Portal:Australia
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Introduction
A view of the Blue Mountains National Park -
Commonwealth of 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 land area of 7,688,287 km2 (2,968,464 sq mi), making it the sixth-largest country in the world, and 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 large deserts centrally and tropical rainforests along the coast.
Australia is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarchy, and a federation comprising six states and ten territories. Its population of almost 29 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, each with a population of more than five 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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The Shrine of Remembrance (commonly referred to as The Shrine) is a war memorial in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located in Kings Domain on St Kilda Road. It was built to honour the men and women of Victoria who served in World War I, but now functions as a memorial to all Australians who have served in any war. It is a site of annual observances for Anzac Day (25 April) and Remembrance Day (11 November), and is one of the largest war memorials in Australia. (Full article...)
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Vere Gordon Childe (14 April 1892 – 19 October 1957) was an Australian archaeologist who specialised in the study of European prehistory. He spent most of his life in the United Kingdom, working as an academic for the University of Edinburgh and then the Institute of Archaeology, London. He wrote twenty-six books during his career. Initially an early proponent of culture-historical archaeology, he later became the first exponent of Marxist archaeology in the Western world. (Full article...)
Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... that the prime ministers of the United Kingdom and Australia took sides on a 2023 controversy involving their countries' cricket teams?
- ... that the poem "Ozymandias" and the birthplace of Pythagoras inspired an Australian sculpture?
- ... that Dan Bull was a keyboardist for Eskimo Joe before he was elected to the Western Australian Legislative Assembly?
- ... that although Australia and New Zealand competed at the 2017 Asian Winter Games, they were ineligible to win medals?
- ... that Australia's only active volcanoes, including Mawson Peak, are located about 4,000 km (2,500 mi) from the mainland?
- ... that the construction of South Australia's new Parliament House in Adelaide began in 1885, but its eastern half was not completed until 1939?
- ... that Lynn Arnold, the premier of South Australia from 1992 to 1993, participated in a student demonstration at the University of Saigon that was dispersed with tear gas?
- ... that the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme has been criticised for placing workers at risk of modern slavery?
In the news
- 30 October 2026 – Leongatha mushroom murders
- The Court of Appeal of Victoria, Australia, rejects Erin Patterson's appeal against her murder convictions and removes her 33-year parole eligibility, effectively imposing life imprisonment without parole for killing three relatives with death cap mushrooms in 2023. (AFP)
- 25 October 2026 –
- Western Sydney Airport in New South Wales, Australia, commences passenger operations as Greater Sydney's second airport. (The Guardian)
- 25 October 2026 – 2026 LPGA Tour
- In golf, Japan's Yuri Yoshida wins her first LPGA Tour title at the BMW Ladies Championship in South Jeolla Province, South Korea, finishing ahead of Australia's Minjee Lee and South Korea's Kim Sei-young. (AFP)
- 23 October 2026 – Australia–North Korea relations, North Korean remote worker scheme
- The Australian Government imposes financial sanctions and travel bans on two North Koreans and sanctions two companies accused of supporting fraudulent overseas information technology work that funds North Korea's weapons programs. (AFP via RFI)
- 19 October 2026 –
- Independent Australian MP Helen Haines is deliberately hit by a car outside her office in Wangaratta, Victoria. Police arrest the car's driver, while Haines is airlifted to a hospital. Haines later had both her legs amputated. (AFP) (The Guardian) (Reuters)
- 16 October 2026 – Australia–Fiji relations
- Australia agrees to provide Fiji with solar-, wind-, and wave-powered Bluebottle maritime drones and training for surveillance and efforts against drug trafficking and other transnational crime, with deployment expected in 2027. (AFP via RFI)
Selected pictures -
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: 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: 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.
Alpine Range scenery as viewed just past Mt Hotham.
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 credit: Frank HurleyA group of Australian infantry wearing Small Box Respirators (SBRs) at the Third Battle of Ypres in September 1917. After the introduction of poison gas in World War I, countermeasures were developed. SBRs represented the pinnacle of gas mask development during the war, a mouthpiece connected via a hose to a box filter (hanging around the wearer's neck in this picture), which in turn contained granules of chemicals that neutralised the gas. The SBR was the prized possession of the ordinary infantryman; when the British were forced to retreat during the German Spring Offensive of 1918, it was found that while some troops had discarded their rifles, hardly any had left behind their respirators.
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.
View of Limestone cliffs and beach looking towards Point Avoid in Coffin Bay National Park circa March 2006.
Coffin Bay is a national park in on the Eyre Peninsula of South Australia, 301 kilometres west of Adelaide, and 46 kilometres west of Port Lincoln. The township of Coffin Bay is near the entrance to the National Park. The National Park features a long peninsula with a sheltered bay, coastal dunes, swamps and a spectacular coastline of islands, reefs, limestone cliffs and white surf beaches.
Photo credit: Takver
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.
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 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.
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.
Blue Lake.
Blue Lake is a large lake located in an extinct volcanic caldera in Mount Gambier. It is known as Waawor in the local Aboriginal language. During summer and the surrounding months, the lake takes on a vibrant blue colour, returning to a colder steely-grey colour for winter. The exact cause of this phenomenon is still a matter of conjecture but it is generally considered likely that it revolves around the warming of the surface layers of the lake during the summer months to around 25 degrees celsius, causing calcium carbonate to precipitate out of solution and enabling micro-crystallites of calcium carbonate to form. This results in a scatter of the blue wavelength of sunlight. The movement of planktonic life-forms within the lake during the seasons and during the day may also play a part in the visibility changes.
Photo credit: Aaron Allen
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.
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.
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.
