Portal:Australia
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Introduction
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 is the largest country by area in Oceania and the sixth-largest country in the world. 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 including deserts and tropical rainforests.
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 on the continent and 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 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 over 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 and Melbourne, both with a population of over 5 million. Australia is culturally diverse and has one of the highest foreign-born populations in the world. It has a highly developed market 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.
Featured article -
The history of the Royal Australian Navy traces the development of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) from the colonisation of Australia by the British in 1788. Until 1859, vessels of the Royal Navy made frequent trips to the new colonies. In 1859, the Australia Squadron was formed as a separate squadron and remained in Australia until 1913. Until Federation, five of the six Australian colonies operated their own colonial naval force, which formed on 1 March 1901 the Australian Navy's (AN) Commonwealth Naval Force which received Royal patronage in July 1911 and was from that time referred to as Royal Australian Navy (RAN). On 4 October 1913 the new replacement fleet for the foundation fleet of 1901 steamed through Sydney Heads for the first time. (Full article...)
Selected biography -
William Henry Kibby, VC (15 April 1903 – 31 October 1942) was a British-born Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, 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 1939, a teenage Robin Ordell became the youngest radio announcer in Australia?
- ... 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 the memorabilia of Jennie Scott Griffiths, a Texan who died in California, are housed in the National Library of Australia?
- ... that in 1919 nurse Hilda Hope McMaugh became the first Australian woman to qualify as a pilot?
- ... that an exhibition match of Australian rules football was contested in London on 28 October 1916 between two teams of elite footballers also serving in the First AIF?
- ... that "The Potato King of Colorado" survived a shipwreck, mined for gold in Australia, and helped establish an alcohol-free Methodist colony?
- ... that the South Australian Labor politician Ernest Roberts served two tours in South Africa during the Second Boer War?
- ... that when Australian Brihony Dawson debuted as the first non-binary host of reality TV franchise The Challenge, they decided not to imitate the "ominous" style of the U.S. host?
In the news
- 18 September 2024 –
- Alleged Ghost developer and administrator Jay Je Yoon Jung is arrested in Sydney, Australia, on five charges related to the encrypted communication network's development and operation. (The Register)
- 11 September 2024 – Israel–Hamas war protests
- Victoria Police arrest 39 people and fire stun grenades, rubber bullets, and pepper spray at anti-war and pro-Palestinian protestors picketing outside a military weapons expo in Melbourne, Australia. (Al Jazeera)
- 27 August 2024 –
- Australian Police and New Zealand Police announce they have concluded a joint illicit drug operation that resulted in 1,611 arrests and 2,962 charges nationwide. The police also confiscated almost 1,400 kilograms (3,100 lb) of illicit drugs and over 2,500 cannabis plants, worth 93 million AUD (US$63 million). (DW)
- 25 August 2024 –
- Four people are injured in a mass stabbing in Engadine, New South Wales, Australia. The suspect is later taken into custody. (Reuters)
- 15 August 2024 – Israel–Hamas war
- Peter Dutton, the leader of Australia’s Liberal Party, calls on the Australian government to ban the entry of Palestinian refugees fleeing from conflict in the Gaza Strip, which is met with significant condemnation from several politicians and organizations as promoting racial stereotypes. (ABC Australia) (Al Jazeera)
- SBS World News reports that the Australian government has rejected a majority of Palestinian visa applications, accepting 2,922 applications and rejecting 7,111 applications while granting 8,746 visas to Israeli citizens and rejecting only 235 applications. (Al Jazeera)
Selected pictures -
On this day
- 1965 – Australian actor David Wenham is born in Marrickville, New South Wales.
- 1973 – The Jackson Pollock painting Blue Poles is controversially purchased by the Whitlam government for A$1.3 million.
- 1971 – The 4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment is involved in Australia's last major action of the Vietnam War at Nui Dat.
- 2000 – French athlete Marie-José Pérec flees the Olympic village without competing in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.
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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 20 September 2024, there are 204,880 articles within the scope of WikiProject Australia, of which 594 are featured and 876 are good articles. This makes up 2.98% of the articles on Wikipedia, 5.38% of all featured articles and lists, and 2.18% of all good articles (see WP:AUSFG). Including non-article pages, such as talk pages, redirects, categories, etc., there are 523,694 pages in the project.
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