Portal:Australia

Welcome to the Australia portal!

Introduction

Summer in the Mount Hotham area -

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 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 federal parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy 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, both 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.

Featured article -

Featured articles are displayed here, which represent some of the best content on English Wikipedia.

Two soldiers crouching on an incline in jungle terrain. The man on the left is holding a rifle and the man on the right is firing a light machine gun — An Australian light machine gun team in action during the Aitape–Wewak campaign, June 1945.

Australia entered World War II on 3 September 1939, following the government's acceptance of the United Kingdom's declaration of war on Nazi Germany. Australia later entered into a state of war with other members of the Axis powers, including the Kingdom of Italy on 11 June 1940, and the Empire of Japan on 9 December 1941. By the end of the war almost one million Australians had served in the armed forces, whose military units fought primarily in the European theatre, North African campaign, and the South West Pacific theatre. In addition, Australia came under direct attack for the first time in its post-colonial history. Its casualties from enemy action during the war were 27,073 killed and 23,477 wounded. Many more suffered from tropical disease, hunger, and harsh conditions in captivity; of the 21,467 Australian prisoners taken by the Japanese, only 14,000 survived. (Full article...)

List of Featured articles in portal

More Australian featured content

Selected biography -

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

Karmichael Neil Matthew Hunt (born 17 November 1986) is an Australian professional rugby league coach and former player who is the current head coach of the Souths Logan Magpies in the Queensland Cup, as well as the Cook Islands national rugby league team. (Full article...)

List of Featured biographies in portal

More Australian featured biographies

Did you know (auto-generated) -

... that Voltaire Molesworth spent part of his early childhood in a utopian socialist colony in Paraguay?
... that a 44-point comeback in a 2024 semi-final was the Australian Football League's largest semifinal comeback ever?
... that pumices erupted by the Protector Shoal volcano in 1962 floated to Australia and South America?
... that starting at age 16, future Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci was named top sewing machine salesperson three years in a row?
... that "The Potato King of Colorado" survived a shipwreck, mined for gold in Australia, and helped establish an alcohol-free Methodist colony?
... that Australian judoka Josh Katz competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics six months after completely rupturing an ACL?
... that Australian NFL player Laki Tasi got into American football at the suggestion of a burger shop owner?
... that Australian train driver Bill Morrow received the Soviet Union's Lenin Peace Prize alongside Fidel Castro?

More Australian facts

In the news

18 August 2025 –: Australian Federal Court judge Michael Lee fines national airline Qantas AU$90 million (US$59 million) for unlawfully outsourcing 1,820 ground staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to the AU$120 million (US$78 million) compensation the airline has already agreed to pay its former employees. (AP)
13 August 2025 – Australia–Vanuatu relations: Australia and Vanuatu agree to implement a A$500 million (US$327 million) deal over the next decade to provide funding for economic development, security cooperation, labour mobility, and climate resilience. (Reuters)
11 August 2025 – Australia–Palestine relations, International recognition of Palestine: Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese announces that Australia will recognise Palestine as an independent country in September. (The Guardian)
5 August 2025 – Australia–Japan relations, Australian general purpose frigate program: Australian defence minister Richard Marles announces that the country will purchase eleven Mogami-class frigates from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to upgrade its Navy as the New FFM. (DW)
30 July 2025 – Internet censorship in Australia: The government of Australia announces the inclusion of video-sharing site YouTube in its social media ban for teenagers starting in December, following a survey on harmful content being reported on the site. (BBC News) (Reuters)
7 July 2025 – 2023 Leongatha mushroom murders: Erin Patterson is found guilty on all charges regarding deaths from Amanita poisoning from a lunch at her home in Leongatha, Australia. (ABC News Australia)

Selected pictures -

Image 1
InfoTrack leads the fleet through Sydney Heads and south to Hobart in ideal, if smoky conditions at the start of the 75th Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race in 2019

The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, sometimes referred to as the Bluewater Classic, is a yacht race held over a distance of 630 nmi (1,170 km) between Sydney and Hobart. It commences on Boxing Day each year, and is hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia and Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania. The race was initially planned to be a cruise, but has grown since the inaugural race in 1945 to become one of the pre-eminent offshore yacht races in the world, now attracting maxi yachts from North America and Europe. The 2004 race marked the 60th running of the event.

