Portal:Australia

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Introduction

A view of the Blue Mountains National Park -

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 total area of 7,688,287 km² (2,968,464 sq mi), making it the sixth-largest country in the world and the largest in Oceania. Australia 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 deserts in the interior and tropical rainforests along the coast.

The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from Southeast Asia 50,000 to 65,000 years ago, during the Last Glacial Period. By the time of British settlement, Aboriginal Australians spoke more than 250 distinct languages and had one of the oldest living cultures 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 constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy, and a federation comprising six states and ten territories. Its population of almost 28 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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Featured articles are displayed here, which represent some of the best content on English Wikipedia.

York Park (known for commercial purposes as the University of Tasmania (UTAS) Stadium) is an oval-shaped sports ground in the Inveresk and York Park Precinct, Launceston, Tasmania. The stadium is used primarily for Australian rules football and hosts regular matches in the Australian Football League (AFL). (Full article...)

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Selected biography -

Entries here consist of Good and Featured articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.

Minogue in 2025

Kylie Ann Minogue (/mɪˈnoʊɡ/ mih-NOHG; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and the fashion world as a major style icon. Her accolades include two Grammy Awards, four Brit Awards and eighteen ARIA Music Awards. Minogue is the highest-selling Australian female artist of all time, with sales surpassing 80 million records worldwide. In 2024, Time listed her in its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. (Full article...)

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Did you know (auto-generated) -

... that in 1939, a teenage Robin Ordell became the youngest radio announcer in Australia?
... that Peter Read coined the term "Stolen Generations" to refer to Aboriginal children who were forcibly separated from their families by Australian governments?
... that pumices erupted by the Protector Shoal volcano in 1962 floated to Australia and South America?
... that Australia-born rugby union player Jason Jones-Hughes was the subject of a protracted legal battle over his international eligibility after Wales called him up for the 1999 Rugby World Cup?
... that, in a civil case between Mark Aldridge and a shop owner, South Australia's district court found that a person can be liable for the defamatory comments of others on their social media posts?
... that Marie Breen retired from the Australian Senate to care for her husband, who had been badly injured in a car accident?
... that in 1919 nurse Hilda Hope McMaugh became the first Australian woman to qualify as a pilot?
... that Barcroft Boake, the author of one of Australia's most anthologised poems, hanged himself with a stockwhip a few months after it was published?

More Australian facts

In the news

19 December 2025 – 2025 Bondi Beach shooting: Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese announces a nationwide gun buyback program, the largest since the aftermath of the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, in response to the recent Bondi Beach shooting in Sydney. (AFP via France 24)
17 December 2025 – Terrorism in Australia: 2025 Bondi Beach shooting; The surviving gunman of the attack on Bondi Beach, Australia, is charged with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder and one count of committing a terrorist act. (BBC News)
14 December 2025 – 2025 Bondi Beach shooting: Two gunmen open fire during a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, killing 15 people and leaving 42 others injured. One perpetrator is killed, while the other is arrested. Two bombs are found at the scene and detonated by police. (News.au) (Al Jazeera)
9 December 2025 –: Australia's Online Safety Amendment takes effect, age-restricting social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter (X), TikTok, and YouTube, as well as accounts on the said sites registered to users under the age of 16. (CNN)
7 December 2025 –: A Fire and Rescue NSW firefighter is killed and dozens of homes are destroyed as bushfires spread across parts of New South Wales and Tasmania, Australia. (Reuters)

Selected pictures -

Image 1

Macquarie Island lies in the southwest corner of the Pacific Ocean, about half-way between Australia and Antarctica. Politically, it has formed part of the Australian state of Tasmania since 1900 and became a Tasmanian State Reserve in 1978. In 1997 it became a World Heritage Site. The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) maintains a permanent base on the island. The base's residents, the island's only inhabitants, range in numbers from 20 to 40 people throughout the year.

Photo credit: M. Murphy
Image 2
Banknotes of the Australian pound
Banknote: Commonwealth of Australia
Banknotes of the Australian pound were first issued by numerous private banks in Australia, starting with the Bank of New South Wales in 1817. Acceptance of private bank notes was not made compulsory by legal tender laws but they were widely used and accepted. The Queensland government issued treasury notes (1866–1869) and banknotes (1893–1910) which were legal tender in Queensland. The New South Wales government issued a limited series of Treasury Notes in 1893. The Commonwealth government passed an Act in 1910 which prohibited the issue of banknotes by private banks, and established Commonwealth powers to issue, re-issue, and cancel Australian notes. These notes were initially issued by the Australian Treasury, and then by the Commonwealth Bank from 1920. The Australian pound was replaced by the Australian dollar in 1966.

This note, denominated one pound, is part of the 1918 series.

