Portal:Australia
Welcome to the Australia portal!
| Showcase | Content | Interesting facts | Contributing |
Introduction
.jpg)
The Pinnacles, Western Australia
.svg)
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
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.
Featured article -
Featured articles
are displayed here, which represent some of the best content on English Wikipedia.The
Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits would be open to Entente supplies to the Black Sea and warm-water ports in Russia. (Full article...
)Selected biography -
Entries here consist of
Featured
articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.
Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... that on its maiden voyage from Liverpool to Australia, the George Roper ran aground and was wrecked?
- ... that Towa Tei's "Sometime Samurai" remained unfinished for eight years until Australian singer Kylie Minogue re-recorded the song in 2004?
- ... that indigenous Australian artist Daniel Boyd has depicted colonial figures including Captain James Cook and Governor Arthur Phillip as pirates?
- ... that the only ever hijacking of a Royal Australian Air Force aircraft began at Baucau Airport, East Timor, in 1975?
- ... that Lord Stonehaven, Governor-General of Australia, called Hay War Memorial High School the "finest war memorial in the British Empire"?
- ... that David Dexter, who wrote the New Guinea volume in the series Australia in the War of 1939–1945, was a commando who served in East Timor and New Guinea?
- ... that George Jenkins was described in 1901 as "the happiest, proudest, most important and most worried individual" in Australia, but 90 years later as "a lazy, dictatorial, unctuous opportunist"?
- ... that the 2022 Optus data breach affected over a third of Australians?
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
- 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)
Selected pictures -
-
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.
McLaren-Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton. Heidfeld and Rosberg finished second and third, respectively.
estrildid finch, nest-building and raising children is done collaboratively.
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 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.
The Gold Coast from The Spit
The Gold Coast is a coastal region approximately 70 kilometres south of Brisbane, Australia that, over the past 50 years, has coalesced from a collection of scattered villages into a city of approximately 480,000 people - currently Australia's seventh largest city - and Australia's largest tourist resort.
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.
Yulara seen from helicopter, August 2004
Yulara is an isolated town in the Northern Territory of Australia. At the 2016 census, Yulara had a permanent population of 1,099 in an area of 103.33 square kilometres (39.90 sq mi). It is 18 kilometres (11 mi) by road from the World Heritage Site Uluru (Ayers Rock) and 55 kilometres (34 mi) from Kata Tjuta (the Olgas).
Photo credit: Manfred Wiesinger
Queensland.
Very Long Baseline Interferometry network. The facility is owned and operated by the University of Tasmania.
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.
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: 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.
German Spring Offensive of 1918, it was found that while some troops had discarded their rifles, hardly any had left behind their respirators.
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.Read more
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.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: 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).On this day
Australian aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne (foreground) and the aircraft carrier USS Midway - Fremantle, Western Australia, is proclaimed a city.
- 1969 – The aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne collides with the destroyer USS Frank E. Evans in the South China Sea, killing 74 US sailors.
- 1991 – Paul Keating made his first leadership challenge for the Australian Labor Party. Bob Hawke won 66–44 and Keating resigned as Treasurer the same day.
- 1992 – Mabo v Queensland is decided upon by the High Court of Australia, making irrelevant the doctrine of terra nullius and recognising the existence of Native Title land rights .
