Portal:Australia
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Introduction
View from Connors Hill in Shire of East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia -
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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 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.The history of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) as a separate administrative division began in 1911, when it was transferred from New South Wales to the Australian federal government. The territory contains Australia's capital city Canberra and various smaller settlements. Until 1989, it also administered the Jervis Bay Territory, a small coastal region. (Full article...)
Selected biography -
Entries here consist of Good and Featured articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.
Sandra Anne Morgan (born 6 June 1942), also known by her married name Sandra Beavis, or as Sandra Morgan-Beavis, is an Australian former freestyle swimmer who was part of the gold medal-winning team in the 4×100-metre freestyle relay at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. At the age of 14 years and 6 months, she became the youngest Australian to win an Olympic gold medal, a record that was broken by Arisa Trew at the 2024 Paris Olympics. (Full article...)
Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... that Australian official Jack Emanuel was awarded the George Cross in 1971 after being stabbed to death whilst trying to resolve a land dispute with the Tolai people of New Guinea?
- ... that Australian communist Harry Stein was personally invited by Prime Minister Nguyễn Cao Kỳ to tour South Vietnam?
- ... that an exhibition match of Australian rules football was contested in London on 28 October 1916 between two teams of elite footballers also serving in the First AIF?
- ... that on its maiden voyage from Liverpool to Australia, the George Roper ran aground and was wrecked?
- ... that Lord Stonehaven, Governor-General of Australia, called Hay War Memorial High School the "finest war memorial in the British Empire"?
- ... that the Scottish Register of Tartans has registered district tartans for Australia as a whole, and also a state district tartan for each of Australia's six states?
- ... that in 2010, Lauren Mitchell became the first Australian female artistic gymnast to win a world title?
- ... that the first judgement of 2022 from the High Court of Australia was considered a loss for a labour hire organisation, but a win for labour hire organisations?
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)
Selected pictures -
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Photo credit: Fir0002The Ulysses Butterfly (Papilio ulysses) is a large Australian swallowtail with a wingspan of about 14 cm (5.5 in). The top of the butterfly’s wings are an iridescent electric blue; the underside is a more subdued black and brown coloration. When the butterfly is perched the intense blue of its wings is hidden (as seen here), helping it to blend in with its surroundings. -
THE PIONEER, 1904 oil on canvas (triptych).
Frederick McCubbin (25 February 1855 - 20 December 1917) was an Australian painter who was prominent in the famous Heidelberg School, one of the most important periods in Australia's visual arts history. McCubbin painted a broad range of scenes, from portraits to landscapes, but his narrative paintings of bush life were his most prominent works. His triptych (set of three paintings) The Pioneer, produced in 1906, is an iconic Australian painting. It depicts the 'selectors' who settled much of Australia's farmland in the latter years of the 19th century.
Photo credit: Frederick McCubbin -
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. -
The cliffs looking down towards Loch Ard Gorge and the beach. Victoria, Australia.
Loch Ard Gorge (
'"`UNIQ--templatestyles-00000021-QINU`"'
38°38′S 143°04′E / 38.633°S 143.067°E) is part of Port Campbell National Park in the Australian state of Victoria. It is situated beside the Great Ocean Road, west of the popular The Twelve Apostles limestone formations. The gorge is a visible example of the process of erosion in action. It is named after the clipper ship Loch Ard, which ran aground on nearby Muttonbird Island on 1 June 1878 killing all aboard but two survivors who were washed into the gorge and found shelter.
Photo credit: Diliff -
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 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: 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 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 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". -
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: 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: 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. -
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 -
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 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. -
The Big Picture, opening of the Parliament of Australia, 9 May 1901, painted by Tom Roberts.
The Commonwealth Parliament was opened on 9 May 1901 in the Royal Exhibition Building, the only building large enough to house the 14,000 guests. Thereafter, from 1901 to 1927 it met in Parliament House, Melbourne, which it borrowed from the parliament of the state of Victoria (which sat in the Exhibition Building). On 9 May 1927 the Parliament moved to the new national capital at Canberra, where it met in what is now called Old Parliament House. Intended to be temporary, this building in fact housed the Parliament for more than 60 years. The permanent Parliament House, Canberra was opened in 9 May 1988. The scene of the opening of the first Parliament was immortalised in The Big Picture, a painting by Australian artist Tom Roberts. -
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. -
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. -
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. -
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 -
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: 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.
