For about 50,000 years[13] before the first British settlement in the late 18th century,[14][15] Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians,[16] who spoke languages classifiable into roughly 250 groups.[17][18] After the European discovery of the continent by Dutch explorers in 1606, Australia's eastern half was claimed by Great Britain in 1770 and initially settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales from 26 January 1788. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades, and by the 1850s most of the continent had been explored and an additional five self-governing crown colonies established. On 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia has since maintained a stable liberal democratic political system that functions as a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy comprising six states and several territories. The population of 24 million[5] is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard.[19]

Australia has the world's 13th-largest economy and ninth-highest per capita income (IMF).[20] With the second-highest human development index globally, the country ranks highly in quality of life, health, education, economic freedom, and civil liberties and political rights.[21] Australia is a member of the United Nations, G20, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), World Trade Organization, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and the Pacific Islands Forum.

Contents  [hide] 

Name

Main article: Name of Australia

The name Australia (pronounced [əˈstɹæɪljə, -liə] in Australian English[22]) is derived from the Latin Terra Australis ("southern land") a name used for putative lands in the southern hemisphere since ancient times.[23] The earliest recorded use of the word Australiain English was in 1625 in "A note of Australia del Espíritu Santo, written by Sir Richard Hakluyt", published by Samuel Purchas in Hakluytus Posthumus, a corruption of the original Spanish name "Austrialia del Espíritu Santo" (Southern Land of the Holy Spirit)[24][25][26] for an island in Vanuatu.[27] The Dutch adjectival form Australische was used in a Dutch book in Batavia (Jakarta) in 1638, to refer to the newly discovered lands to the south.[28] The first time that the name Australia appears to have been officially used was in a despatch to Lord Bathurst of 4 April 1817 in which Governor Lachlan Macquarie acknowledges the receipt of Matthew Flinders' charts of Australia.[29] On 12 December 1817, Macquarie recommended to the Colonial Office that it be formally adopted.[30] In 1824, the Admiralty agreed that the continent should be known officially as Australia.[31]

History

Main article: History of Australia

Aboriginal rock art in the Kimberleyregion of Western Australia

Human habitation of the Australian continent is estimated to have begun between 42,000 and 48,000 years ago,[32][33] possibly with the migration of people by land bridges and short sea-crossings from what is now Southeast Asia. These first inhabitants may have been ancestors of modern Indigenous Australians.[34] At the time of European settlement in the late 18th century, most Indigenous Australians were hunter-gatherers, with a complex oral culture and spiritual values based on reverence for the land and a belief in the Dreamtime. The Torres Strait Islanders, ethnically Melanesian, were originally horticulturists and hunter-gatherers.[35] The northern coasts and waters of Australia were visited sporadically by fishermen from Maritime Southeast Asia.[36]

See also: European exploration of Australia

Portrait of Captain James Cook, the first European to map the eastern coastline of Australia in 1770

The first recorded European sighting of the Australian mainland, and the first recorded European landfall on the Australian continent, are attributed to the Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon. He sighted the coast of Cape York Peninsula in early 1606, and made landfall on 26 February at the Pennefather River near the modern town of Weipa on Cape York.[37] The Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines and named the island continent "New Holland" during the 17th century, but made no attempt at settlement.[37]William Dampier, an English explorer and privateer, landed on the north-west coast of New Holland in 1688 and again in 1699 on a return trip.[38]In 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain.[39] With the loss of its American colonies in 1783, the British Government sent a fleet of ships, the "First Fleet", under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip, to establish a new penal colony in New South Wales. A camp was set up and the flag raised at Sydney Cove, Port Jackson, on 26 January 1788,[15]a date which became Australia's national day, Australia Day, although the British Crown Colony of New South Wales was not formally promulgated until 7 February 1788. The first settlement led to the foundation of Sydney, and the exploration and settlement of other regions.

Tasmania's Port Arthur penal settlement is one of eleven UNESCO World Heritage-listed Australian Convict Sites.