General images
The following are images from various Australia-related articles on Wikipedia.-
Cricket match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, 1860s (from Culture of Australia) -
Governor Arthur Phillip hoists the British flag over the new colony at Sydney Cove in 1788. (from Culture of Australia) -
The Wiggles performing in the United States in 2007 (from Culture of Australia) -
The University of Sydney (from Culture of Australia) -
William 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) -
Interior of St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney (from Culture of Australia) -
) -
bush poets such as Henry Lawson (right). (from Culture of Australia) -
Didgeridoo performers (from Culture of Australia) -
-
-
Sheep grazing in rural Australia. Early British settlers introduced Western stock and crops andAustralian agriculture now produces an abundance of fresh produce. (from Culture of Australia) -
Kylie Minogue is hailed as one of Australia's most successful pop musicians (from Culture of Australia) -
A swagman in bushman's apparel, wearing a brimmed hat and carrying swag, and billy can. (from Culture of Australia) -
The first State of Origin shield (from Culture of Australia) -
Statue in Fremantle of an Australian rules footballer taking a spectacular mark (from Culture of Australia) -
Dwellings accommodating Aboriginal families at Hermannsburg Mission, Northern Territory, 1923 (from Aboriginal Australians) -
A Luritja man demonstrating method of attack with boomerang under cover of shield (1920) (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) -
-
Convict architecture at Port Arthur, Tasmania (from Culture of Australia) -
A typical Queenslander house in Brisbane (from Culture of Australia) -
Actor playing the bushranger Ned Kelly in The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906), the world's first feature film (from Culture of Australia) -
A group of Australian men wearing speedos. (from Culture of Australia) -
House inKillara, New South Wales (from Culture of Australia) -
The Matildas, Australia's national women's football team (from Culture of Australia) -
Anzac Day dawn services are held throughout Australia every April. (from Culture of Australia) -
ThePrincess Theatre in Melbourne (from Culture of Australia) -
Portrait of Madame Melba by Rupert Bunny (from Culture of Australia) -
Themulticultural broadcaster. (from Culture of Australia) -
Countries of birth of Australian estimated resident population, 2006 (from Culture of Australia) -
Kiandra, a goldmining town in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, in the 1860s. (from Culture of Australia) -
-
Cover of Old Bush Songs, Banjo Paterson's 1905 collection of bush ballads (from Culture of Australia) -
An Aboriginal encampment near the Adelaide foothills in an 1854 painting by Alexander Schramm (from Aboriginal Australians) -
Men from Bathurst Island, 1939 (from Aboriginal Australians) -
-
-
Singer-songwriter Paul Kelly (from Culture of Australia) -
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) -
Noongar traditional dancers in Perth (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) -
A billycan used for heating water (from Culture of Australia) -
green and gold (from Culture of Australia) -
A commemorative statue ofGallipoli Campaign. (from Culture of Australia) -
Dreamtime have been practised for tens of thousands of years. (from Culture of Australia) -
Buddhist temple in Wollongong. Multicultural immigration has increased Australia's religious diversity. (from Culture of Australia) -
PCA of Orang Asli (Semang) and Andamanese, with worldwide populations in HGDP. (from Aboriginal Australians) -
The surf lifesaving movement originated in Australia. (Pictured: surf lifesavers, Bondi Beach, 1930s). (from Culture of Australia) -
-
Historical image of Aboriginal Australian women and children, Maloga, New South Wales around 1900 (in European dress) (from Aboriginal Australians) -
Parliament House, Canberra (from Culture of Australia) -
The Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne (from Culture of Australia) -
Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney (from Culture of Australia) -
Killara, Sydney (from Culture of Australia) -
Founded in 1993, Sydney's Tropfest is the world's largest short film festival. (from Culture of Australia) -
Donald Bradman is often cited as statistically the greatest sportsman of any major sport. (from Culture of Australia)
Topics
Sub-portals
(Northern
Territory)Australian
Capital
TerritoryCategories
Category puzzle Select [►] to view subcategoriesMore portals
WikiProject
Flag of the Commonwealth of Australia 
Coat of Arms of the Commonwealth of Australia 
Consider joining WikiProject Australia, a WikiProject dedicated to improving Wikipedia's coverage of topics related to Australia. The project page and its subpages contain suggestions on formatting and style of articles, which can be discussed at the project's notice board. To participate, simply add your name to the project members page.
As of 2 June 2024, there are 203,302 articles within the scope of WikiProject Australia, of which 595 are
WP:AUSFG). Including non-article pages, such as talk pages, redirects, categories, etcetera, there are 518,874 pages in the project.Associated Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
-
Commons
Free media repository -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wikivoyage
Free travel guide -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus
More portals
Discover Wikipedia using portals
.jpg)
.jpg)
_and_USS_Midway_(CV-41)_underway_on_16_May_1981_(6380752).jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Killara_house_023.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
