P:AUS
Portal:Australia
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Introduction
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. Australia is the largest country by area in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest country. Australia is the oldest, flattest, and driest inhabited continent, with the least fertile soils. It is a megadiverse country, and its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes and climates, with deserts in the centre, tropical rainforests in the north-east, tropical savannas in the north, and mountain ranges in the south-east.
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 the continent and had 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 European maritime exploration. The Dutch were the first known Europeans to reach Australia, in 1606. 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 constitutional monarchy comprising six states and ten territories: the states of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia; the major mainland Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory; and other minor or external territories. Its population of nearly 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, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide, which each possess a population of at least one million inhabitants. Australian governments have promoted multiculturalism since the 1970s. Australia is culturally diverse and has one of the highest foreign-born populations in the world. Its abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade relations are crucial to the country's economy, which generates its income from various sources: predominantly services (including banking, real estate and international education) as well as mining, manufacturing and agriculture. It ranks highly for quality of life, health, education, economic freedom, civil liberties and political rights.
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The Sydney Riot of 1879 was an instance of civil disorder that occurred at an early international cricket match. It took place on 8 February 1879 at what is now the Sydney Cricket Ground (at the time known as the Association Ground), during a match between New South Wales, captained by Dave Gregory, and a touring English team, captained by Lord Harris. (Full article...)
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- ... that Anna Burke was the second woman to give birth while a member of the Australian House of Representatives?
- ... that Australian communist Harry Stein was personally invited by Prime Minister Nguyễn Cao Kỳ to tour South Vietnam?
- ... that the Bluey special "The Sign" reminded a Sydney Morning Herald reporter of Australia's housing crisis?
- ... that Towa Tei's "Sometime Samurai" remained unfinished for eight years until Australian singer Kylie Minogue re-recorded the song in 2004?
- ... that on its maiden voyage from Liverpool to Australia, the George Roper ran aground and was wrecked?
- ... that the memorabilia of Jennie Scott Griffiths, a Texan who died in California, are housed in the National Library of Australia?
- ... that Australian rules football coach Sampson Hosking named himself in Port Adelaide's team at the age of 48?
- ... that Australia-born rugby union player Jason Jones-Hughes was the subject of a protracted legal battle over his international eligibility after Wales called him up for the 1999 Rugby World Cup?
In the news
- 22 May 2024 – 2024 New Caledonia unrest
- Australia and New Zealand begin evacuating their citizens from New Caledonia amid civil unrest. (AP)
- 9 May 2024 – Australia–Tuvalu relations
- Australia and Tuvalu sign a new security agreement, whereby Australia agrees to protect Tuvalu during natural disasters, pandemics, or military aggression. (AP)
- 5 May 2024 – Terrorism in Australia
- A man is injured in a stabbing at a car park in Perth, Australia. The 16-year-old perpetrator is killed by police officers and is described as a "religious radicalized individual". A possible Islamist motive is behind the attack. (DW)
- 3 May 2024 –
- Mexican authorities locate the bodies of three tourists, one American and two Australians, in Baja California, where they were reported missing in April. Three people have been arrested and are being questioned in relation to the case. (Reuters) (BBC News)
- 28 April 2024 –
- Nicole Kidman becomes the first Australian to earn the AFI Life Achievement Award for her contribution to American cinema. (Rolling Stone)
- 19 April 2024 – 2024 Iran–Israel conflict
- The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade tells its citizens to leave Israel, citing a high threat of military reprisals and terrorist attacks. (Times of Israel)
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- Image 1Photo: 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.
- Image 2Photo 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.
- Image 3Photo 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.
- Image 4
The Petrov Affair was a Cold War spy drama in Australia in April 1954, involving the defection of Vladimir Petrov, third secretary in the Soviet embassy in Canberra. Petrov's wife, Evdokia Petrova, a Russian spy, came to the centre of the affair when she was seized by Australian Security Intelligence Organisation agents from MVD agents who were escorting her from the country. Images of Petrova as she was taken by ASIO agents and made her decision to defect became iconic in Australia in the 1950s.
Photo credit: National Archives of Australia - Image 5Photo: 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.
