Portal:Australia

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Introduction  

Island Archway on the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia -

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The flag of Australia

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 country by area 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 market 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.

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The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) (palawa kani: purinina) is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae. It was formerly present across mainland Australia, but became extinct there around 3,500 years ago; it is now confined to the island of Tasmania. The size of a small dog, the Tasmanian devil became the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world following the extinction of the thylacine in 1936. It is related to quolls, and distantly related to the thylacine. 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. The Tasmanian devil's large head and neck allow it to generate among the strongest bites per unit body mass of any extant predatory land mammal. It hunts prey and scavenges on carrion. (Full article...)

More Australian featured content

Selected biography -

Entries here consist of Good and Featured articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.

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Sir Michael Francis Addison Woodruff, FRS, FRSE, FRCS (3 April 1911 – 10 March 2001) was an English surgeon and scientist principally remembered for his research into organ transplantation. Though born in London, Woodruff spent his youth in Australia, where he earned degrees in electrical engineering and medicine. Having completed his studies shortly after the outbreak of World War II, he joined the Australian Army Medical Corps, but was soon captured by Japanese forces and imprisoned in the Changi Prison Camp. While there, he devised an ingenious method of extracting nutrients from agricultural wastes to prevent malnutrition among his fellow POWs. (Full article...)

More Australian featured biographies

Did you know (auto-generated) -  

• ... that an Australian High Court case found a hotel chain to have used third-party contractors to avoid paying employees their required benefits?
• ... that Marie Breen retired from the Australian Senate to care for her husband, who had been badly injured in a car accident?
• ... that although the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 was cancelled, Iceland's planned entry for that year was chosen as the alternative winner in several countries, including Sweden and Australia?
• ... that Australian Madeleine Steere played water polo professionally in Turkey after studying biomolecular science in the United States?
• ... that David Dexter, who wrote the New Guinea volume in the series Australia in the War of 1939–1945, was a commando who served in East Timor and New Guinea?
• ... that a dispute over paid sick leave at a chocolate factory ended up before the High Court of Australia in Mondelez v AMWU?
• ... that Mark Hutton was the first Australian to be a starting pitcher in a Major League Baseball game?
• ... that Scottish painter Gordon Coutts left Australia without paying maintenance to his estranged wife, but was arrested in New Zealand?

More Australian facts

In the news  

30 September 2024 – Australia–Tuvalu relations, Climate change in Tuvalu

Tuvalu's climate minister denounces the Australian Labor government's decision to expand three coal mines as an existential threat to the nation, due to the role of the mines in causing rising sea levels that have forced mass displacement across Tuvalu's low-lying islands. (The Guardian)

28 September 2024 – 2024 AFL premiership season

The Brisbane Lions defeat the Sydney Swans 120–60 in the Australian Football League Grand Final to win their fourth AFL premiership title. (The Guardian Australia)

26 September 2024 – Israel–Hezbollah conflict

Israel rejects proposals from the United States, Australia, and the European Union to initiate a temporary 21-day ceasefire with Hezbollah. (Reuters) (Reuters 2)

23 September 2024 – 2024 AFL season

In Australian football, Patrick Cripps wins his second Brownlow Medal with 45 votes, the most votes since the current voting system was introduced, and also becomes the seventeenth player to win the award more than once. (ABC News Australia)

Selected pictures -

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  Cairns Birdwing

  Photo credit: Fir0002

  The 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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  A panorama of Melbourne's Yarra River at twilight, showing the Central Business District on the left and the Southbank entertainment district on the right.

  
  
  Melbourne is the state capital and largest city in the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-largest city in Australia, with a population of approximately 3.7 million^[1] (2006 estimate). It is a coastal city located at the northern end of the Port Phillip Bay. The city's name is pronounced as either /ˈmel.bən/ or /ˈmæl.bən/. Formerly the capital city of Australia from 1901 until 1927, Melbourne is today a centre of finance and entertainment and is considered a minor world city.
  
  Photo credit: Diliff
  
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  Tasmanian devil

  Photo: JJ Harrison

  The 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.
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  Cripps Pink

  Photo credit: Fir0002

  Two 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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  Aeshnidae

  Photo: JJ Harrison

  The Tasmanian Darner (Austroaeschna tasmanica) is an Australian species of dragonfly in the Aeshnidae family, which includes some of the largest of the dragonflies on the planet. Also referred to as "hawkers", the name "darner" derives from the fact that the female abdomens look like a sewing needle, as they cut into plant stem when they lay their eggs through the ovipositor.
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  Fuel dumping

  Photo credit: John O'Neill

  Fuel dumping is a practice used by aircraft that are equipped to jettison fuel in the event of certain types of emergency situations. This RAAF F-111 aircraft is performing a dump-and-burn fuel dump at the Australian International Airshow, a procedure where the fuel is intentionally ignited using the plane's afterburner. This type of fuel dumping is also referred to as "torching" or a "zippo".
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  A Koala climbing up a tree in Cape Otway National Park, Victoria.