See other denominations: 10 shillings (1918) · £5 (1918) · £10 (1918) · £20 (1918) · £50 (1918) · £100 (1918) · Half sovereign (1923) · £1 (1923) · £5 (1924) · £10 (1925)
Image 3
Metallic Ringtail
Photo: JJ Harrison
The 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.
Image 4
Fuel dumping
Photo credit: John O'Neill
Fuel 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".
Image 5
Papilio ulysses
Photo credit: Fir0002
The 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.
Image 6
Brian Nankervis
Photo: John O'Neill; edit: JJ Harrison
Brian 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.
Image 7

Cradle Mountain forms the northern end of the wild Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, itself a part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.
The jagged contours of Cradle Mountain epitomise the feel of a wild landscape, while ancient rainforest and alpine heathlands, buttongrass and stands of colourful deciduous beech provide a wide range of environments.
Cradle Mountain is a feature of the Overland Track.
Image 8
Aeshnidae
Photo: JJ Harrison
The Tasmanian Darner (Austroaeschna tasmanica) is an Australian species of dragonfly in the Aeshnidae family, which includes some of the largest of the dragonflies on the planet. Also referred to as "hawkers", the name "darner" derives from the fact that the female abdomens look like a sewing needle, as they cut into plant stem when they lay their eggs through the ovipositor.
Image 9
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
Image 10
Common bluetail
Photo credit: Fir0002
The 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.
Image 11
2008 Australian Grand Prix
Photo credit: Fir0002
Nick Heidfeld and Nico Rosberg at corner 6 of the 2008 Australian Grand Prix, during one of the race's safety car periods. This first race of the 2008 Formula One season was won by McLaren-Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton. Heidfeld and Rosberg finished second and third, respectively.
Image 12
The Art Gallery of South Australia located in Adelaide is the most significant visual arts museum in the Australian state of South Australia. It has a collection of almost 45,000 works of art, making it the second largest state art collection in Australia (after the National Gallery of Victoria).

Photo credit: K. Lindstrom
Image 13
Australian Synchrotron
Photo credit: John O'Neill
A 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.
Image 14
Tasmanian devil
Photo: JJ Harrison
The 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.
Image 15
Poison gas in World War I
Photo credit: Frank Hurley
A 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.
Image 16

Joseph Benedict Chifley (September 22, 1885 - June 13, 1951), Australian politician and 16th Prime Minister of Australia, was one of Australia's most influential Prime Ministers. Among his government's accomplishments were the post-war immigration scheme under Arthur Calwell, the establishment of Australian citizenship in 1949, the Snowy Mountains scheme, the national airline Trans Australia Airlines, a social security scheme for the unemployed, and the founding of the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO). One of the few successful referendums to modify the Australian Constitution took place during his term.
Image 17
Tawny Frogmouth
Photo: Benjamint444
The 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.
Image 18
Cripps Pink
Photo credit: Fir0002
Two whole Cripps Pink apples and a cross-section of a third. More commonly known by the trademarked name "Pink Lady", this apple cultivar was originally bred by John Cripps by crossing the Australian apple Lady Williams with a Golden Delicious. The apple shape is ellipsoid, it has a distinctive pink hue mixed with a green "background," and taste is tart.
Image 19
Victoria Police
Photo: John O'Neill
An officer of the Victoria Police, the primary law enforcement agency of the Australian state of Victoria. The agency was founded in 1835 from an existing colonial police force of 875 men. As of 2011, the Victoria Police has over 12,190 sworn members, and over 2,900 civilian staff across 393 police stations.
Image 20
Fleet Air Arm (RAN)
Photo: Fir0002
A 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.
Image 21
Beautiful Firetail
Photo: JJ Harrison
A Beautiful Firetail (Stagonopleura bella) male (top) and female. In this common Australian species of estrildid finch, nest-building and raising children is done collaboratively.
Image 22
Lamington National Park is a 206 square kilometre conservation area situated on the Lamington Plateau in Queensland, 75 kilometres south of Brisbane. It is part of the World Heritage site, Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves. Most of the park is situated 900 m above sea level only 30 km from the Pacific's ocean shores. The plateau and cliffs, remnants of a huge volcano, remain one of the world's most special sanctuaries.

Photo credit: Malcolm Jacobson

On this day

21 December:

1817 – Lachlan Macquarie recommends the adoption of the name Australia for the continent instead of New Holland.
1889 – The poem "Clancy of the Overflow", by Banjo Paterson, is first published in The Bulletin magazine.
1921 – The Gun Alley Murder: 12-year-old Alma Tirtschke is raped and murdered in Gun Alley, Melbourne. 28-year-old Colin Ross was hanged for the crime, but in 1992 was proved innocent (unsolved).
1938 – A direct radio-telephone link is established between Canberra and Washington, D.C..
1977 – World Series Cricket is launched by Kerry Packer.

More Australian anniversaries...