- Image 6
The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, sometimes referred to as the Bluewater Classic, is a yacht race held over a distance of 630 nmi (1,170 km) between Sydney and Hobart. It commences on Boxing Day each year, and is hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia and Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania. The race was initially planned to be a cruise, but has grown since the inaugural race in 1945 to become one of the pre-eminent offshore yacht races in the world, now attracting maxi yachts from North America and Europe. The 2004 race marked the 60th running of the event.
Photo credit: Brian Voon Yee Yap - Image 7A Beautiful Firetail (Stagonopleura bella) male (top) and female. In this common Australian species of estrildid finch, nest-building and raising children is done collaboratively.
- Image 8
Byron Bay is a coastal town in the state of New South Wales of almost 30,000 people. Located approximately 800 kilometres north of Sydney and 200 kilometres south of Brisbane, the town is situated near Cape Byron at the eastern-most point of the Australian continent. The town is a popular tourist destination and is known for its pristine beaches, wildlife, alternative lifestyle and music festivals.
Photo credit: Mike Lehmann - Image 9
Mount Lofty at 727 metres is the highest point in the Mount Lofty Ranges east of Adelaide in South Australia. It was first climbed by a European when explorer Collet Barker climbed it in April 1831, almost seven years before Adelaide was settled. It had been named by Matthew Flinders on his circumnavigation of Australia in 1802.
Photo credit: Mel Mazzone - Image 10Photo 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.
- Image 11Photo 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.
- Image 12Photo credit: John O'NeillA Common Grass Blue (Zizina labradus), a small Australian butterfly. This specimen, perched on a rose, is approximately 10 millimetres (0.4 in) in size. Females generally have a larger wingspan compared to males (23 and 20 mm or 0.9 and 0.8 in respectively).
- Image 13
The Australian National Botanic Gardens are located in Canberra and are administered by the Commonwealth Government Department of the Environment and Heritage. The botanic gardens are a collection of native Australian flora arrange by taxonomy or natural ecological groupings. The gardens maintains a wide variety of botanical resources for researchers and cultivates native plants threatened in the wild. The concept for a national botanic gardens developed in the 1930s as Canberra was built, with the gardens officially opened in 1970 on a site of 90 hectares astride the Black Mountain
Photo credit: Fir0002 - Image 14
The red-winged fairy-wren (Malurus elegans) is a species of passerine bird in the family Maluridae. It is sedentary and endemic to the southwestern corner of Western Australia. Exhibiting a high degree of sexual dimorphism, the male adopts a brilliantly coloured breeding plumage, with an iridescent silvery-blue crown, ear coverts and upper back, red shoulders, contrasting with a black throat, grey-brown tail and wings and pale underparts.
Photo credit: Cas Liber - Image 15Photo credit: Fir0002Nick 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.
- Image 16Photo: 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.
- Image 17Photo: Benjamint444The Tawny Frogmouth (Podargus strigoides) is a large species of frogmouth found throughout the Australian mainland, Tasmania, and southern New Guinea. Unlike the owl for which it is often mistaken, the Tawny Frogmouth is not a bird of prey. Instead, it is almost exclusively insectivorous. For defense, it relies on cryptic camouflage, standing still to appear part of a branch.
- Image 18Photo: 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.
- Image 19Photo 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.
- Image 20Photo 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.
- Image 21Photo: 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.
- Image 22
The Eastern Banjo Frog, Limnodynastes dumerilli, is a frog species from the family Myobatrachidae. It is native to eastern Australia and has been introduced to New Zealand. The frog is also commonly called the "pobblebonk" after its distinctive "bonk" call, which is likened to a banjo string being plucked.
Photo credit: Fir0002
On this day
- 1835 – Batman's Treaty is created between John Batman and Wurundjeri elders to secure the land around Port Phillip Bay for the establishment of Melbourne. The treaty was later declared void by the Governor of New South Wales, Richard Bourke.
- 1859 – The colony of Queensland is established by decree of Queen Victoria.
- 1915 – The BHP steelworks opens in Newcastle.
- 1916 – The Returned and Services League of Australia was founded.
