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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. With an area of 7,617,930 square kilometres (2,941,300 sq mi), 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, and mountain ranges in the south-east.
Indigenous Australians have inhabited the continent for approximately 65,000 years. The European maritime exploration of Australia commenced in the early 17th century with the arrival of Dutch explorers. In 1770, Australia's eastern half was claimed by Great Britain and initially settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales from 26 January 1788, a date which became Australia's national day. The European population grew steadily in subsequent decades, and by the time of an 1850s gold rush, most of the continent had been explored by European settlers and an additional five self-governing crown colonies established. On 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia has since maintained a stable liberal democratic political system and wealthy market economy.
Politically, Australia is a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy, comprising six states and ten territories. Australia's population of nearly 26 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard. Canberra is the nation's capital, while the five largest cities are Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide. Australia's demography has been shaped by centuries of immigration: immigrants account for 30% of the country's population, and almost half of Australians have at least one parent born overseas. Australia's abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade relations are crucial to the country's economy, which generates its income from various sources including services, mining exports, banking, manufacturing, agriculture and international education.
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Featured articles are displayed here, which represent some of the best content on English Wikipedia.
Selected biography -
William Henry Kibby, VC (15 April 1903 – 31 October 1942) was a British-born Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross during World War II, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that could be awarded to a member of the Australian armed forces at the time. Kibby emigrated to South Australia with his parents in early 1914 and worked as an interior decorator and served in the part-time Militia prior to World War II. In 1940, he enlisted in the all-volunteer Second Australian Imperial Force and joined the 2/48th Infantry Battalion. His unit was sent to the Middle East, but soon after arriving, Kibby broke his leg and spent the next year recovering and undergoing further training while his battalion took part in the North African campaign. He rejoined his unit when it was serving on garrison duties in northern Syria after its involvement in the siege of Tobruk, but in June 1942 it was sent to Egypt and recommitted to the North Africa campaign. Kibby was with the battalion during the First Battle of El Alamein in July. (Full article...)
Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... that in the 1980s, Amanda Villepastour, now an ethnomusicologist at Cardiff University, was the keyboardist in Australian new wave band Eurogliders?
- ... that when a spectator tried to help Australia's first Olympian Edwin Flack after he collapsed during the 1896 marathon event, the athlete punched him to the ground?
- ... that the 2007 Heineken Cup Final was the last rugby union match for coach Pat Howard before he returned to Australia to take over the family pharmacy business?
- ... that the recently restored Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Roebourne is the oldest church in North West Australia?
- ... that Kylie Minogue's seventh studio album, Light Years, was her first number-one album in her native Australia?
- ... that Daviesia devito and D. schwarzenegger are two Australian peas?
- ... that Fontainea venosa is a vulnerable rare plant in Australia?
- ... that Australian senator Ben Small had been a ship's officer, bar owner, paramedic, ambulance trainer, and logistician before entering politics?
In the news
- 11 July 2022 –
- New South Wales premier Dominic Perrottet announces that the Australian Aboriginal Flag will be flown permanently above the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which is widely regarded as an iconic Australian landmark. The flag will be flown on top of the bridge's arches alongside the national flag, replacing the flag of New South Wales, after the state government decided against accommodating all three flags. (CNN)
- 10 July 2022 – 2022 Wimbledon Championships
- Novak Djokovic of Serbia wins his seventh Wimbledon and overall 21st Grand Slam title after defeating Nick Kyrgios of Australia in the men's singles final, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4, 7–6 (7–3). (BBC Sport)
- 3 July 2022 –
- Fifty-one people are arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy while trying to emigrate to Australia by sea. Police said that undocumented immigration has increased because of Sri Lanka's economic crisis. (Outlook)
- 17 June 2022 –
- The English men's cricket team achieve the highest ever One Day International score of 498 against The Netherlands, beating their previous world record of 481 against Australia in 2018. (BBC Sport)
Selected pictures -
Sturt's Desert Pea is an Australian plant in the genus Swainsona. One of Australia's best-known wildflowers, it is known for its distinctive blood-red leaf-like flowers, each with a bulbous black centre, or "boss". It is native to the arid regions of central and north-western Australia, and its range extends into all mainland Australian states with the exception of Victoria. It is the floral emblem of South Australia.
Photo credit: Fir0002
The Australian Alps are the highest mountain ranges of mainland Australia. They are located in south-eastern Australia, straddling far southern New South Wales and eastern Victoria. The Alps contain the Australian mainland's only peaks exceeding 2,000 metres AHD and it is only here that snow occurs regularly.
Photo credit: Fir0002
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 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.
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
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.
Photo credit: Fir0002Two 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.
Photo: 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.
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: 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.
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 referenda to modify the Australian Constitution took place during his term.
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 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: 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 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.
The Art Gallery of South Australia located in Adelaide is the most significant visual arts museum in the Australian state of South Australia. It has a collection of almost 45,000 works of art, making it the second largest state art collection in Australia (after the National Gallery of Victoria).
Photo credit: K. Lindstrom
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
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.
Photo credit: Noodle snacksA 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.
