Portal:Australia
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Introduction
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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. 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 Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south-east Asia 50,000 to 65,000 years ago, during the last glacial period. They settled the continent and had 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 European maritime exploration. The Dutch were the first known Europeans to reach Australia, in 1606. 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 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 -
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Selected biography -
Daisy Jugadai Napaltjarri (c. 1955–2008) was a Pintupi-Luritja-speaking Indigenous artist from Australia's Western Desert region, and sister of artist Molly Jugadai Napaltjarri. Daisy Jugadai lived and painted at Haasts Bluff, Northern Territory. There she played a significant role in the establishment of Ikuntji Women's Centre, where many artists of the region have worked. (Full article...)
Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... that to learn the rules of American football, Australian Adam Korsak, who was named the best college punter in 2022, played Madden NFL 06 and watched Any Given Sunday?
- ... that 2022 documentary The Australian Wars explores "the great Australian silence" about massacres of Indigenous Australians?
- ... that Sarah Cox brought the first breach of promise suit in Australia, during which she was represented by her future husband William Wentworth?
- ... that indigenous Australian artist Daniel Boyd has depicted colonial figures including Captain James Cook and Governor Arthur Phillip as pirates?
- ... that Mark Hutton was the first Australian to be a starting pitcher in a Major League Baseball game?
- ... that Baillieu Myer and his siblings were born in California because their father's prior divorce was not recognised under Australian law?
- ... that a newspaper in Kentucky reported that the solar eclipse of November 22, 1900, would pass over Austria instead of Australia?
- ... that Holly Ringland wrote her second book while stuck in Australia for three years during the COVID-19 pandemic?
In the news
- 10 July 2024 –
- Two Australian tourists and a Filipino woman are killed during a mass stabbing at a hotel in Tagaytay, Philippines. (AP)
- 3 July 2024 – Israel–Hamas war protests
- Pro-Palestinian protesters climb the roof of the Australian Parliament building in Canberra, Australia. (Al Jazeera)
- 2 July 2024 –
- Australia issues statements to several social media and search engine websites ordering the websites to draft and enforce guidelines to prevent minors from seeing inappropriate material before October 3 or face national restrictions. (Reuters)
- 1 July 2024 –
- The Australian Government increases the visa fee for international students from A$710 (US$473) to A$1,600 (US$1,068) in an attempt to reduce record levels of migration that have increased pressure on the Australian housing market. (Reuters)
- Sam Mostyn is sworn in as the 28th Governor-General of Australia. (ABC News Australia)
- 24 June 2024 –
- WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange enters a plea deal with the U.S. Justice Department, in which he will be found guilty on one federal charge in exchange for his release back to Australia. (ABC News)
Selected pictures -
On this day
- 1855 – David Angus, founder of Angus & Robertson, born in Thurso, Scotland.
- 1866 – Frederick Augustus Bolles Peters, the founder of Peters Icecream, "The Health Food of a Nation" born in Scio, Michigan.
- 1957 – Larry Anthony, federal minister in the Menzies Government, dies in Murwillumbah, New South Wales. His son, Doug Anthony, is elected in a subsequent by-election as Member for the Division of Richmond.
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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 12 July 2024, there are 203,696 articles within the scope of WikiProject Australia, of which 594 are featured and 882 are good articles. This makes up 2.97% of the articles on Wikipedia, 5.44% of all featured articles and lists, and 2.21% of all good articles (see WP:AUSFG). Including non-article pages, such as talk pages, redirects, categories, etc., there are 519,920 pages in the project.
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