Common Eastern Froglet (Crinia signifera)
The Common Eastern Froglet (Crinia signifera) is a very common, Australian ground-dwelling frog, of the family Myobatrachidae. It ranges from south-eastern Australia, from Adelaide to Melbourne, up the eastern coast to Brisbane. It also inhabits a majority of Tasmania. It is a small frog (3 centimetres), of brown or grey colour of various shades. It has extremely variable markings, with great variety usually found within confined populations
Photo credit: LiquidGhoul
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: 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.
Brisbane CBD and the Story Bridge, with CityCat cruising the Brisbane River.
The Story Bridge is a crossing of the Brisbane River in the Queensland capital of Brisbane. It is a six lane dual-carriageway connecting Fortitude Valley to Kangaroo Point. Designed by John Bradfield, the bridge was opened in 1940 at the height of the Great Depression. It is a Brisbane landmark, and a focus of the Riverfestival.
Photo credit: Stuart Edwards
McHugh lookout, Atherton Tableland, Queensland.
The Atherton Tableland is a fertile plateau which is part of the Great Dividing Range in Queensland, Australia. It is located west to south-west inland from Cairns, well into the tropics, but its elevated position provides a climate suitable for dairy farming. It has an area of around 32,000 km² with an avaerage altitude between 600 and 900m AHD. The area was originally explored for its tin and gold deposits, but today is primarily agricultural.
Photo credit: Mike Lehmann
Adelaide seen by the Copernicus Sentinel-2A satellite on 27 January 2017 Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city of Australia.
On this day
- 1920 – The Communist Party of Australia was formed.
- 1942 – Australian 9th Division reaches sea in Battle of El Alamein.
- 1965 – Jean Shrimpton bares her knees at the Victoria Derby race during Melbourne Cup week.
- 1969 – Death of Vic Richardson Australian cricketer and outstanding all-round sportsman, aged 75.
- 1988 – Expo '88 draws to a close after running for six months.
General images
The following are images from various Australia-related articles on Wikipedia.
An Aboriginal encampment near the Adelaide foothills in an 1854 painting by Alexander Schramm (from Aboriginal Australians)
A Luritja man demonstrating method of attack with boomerang under cover of shield (1920) (from Culture of Australia)
The Bulletin, founded by J. F. Archibald (left), nurtured bush poets such as Henry Lawson (right). (from Culture of Australia)
Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney (from Culture of Australia)
Portrait of Madame Melba by Rupert Bunny (from Culture of Australia)
Men from Bathurst Island, 1939 (from Aboriginal Australians)
Donald Bradman is often cited as statistically the greatest sportsman of any major sport. (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)
Singer-songwriter Paul Kelly (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)
The Wiggles performing in the United States in 2007 (from Culture of Australia)
Parliament House, Canberra (from Culture of Australia)
Historical image of Aboriginal Australian women and children, Maloga, New South Wales around 1900 (in European dress) (from Aboriginal Australians)
Calisthenics class at the Goodwood Boys Technical School, 1945 (from Culture of Australia)
Statue in Fremantle of an Australian rules footballer taking a spectacular mark (from Culture of Australia)
The Princess Theatre in Melbourne (from Culture of Australia)
A billycan used for heating water (from Culture of Australia)
Founded in 1993, Sydney's Tropfest is the world's largest short film festival. (from Culture of Australia)
The Matildas, Australia's national women's football team, in 2021 (from Culture of Australia)
The SBS building in Melbourne's Federation Square. SBS is Australia's multicultural broadcaster. (from Culture of Australia)
Governor Arthur Phillip hoists the British flag over the new colony at Sydney Cove in 1788 (from Culture of Australia)
Noongar traditional dancers in Perth (from Aboriginal Australians)
Anzac Day dawn services are held throughout Australia every April. (from Culture of Australia)
Countries of birth of Australian estimated resident population, 2006 (from Culture of Australia)
The Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne (from Culture of Australia)
Corroboree at Newcastle by convict artist Joseph Lycett, c. 1818. Aboriginal Australian religious practices associated with the Dreamtime have been practised for tens of thousands of years. (from Culture of Australia)
The first State of Origin shield (from Culture of Australia)
Cricket match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, 1860s (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)
A swagman in bushman's apparel, wearing a brimmed hat and carrying swag and billy can (from Culture of Australia)
Kylie Minogue, one of Australia's most successful pop musicians (from Culture of Australia)
William Wentworth (1790–1872) was among the first to articulate a vision of Australian nationhood (from Culture of Australia)
The University of Sydney (from Culture of Australia)
Australians by the waterside at the Portsea Hotel, a pub in Melbourne, Victoria (from Culture of Australia)
Didgeridoo performers (from Culture of Australia)
A group of Australian men wearing speedos (from Culture of Australia)
Cover of Old Bush Songs, Banjo Paterson's 1905 collection of bush ballads (from Culture of Australia)
The verandah is the dominant feature of this Federation Filigree-style pub in Ravenswood. (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.
Nan Tien Temple, a Buddhist temple in Wollongong. Multicultural immigration has increased Australia's religious diversity. (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)
A typical Queenslander house in Brisbane (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)
An Eastern Arrernte man of the Arltunga district, Northern Territory, in 1923. His hut is decked with porcupine grass. (from Aboriginal Australians)
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As of 30 October 2026, there are 220,361 articles within the scope of WikiProject Australia, of which 610 are featured and 993 are good articles. This makes up 3.04% of the articles on Wikipedia, 5.12% of all featured articles and lists, and 2.19% of all good articles (see WP:AUSFG). Including non-article pages, such as talk pages, redirects, categories, etc., there are 581,908 pages in the project.
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