Photo credit: Brian Voon Yee Yap
Image 2
The notice reads "£8000 Reward - Robbery and Murder."

A notice of an £8000 pound reward for the capture of the Kelly gang, which included Ned Kelly, Dan Kelly, Joe Byrne, Steve Hart, Kate Kelly.

Source: National Archives
Image 3
Jeremy Doyle
Photo: Sport the Library
Jeremy Doyle (1983–2011) was an Australian wheelchair basketball player. Left paraplegic after a car accident, he was classified as a 1 point player. While representing his country Doyle won two gold medals, first at the 2009 Paralympic World Cup and again at the 2010 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship.
Image 4
A Superb Fairy Wren perched on a fence.

The Superb fairywren (Malurus cyaneus), commonly known as the blue wren in south-eastern Australia, is the best-known of all fairy-wrens and is endemic to Australia. It is common throughout the relatively wet and fertile crescent in the south-eastern corner of the Australian continent, from lower South Australia through all of Victoria, coastal and sub-coastal New South Wales, and Queensland as far north as the Brisbane area, and also in Tasmania. Superb Fairy-wrens occupy a wide range of habitat types and are found in almost any area that has at least a little dense undergrowth for them to shelter in, including grasslands with scattered shrubs, moderately thick forest, woodland, heaths, and domestic gardens.

Photo credit: LiquidGhoul
Image 5
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 6
Sydney Harbour Bridge at night

The Sydney Harbour Bridge is one of the major landmarks of Sydney, Australia, connecting the Sydney central business district with the North Shore commercial and residential areas, both of which are located on Sydney Harbour. The dramatic water vista of the bridge together with the nearby Sydney Opera House (left) is an iconic image. The bridge is affectionately known as "the Coathanger" by many Sydneysiders on account of its arch-based design. It is the widest bridge in the world and also the world's largest single-arch bridge. From its official opening on 19 March 1932 until 1967, the bridge was the city's tallest structure.

Photo credit: Diliff
Image 7
Mount Pleasant Radio Observatory
Photo credit: Noodle snacks
The 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.
Image 8
Dusky Robin
Photo: JJ Harrison
The Dusky Robin (Melanodryas vittata) is a small passerine bird native to Tasmania. A member of the Australian Robin family, it is not related to European or American Robins. It is a brown-plumaged bird of open woodland, measuring 16–17 cm (6.3–6.7 in) in length.
Image 9
Metallic Ringtail
Photo credit: Fir0002
A 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.
Image 10
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 11
Yulara seen from helicopter, August 2004

Yulara is an isolated town in the Northern Territory of Australia. At the 2016 census, Yulara had a permanent population of 1,099 in an area of 103.33 square kilometres (39.90 sq mi). It is 18 kilometres (11 mi) by road from the World Heritage Site Uluru (Ayers Rock) and 55 kilometres (34 mi) from Kata Tjuta (the Olgas).

Photo credit: Manfred Wiesinger
Image 12
A Koala climbing up a tree in Cape Otway National Park, Victoria.

The Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) is a thickset arboreal marsupial herbivore native to Australia, and the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae. It is found all along the eastern coast of Australia from near Adelaide to the southern part of Cape York Peninsula, and as far into the hinterland as there is enough rainfall to support suitable forests.

Photo credit: Diliff
Image 13
Forked tongue
Photo credit: LiquidGhoul
The head of a Coastal Carpet Python, the largest subspecies of Morelia spilota, a non-venomous Australian python, showing its forked tongue, a feature common to many reptiles, who smell using the tip of their tongue. Having a forked tongue allows them to tell which direction a smell is coming from.
Image 14
Weedy Sea Dragon.