- 1943 – Butter and household linen is rationed.
- 1999 – Sydney Swans player Tony Lockett becomes the highest goal-kicker in Australian rules football.
General images
- Image 1Dwellings accommodating Aboriginal families at Hermannsburg Mission, Northern Territory, 1923 (from Aboriginal Australians)
- Image 2Anzac Day dawn services are held throughout Australia every April. (from Culture of Australia)
- Image 3Kylie Minogue is hailed as one of Australia's most successful pop musicians (from Culture of Australia)
- Image 4Golden Wattle, Australia's floral emblem and the source of Australia's national colours, green and gold (from Culture of Australia)
- Image 5Nan Tien Temple, a Buddhist temple in Wollongong. Multicultural immigration has increased Australia's religious diversity. (from Culture of Australia)
- Image 6The SBS building in Melbourne's Federation Square. SBS is Australia's multicultural broadcaster. (from Culture of Australia)
- Image 7St Mary Mackillop established an extensive network of schools and is Australia's first canonised saint of the Catholic Church. (from Culture of Australia)
- Image 8Historical image of Aboriginal Australian women and children, Maloga, New South Wales around 1900 (in European dress) (from Aboriginal Australians)
- Image 9Donald Bradman is often cited as statistically the greatest sportsman of any major sport. (from Culture of Australia)
- Image 10A commemorative statue of John Simpson Kirkpatrick, a famous stretcher bearer who was killed in the Gallipoli Campaign. (from Culture of Australia)
- Image 13Actor playing the bushranger Ned Kelly in The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906), the world's first feature film (from Culture of Australia)
- Image 14An Aboriginal encampment near the Adelaide foothills in an 1854 painting by Alexander Schramm (from Aboriginal Australians)
- Image 17Skiing in Australia began in Kiandra, a goldmining town in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, in the 1860s. (from Culture of Australia)
- Image 18Countries of birth of Australian estimated resident population, 2006 (from Culture of Australia)
- Image 22Cover of Old Bush Songs, Banjo Paterson's 1905 collection of bush ballads (from Culture of Australia)
- Image 23A group of Australian men wearing speedos. (from Culture of Australia)
- Image 25Phar Lap winning the Melbourne Cup, "the race that stops a nation" (from Culture of Australia)
- Image 29A swagman in bushman's apparel, wearing a brimmed hat and carrying swag, and billy can. (from Culture of Australia)
- Image 30The Bulletin, founded by J. F. Archibald (left), nurtured bush poets such as Henry Lawson (right). (from Culture of Australia)
- Image 31Governor Arthur Phillip hoists the British flag over the new colony at Sydney Cove in 1788. (from Culture of Australia)
- Image 34A Luritja man demonstrating method of attack with boomerang under cover of shield (1920) (from Culture of Australia)
- Image 36South 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)
- Image 37The 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)
- Image 38The surf lifesaving movement originated in Australia. (Pictured: surf lifesavers, Bondi Beach, 1930s). (from Culture of Australia)
- Image 39An Eastern Arrernte man of the Arltunga district, Northern Territory, in 1923. His hut is decked with porcupine grass. (from Aboriginal Australians)
- Image 46PCA of Orang Asli (Semang) and Andamanese, with worldwide populations in HGDP. (from Aboriginal Australians)
- Image 49Corroboree 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)
- Image 50William Wentworth was among the first advocates for Australian nationhood, supporting the rights of emancipists and leading the creation of Australia's first parliament (from Culture of Australia)
- Image 51Statue in Fremantle of an Australian rules footballer taking a spectacular mark (from Culture of Australia)
- Image 52Sheep 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)
- Image 54Founded in 1993, Sydney's Tropfest is the world's largest short film festival. (from Culture of Australia)
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As of 5 June 2024, there are 203,336 articles within the scope of WikiProject Australia, of which 595 are featured and 882 are good articles. This makes up 2.98% of the articles on Wikipedia, 5.48% of all featured articles and lists, and 2.22% of all good articles (see WP:AUSFG). Including non-article pages, such as talk pages, redirects, categories, etcetera, there are 518,942 pages in the project.
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