A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land, now known as Tasmania, in 1803, and it became a separate colony in 1825.[40] The United Kingdom formally claimed the western part of Western Australia (the Swan River Colony) in 1828.[41] Separate colonies were carved from parts of New South Wales: South Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851, and Queensland in 1859.[42] The Northern Territory was founded in 1911 when it was excised from South Australia.[43] South Australia was founded as a "free province"—it was never a penal colony.[44] Victoria and Western Australia were also founded "free", but later accepted transported convicts.[45][46] A campaign by the settlers of New South Wales led to the end of convict transportation to that colony; the last convict ship arrived in 1848.[47]

The indigenous population, estimated to have been between 750,000 and 1,000,000 in 1788,[48] declined for 150 years following settlement, mainly due to infectious disease.[49] Thousands more died as a result of frontier conflict with settlers.[50] A government policy of "assimilation" beginning with the Aboriginal Protection Act 1869 resulted in the removal of many Aboriginal children from their families and communities—often referred to as the Stolen Generations—a practice which may also have contributed to the decline in the indigenous population.[51] The Federal government gained the power to make laws with respect to Aborigines following the 1967 referendum.[52] Traditional ownership of land—aboriginal title—was not recognised until 1992, when the High Court case Mabo v Queensland (No 2) overturned the legal doctrine that Australia had been terra nullius ("land belonging to no one") before the European occupation.[53]

A gold rush began in Australia in the early 1850s[54] and the Eureka Rebellion against mining licence fees in 1854 was an early expression of civil disobedience.[55] Between 1855 and 1890, the six colonies individually gained responsible government, managing most of their own affairs while remaining part of the British Empire.[56] The Colonial Office in London retained control of some matters, notably foreign affairs,[57] defence,[58] and international shipping.

The Last Post is played at an Anzac Day ceremony in Port Melbourne, Victoria. Similar ceremonies are held in many suburbs and towns.

On 1 January 1901, federation of the colonies was achieved after a decade of planning, consultation and voting.[59] This established the Commonwealth of Australia as a dominion of the British Empire.[60] The Federal Capital Territory (later renamed the Australian Capital Territory) was formed in 1911 as the location for the future federal capital of Canberra. Melbourne was the temporary seat of government from 1901 to 1927 while Canberra was being constructed.[61] The Northern Territory was transferred from the control of the South Australian government to the federal parliament in 1911.[62] In 1914, Australia joined Britain in fighting World War I, with support from both the outgoing Commonwealth Liberal Party and the incoming Australian Labor Party.[63][64] Australians took part in many of the major battles fought on the Western Front.[65] Of about 416,000 who served, about 60,000 were killed and another 152,000 were wounded.[66]Many Australians regard the defeat of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZACs) at Gallipoli as the birth of the nation—its first major military action.[67][68] The Kokoda Track campaign is regarded by many as an analogous nation-defining event during World War II.[69]

Britain's Statute of Westminster 1931 formally ended most of the constitutional links between Australia and the UK. Australia adopted it in 1942,[70] but it was backdated to 1939 to confirm the validity of legislation passed by the Australian Parliament during World War II.[71][72]The shock of the United Kingdom's defeat in Asia in 1942 and the threat of Japanese invasion caused Australia to turn to the United States as a new ally and protector.[73] Since 1951, Australia has been a formal military ally of the US, under the ANZUS treaty.[74] After World War II Australia encouraged immigration from Europe. Since the 1970s and following the abolition of the White Australia policy, immigration from Asia and elsewhere was also promoted.[75] As a result, Australia's demography, culture, and self-image were transformed.[76] The final constitutional ties between Australia and the UK were severed with the passing of the Australia Act 1986, ending any British role in the government of the Australian States, and closing the option of judicial appeals to the Privy Council in London.[77] In a 1999 referendum, 55% of voters and a majority in every state rejected a proposal to become a republic with a president appointed by a two-thirds vote in both Houses of the Australian Parliament. Since the election of the Whitlam Government in 1972,[78] there has been an increasing focus in foreign policy on ties with other Pacific Rim nations, while maintaining close ties with Australia's traditional allies and trading partners.[79]

Government

Main articles: Government of Australia, Politics of Australia, and Monarchy of Australia

Parliament House, Canberra

Australia is a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy[80] with Elizabeth II at its apex as the Queen of Australia, a role that is distinct from her position as monarch of the other Commonwealth realms. The Queen is represented in Australia by the Governor-General at the federal level and by the Governors at the state level, who by convention act on the advice of her ministers.[81][82] The most notable exercise to date of the Governor-General's reserve powers outside the Prime Minister's request was the dismissal of the Whitlam Government in the constitutional crisis of 1975.[83]

The federal government is separated into three branches:

Malcolm Turnbull, Prime Minister

Peter Cosgrove, Governor-General

In the Senate (the upper house), there are 76 senators: twelve each from the states and two each from the mainland territories (the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory).[85] The House of Representatives (the lower house) has 150 members elected from single-member electoral divisions, commonly known as "electorates" or "seats", allocated to states on the basis of population,[86] with each original state guaranteed a minimum of five seats.[87] Elections for both chambers are normally held every three years simultaneously; senators have overlapping six-year terms except for those from the territories, whose terms are not fixed but are tied to the electoral cycle for the lower house; thus only 40 of the 76 places in the Senate are put to each election unless the cycle is interrupted by a double dissolution.[85]

