Portal:Australia
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Introduction
Dawn at Swifts Creek, 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. It 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 in Oceania. Australia is the world's flattest and driest inhabited continent. 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 one of the oldest living cultures 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 almost 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 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.
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Warner Bros. Movie World is a theme park on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. Owned and operated by Village Roadshow Theme Parks, the park opened on 3 June 1991. It is part of a 154-hectare (380.5-acre) entertainment precinct, with the adjacent Village Roadshow Studios and nearby Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast, among other sites operated by Village Roadshow. Movie World is Australia's only film-related theme park and the oldest of the Warner Bros. parks worldwide (the others are at Madrid and Abu Dhabi). As of 2016, it receives a yearly average of 1.4 million visitors. (Full article...)
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Faith Yvonne Leech (31 March 1941 – 14 September 2013) was an Australian freestyle swimmer who won a gold medal in the 4×100–metre freestyle relay and bronze in the 100-metre freestyle at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. (Full article...)
Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... that Nixon's "Slaughtergate" scandal involved selling kangaroo meat as beef?
- ... that the Australian Light Weight Air Warning Radar was once loaded using canoes and later manhandled up a 200-foot cliff?
- ... that the 2023 Aston by-election was the first time in more than 100 years that the governing party won a seat from the opposition at an Australian by-election?
- ... that Aboriginal soldier Tim Hughes was decorated for remarkable bravery, exceptional coolness and initiative during the Battle of Buna–Gona?
- ... that in the 1920s, Australian journalist E. George Marks predicted military conflict in the Pacific between Japan and the United States?
- ... that Lord Stonehaven, Governor-General of Australia, called Hay War Memorial High School the "finest war memorial in the British Empire"?
- ... that Australian gamer Zer0 led his team to an Apex Legends Global Series championship with a substitution teammate to whom he had never spoken before?
- ... that an Australian High Court case found a hotel chain to have used third-party contractors to avoid paying employees their required benefits?
In the news
- 3 May 2025 – 2025 Australian federal election
- The Australian Labor Party under current Prime Minister Anthony Albanese increases its majority in the House of Representatives, winning a second term. (ABC News Australia).
- 20 April 2025 –
- The death toll from drownings during the week across Australia increases to seven after a fisherman dies after being swept off rocks near Sydney. Three people remain missing and one other was injured. (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
- 7 April 2025 – Tariffs in the second Trump administration, Executive orders in the second presidency of Donald Trump
- The Nikkei 225, SSE Composite Index, and Hang Seng Index experience substantial losses following Friday’s losses on the New York Stock Exchange as a result of U.S. president Donald Trump's tariffs. European markets also decline, particularly in banking and defense sectors. The ASX 200 in Australia and the Kospi in South Korea also closes lower. (BBC News)
- 2 April 2025 – Tariffs in the second Trump administration
- In the 10% tariff, the U.S. lists the Australian territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands near Antarctica, despite the fact that it has no human inhabitants, imports or exports. In response to finding these islands in the list, Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese commented that "Nowhere on earth is safe" for the tariff. (The Guardian)
- 31 March 2025 – Australia–North Korea relations
- The Royal Australian Air Force deploys a long-range maritime patrol aircraft P-8 Poseidon to Kadena Air Base in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, to monitor North Korean maritime activities in the Yellow Sea, including weapons shipments prohibited under international sanctions. (NK News)
- 8 March 2025 – 2024–25 Australian region cyclone season
- Cyclone Alfred
Selected pictures -
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Photo: JJ HarrisonThe Tawny Frogmouth (Podargus strigoides) is a nocturnal species of Australian frogmouth commonly mistaken for an owl. Males and females look similar, growing to 35–53 cm (14–21 in) long and up to 680 g (1.5 lb) in weight. The Tawny Frogmouth is almost exclusively insectivorous, feeding rarely on frogs and other small prey. It generally sits very still on a low perch and catches food with its beak. -
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: 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 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). -
The Scenic Railway at en:Luna Park, Melbourne, viewed from Shakespeare Grove
Luna Park is an amusement park located on the foreshore of Port Phillip Bay in St Kilda, Victoria, which is an inner suburb of Melbourne, Australia. It opened in 1912 and has been operating since. It is the first of two Luna Parks still operating in Australia; the other is on Sydney Harbour.
Photo credit: Stevage -
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: 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: 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: 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. -
A Koala climbing up a tree in Cape Otway National Park, Victoria.
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 -
Nitmiluk National Park from the air.
Nitmiluk National Park is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located 244 kilometres southeast of Darwin. Established around a series of gorges on the Katherine River and Edith Falls, the park has great ceremonial significance to the local Jawoyn people, who are custodians of Nitmiluk National Park. In Jawoyn, Nitmiluk means place of the cicada dreaming.