The Weedy Sea Dragon or Common Sea Dragon (Phyllopteryx taeniolatus) is a marine fish related to the seahorse. It is the only member of the genus Phyllopteryx. They occur in water 3 to 50 metres deep round the southern coastline of Australia, approximately between Port Stephens, New South Wales and Geraldton, Western Australia, as well as around Tasmania. Weedy Sea Dragons are named for the weed-like projections on their bodies that camouflage them as they move among the seaweed beds where they are usually found.
Photo credit: Richard Ling
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.
On this day
- 1914 – The First Australian Imperial Force was formed following Britain's declaration of War on Germany.
- 1945 – VP Day is celebrated.
- 1969 – Bernard Fanning, lead singer of Powderfinger is born.
- 1983 – Hon Sir James Killen, first elected to the Australian House of Representatives on 10 December 1955, resigned. He was one of the longer serving members.
General images
Actor playing the bushranger Ned Kelly in The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906), the world's first feature film (from Culture of Australia)
Anzac Day dawn services are held throughout Australia every April. (from Culture of Australia)
A typical Queenslander house in Brisbane (from Culture of Australia)
Aboriginal dwellings in Hermannsburg, Northern Territory, 1923. Image: Herbert Basedow (from Aboriginal Australians)
Founded in 1993, Sydney's Tropfest is the world's largest short film festival. (from Culture of Australia)
Kylie Minogue is hailed as 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 initial human settlement of Oceania is estimated to be between 60 and 40 kya. The archaeogenetic results indicate a colonization of Australia (southern Sahul) before 37 kya and an incubation period in northern Sahul (Papua New Guinea) followed by westward expansions within Australia after ~28 kya. Principal component analysis of ancient and present-day individuals from Eurasian populations. (from Aboriginal Australians)
Portrait of Madame Melba by Rupert Bunny (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)
The Bulletin, founded by J. F. Archibald (left), nurtured bush poets such as Henry Lawson (right). (from Culture of Australia)
A swagman in bushman's apparel, wearing a brimmed hat and carrying swag, and billy can. (from Culture of Australia)
Parliament House, Canberra (from Culture of Australia)
The Wiggles performing in the United States in 2007 (from Culture of Australia)
Noongar traditional dancers, Perth, Australia (from Aboriginal Australians)
PCA of Orang Asli (Semang) and Andamanese, with worldwide populations in HGDP. (from Aboriginal Australians)
Didgeridoo performers (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)
The surf lifesaving movement originated in Australia. (Pictured: surf lifesavers, Bondi Beach, 1930s). (from Culture of Australia)
The first State of Origin shield (from Culture of Australia)
Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney (from Culture of Australia)
Historical image of Aboriginal Australian women and children, Maloga, New South Wales around 1900 (in European dress) (from Aboriginal Australians)
Victorian era buildings in Collins Street, Melbourne (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)
Governor Arthur Phillip hoists the British flag over the new colony at Sydney in 1788. (from Culture of Australia)
The Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne (from Culture of Australia)
Nan Tien Temple, a Buddhist temple in Wollongong. Multicultural immigration has increased Australia's religious diversity. (from Culture of Australia)
Sydney Opera House (foreground) and Sydney Harbor Bridge (from Culture of Australia)
The Princess Theatre in Melbourne (from Culture of Australia)
Countries of birth of Australian estimated resident population, 2006 (from Culture of Australia)
Birdsville Hotel, an Australian pub in outback Queensland (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)
St Mary Mackillop established an extensive network of schools and is Australia's first canonised saint of the Catholic Church. (from Culture of Australia)
The SBS building in Melbourne's Federation Square. SBS is Australia's multicultural broadcaster. (from Culture of Australia)
Phar Lap winning the Melbourne Cup, "the race that stops a nation" (from Culture of Australia)
A group of Australian men wearing budgie smugglers. (from Culture of Australia)
Donald Bradman is often cited as statistically the greatest sportsman of any major sport. (from Culture of Australia)
Federation Bungalow in Killara, Sydney (from Culture of Australia)
Golden Wattle, Australia's floral emblem and the source of Australia's national colors, green and gold (from Culture of Australia)
A billycan used for heating water (from Culture of Australia)
Statue in Fremantle of an Australian rules footballer taking a spectacular mark (from Culture of Australia)
Convict architecture at Port Arthur, Tasmania (from Culture of Australia)
Men from Bathurst Island, 1939 (from Aboriginal Australians)
The Australian Aboriginal Flag (from Aboriginal Australians)
Dame Edna Everage, a comic creation of Barry Humphries (from Culture of Australia)
A Luritja man demonstrating method of attack with boomerang under cover of shield (1920) (from Culture of Australia)
Bush tucker harvested in Alice Springs (from Culture of Australia)
C. J. Dennis, poetic humorist of Australian English (from Culture of Australia)
1st row: Windradyne, David Gulpilil, Albert Namatjira, David Unaipon, Mandawuy Yunupingu 2nd row: Truganini, Yagan, Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, Bennelong, Robert Tudawali (from Aboriginal Australians)
An Aboriginal encampment near the Adelaide foothills in an 1854 painting by Alexander Schramm (from Aboriginal Australians)
A commemorative statue of John Simpson Kirkpatrick, a famous stretcher bearer who was killed in the Gallipoli Campaign. (from Culture of Australia)
Singer-songwriter Paul Kelly (from Culture of Australia)
Cricket match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, 1860s (from Culture of Australia)
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