Portal:Australia
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Introduction
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 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. 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. 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: predominately 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 -
The Victoria Cross for Australia is the highest award in the Australian honours system, superseding the British Victoria Cross for issue to Australians. The Victoria Cross for Australia is the "decoration for according recognition to persons who in the presence of the enemy, perform acts of the most conspicuous gallantry, or daring or pre-eminent acts of valour or self-sacrifice or display extreme devotion to duty." (Full article...)
Selected biography -
Steve Dodd (1 June 1928 – 10 November 2014) was an Aboriginal Australian actor, notable for playing Aboriginal characters across seven decades of Australian film. After beginning his working life as a stockman and rodeo rider, Dodd was given his first film roles by prominent Australian actor Chips Rafferty. His career was interrupted by six years in the Australian Army during the Korean War, and limited by typecasting. (Full article...)
Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... that Australiformis semoni is a parasite that infests marsupials in Australia and New Guinea and whose infestation could cause debilitating ulcerative granulomatous gastritis?
- ... that politics in The Simpsons have caused controversy in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, and Japan?
- ... that a 1997 whooping cough outbreak in part led to the establishment of the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance in Australia?
- ... that audience members interrogated suspects in an Australian Cluedo game show based on the board game?
- ... that in 2007, Arthur Gray's £2 Kangaroo and Map stamp sold for a world record price for a single Australian stamp?
- ... that before Arthur Phillip commanded the first fleet of convicts to settle Australia, he was employed to spy on France?
- ... that Paddy Morgan conceded the final of the 1976 Australian Professional Championship rather than play with Eddie Charlton's balls?
- ... that Australian Madeleine Steere played water polo professionally in Turkey after studying biomolecular science in the United States?
In the news
- 2 March 2024 – 2024 Dunkley by-election
- In Australia, Jodie Belyea retains the seat of Dunkley for the Australian Labor Party despite a notable swing towards the Liberal Party. (ABC News Australia)
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On this day
- 1901 – The first federal election of the Commonwealth of Australia elected members and senators to the first Parliament of Australia.
- 1964 – Supermodel Elle Macpherson is born in Killara, New South Wales.
- 1982 – The Sydney Swans play their first game in Sydney after moving from Melbourne.
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WikiProject
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 28 March 2024, there are 201,932 articles within the scope of WikiProject Australia, of which 590 are featured and 885 are good articles. This makes up 2.97% of the articles on Wikipedia, 5.48% of all featured articles and lists, and 2.25% of all good articles (see WP:AUSFG). Including non-article pages, such as talk pages, redirects, categories, etcetera, there are 514,672 pages in the project.
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