Today, Australia’s real GDP per head of about $ measured at purchasing power parity, is noticeably higher than the UK’s $ though for the UK that comparison is adversely affected by the economic weakness in recent years.3 Such an outcome is perhaps not surprising given the endowment of land and natural resources that Australia has.
Opening up of large areas of land for agriculture enabled Australia to enter powerfully the markets for grain and wool. Agriculture was a major source of wealth over most of our history (and many predict will play a big role in future).