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 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. They settled on the continent and formed approximately 250 distinct language groups by the time of European settlement, maintaining some of the longest known continuing artistic and religious traditions in the world. Australia's written history commenced with Dutch exploration of most of the coastline in the 17th-century. British settler colonialism began in 1788 with the establishment of the penal colony of New South Wales. A genocide of Indigenous Australians subsequently followed, which aimed at eradicating the religions, cultures, languages, and people of Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders. 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 27 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.Waterfall Gully is an eastern suburb of the South Australian capital city of Adelaide. It is located in the foothills of the Mount Lofty Ranges around 5 km (3.1 mi) east-south-east of the Adelaide city centre. For the most part, the suburb encompasses one long gully with First Creek at its centre and Waterfall Gully Road running adjacent to the creek. At the southern end of the gully is First Falls, the waterfall for which the suburb was named. Part of the City of Burnside, Waterfall Gully is bounded to the north by the suburb of Burnside, from the north-east to south-east by Cleland National Park (part of the suburb of Cleland), to the south by Crafers West, and to the west by Leawood Gardens and Mount Osmond. (Full article...)
Selected biography -
Peter Geoffrey Edwards, AM (born 29 August 1945) is an Australian diplomatic and military historian. Educated at the University of Western Australia and the University of Oxford, Edwards worked for the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Australian National University and the University of Adelaide before being appointed Official Historian and general editor of The Official History of Australia's Involvement in Southeast Asian Conflicts 1948–1975 in 1982. The nine-volume history was commissioned to cover Australia's involvement in the Malayan Emergency, Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation and Vietnam War. Edwards spent fourteen years at the Australian War Memorial (AWM) writing two of the volumes, while also researching, editing, and dealing with budget limitations and problems with staff turnover. Since leaving the AWM in 1996, Edwards has worked as a senior academic, scholar and historical consultant. In 2006 his book Arthur Tange: Last of the Mandarins won the Queensland Premier's History Book Award and the Western Australian Premier's Book Award for Non-Fiction. (Full article...)
Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... that Gil Kim played professional baseball in the Netherlands, China, Australia, Spain, and Venezuela, scouted in Mexico and the Dominican Republic, and coaches in Canada?
- ... that Peter Read coined the term "Stolen Generations" to refer to Aboriginal children who were forcibly separated from their families by Australian governments?
- ... that when Australian Brihony Dawson debuted as the first non-binary host of reality TV franchise The Challenge, they decided not to imitate the "ominous" style of the U.S. host?
- ... that the Bluey special "The Sign" reminded a Sydney Morning Herald reporter of Australia's housing crisis?
- ... that South Australian Labor premier Des Corcoran was mentioned in despatches for courage and skill in evacuating casualties during the Korean War?
- ... that Marie Breen retired from the Australian Senate to care for her husband, who had been badly injured in a car accident?
- ... that the Greco-Australian dialect, a variety of Modern Greek, blends words with English roots into the Greek language?
- ... that 2022 documentary The Australian Wars explores "the great Australian silence" about massacres of Indigenous Australians?
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)
- 18 September 2024 –
- Alleged Ghost developer and administrator Jay Je Yoon Jung is arrested in Sydney, Australia, on five charges related to the encrypted communication network's development and operation. (The Register)
- 11 September 2024 – Israel–Hamas war protests
- Victoria Police arrest 39 people and fire stun grenades, rubber bullets, and pepper spray at anti-war and pro-Palestinian protestors picketing outside a military weapons expo in Melbourne, Australia. (Al Jazeera)
Selected pictures -
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Photo: Fir0002A 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. -
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. -
Photo credit: John O'NeillFuel 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". -
Common Eastern Froglet (Crinia signifera)
The Common Eastern Froglet (Crinia signifera) is a very common, Australian ground-dwelling frog, of the family Myobatrachidae. It ranges from south-eastern Australia, from Adelaide to Melbourne, up the eastern coast to Brisbane. It also inhabits a majority of Tasmania. It is a small frog (3 centimetres), of brown or grey colour of various shades. It has extremely variable markings, with great variety usually found within confined populations
Photo credit: LiquidGhoul -
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. -
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 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: JJ HarrisonThe 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. -
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 -
A panorama of the Melbourne skyline from Yarra's Edge, Docklands at twilight.
The Melbourne Docklands is a new inner city suburb and urban renewal project in the Victorian capital of Melbourne. The district, built on former unused docks, covers 2 km² and comprises 7 km of waterfront. It was commenced in 2000, and is expected to be completed by 2015, almost doubling the size of the central business district. Its resident population, to be comprised of primarily hi-rise apartment dwellers, is estimated to reach 20,000, while a further 25,000 will work in the area. The Docklands is already a major attraction, with landmarks such as the Telstra Dome.
Photo credit: Diliff -
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: 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. -
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. -
Mount Lofty Botanic Garden
The Mount Lofty Botanic Garden is situated on a 97 hectare crescent-shaped estate on the eastern slopes of Mount Lofty in the Adelaide Hills east of Adelaide in South Australia. The cooler, wetter location suits plants from temperate climates which are difficult to grow on the Adelaide Plains. Amongst the native Australian flora are cultivated plants from cool climates including Rhododendron and Magnolia and the National Species Rose Collection.
Photo credit: Diana Quinn -
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. -
The Great Ocean Road winds along the coastline of Victoria, offering spectacular views of the Bass Strait and Southern Ocean
The Great Ocean Road stretches along the South Eastern coast of Australia between the Victorian cities of Geelong and Warrnambool. It was built during the Great Depression, between World War I and World War II by returned servicemen as part of a government-funded job creation scheme. The Road hugs tightly to the coast and passes some of the most photogenic coastline in the world. -
Mawson's Hut, Cape Denison, Antarctica.
