Portal:Australia

Introduction - Kangaroos on a beach. 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. It is the largest country in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest country by total area. The neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and East Timor to the north; the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east. The population of 25 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard. Australia's capital is Canberra, and its largest city is Sydney. The country's other major metropolitan areas are Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide. Indigenous Australians inhabited the continent for about 65,000 years prior to European discovery with the arrival of Dutch explorers in the early 17th century, who named it New Holland. 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 population grew steadily in subsequent decades, and by the time of an 1850s gold rush, most of the continent had been explored 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 that functions as a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy, comprising six states and ten territories. Being the oldest, flattest and driest inhabited continent, with the least fertile soils, Australia has a landmass of 7,617,930 square kilometres (2,941,300 sq mi). A megadiverse country, its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes, with deserts in the centre, tropical rainforests in the north-east and mountain ranges in the south-east. Its population density, 2.8 inhabitants per square kilometre, remains among the lowest in the world. Australia generates its income from various sources including mining-related exports, telecommunications, banking, and manufacturing. Selected article - Alan Kippax (25 May 1897–5 September 1972) was a cricketer for New South Wales (NSW) and Australia. Regarded as one of the great stylists of Australian cricket during the interwar period, Kippax overcame a late start to Test cricket to become a regular in the Australian team between 1928–29 and 1932–33. A middle-order batsman, he toured England twice, and at domestic level was a prolific scorer and a highly considered leader of NSW for eight years. To an extent, his Test figures did not correspond with his great success for NSW and he is best remembered for a performance in domestic cricket — a world record last wicket partnership, set during a Sheffield Shield match in 1928–29. His career curtailed due to the controversial Bodyline tactics employed by England on their 1932–33 tour of Australia. Kippax wrote a book denouncing the tactics after the series concluded. Selected image - Wattle Point Wind Farm is a wind farm near Edithburgh on the coast of South Australia. Upon officially opening in June 2005 it became Australia's largest wind farm at 91 megawatts. The installation consists of 55 wind turbines and was built at a cost of around AU$165 million. Photo credit: Scott Davis Subportals   New South Wales Queensland Western Australia (Northern Territory) South Australia Victoria Tasmania Australian Capital Territory Related portals   Oceania New Zealand Antarctica British Empire In the news   18 May 2019 - The 2019 Australian federal election results in the reelection of the Liberal/National coalition. 24 August 2018 – Scott Morrison becomes Prime Minister of Australia when Malcolm Turnbull resigns as Liberal Party leader following two leadership spills. 1 July 2018 – The Australian Space Agency commences operation. 9 May 2018 – The High Court of Australia rules in Re: Gallagher that Katy Gallagher was ineligible to be chosen as a Senator, as her submission of a renunciation of British citizenship was not sufficient to meet the "reasonable steps" clause of Section 44 of the Constitution of Australia. Four lower house MPs in the same situation subsequently resign: Labor's Justine Keay, Susan Lamb and Josh Wilson, and Centre Alliance's Rebekha Sharkie. On this day... - 21 August: 1842 – Hobart was proclaimed a city. 1943 – Enid Lyons and Dorothy Tangney are the first Australian women elected to the Australian House of Representatives and Senate respectively. 1984 – The Federal budget is televised for the first time. 2005 – Michelle Leslie is arrested in Bali after being found with two ecstasy pills in her handbag at an open-air dance party just outside of Kuta. More Australian anniversaries Did you know... - ... that Troughman is mythically famous in Sydney, Australia for lying down in urinals? ... that Jordan Rankin, at 16 years and 238 days, is the youngest player to make his first-grade debut in Australian rugby league in over 70 years? ... that Reg Lindsay was an Australian Country and Western singer who won three Golden Guitars Awards and wrote more than five hundred songs in his fifty year music career? ... that the murder of Celia Douty was the first murder in Australia to be solved using DNA profiling, after remaining unsolved for 18 years? ...that the town of Bismarck in Tasmania was renamed Collinsvale due to anti-German sentiment during World War I? ...that Indigenous Australian activist Michael Mansell convinced Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi to officially recognise a separate Aboriginal Australian passport in order to draw international attention to the issue of native land rights? ...that Wally Koochew was the first VFL player of Chinese background? ...that Wing Commander Stanley Goble and Flying Officer Ivor McIntyre, piloting a single-engined seaplane (pictured), became the first men to circumnavigate Australia by air in 1924? ...that a series of storms in south-east Queensland spawned two of the most powerful supercells and tornadoes in recorded Australian history? ...that the lamington cake is believed to have been named after Charles Cochrane-Baillie, 2nd Baron Lamington, the Governor of Queensland at the time of its invention? ...that during the first seven years of the Australian edition of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? nobody won the top prize of one million dollars? Selected cuisine - AB packs A Halal Snack Pack is a dish consisting of halal-certified doner kebab meat (lamb, chicken, or beef) and chips. It also includes different kinds of sauces, usually chilli, garlic, and barbecue. Yoghurt, cheese, jalapeño peppers, tabbouleh, and hummus are common additions. The snack pack is traditionally served in a styrofoam container, and has been described as a staple takeaway dish of kebab shops in Australia. Some Australian restaurant menus refer to the dish as a "snack pack", "snack box", "mixed plate", or "HSP", rather than as a "halal snack pack". The name of the dish was chosen by the Macquarie Dictionary as the "People's Choice Word of the Year" for 2016. Read more... Subtopics   Associated Wikimedia -