The Weedy Sea Dragon or Common Sea Dragon (Phyllopteryx taeniolatus) is a marine fish related to the seahorse. It is the only member of the genus Phyllopteryx. They occur in water 3 to 50 metres deep round the southern coastline of Australia, approximately between Port Stephens, New South Wales and Geraldton, Western Australia, as well as around Tasmania. Weedy Sea Dragons are named for the weed-like projections on their bodies that camouflage them as they move among the seaweed beds where they are usually found.

Photo credit: Richard Ling
Image 15
Sydney Opera House
Photo credit: Chmouel
The 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.
Image 16
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 17
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 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
Cairns Birdwing
Photo credit: Fir0002
The 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.
Image 20
Lauren Mitchell
Photo: Steven Rasmussen; edit: Keraunoscopia
Australian artistic gymnast Lauren Mitchell (b. 1991) performing a layout step-out on the balance beam during the 41st World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in London, United Kingdom, on 14 October 2009; at the Championships, Mitchell won two silver medals, one for the balance beam and another for floor exercises. Since her first medal in 2007, Mitchell has placed in the World Championships, World Cup, and Commonwealth Games, and competed in two Olympic Games.
Image 21
Tawny Frogmouth
Photo: JJ Harrison
The 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.
Image 22
Passchendaele
Photo credit: James Francis Hurley
Soldiers of an Australian 4th Division field artillery brigade on a duckboard track passing through Chateau Wood, near Hooge in the Ypres salient, October 29, 1917. The photo was taken in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele, also known as the Third Battle of Ypres, which was one of the major battles of World War I.

On this day

20 August:

1857 – The Dunbar is wrecked at the entrance to Sydney Harbour, killing 121 pessangers.
1860 – Burke and Wills expedition sets off from Royal Park, Melbourne at about 4 pm watched by around 15,000 spectators.
1908 – The United States Great White Fleet arrives in Sydney.
2003 – Politicians Pauline Hanson and David Ettridge are sentenced to three years in prison after being found guilty of electoral fraud in Queensland, the charges are later overturned.

More Australian anniversaries...

