Portal:Australia

The Commonwealth of Australia is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the world's smallest continent and a number of islands in the Southern, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Australia's neighbouring countries are Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia to the north-east, and New Zealand to the south-east.

The continent of Australia has been inhabited for more than 42,000 years by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. After sporadic visits by European explorers and merchants from the 17th century onwards, the eastern half of the continent was claimed by the British in 1770, and officially settled as the penal colony of New South Wales on 26 January 1788. As the population grew and new areas were explored, another five largely self-governing Crown Colonies were successively established over the course of the 19th century.

On 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated and the Commonwealth of Australia was formed. Since federation, Australia has maintained a stable liberal democratic political system and remains a Commonwealth Realm. The current population of around 20.5 million is concentrated mainly in the coastal cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

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The Shrine of Remembrance, located in St Kilda Road, Melbourne, is one of the largest war memorials in Australia. It was built as a memorial to the men and women of Victoria who served in World War I, but soon came to be seen as Australia's major memorial to all the 60,000 Australians who died in that war. It now serves as a memorial for all Australians who served in war and it is the site of annual observances of ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day. The Shrine's design, by Melbourne architects (and war veterans) Phillip Hudson and James Wardrop, is based on the ancient Tomb of Mausolus at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It features a massive pyramid-shaped structure, with classical porticos at the head of wide flights of steps on the northern and southern sides. After overcoming instense criticism of its grandiosity, the foundation stone was laid on 11 November 1927 and in 1934 the Duke of Gloucester formally dedicated the Shrine to a crowd of 300,000.

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Adelaide is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of South Australia, and is the fifth largest city in Australia, with a population of over 1.1 million. It is a coastal city beside the Southern Ocean, and is situated on the Adelaide Plains, north of the Fleurieu Peninsula, between the Gulf St. Vincent and the low-lying Mount Lofty Ranges. It is roughly a linear city: it is 20 km from the coast to the foothills, but it stretches 90 km from Gawler at its northern extent to Sellicks Beach in the south.

Photo credit: Maggas

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edit April 9:

• 1865 - Bushranger Dan Morgan is shot and killed at Peechalba Station in Victoria.
• 1896 - Teddy Flack wins the Men's 800 metres at the 1896 Summer Olympics.
• 1909 - Dancer, actor, director and choreographer Robert Helpmann is born in Mount Gambier.

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South Australia	Military of Australia

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Oceania	New Zealand