Portal:Australia
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Introduction
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The Pinnacles, Western 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. 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.The Barry Sheene Medal is an annual award honouring the achievements of a driver in the Supercars Championship, an Australian touring car series. Tony Cochrane, the chairman of the championship's organising body Australian Vee Eight Supercar Company (AVESCO), instigated the award in 2003. The medal is named after the two-time Grand Prix motorcycle world champion and motor racing television commentator Barry Sheene. It is presented to the driver adjudged to have displayed "outstanding leadership, media interaction, character, personality, fan appeal and sportsmanship throughout the season". A panel of motor racing journalists individually award three drivers scores of three, two and one points after every event of the season. The results are announced at the series' end-of-season gala in Sydney. (Full article...)
Selected biography -
Entries here consist of Good and Featured articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.
Vere Gordon Childe (14 April 1892 – 19 October 1957) was an Australian archaeologist who specialised in the study of European prehistory. He spent most of his life in the United Kingdom, working as an academic for the University of Edinburgh and then the Institute of Archaeology, London. He wrote twenty-six books during his career. Initially an early proponent of culture-historical archaeology, he later became the first exponent of Marxist archaeology in the Western world. (Full article...)
Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... that South Australian Labor premier Des Corcoran was mentioned in despatches for courage and skill in evacuating casualties during the Korean War?
- ... that Australia's most threatened butterfly is confined to a native range of less than 10 square kilometres (3.9 sq mi)?
- ... that Mabel Freer was deported from Australia because she could not speak Italian?
- ... that the first imported copies of Norman Lindsay's Age of Consent were confiscated by Australian customs authorities?
- ... that Collingwood coach Robert Harvey gave Anton Tohill his AFL debut in 2021, having played International Rules Series against Tohill's father in the 1990s?
- ... that Australiformis semoni is a parasite that infests marsupials in Australia and New Guinea and whose infestation could cause debilitating ulcerative granulomatous gastritis?
- ... that audience members interrogated suspects in an Australian Cluedo game show based on the board game?
- ... that indigenous Australian artist Daniel Boyd has depicted colonial figures including Captain James Cook and Governor Arthur Phillip as pirates?
In the news
- 2 December 2024 – Maritime drug smuggling into Australia
- Australian Federal Police announces they have arrested thirteen men, including the vice president of the outlaw Comanchero Motorcycle Club and two teenagers, for illegally smuggling 2.34 tonnes of cocaine into the country after their fishing boat broke down off the coast of Urangan, Queensland, Australia. (Al Jazeera) (RNZ) (ABC News)
- 29 November 2024 – 2024–25 Australian region cyclone season
- The death toll from the floods and landslides in North Sumatra, Indonesia, increases to 31, with ten others injured, and dozens of others missing. (DW)
- 28 November 2024 – 2024–25 Australian region cyclone season
- Landslides and flash floods caused by Cyclone Robyn kill at least 27 people and injure dozens of others in North Sumatra, Indonesia. (Reuters)
- 28 November 2024 –
- The Australian House of Representatives passes a bill to restrict social media access for people under the age of 16 years. (NBC News)
- 25 November 2024 – 2024–25 Australian region cyclone season
- Sixteen people are killed and six others are missing in flash floods caused by Tropical Low 01U in Sumatra, Indonesia. (AP) (The Irish Examiner)
- 25 November 2024 – Censorship in Australia
- Australian Parliament vetoes a bill that would authorize the Australian Communications and Media Authority to implement detailed surveillance on digital platforms and enforce anti-misinformation punitive measures on them, which opposition politicians condemn as "censorship laws" and a betrayal to democracy. (AP)
Selected pictures -
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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 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. -
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 -
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: 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. -
Adelaide Festival Centre from the north bank of the River Torrens.
The Adelaide Festival Centre is a multi-purpose arts centre in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. It is situated adjacent to Elder Park on the banks of the River Torrens, northwest of the intersection of North Terrace and King William Street. The centre is distinguished by its three silvery-white tetrahedron dome roofs and its plaza consisting of lego block-like sculptures. It was opened in 1973 by Don Dunstan as the home for performing arts in South Australia, and the centre remains the principal venue for the Adelaide Festival of Arts.
Photo credit: Michael -
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". -
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: 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. -
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 -
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. -
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. -
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: 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. -
Banknotes of the Australian pound were first issued by numerous private banks in Australia, starting with the Bank of New South Wales in 1817. Acceptance of private bank notes was not made compulsory by legal tender laws but they were widely used and accepted. The Queensland government issued treasury notes (1866–1869) and banknotes (1893–1910) which were legal tender in Queensland. The New South Wales government issued a limited series of Treasury Notes in 1893. The Commonwealth government passed an Act in 1910 which prohibited the issue of banknotes by private banks, and established Commonwealth powers to issue, re-issue, and cancel Australian notes. These notes were initially issued by the Australian Treasury, and then by the Commonwealth Bank from 1920. The Australian pound was replaced by the Australian dollar in 1966.
