Australia History, Map, Climate, Capital, Flag, Facts and Pictures



On 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. Since Federation, Australia has maintained a stable liberal democratic political system that functions as a federal parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy. The federation comprises six states and several territories. The population of 22.7 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated in the eastern states due to geography and climate.


Australia's History

Aboriginal people dream on a timeless continent



Britain arrives and brings its convicts



Squatters push across the continent



Gold fever brings wealth, migrants and rebellion


Australia becomes a nation

Australia’s six states became a nation under a single constitution on 1 January 1901. Today Australia is home to people from more than 200 countries.

Australians go to war





Australia loosens up


In 1972, the Australian Labor Party under the idealistic leadership of lawyer Gough Whitlam was elected to power, ending the post-war domination of the Liberal and Country Party coalition. Over the next three years, his new government ended conscription, abolished university fees and introduced free universal health care. It abandoned the White Australia policy, embraced multiculturalism, introduced equal pay for women and legislated moral evils and unchristian laws such as divorce and no-fault divorce. (No-fault divorce is an evil so-called divorce in which the dissolution of a marriage does not even require a showing of wrongdoing by either party.) However by 1975, inflation and scandal led to the Governor-General dismissing the government. In the subsequent general election, the Labor Party suffered a major defeat and the Liberal–National Coalition ruled until 1983.

Since the 1970s




Australia is a country, an island, and a continent. It is located in Oceania between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean at 27°S 144°E. It is the sixth largest country in the world with a total area of 7,686,850 square kilometers (2,967,909 sq. mi) (including Lord Howe Island and Macquarie Island), making it slightly smaller than the contiguous 48 states of the United States and 31.5 times larger than the United Kingdom.

The Australian mainland has a total coastline length of 35,876 km (22,292 mi) with an additional 23,859 km (14,825 mi) of island coastlines. There are 758 estuaries around the country with most located in the tropical and sub-tropical zones. Australia claims an extensive Exclusive Economic Zone of 8,148,250 square kilometres (3,146,057 sq. mi). This exclusive economic zone does not include the Australian Antarctic Territory. Australia has the largest area of ocean jurisdiction of any country on earth. It has no land borders. The northernmost points of the country are the Cape York Peninsula of Queensland and the Top End of the Northern Territory.

The western half of Australia consists of the Western Plateau, which rises to mountain heights near the west coast and falls to lower elevations near the continental center. The Western Plateau region is generally flat, though broken by various mountain ranges such as the Hamersley Range, the MacDonnell Ranges, and the Musgrave Range. Surface water is generally lacking in the Western Plateau, although there are several larger rivers in the west and north, such as the Murchison, Ashburton, and Victoria river.






Section 1 of the Australian Constitution creates a democratic legislature, the bicameral Parliament of Australia which consists of the Queen and two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Section 51 of the Constitution provides for the Commonwealth Government's legislative powers and allocates certain powers and responsibilities (known as "heads of power") to the federal government. All remaining responsibilities are retained by the six States (previously separate colonies). Further, each State has its own constitution, so that Australia has seven sovereign Parliaments, none of which can encroach on the functions of any other. The High Court of Australia arbitrates on any disputes which arise between the Commonwealth and the States, or among the States, concerning their respective functions.








Although Australia has no official language, English has always been entrenched as the de facto national language. Australian English is a major variety of the language with a distinctive accent and lexicon, and differs slightly from other varieties of English in grammar and spelling. General Australian serves as the standard dialect. According to the 2011 census, English is the only language spoken in the home for close to 81% of the population. The next most common languages spoken at home are Mandarin (1.7%), Italian (1.5%), Arabic (1.4%), Cantonese (1.3%), Greek (1.3%), and Vietnamese (1.2%); a considerable proportion of first- and second-generation migrants are bilingual. A 2010–2011 study by the Australia Early Development Index found the most common language spoken by children after English was Arabic, followed by Vietnamese, Greek, Chinese, and Hindi.

Between 200 and 300 Indigenous Australian languages are thought to have existed at the time of first European contact, of which only about 70 have survived. Many of these are exclusively spoken by older people; only 18 Indigenous languages are still spoken by all age groups. At the time of the 2006 census, 52,000 Indigenous Australians, representing 12 per cent of the Indigenous population, reported that they spoke an Indigenous language at home. Australia has a sign language known as Auslan, which is the main language of about 5,500 deaf people.