Australia's electoral system uses preferential voting for all lower house elections with the exception of Tasmania and the ACT which, along with the Senate and most state upper houses, combine it with proportional representation in a system known as the single transferable vote. Voting is compulsory for all enrolled citizens 18 years and over in every jurisdiction,[88] as is enrolment (with the exception of South Australia).[89] The party with majority support in the House of Representatives forms the government and its leader becomes Prime Minister. In cases where no party has majority support, the Governor-General has the constitutional power to appoint the Prime Minister and, if necessary, dismiss one that has lost the confidence of Parliament.[90]

There are two major political groups that usually form government, federally and in the states: the Australian Labor Party and the Coalition which is a formal grouping of the Liberal Party and its minor partner, the National Party.[91][92] Within Australian political culture, the Coalition is considered centre-right and the Labor Party is considered centre-left.[93] Independent members and several minor parties have achieved representation in Australian parliaments, mostly in upper houses.

In September 2015, Malcolm Turnbull successfully challenged Abbott for leadership of the Coalition, and was sworn in as the 29th Prime Minister of Australia.[94] The most recent federal election was held on 2 July 2016 and resulted in the Coalition forming a majority government.[95]

States and territories

Main article: States and territories of Australia

A clickable map of Australia's states, mainland territories and their capitals

Australia has six states—New South Wales (NSW), Queensland (QLD), South Australia (SA), Tasmania (TAS), Victoria(VIC) and Western Australia (WA)—and two major mainland territories—the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and the 

Australia (

i/əˈstreɪliə/, /ɒ-/, /-ljə/),[10][11] officially the Commonwealth of Australia,[12] is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area. The neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor to the north; the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east. Australia's capital is Canberra, and its largest urban area is Sydney.

For about 50,000 years[13] before the first British settlement in the late 18th century,[14][15] Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians,[16] who spoke languages classifiable into roughly 250 groups.[17][18] After the European discovery of the continent by Dutch explorers in 1606, Australia's eastern half was claimed by Great Britain in 1770 and initially settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales from 26 January 1788. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades, and by the 1850s most of the continent had been explored and an additional five self-governing crown colonies established. On 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia has since maintained a stable liberal democratic political system that functions as a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy comprising six states and several territories. The population of 24 million[5] is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard.[19]

Australia has the world's 13th-largest economy and ninth-highest per capita income (IMF).[20] With the second-highest human development index globally, the country ranks highly in quality of life, health, education, economic freedom, and civil liberties and political rights.[21] Australia is a member of the United Nations, G20, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), World Trade Organization, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and the Pacific Islands Forum.

Contents  [hide] 

Name

Main article: Name of Australia

The name Australia (pronounced [əˈstɹæɪljə, -liə] in Australian English[22]) is derived from the Latin Terra Australis ("southern land") a name used for putative lands in the southern hemisphere since ancient times.[23] The earliest recorded use of the word Australiain English was in 1625 in "A note of Australia del Espíritu Santo, written by Sir Richard Hakluyt", published by Samuel Purchas in Hakluytus Posthumus, a corruption of the original Spanish name "Austrialia del Espíritu Santo" (Southern Land of the Holy Spirit)[24][25][26] for an island in Vanuatu.[27] The Dutch adjectival form Australische was used in a Dutch book in Batavia (Jakarta) in 1638, to refer to the newly discovered lands to the south.[28] The first time that the name Australia appears to have been officially used was in a despatch to Lord Bathurst of 4 April 1817 in which Governor Lachlan Macquarie acknowledges the receipt of Matthew Flinders' charts of Australia.[29] On 12 December 1817, Macquarie recommended to the Colonial Office that it be formally adopted.[30] In 1824, the Admiralty agreed that the continent should be known officially as Australia.[31]

History

Main article: History of Australia

Aboriginal rock art in the Kimberleyregion of Western Australia

Human habitation of the Australian continent is estimated to have begun between 42,000 and 48,000 years ago,[32][33] possibly with the migration of people by land bridges and short sea-crossings from what is now Southeast Asia. These first inhabitants may have been ancestors of modern Indigenous Australians.[34] At the time of European settlement in the late 18th century, most Indigenous Australians were hunter-gatherers, with a complex oral culture and spiritual values based on reverence for the land and a belief in the Dreamtime. The Torres Strait Islanders, ethnically Melanesian, were originally horticulturists and hunter-gatherers.[35] The northern coasts and waters of Australia were visited sporadically by fishermen from Maritime Southeast Asia.[36]

