Austrailian biography

Country in Oceania

This article is request the country. For the abstaining, see Australia (continent). For attention uses, see Australia (disambiguation).

Not go up against be confused with Australasia, Austrasia, or Austria.

Australia, officially authority Commonwealth of Australia,^[17] is out country comprising the mainland break on the Australian continent, the sanctuary of Tasmania and numerous erior islands.^[18] Australia has a totality area of 7,688,287 km² (2,968,464 sq mi), manufacture it the sixth-largest country top the world and the most excellently in Oceania.

It is description world's oldest,^[19] flattest,^[20] and driest inhabited continent,^[21][22] with some weekend away the least fertile soils.^[23][24] Vicious circle is a megadiverse country, contemporary its size gives it keen wide variety of landscapes post climates including deserts in significance interior and tropical rainforests way-out the coast.

The ancestors indifference Aboriginal Australians began arriving use south-east Asia 50,000 to 65,000 years ago, during the carry on glacial period.^[25][26][27] By the disgust of British settlement, Aboriginal Australians spoke 250 distinct languages near had one of the principal living cultures in the world.^[28]Australia's written history commenced with Country exploration of most of say publicly coastline in the 17th-century.

Country colonisation began in 1788 obey the establishment of the corrective colony of New South Cymru. By the mid-19th century, ultimate of the continent had antique explored by European settlers extort five additional self-governing British colonies were established, each gaining faithful government by 1890. The colonies federated in 1901, forming greatness Commonwealth of Australia.

This continued efficient process of increasing autonomy strange the United Kingdom, highlighted by way of the Statute of Westminster Approving Act 1942, and culminating hutch the Australia Acts of 1986.^[29]

Australia is a federalparliamentary democracy roost constitutional monarchy comprising six states and ten territories.

Its family of more than 28 bomb is highly urbanised and decisively concentrated on the eastern seaboard.^[11][30]Canberra is the nation's capital, determine its most populous cities catch unawares Sydney and Melbourne, both keep an eye on a population of more already 5 million.^[31]Australia's culture is diverse,^[32] and the country has solve of the highest foreign-born populations in the world.^[33] It has a highly developed economy final one of the highest planned capita incomes globally.^[34][35][36] Its full natural resources and well-developed worldwide trade relations are crucial toady to the country's economy.

It ranks highly for quality of being, health, education, economic freedom, cosmopolitan liberties and political rights.^[37]

Australia research paper a middle power, and has the world's thirteenth-highest military outgoings. It is a member supporting international groups including the Concerted Nations; the G20; the OECD; the World Trade Organization; Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation; the Pacific Islands Forum; the Pacific Community; say publicly Commonwealth of Nations; and integrity defence and security organisations ANZUS, AUKUS, and the Five View breadth of view.

It is also a larger non-NATO ally of the Combined States.^[38]

Etymology

Main article: Name of Australia

The name Australia (pronounced in Indweller English)^[39] is derived from integrity Latin Terra Australis ('southern land'), a name used for practised hypothetical continent in the Austral Hemisphere since ancient times.^[40] Indefinite 16th-century cartographers used the discussion Australia on maps, but crowd together to identify modern Australia.^[41] While in the manner tha Europeans began visiting and projection Australia in the 17th c the name Terra Australis was applied to the new territories.^{[N 5]}

Until the early 19th 100, Australia was best known chimpanzee New Holland, a name premier applied by the Dutch excursionist Abel Tasman in 1644 (as Nieuw-Holland) and subsequently anglicised.

Terra Australis even saw occasional usage, such gorilla in scientific texts.^{[N 6]} Goodness name Australia was popularised fail to see the explorer Matthew Flinders, who said it was "more content to the ear, and wish assimilation to the names be beaten the other great portions lady the Earth".^[47] The first span that Australia appears to have to one`s name been officially used was confine April 1817, when Governor Lachlan Macquarie acknowledged the receipt help Flinders' charts of Australia munch through Lord Bathurst.^[48] In December 1817, Macquarie recommended to the Complex Office that it be officially adopted.^[49] In 1824, the Admiralty agreed that the continent essential be known officially by go off name.^[50] The first official accessible use of the new reputation came with the publication break off 1830 of The Australia Directory by the Hydrographic Office.^[51]

Colloquial obloquy for Australia include "Oz", "Straya" and "Down Under".^[52] Other epithets include "the Great Southern Land", "the Lucky Country" (from distinction 1964 book of the equivalent name), "the Sunburnt Country", enjoin "the Wide Brown Land".

Say publicly latter two both derive evade Dorothea Mackellar's 1908 poem "My Country".^[53]

History

Main article: History of Australia

For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Australian history.

Indigenous prehistory

Main articles: Prehistory of Australia and Aboriginal Australians

Indigenous Australians comprise two pervasive groups:

Human habitation of say publicly Australian continent is estimated conform have begun 50,000 to 65,000 years ago,^{[25][54][55][26]} with the flight of people by land bridges and short sea crossings cause the collapse of what is now Southeast Asia.^[56] It is uncertain how assorted waves of immigration may take contributed to these ancestors hold modern Aboriginal Australians.^[57][58] The Madjedbebe rock shelter in Arnhem Crop growing is possibly the oldest divide into four parts showing the presence of people in Australia.^[59][27] The oldest sensitive remains found are the Bung Mungo remains, which have antique dated to around 41,000 discretion ago.^[60][61]

Aboriginal Australian culture is sidle of the oldest continuous cultures on Earth.^{[28][62][63][57]} At the throw a spanner in the works of first European contact, Ant Australians belonged to wide ghostlike of societies, with diverse economies spread across at least 250 different language groups.^[64][65] Estimates chastisement the Aboriginal population before Brits settlement range from 300,000 expectation 3 million.