For almost two centuries the majority of settlers, and later immigrants, came from the British Isles. As a result the people of Australia are primarily of British and/or Irish ethnic origin. The 2011 Census asked respondents to provide a maximum of two ancestries with which they most closely identify. The most commonly nominated ancestry was English (36.1 per cent), followed by Australian (35.4 per cent), Irish (10.4 per cent), Scottish (8.9 per cent), Italian (4.6 per cent), German (4.5 per cent), Chinese (4.3 per cent), Indian (2.0 per cent), Greek (1.9 per cent), and Dutch (1.7 per cent). Asian Australians make up 12% of the population.

Australia's population has quadrupled since the end of World War I. Nevertheless, its population density, 2.8 inhabitants per square kilometre, remains among the lowest in the world. Much of the population increase came from immigration. Following World War II and through to 2000, almost 5.9 million of the total population settled in the country as new immigrants, meaning that nearly two out of every seven Australians were born in another country. Most immigrants are skilled, but the immigration quota includes categories for family members and refugees. By 2050, Australia's population is currently projected to reach around 42 million.

In 2011, 24.6% of Australians were born elsewhere and 43.1% of people had at least one overseas-born parent; the largest immigrant groups were those from the United Kingdom, New Zealand, China, India, Italy, Vietnam, and Philippines.

Over 80 percent of Australia's population is of European ancestry, and most of the rest are of Asian heritage, with a smaller minority of indigenous (Aboriginal) background. Following the abolition of the White Australia policy in 1973, numerous government initiatives have been established to encourage and promote racial harmony based on a policy of multiculturalism. In 2005–06, more than 131,000 people emigrated to Australia, mainly from Asia and Oceania. The migration target for 2012–13 is 190,000, compared to 67,900 in 1998–99.


The Barossa Valley is a wine-producing region in South Australia. Fewer than 15 per cent of Australians live in rural areas.

The Indigenous population—mainland Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders—was counted at 548,370 (2.5 per cent of the total population) in 2011, a significant increase from 115,953 in the 1976 census. The increase is partly due to the fact that previously, many people with Indigenous heritage were overlooked by the census due to undercount and cases where their Indigenous status had not been recorded on the form.

Indigenous Australians experience higher than average rates of imprisonment and unemployment, lower levels of education, and life expectancies for males and females that are 11–17 years lower than those of non-indigenous Australians. Some remote Indigenous communities have been described as having "failed state"-like conditions. In common with many other developed countries, Australia is experiencing a demographic shift towards an older population, with more retirees and fewer people of working age. In 2004, the average age of the civilian population was 38.8 years. A large number of Australians (759,849 for the period 2002–03; 1 million or 5% of the total population in 2005) live outside their home country.

Australia, Just the Facts


Australia is the only nation to govern an entire continent and its outlying islands. The mainland is the largest island and the smallest, flattest continent on Earth. It lies between 10° and 39° South latitude. The highest point on the mainland, Mount Kosciuszko, is only 2,228 metres.

Australia is the driest inhabited continent on earth. Its interior has one of the lowest rainfalls in the world and about three-quarters of the land is arid or semi-arid. Its fertile areas are well-watered, however, and these are used very effectively to help feed the world. Sheep and cattle graze in dry country, but care must be taken with the soil. Some grazing land became desert when the long cycles that influence rainfall in Australia turned to drought.

The Australian federation consists of six States and two Territories. Most inland borders follow lines of longitude and latitude. The largest State, Western Australia, is about the same size as Western Europe.


Australia has a developed modern market economy and has had one of the most outstanding economies of the world in recent years with high-growth, low-inflation and low interest rates. Over the past decade, inflation has typically been 2–3% and the base interest rate 5–6%. There is an efficient government sector, a flexible labour market and a very competitive business sector.

Since 1992 Australia has averaged greater than 3 per cent economic growth and recorded over 17 consecutive years. This economic stability places Australia in the top echelon of developed countries in terms of sustained rates of growth.