See also: European exploration of Australia

Portrait of Captain James Cook, the first European to map the eastern coastline of Australia in 1770

The first recorded European sighting of the Australian mainland, and the first recorded European landfall on the Australian continent, are attributed to the Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon. He sighted the coast of Cape York Peninsula in early 1606, and made landfall on 26 February at the Pennefather River near the modern town of Weipa on Cape York.[37] The Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines and named the island continent "New Holland" during the 17th century, but made no attempt at settlement.[37]William Dampier, an English explorer and privateer, landed on the north-west coast of New Holland in 1688 and again in 1699 on a return trip.[38]In 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain.[39] With the loss of its American colonies in 1783, the British Government sent a fleet of ships, the "First Fleet", under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip, to establish a new penal colony in New South Wales. A camp was set up and the flag raised at Sydney Cove, Port Jackson, on 26 January 1788,[15]a date which became Australia's national day, Australia Day, although the British Crown Colony of New South Wales was not formally promulgated until 7 February 1788. The first settlement led to the foundation of Sydney, and the exploration and settlement of other regions.

Tasmania's Port Arthur penal settlement is one of eleven UNESCO World Heritage-listed Australian Convict Sites.

A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land, now known as Tasmania, in 1803, and it became a separate colony in 1825.[40] The United Kingdom formally claimed the western part of Western Australia (the Swan River Colony) in 1828.[41] Separate colonies were carved from parts of New South Wales: South Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851, and Queensland in 1859.[42] The Northern Territory was founded in 1911 when it was excised from South Australia.[43] South Australia was founded as a "free province"—it was never a penal colony.[44] Victoria and Western Australia were also founded "free", but later accepted transported convicts.[45][46] A campaign by the settlers of New South Wales led to the end of convict transportation to that colony; the last convict ship arrived in 1848.[47]

The indigenous population, estimated to have been between 750,000 and 1,000,000 in 1788,[48] declined for 150 years following settlement, mainly due to infectious disease.[49] Thousands more died as a result of frontier conflict with settlers.[50] A government policy of "assimilation" beginning with the Aboriginal Protection Act 1869 resulted in the removal of many Aboriginal children from their families and communities—often referred to as the Stolen Generations—a practice which may also have contributed to the decline in the indigenous population.[51] The Federal government gained the power to make laws with respect to Aborigines following the 1967 referendum.[52] Traditional ownership of land—aboriginal title—was not recognised until 1992, when the High Court case Mabo v Queensland (No 2) overturned the legal doctrine that Australia had been terra nullius ("land belonging to no one") before the European occupation.[53]

A gold rush began in Australia in the early 1850s[54] and the Eureka Rebellion against mining licence fees in 1854 was an early expression of civil disobedience.[55] Between 1855 and 1890, the six colonies individually gained responsible government, managing most of their own affairs while remaining part of the British Empire.[56] The Colonial Office in London retained control of some matters, notably foreign affairs,[57] defence,[58] and international shipping.

The Last Post is played at an Anzac Day ceremony in Port Melbourne, Victoria. Similar ceremonies are held in many suburbs and towns.

On 1 January 1901, federation of the colonies was achieved after a decade of planning, consultation and voting.[59] This established the Commonwealth of Australia as a dominion of the British Empire.[60] The Federal Capital Territory (later renamed the Australian Capital Territory) was formed in 1911 as the location for the future federal capital of Canberra. Melbourne was the temporary seat of government from 1901 to 1927 while Canberra was being constructed.[61] The Northern Territory was transferred from the control of the South Australian government to the federal parliament in 1911.[62] In 1914, Australia joined Britain in fighting World War I, with support from both the outgoing Commonwealth Liberal Party and the incoming Australian Labor Party.[63][64] Australians took part in many of the major battles fought on the Western Front.[65] Of about 416,000 who served, about 60,000 were killed and another 152,000 were wounded.[66]Many Australians regard the defeat of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZACs) at Gallipoli as the birth of the nation—its first major military action.[67][68] The Kokoda Track campaign is regarded by many as an analogous nation-defining event during World War II.[69]