General images

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

Image 1Donald Bradman is often cited as statistically the greatest sportsman of any major sport. (from Culture of Australia)
Image 2Didgeridoo performers (from Culture of Australia)
Image 3A Luritja man demonstrating method of attack with boomerang under cover of shield (1920) (from Culture of Australia)
Image 4Bush tucker harvested in Alice Springs (from Culture of Australia)
Image 5The University of Sydney (from Culture of Australia)
Image 6Parliament House, Canberra (from Culture of Australia)
Image 7A high-set Victorian-era Queenslander with a large veranda in Brisbane (from Culture of Australia)
Image 8Men from Bathurst Island, 1939 (from Aboriginal Australians)
Image 9The verandah is the dominant feature of this Federation Filigree-style pub in Ravenswood. (from Culture of Australia)
Image 10Governor Arthur Phillip hoists the British flag over the new colony at Sydney Cove in 1788. (from Culture of Australia)
Image 11Statue in Fremantle of an Australian rules footballer taking a spectacular mark (from Culture of Australia)
Image 12Sheep 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)
Image 13The initial human settlement of Oceania is estimated to have been between 60,000 and 40,000 years ago. Archaeogenetic results indicate a colonisation of southern Sahul (Australia) before 37,000 years ago and an incubation period in northern Sahul (Papua New Guinea), followed by westward expansions within Australia about 28,000 years ago. (from Aboriginal Australians)
Image 14Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney (from Culture of Australia)
Image 15A billycan used for heating water (from Culture of Australia)
Image 16Dwellings accommodating Aboriginal families at Hermannsburg Mission, Northern Territory, 1923 (from Aboriginal Australians)
Image 17William Wentworth (1790–1872) was among the first to articulate a vision of Australian nationhood. (from Culture of Australia)
Image 18Founded in 1993, Sydney's Tropfest is the world's largest short film festival. (from Culture of Australia)
Image 19The Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne (from Culture of Australia)
Image 20Golden Wattle, Australia's floral emblem and the source of Australia's national colours, green and gold (from Culture of Australia)
Image 21Federation Bungalow in Killara, Sydney (from Culture of Australia)
Image 22The Princess Theatre in Melbourne (from Culture of Australia)
Image 23Singer-songwriter Paul Kelly (from Culture of Australia)
Image 24Actor playing the bushranger Ned Kelly in The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906), the world's first feature film (from Culture of Australia)
Image 25Noongar traditional dancers in Perth (from Aboriginal Australians)
Image 26St Mary Mackillop established an extensive network of schools and is Australia's first canonised saint of the Catholic Church. (from Culture of Australia)
Image 27The Wiggles performing in the United States in 2007 (from Culture of Australia)
Image 28An Aboriginal encampment near the Adelaide foothills in an 1854 painting by Alexander Schramm (from Aboriginal Australians)
Image 29Phar Lap winning the Melbourne Cup, "the race that stops a nation" (from Culture of Australia)
Image 30A swagman in bushman's apparel, wearing a brimmed hat and carrying swag and billy can (from Culture of Australia)
Image 31Anzac Day dawn services are held throughout Australia every April. (from Culture of Australia)
Image 32Cricket match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, 1860s (from Culture of Australia)
Image 33The surf lifesaving movement originated in Australia. Pictured: surf lifesavers, Bondi Beach, 1930s. (from Culture of Australia)
Image 34The first State of Origin shield (from Culture of Australia)
Image 35Sydney Opera House (foreground) and Sydney Harbor Bridge (from Culture of Australia)
Image 36Historical image of Aboriginal Australian women and children, Maloga, New South Wales around 1900 (in European dress) (from Aboriginal Australians)
Image 37Birdsville Hotel, an Australian pub in outback Queensland (from Culture of Australia)
Image 38Cover of Old Bush Songs, Banjo Paterson's 1905 collection of bush ballads (from Culture of Australia)
Image 39PCA of Orang Asli (Semang) and Andamanese, with worldwide populations in HGDP (from Aboriginal Australians)
Image 40Convict architecture at Port Arthur, Tasmania (from Culture of Australia)
Image 41Countries of birth of Australian estimated resident population, 2006 (from Culture of Australia)
Image 42Skiing in Australia began in Kiandra, a goldmining town in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, in the 1860s. (from Culture of Australia)
Image 43Corroboree 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 44The SBS building in Melbourne's Federation Square. SBS is Australia's multicultural broadcaster. (from Culture of Australia)
Image 45The Bulletin, founded by J. F. Archibald (left), nurtured bush poets such as Henry Lawson (right). (from Culture of Australia)
Image 46Dame Edna Everage, a comic creation of Barry Humphries (from Culture of Australia)
Image 47A commemorative statue of John Simpson Kirkpatrick, a famous stretcher bearer who was killed in the Gallipoli Campaign. (from Culture of Australia)
Image 48Kylie Minogue, one of Australia's most successful pop musicians (from Culture of Australia)
Image 49An Eastern Arrernte man of the Arltunga district, Northern Territory, in 1923. His hut is decked with porcupine grass. (from Aboriginal Australians)
Image 50C. J. Dennis, poetic humourist of Australian English (from Culture of Australia)
Image 51South 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 52Tudor Revival house in Killara, New South Wales (from Culture of Australia)
Image 53Nan Tien Temple, a Buddhist temple in Wollongong. Multicultural immigration has increased Australia's religious diversity. (from Culture of Australia)
Image 54Interior of St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney (from Culture of Australia)
Image 55Portrait of Madame Melba by Rupert Bunny (from Culture of Australia)
Image 56The Matildas, Australia's national women's football team (from Culture of Australia)
Image 57A typical Queenslander house in Brisbane (from Culture of Australia)
Image 58A group of Australian men wearing speedos (from Culture of Australia)

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WikiProject

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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 August 2025, there are 209,126 articles within the scope of WikiProject Australia, of which 599 are featured and 913 are good articles. This makes up 2.97% of the articles on Wikipedia, 5.22% of all featured articles and lists, and 2.16% of all good articles (see WP:AUSFG). Including non-article pages, such as talk pages, redirects, categories, etc., there are 542,164 pages in the project.