On this day
- 1920 – The Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Service, later known as Qantas, is founded.
- 1941 – Actor and comedian Max Gillies is born in Melbourne.
- 1952 – Lang Hancock discovered iron ore deposits in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
- 2004 – The train Spirit of Townsville from Brisbane, bound for Cairns, is involved in the Rosedale train crash.
- 2005 – Australia qualifies for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
General images
The following are images from various Australia-related articles on Wikipedia.
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Dwellings accommodating Aboriginal families at Hermannsburg Mission, Northern Territory, 1923 (from Aboriginal Australians) -
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) -
The Matildas, Australia's national women's football team (from Culture of Australia) -
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Men from Bathurst Island, 1939 (from Aboriginal Australians) -
A billycan used for heating water (from Culture of Australia) -
House in Killara, New South Wales (from Culture of Australia) -
Noongar traditional dancers in Perth (from Aboriginal Australians) -
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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Convict architecture at Port Arthur, Tasmania (from Culture of Australia) -
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A typical Queenslander house in Brisbane (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) -
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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The Wiggles performing in the United States in 2007 (from Culture of Australia) -
Cover of Old Bush Songs, Banjo Paterson's 1905 collection of bush ballads (from Culture of Australia) -
The University of Sydney (from Culture of Australia) -
Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney (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) -
Kylie Minogue, one of Australia's most successful pop musicians (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) -
Governor Arthur Phillip hoists the British flag over the new colony at Sydney Cove in 1788 (from Culture of Australia) -
An Aboriginal encampment near the Adelaide foothills in an 1854 painting by Alexander Schramm (from Aboriginal Australians) -
Interior of St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney (from Culture of Australia) -
A group of Australian men wearing speedos (from Culture of Australia) -
Didgeridoo performers (from Culture of Australia) -
Singer-songwriter Paul Kelly (from Culture of Australia) -
The Princess Theatre in Melbourne (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) -
Portrait of Madame Melba by Rupert Bunny (from Culture of Australia) -
Statue in Fremantle of an Australian rules footballer taking a spectacular mark (from Culture of Australia) -
Historical image of Aboriginal Australian women and children, Maloga, New South Wales around 1900 (in European dress) (from Aboriginal Australians) -
Nan Tien Temple, a Buddhist temple in Wollongong. Multicultural immigration has increased Australia's religious diversity. (from Culture of Australia) -
Donald Bradman is often cited as statistically the greatest sportsman of any major sport. (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) -
The verandah is the dominant feature of this Federation Filigree-style pub in Ravenswood. (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) -
William Wentworth (1790–1872) was among the first to articulate a vision of Australian nationhood. (from Culture of Australia) -
A swagman in bushman's apparel, wearing a brimmed hat and carrying swag and billy can (from Culture of Australia) -
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Anzac Day dawn services are held throughout Australia every April. (from Culture of Australia) -
Cricket match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, 1860s (from Culture of Australia) -
The surf lifesaving movement originated in Australia. (Pictured: surf lifesavers, Bondi Beach, 1930s). (from Culture of Australia) -
The Bulletin, founded by J. F. Archibald (left), nurtured bush poets such as Henry Lawson (right). (from Culture of Australia) -
Parliament House, Canberra (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) -
The first State of Origin shield (from Culture of Australia) -
The Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne (from Culture of Australia) -
The SBS building in Melbourne's Federation Square. SBS is Australia's multicultural broadcaster. (from Culture of Australia) -
A Luritja man demonstrating method of attack with boomerang under cover of shield (1920) (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) -
Founded in 1993, Sydney's Tropfest is the world's largest short film festival. (from Culture of Australia)
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As of 16 November 2024, there are 205,554 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 526,270 pages in the project.
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