs, Banjo Paterson's 1905 collection of bush ballads (from Culture of Australia) -
A billycan used for heating water (from Culture of Australia) -
The University of Sydney (from Culture of Australia) -
St Mary Mackillop established an extensive network of schools and is Australia's first canonised saint of the Catholic Church. (from Culture of Australia) -
A Luritja man demonstrating method of attack with boomerang under cover of shield (1920) (from Culture of Australia) -
Singer-songwriter Paul Kelly (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) -
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William Wentworth (1790–1872) was among the first to articulate a vision of Australian nationhood. (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) -
Cricket match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, 1860s (from Culture of Australia) -
A typical Queenslander house in Brisbane (from Culture of Australia) -
Convict architecture at Port Arthur, Tasmania (from Culture of Australia) -
The Bulletin, founded by J. F. Archibald (left), nurtured bush poets such as Henry Lawson (right). (from Culture of Australia) -
Donald Bradman is often cited as statistically the greatest sportsman of any major sport. (from Culture of Australia) -
Founded in 1993, Sydney's Tropfest is the world's largest short film festival. (from Culture of Australia) -
Men from Bathurst Island, 1939 (from Aboriginal Australians) -
The Princess Theatre in Melbourne (from Culture of Australia) -
The surf lifesaving movement originated in Australia. (Pictured: surf lifesavers, Bondi Beach, 1930s). (from Culture of Australia) -
A commemorative statue of John Simpson Kirkpatrick, a famous stretcher bearer who was killed in the Gallipoli Campaign. (from Culture of Australia) -
Golden Wattle, Australia's floral emblem and the source of Australia's national colours, green and gold (from Culture of Australia) -
Historical image of Aboriginal Australian women and children, Maloga, New South Wales around 1900 (in European dress) (from Aboriginal Australians) -
House in Killara, New South Wales (from Culture of Australia) -
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Actor playing the bushranger Ned Kelly in The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906), the world's first feature film (from Culture of Australia) -
An Aboriginal encampment near the Adelaide foothills in an 1854 painting by Alexander Schramm (from Aboriginal Australians) -
A group of Australian men wearing speedos (from Culture of Australia) -
Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney (from Culture of Australia) -
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As of 28 December 2024, there are 206,257 articles within the scope of WikiProject Australia, of which 596 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 433,796 pages in the project.
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