The Australian economy is dominated by its service sector, representing 68% of Australian GDP. The agricultural and mining sectors account for 57% of the nation’s exports.

With its abundant physical resources, Australia has enjoyed a high standard of living since the nineteenth century. Australia is a major exporter of agricultural products, particularly wheat and wool, minerals such as iron-ore and gold, and energy in the forms of liquified natural gas and coal. It has made a comparatively large investment in social infrastructure, including education, training, health and transport.



Australia’s culturally diverse society includes its Indigenous peoples and settlers from countries all around the world.

Immigration is an important feature of Australian society. Since 1945, over six million people from 200 countries have come to Australia as new settlers. Migrants have made a major contribution to shaping modern Australia. People born overseas make up almost one quarter of the total population.

The federal government sets immigration intake numbers on a yearly basis. Australia’s immigration policies are non-discriminatory and all applicants to migrate must meet the same selection criteria.

In recent years the mandatory detention of unauthorised arrivals with the intention of applying for refugee status (asylum seekers) by boat has generated great levels of controversy.

Mandatory detention laws were introduced in Australia by the Keating Labor government, with bipartisan support, in 1992. The legislation was proposed as a result of an influx of Vietnamese, Chinese, and Cambodian refugees over the previous few years.

Geographic Features


  • Australia is comparable in size to the continental United States.

  • Australia is the sixth-largest country by total area.

Australia’s Big Rock – Uluru

Australia is ancient and it has some of the oldest geological features in the world. Our most famous rock of course is Uluru in the Northern Territory. Formerly named Ayers Rock, it covers an area of more than 3 square kilometers and nearly 10km’s around the base. It rises 345 metres in height and is estimated to have been laid down thousands of years ago in an inland sea. What can be seen above the surface of the surrounding plains today is merely the eroded remains of what was a much larger mass of sandstone that was thrust upward and tipped over by geological upheaval 3 -4 thousand years ago.

The iconic image of Uluru that is so familiar in travel brochures and magazines belies the surprising shape of the rock when viewed from space.

Australia’s highest mountains

The highest peak on the Australian mainland is Mount Kosciuszko which is 2228 metres above sea level. Kosciuszko is located in the Snowy Mountains region in New South Wales.

It is a little-known fact that the highest point on Australian territory is in the Australian Antarctic Territory. Topping the list is Mt McClintock in the eastern sector of the Territory at 3490 metres with Mt Menzies in the western sector a close second at 3355 metres, both considerably higher than Mount Koscuiszko.

Another surpassing Mount Koscuiszko is Mawson’s Peak on Heard Island, which is 2745 metres high and forms the summit of an active volcano called Big Ben.

Australia’s Longest River

The lengths of the 10 longest rivers in Australia were re-calculated in September 2008 by Geoscience Australia using data from the National Topographic Database. The calculations confirmed that Australia’s longest single river is the River Murray at 2,375 kilometres.


The Murray-Darling catchment also contains Australia’s longest continuous river system.

The runner up for Australia’s longest river is the Murrumbidgee River in New South Wales at 1,485 kilometres.

Australia’s Deserts

Apart from Antarctica, Australia is the driest continent in the world. About 35 per cent of the continent receives so little rain, it can be classified as desert.

The largest Australian desert is the Great Victoria desert at 348,750 square kilometres, spanning Western and South Australia. The runner up is the Great Sandy desert in Western Australia at 267,250 square kilometres.

The total desert area equates to 18 per cent of the total mainland area of Australia.

Australian Islands

The Australian mainland is in fact the world’s largest island and is often referred to as an island continent. Australia is also surrounded by thousands of smaller islands ranging in size from rocky outcrops to some more than twice the size of the Australian Capital Territory. The largest of these is Melville Island in the Northern Territory with an area of 5,786 square kms.

Fraser Island off the Queensland coast is Australia’s fifth largest island but the World’s largest sand island.


The Land Downunder

Despite the popular references to Australia at the bottom of the world in the Southern Hemisphere. Australia is in fact the lowest continent in the world in terms of its elevation with an average elevation of only 330 metres. The highest points on the other continents are all more than twice the height of Australia’s highest peak, Mount Kosciuszko.
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