General images

The following are images from various Australia-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney (from Culture of Australia)
Image 2Governor Arthur Phillip hoists the British flag over the new colony at Sydney Cove in 1788 (from Culture of Australia)
Image 3The surf lifesaving movement originated in Australia. Pictured: surf lifesavers, Bondi Beach, 1930s (from Culture of Australia)
Image 4South 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.
Image 5Anzac Day dawn services are held throughout Australia every April. (from Culture of Australia)
Image 6An Aboriginal encampment near the Adelaide foothills in an 1854 painting by Alexander Schramm (from Aboriginal Australians)
Image 7Portrait of Madame Melba by Rupert Bunny (from Culture of Australia)
Image 8Sydney Opera House (foreground) and Sydney Harbor Bridge (from Culture of Australia)
Image 9St Mary Mackillop established an extensive network of schools and is Australia's first canonised saint of the Catholic Church. (from Culture of Australia)
Image 10Singer-songwriter Paul Kelly (from Culture of Australia)
Image 11Countries of birth of Australian estimated resident population, 2006 (from Culture of Australia)
Image 12Interior of St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney (from Culture of Australia)
Image 13C. J. Dennis, poetic humourist of Australian English (from Culture of Australia)
Image 14A billycan used for heating water (from Culture of Australia)
Image 15Historical image of Aboriginal Australian women and children, Maloga, New South Wales around 1900 (in European dress) (from Aboriginal Australians)
Image 16The Wiggles performing in the United States in 2007 (from Culture of Australia)
Image 17An Eastern Arrernte man of the Arltunga district, Northern Territory, in 1923. His hut is decked with porcupine grass. (from Aboriginal Australians)
Image 18The Princess Theatre in Melbourne (from Culture of Australia)
Image 19Nan Tien Temple, a Buddhist temple in Wollongong. Multicultural immigration has increased Australia's religious diversity. (from Culture of Australia)
Image 20Birdsville Hotel, an Australian pub in outback Queensland (from Culture of Australia)
Image 21A commemorative statue of John Simpson Kirkpatrick, a famous stretcher bearer who was killed in the Gallipoli Campaign. (from Culture of Australia)
Image 22The University of Sydney (from Culture of Australia)
Image 23Convict architecture at Port Arthur, Tasmania (from Culture of Australia)
Image 24Men from Bathurst Island, 1939 (from Aboriginal Australians)
Image 25Donald Bradman is often cited as statistically the greatest sportsman of any major sport. (from Culture of Australia)
Image 26Parliament House, Canberra (from Culture of Australia)
Image 27A swagman in bushman's apparel, wearing a brimmed hat and carrying swag and billy can (from Culture of Australia)
Image 28Corroboree 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)
Image 29Cover of Old Bush Songs, Banjo Paterson's 1905 collection of bush ballads (from Culture of Australia)
Image 30Actor playing the bushranger Ned Kelly in The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906), the world's first feature film (from Culture of Australia)
Image 31Statue in Fremantle of an Australian rules footballer taking a spectacular mark (from Culture of Australia)
Image 32The verandah is the dominant feature of this Federation Filigree-style pub in Ravenswood. (from Culture of Australia)
Image 33A Luritja man demonstrating method of attack with boomerang under cover of shield (1920) (from Culture of Australia)
Image 34Dame Edna Everage, a comic creation of Barry Humphries (from Culture of Australia)
Image 35Golden wattle, Australia's floral emblem and the source of Australia's national colours, green and gold (from Culture of Australia)
Image 36The Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne (from Culture of Australia)
Image 37A group of Australian men wearing speedos (from Culture of Australia)
Image 38Skiing in Australia began in Kiandra, a goldmining town in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, in the 1860s. (from Culture of Australia)
Image 39Noongar traditional dancers in Perth (from Aboriginal Australians)
Image 40William Wentworth (1790–1872) was among the first to articulate a vision of Australian nationhood (from Culture of Australia)
Image 41Founded in 1993, Sydney's Tropfest is the world's largest short film festival. (from Culture of Australia)
Image 42Tudor Revival house in Killara, New South Wales (from Culture of Australia)
Image 43The Bulletin, founded by J. F. Archibald (left), nurtured bush poets such as Henry Lawson (right). (from Culture of Australia)
Image 44The SBS building in Melbourne's Federation Square. SBS is Australia's multicultural broadcaster. (from Culture of Australia)
Image 45Kylie Minogue, one of Australia's most successful pop musicians (from Culture of Australia)
Image 46A high-set Victorian-era Queenslander with a large veranda in Brisbane (from Culture of Australia)
Image 47Federation Bungalow in Killara, Sydney (from Culture of Australia)
Image 48The Matildas, Australia's national women's football team, in 2021 (from Culture of Australia)
Image 49Cricket match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, 1860s (from Culture of Australia)
Image 50Phar Lap winning the Melbourne Cup, "the race that stops a nation" (from Culture of Australia)
Image 51Australians by the waterside at the Portsea Hotel, a pub in Melbourne, Victoria (from Culture of Australia)
Image 52The first State of Origin shield (from Culture of Australia)
Image 53Bush tucker harvested in Alice Springs (from Culture of Australia)
Image 54A typical Queenslander house in Brisbane (from Culture of Australia)
Image 55Dwellings accommodating Aboriginal families at Hermannsburg Mission, Northern Territory, 1923 (from Aboriginal Australians)
Image 56Didgeridoo performers (from Culture of Australia)
Image 57Sheep 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)

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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 December 2025, there are 211,849 articles within the scope of WikiProject Australia, of which 600 are featured and 925 are good articles. This makes up 2.98% of the articles on Wikipedia, 5.19% of all featured articles and lists, and 2.15% of all good articles (see WP:AUSFG). Including non-article pages, such as talk pages, redirects, categories, etc., there are 550,696 pages in the project.

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