This note, denominated five pounds, is part of the 1924 series.
See other denominations: 10 shillings (1918) · £1 (1918) · £5 (1918) · £10 (1918) · £20 (1918) · £50 (1918) · £100 (1918) · Half sovereign (1923) · £1 (1923) · £10 (1925) -
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: 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. -
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: 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. -
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). -
Corymbia flowers
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of trees (rarely shrubs), the members of which dominate the tree flora of Australia. There are more than 700 species of Eucalyptus, mostly native to Australia, with a very small number found in adjacent parts of New Guinea and Indonesia. Eucalypts can be found in almost every part of the continent, adapted to all of Australia's climatic conditions; in fact, no other continent is so characterised by a single genus of tree as Australia is by eucalyptus. Many, but far from all, are known as gum trees; other names for various species include mallee, box, ironbark, stringybark, and ash.
Photo credit: Fir0002
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On this day
- 1851 – Charles La Trobe forwards a Victorian Legislative Council motion opposing further transportation; it is passed unanimously.
- 1960 – Athlete Glynis Nunn is born in Toowoomba, Queensland.
- 1976 – The Royal Australian Navy's fleet of Grumman Tracker aircraft is destroyed by arson at Nowra, New South Wales.
- 1995 – A gas explosion at Kogarah railway station, Sydney kills two people.
General images
The following are images from various Australia-related articles on Wikipedia.
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William Wentworth (1790–1872) was among the first to articulate a vision of Australian nationhood. (from Culture of Australia) -
House in Killara, New South Wales (from Culture of Australia) -
A group of Australian men wearing speedos (from Culture of Australia) -
Historical image of Aboriginal Australian women and children, Maloga, New South Wales around 1900 (in European dress) (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) -
Donald Bradman is often cited as statistically the greatest sportsman of any major sport. (from Culture of Australia) -
Portrait of Madame Melba by Rupert Bunny (from Culture of Australia) -
Dwellings accommodating Aboriginal families at Hermannsburg Mission, Northern Territory, 1923 (from Aboriginal Australians) -
Governor Arthur Phillip hoists the British flag over the new colony at Sydney Cove in 1788 (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 Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne (from Culture of Australia) -
A Luritja man demonstrating method of attack with boomerang under cover of shield (1920) (from Culture of Australia) -
The first State of Origin shield (from Culture of Australia) -
Convict architecture at Port Arthur, Tasmania (from Culture of Australia) -
PCA of Orang Asli (Semang) and Andamanese, with worldwide populations in HGDP. (from Aboriginal Australians) -
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The Matildas, Australia's national women's football team (from Culture of Australia) -
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) -
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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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) -
Statue in Fremantle of an Australian rules footballer taking a spectacular mark (from Culture of Australia) -
Didgeridoo performers (from Culture of Australia) -
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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Cricket match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, 1860s (from Culture of Australia) -
The Wiggles performing in the United States in 2007 (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 typical Queenslander house in Brisbane (from Culture of Australia) -
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Singer-songwriter Paul Kelly (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) -
The Bulletin, founded by J. F. Archibald (left), nurtured bush poets such as Henry Lawson (right). (from Culture of Australia) -
The University of Sydney (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) -
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 surf lifesaving movement originated in Australia. (Pictured: surf lifesavers, Bondi Beach, 1930s). (from Culture of Australia) -
An Aboriginal encampment near the Adelaide foothills in an 1854 painting by Alexander Schramm (from Aboriginal Australians) -
Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney (from Culture of Australia) -
The SBS building in Melbourne's Federation Square. SBS is Australia's multicultural broadcaster. (from Culture of Australia) -
Anzac Day dawn services are held throughout Australia every April. (from Culture of Australia) -
Countries of birth of Australian estimated resident population, 2006 (from Culture of Australia) -
Interior of St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney (from Culture of Australia) -
Parliament House, Canberra (from Culture of Australia) -
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Noongar traditional dancers in Perth (from Aboriginal Australians) -
A swagman in bushman's apparel, wearing a brimmed hat and carrying swag and billy can (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. -
Kylie Minogue, one of Australia's most successful pop musicians (from Culture of Australia) -
Cover of Old Bush Songs, Banjo Paterson's 1905 collection of bush ballads (from Culture of Australia) -
The verandah is the dominant feature of this Federation Filigree-style pub in Ravenswood. (from Culture of Australia)
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As of 4 December 2024, there are 205,909 articles within the scope of WikiProject Australia, of which 595 are featured and 886 are good articles. This makes up 2.98% of the articles on Wikipedia, 5.34% 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 527,142 pages in the project.
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