  
  The Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) is a thickset arboreal marsupial herbivore native to Australia, and the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae. It is found all along the eastern coast of Australia from near Adelaide to the southern part of Cape York Peninsula, and as far into the hinterland as there is enough rainfall to support suitable forests.
  
  Photo credit: Diliff
  
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  Victoria Police

  Photo: John O'Neill

  An 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.
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  Sydney Opera House

  Photo credit: Chmouel

  The 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.
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  The front of the Cathedral.

  
  St Mary's Cathedral is the largest Roman Catholic church in Australia. It is the seat of Cardinal Archbishop George Pell and it holds the title and dignity of a Minor Basilica, bestowed upon it by Pope Pius XI in 1930. The present St Mary's is the second church of that name to occupy the site abutting College Street in Sydney. The foundation stone for the first building was laid by New South Wales Governor Lachlan Macquarie and blessed by the colony's Catholic chaplain, Father Therry, on 3 May 1821.
  
  Photo credit: KaiAdin
  
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  Ben Chifley, standing outside the Old Parliament House, was one of Australia's most influential Prime Ministers and responsible for many social reforms.

  
  
  Joseph Benedict Chifley (September 22, 1885 - June 13, 1951), Australian politician and 16th Prime Minister of Australia, was one of Australia's most influential Prime Ministers. Among his government's accomplishments were the post-war immigration scheme under Arthur Calwell, the establishment of Australian citizenship in 1949, the Snowy Mountains scheme, the national airline Trans Australia Airlines, a social security scheme for the unemployed, and the founding of the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO). One of the few successful referendums to modify the Australian Constitution took place during his term.
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  Forked tongue

  Photo credit: LiquidGhoul

  The 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.
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  Australian Synchrotron

  Photo credit: John O'Neill

  A 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.
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  Lake Hart in South Australia.

  
  
  The Lake Eyre Basin has a drainage basin that covers one-sixth of all Australia. It is one of the largest internal drainage systems in the world, and covers roughly 1.2 million square kilometres, including much of inland Queensland, large portions of South Australia and the Northern Territory, and a part of western New South Wales.
  
  Photo credit: User:Tannin
  
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  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
  
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  2008 Australian Grand Prix

  Photo credit: Fir0002

  Nick Heidfeld and Nico Rosberg at corner 6 of the 2008 Australian Grand Prix, during one of the race's safety car periods. This first race of the 2008 Formula One season was won by McLaren-Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton. Heidfeld and Rosberg finished second and third, respectively.
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  Mount Pleasant Radio Observatory

  Photo credit: Noodle snacks

  The 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.
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  Passchendaele

  Photo credit: James Francis Hurley

  Soldiers 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.
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  Meat pie topped with tomato sauce

  
  
  An Australian meat pie is a hand-sized pie containing largely minced meat and gravy and often consumed as a takeaway food snack. It is considered iconic and has been described by many, including former New South Wales Premier Bob Carr, as Australia's "national dish".
  Photo credit: Fir0002
  
  
  
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  Hobart

  Photo credit: Noodle snacks

  A 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.
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  Tawny Frogmouth

  Photo: Benjamint444

  The 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.
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  Fleet Air Arm (RAN)

  Photo: Fir0002

  A Eurocopter AS350 "Squirrel" helicopter flown by 723 Squadron of the Fleet Air Arm (FAA), the section of the Royal Australian Navy responsible for the operation of aircraft. The FAA is currently an all-helicopter force, operating four separate models in the anti-submarine warfare and maritime support roles.

On this day  

19 November:

George Evans

• 1800 – First copper coins circulated in New South Wales.
• 1813 – George William Evans, assistant surveyor, sets out to confirm the earlier discoveries of Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth.
• 1834 – The first permanent European settlement on the north coast of Bass Strait is established at Portland.
• 1937 – Hubert Opperman completes an epic bicycle ride from Fremantle, Western Australia to Sydney, taking 13 days, 10 hours and 11 minutes.
• 1941 – The cruiser HMAS Sydney is involved in a mutually destructive battle with the German ship Kormoran off Western Australia. All 645 aboard Sydney die.
• 1996 – US President Bill Clinton makes a visit to Australia in which he addresses both Houses of Parliament.
• 1996 – Martin Bryant is sentenced to 35 consecutive sentences of life imprisonment plus 1035 years without parole for the Port Arthur massacre.

More Australian anniversaries...

General images  

The following are images from various Australia-related articles on Wikipedia.