Mawson's Huts are a collection of buildings located at Cape Denison, Commonwealth Bay, in the far eastern sector of the Australian Antarctic Territory. The buildings were built and occupied by the Australasian Antarctic Expedition (AAE) of 1911-1914, led by geologist and explorer Sir Douglas Mawson. The buildings are of international heritage significance, being one of just six survivings sites from the golden age of Antarctic exploration.
Photo credit: David Killick -
Brisbane CBD and the Story Bridge, with CityCat cruising the Brisbane River.
The Story Bridge is a crossing of the Brisbane River in the Queensland capital of Brisbane. It is a six lane dual-carriageway connecting Fortitude Valley to Kangaroo Point. Designed by John Bradfield, the bridge was opened in 1940 at the height of the Great Depression. It is a Brisbane landmark, and a focus of the Riverfestival.
Photo credit: Stuart Edwards -
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: 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: 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: 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.
On this day
- 1907 – The Harvester Judgment delivered by H. B. Higgins giving rise to the legal requirement for a basic wage, which dominated Australian economic life for the next 60 to 80 years.
- 1934 – A grasshopper plague devours 20 tons of grain in two hours in Mildura.
- 1935 – Charles Kingsford Smith, early Australian aviator, dies during a flight from Allahabad, India to Singapore, aged 38.
- 1938 – Australian rules football player Bob Skilton, one of only four players to have won the Brownlow Medal three times, is born.
- 1940 – SS City of Rayville hits a mine in Bass Strait and becomes the first American vessel sunk during World War II.
- 1946 – Guus Hiddink, football coach of Australia at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, is born in Varsseveld.
- 1976 – Brett Lee, cricket fast bowler, is born in Wollongong, New South Wales.
- 1991 – Fremantle Prison is decommissioned.
- 2005 – Police claim to have averted a large scale terrorist attack after arresting 15 people in Melbourne and Sydney.
General images
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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) -
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) -
St Mary Mackillop established an extensive network of schools and is Australia's first canonised saint of the Catholic Church. (from Culture of Australia) -
Governor Arthur Phillip hoists the British flag over the new colony at Sydney Cove in 1788 (from Culture of Australia) -
Cover of Old Bush Songs, Banjo Paterson's 1905 collection of bush ballads (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) -
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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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A Luritja man demonstrating method of attack with boomerang under cover of shield (1920) (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) -
Interior of St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney (from Culture of Australia) -
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Portrait of Madame Melba by Rupert Bunny (from Culture of Australia) -
Convict architecture at Port Arthur, Tasmania (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) -
A billycan used for heating water (from Culture of Australia) -
Parliament House, Canberra (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) -
The SBS building in Melbourne's Federation Square. SBS is Australia's multicultural broadcaster. (from Culture of Australia) -
The Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne (from Culture of Australia) -
Countries of birth of Australian estimated resident population, 2006 (from Culture of Australia) -
PCA of Orang Asli (Semang) and Andamanese, with worldwide populations in HGDP. (from Aboriginal Australians) -
Historical image of Aboriginal Australian women and children, Maloga, New South Wales around 1900 (in European dress) (from Aboriginal Australians) -
Kylie Minogue, one of Australia's most successful pop musicians (from Culture of Australia) -
Founded in 1993, Sydney's Tropfest is the world's largest short film festival. (from Culture of Australia) -
Didgeridoo performers (from Culture of Australia) -
The Wiggles performing in the United States in 2007 (from Culture of Australia) -
The Princess Theatre in Melbourne (from Culture of Australia) -
An Aboriginal encampment near the Adelaide foothills in an 1854 painting by Alexander Schramm (from Aboriginal Australians) -
Statue in Fremantle of an Australian rules footballer taking a spectacular mark (from Culture of Australia) -
A swagman in bushman's apparel, wearing a brimmed hat and carrying swag and billy can (from Culture of Australia) -
Singer-songwriter Paul Kelly (from Culture of Australia) -
The surf lifesaving movement originated in Australia. (Pictured: surf lifesavers, Bondi Beach, 1930s). (from Culture of Australia) -
Men from Bathurst Island, 1939 (from Aboriginal Australians) -
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A typical Queenslander house in Brisbane (from Culture of Australia) -
Anzac Day dawn services are held throughout Australia every April. (from Culture of Australia) -
William Wentworth (1790–1872) was among the first to articulate a vision of Australian nationhood. (from Culture of Australia) -
The Matildas, Australia's national women's football team (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) -
Golden Wattle, Australia's floral emblem and the source of Australia's national colours, green and gold (from Culture of Australia) -
House in Killara, New South Wales (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) -
A group of Australian men wearing speedos (from Culture of Australia) -
Noongar traditional dancers in Perth (from Aboriginal Australians) -
The Bulletin, founded by J. F. Archibald (left), nurtured bush poets such as Henry Lawson (right). (from Culture of Australia) -
Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney (from Culture of Australia) -
Nan Tien Temple, a Buddhist temple in Wollongong. Multicultural immigration has increased Australia's religious diversity. (from Culture of Australia) -
The University of Sydney (from Culture of Australia) -
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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As of 7 November 2024, there are 205,543 articles within the scope of WikiProject Australia, of which 594 are featured and 885 are good articles. This makes up 2.98% of the articles on Wikipedia, 5.35% 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 525,928 pages in the project.
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