Photo credit: Brian Voon Yee Yap -
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: 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. -
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. -
Aerial view of Happy Valley Reservoir
The Happy Valley Reservoir is a water reservoir located in Adelaide, Australia. Constructed when the total population of Adelaide numbered 315,200 (1893 census), the Happy Valley Reservoir now supplies over a half a million people, from Adelaide's southern extent to the city-centre.
Photo credit: Ctbolt -
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 front of the Cathedral.
St Mary's Cathedral is the largest Roman Catholic church in Australia. It is the seat of Cardinal Archbishop George Pell and it holds the title and dignity of a Minor Basilica, bestowed upon it by Pope Pius XI in 1930. The present St Mary's is the second church of that name to occupy the site abutting College Street in Sydney. The foundation stone for the first building was laid by New South Wales Governor Lachlan Macquarie and blessed by the colony's Catholic chaplain, Father Therry, on 3 May 1821.
Photo credit: KaiAdin -
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. -
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: 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. -
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 -
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.
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On this day
- 1865 – Bushranger Ben Hall is ambushed and shot dead by police near Goobang Creek, New South Wales.
- 1882 – Geologist and explorer Sir Douglas Mawson is born in Shipley, England.
- 1906 – The first electric trams begin operations in Melbourne, with the opening of a service from St Kilda to Brighton.
- 1947 – Sixteen people are killed and 38 injured when a crowded picnic train derails (wreckage pictured) near Camp Mountain, Queensland.
- 1998 – Four Royal Australian Navy sailors die from carbon monoxide poisoning after a fire aboard HMAS Westralia.
General images
The following are images from various Australia-related articles on Wikipedia.
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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) -
Statue in Fremantle of an Australian rules footballer taking a spectacular mark (from Culture of Australia) -
House in Killara, New South Wales (from Culture of Australia) -
The surf lifesaving movement originated in Australia. (Pictured: surf lifesavers, Bondi Beach, 1930s). (from Culture of Australia) -
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The Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne (from Culture of Australia) -
A group of Australian men wearing speedos (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) -
PCA of Orang Asli (Semang) and Andamanese, with worldwide populations in HGDP (from Aboriginal Australians) -
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) -
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) -
A swagman in bushman's apparel, wearing a brimmed hat and carrying swag and billy can (from Culture of Australia) -
Anzac Day dawn services are held throughout Australia every April. (from Culture of Australia) -
Kylie Minogue, one of Australia's most successful pop musicians (from Culture of Australia) -
A Luritja man demonstrating method of attack with boomerang under cover of shield (1920) (from Culture of Australia) -
A billycan used for heating water (from Culture of Australia) -
The Princess Theatre in Melbourne (from Culture of Australia) -
An Aboriginal encampment near the Adelaide foothills in an 1854 painting by Alexander Schramm (from Aboriginal Australians) -
Actor playing the bushranger Ned Kelly in The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906), the world's first feature film (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) -
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. -
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A typical Queenslander house in Brisbane (from Culture of Australia) -
Didgeridoo performers (from Culture of Australia) -
Singer-songwriter Paul Kelly (from Culture of Australia) -
William Wentworth (1790–1872) was among the first to articulate a vision of Australian nationhood. (from Culture of Australia) -
The Matildas, Australia's national women's football team (from Culture of Australia) -
Countries of birth of Australian estimated resident population, 2006 (from Culture of Australia) -
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Interior of St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney (from Culture of Australia) -
The first State of Origin shield (from Culture of Australia) -
Convict architecture at Port Arthur, Tasmania (from Culture of Australia) -
The University of 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) -
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) -
Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney (from Culture of Australia) -
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Noongar traditional dancers in Perth (from Aboriginal Australians) -
The Wiggles performing in the United States in 2007 (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 verandah is the dominant feature of this Federation Filigree-style pub in Ravenswood. (from Culture of Australia) -
Cricket match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, 1860s (from Culture of Australia) -
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Parliament House, Canberra (from Culture of Australia) -
Men from Bathurst Island, 1939 (from Aboriginal Australians) -
Cover of Old Bush Songs, Banjo Paterson's 1905 collection of bush ballads (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 SBS building in Melbourne's Federation Square. SBS is Australia's multicultural broadcaster. (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) -
Founded in 1993, Sydney's Tropfest is the world's largest short film festival. (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)
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As of 5 May 2025, there are 208,242 articles within the scope of WikiProject Australia, of which 598 are featured and 895 are good articles. This makes up 2.98% of the articles on Wikipedia, 5.26% of all featured articles and lists, and 2.15% of all good articles (see WP:AUSFG). Including non-article pages, such as talk pages, redirects, categories, etc., there are 416,484 pages in the project.
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