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  PCA of Orang Asli (Semang) and Andamanese, with worldwide populations in HGDP. (from Aboriginal Australians)
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  A billycan used for heating water (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)
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  William Wentworth (1790–1872) was among the first to articulate a vision of Australian nationhood. (from Culture of Australia)
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  Federation Bungalow in Killara, Sydney (from Culture of Australia)
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  The verandah is the dominant feature of this Federation Filigree-style pub in Ravenswood. (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)
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  Victorian era buildings in Collins Street, Melbourne (from Culture of Australia)
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  Birdsville Hotel, an Australian pub in outback Queensland (from Culture of Australia)
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  The Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne (from Culture of Australia)
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  The University of Sydney (from Culture of Australia)
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  An Eastern Arrernte man of the Arltunga district, Northern Territory, in 1923. His hut is decked with porcupine grass. (from Aboriginal Australians)
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  Bush tucker harvested in Alice Springs (from Culture of Australia)
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  Historical image of Aboriginal Australian women and children, Maloga, New South Wales around 1900 (in European dress) (from Aboriginal Australians)
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  Nan Tien Temple, a Buddhist temple in Wollongong. Multicultural immigration has increased Australia's religious diversity. (from Culture of Australia)
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  Kylie Minogue, one of Australia's most successful pop musicians (from Culture of Australia)
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  The first State of Origin shield (from Culture of Australia)
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  Portrait of Madame Melba by Rupert Bunny (from Culture of Australia)
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  Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney (from Culture of Australia)
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  Men from Bathurst Island, 1939 (from Aboriginal Australians)
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  C. J. Dennis, poetic humourist of Australian English (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)
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  Dwellings accommodating Aboriginal families at Hermannsburg Mission, Northern Territory, 1923 (from Aboriginal Australians)
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  Interior of St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney (from Culture of Australia)
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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)
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  A group of Australian men wearing speedos (from Culture of Australia)
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  Dame Edna Everage, a comic creation of Barry Humphries (from Culture of Australia)
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  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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  A Luritja man demonstrating method of attack with boomerang under cover of shield (1920) (from Culture of Australia)
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  The Matildas, Australia's national women's football team (from Culture of Australia)
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  Noongar traditional dancers in Perth (from Aboriginal Australians)
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  The SBS building in Melbourne's Federation Square. SBS is Australia's multicultural broadcaster. (from Culture of Australia)
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  St Mary Mackillop established an extensive network of schools and is Australia's first canonised saint of the Catholic Church. (from Culture of Australia)
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  A swagman in bushman's apparel, wearing a brimmed hat and carrying swag and billy can (from Culture of Australia)
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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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  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 surf lifesaving movement originated in Australia. (Pictured: surf lifesavers, Bondi Beach, 1930s). (from Culture of Australia)
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  Parliament House, Canberra (from Culture of Australia)
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  Sydney Opera House (foreground) and Sydney Harbor Bridge (from Culture of Australia)
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  Countries of birth of Australian estimated resident population, 2006 (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)
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  An Aboriginal encampment near the Adelaide foothills in an 1854 painting by Alexander Schramm (from Aboriginal Australians)
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  Anzac Day dawn services are held throughout Australia every April. (from Culture of Australia)
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  Convict architecture at Port Arthur, Tasmania (from Culture of Australia)
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  Founded in 1993, Sydney's Tropfest is the world's largest short film festival. (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. (from Culture of Australia)
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  The Princess Theatre in Melbourne (from Culture of Australia)
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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)
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  Didgeridoo performers (from Culture of Australia)
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  Cricket match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, 1860s (from Culture of Australia)
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  Golden Wattle, Australia's floral emblem and the source of Australia's national colours, green and gold (from Culture of Australia)
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  Phar Lap winning the Melbourne Cup, "the race that stops a nation" (from Culture of Australia)
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  House in Killara, New South Wales (from Culture of Australia)
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  The Wiggles performing in the United States in 2007 (from Culture of Australia)
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  Donald Bradman is often cited as statistically the greatest sportsman of any major sport. (from Culture of Australia)
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  Singer-songwriter Paul Kelly (from Culture of Australia)
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  Statue in Fremantle of an Australian rules footballer taking a spectacular mark (from Culture of Australia)
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  A typical Queenslander house in Brisbane (from Culture of Australia)

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WikiProject  

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Consider joining WikiProject Australia, a WikiProject dedicated to improving Wikipedia's coverage of topics related to Australia. The project page and its subpages contain suggestions on formatting and style of articles, which can be discussed at the project's notice board. To participate, simply add your name to the project members page.

As of 19 November 2024, there are 205,580 articles within the scope of WikiProject Australia, of which 594 are featured and 885 are good articles. This makes up 2.97% of the articles on Wikipedia, 5.34% 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 526,384 pages in the project.

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