Britain's Statute of Westminster 1931 formally ended most of the constitutional links between Australia and the UK. Australia adopted it in 1942,[70] but it was backdated to 1939 to confirm the validity of legislation passed by the Australian Parliament during World War II.[71][72]The shock of the United Kingdom's defeat in Asia in 1942 and the threat of Japanese invasion caused Australia to turn to the United States as a new ally and protector.[73] Since 1951, Australia has been a formal military ally of the US, under the ANZUS treaty.[74] After World War II Australia encouraged immigration from Europe. Since the 1970s and following the abolition of the White Australia policy, immigration from Asia and elsewhere was also promoted.[75] As a result, Australia's demography, culture, and self-image were transformed.[76] The final constitutional ties between Australia and the UK were severed with the passing of the Australia Act 1986, ending any British role in the government of the Australian States, and closing the option of judicial appeals to the Privy Council in London.[77] In a 1999 referendum, 55% of voters and a majority in every state rejected a proposal to become a republic with a president appointed by a two-thirds vote in both Houses of the Australian Parliament. Since the election of the Whitlam Government in 1972,[78] there has been an increasing focus in foreign policy on ties with other Pacific Rim nations, while maintaining close ties with Australia's traditional allies and trading partners.[79]

Government

Main articles: Government of Australia, Politics of Australia, and Monarchy of Australia

Parliament House, Canberra

Australia is a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy[80] with Elizabeth II at its apex as the Queen of Australia, a role that is distinct from her position as monarch of the other Commonwealth realms. The Queen is represented in Australia by the Governor-General at the federal level and by the Governors at the state level, who by convention act on the advice of her ministers.[81][82] The most notable exercise to date of the Governor-General's reserve powers outside the Prime Minister's request was the dismissal of the Whitlam Government in the constitutional crisis of 1975.[83]

The federal government is separated into three branches:

Malcolm Turnbull, Prime Minister

Peter Cosgrove, Governor-General

In the Senate (the upper house), there are 76 senators: twelve each from the states and two each from the mainland territories (the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory).[85] The House of Representatives (the lower house) has 150 members elected from single-member electoral divisions, commonly known as "electorates" or "seats", allocated to states on the basis of population,[86] with each original state guaranteed a minimum of five seats.[87] Elections for both chambers are normally held every three years simultaneously; senators have overlapping six-year terms except for those from the territories, whose terms are not fixed but are tied to the electoral cycle for the lower house; thus only 40 of the 76 places in the Senate are put to each election unless the cycle is interrupted by a double dissolution.[85]

Australia's electoral system uses preferential voting for all lower house elections with the exception of Tasmania and the ACT which, along with the Senate and most state upper houses, combine it with proportional representation in a system known as the single transferable vote. Voting is compulsory for all enrolled citizens 18 years and over in every jurisdiction,[88] as is enrolment (with the exception of South Australia).[89] The party with majority support in the House of Representatives forms the government and its leader becomes Prime Minister. In cases where no party has majority support, the Governor-General has the constitutional power to appoint the Prime Minister and, if necessary, dismiss one that has lost the confidence of Parliament.[90]

There are two major political groups that usually form government, federally and in the states: the Australian Labor Party and the Coalition which is a formal grouping of the Liberal Party and its minor partner, the National Party.[91][92] Within Australian political culture, the Coalition is considered centre-right and the Labor Party is considered centre-left.[93] Independent members and several minor parties have achieved representation in Australian parliaments, mostly in upper houses.

In September 2015, Malcolm Turnbull successfully challenged Abbott for leadership of the Coalition, and was sworn in as the 29th Prime Minister of Australia.[94] The most recent federal election was held on 2 July 2016 and resulted in the Coalition forming a majority government.[95]

States and territories

Main article: States and territories of Australia

A clickable map of Australia's states, mainland territories and their capitals

Australia has six states—New South Wales (NSW), Queensland (QLD), South Australia (SA), Tasmania (TAS), Victoria(VIC) and Western Australia (WA)—and two major mainland territories—the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and the 

Australia (

i/əˈstreɪliə/, /ɒ-/, /-ljə/),[10][11] officially the Commonwealth of Australia,[12] is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area. The neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor to the north; the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east. Australia's capital is Canberra, and its largest urban area is Sydney.

For about 50,000 years[13] before the first British settlement in the late 18th century,[14][15] Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians,[16] who spoke languages classifiable into roughly 250 groups.[17][18] After the European discovery of the continent by Dutch explorers in 1606, Australia's eastern half was claimed by Great Britain in 1770 and initially settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales from 26 January 1788. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades, and by the 1850s most of the continent had been explored and an additional five self-governing crown colonies established. On 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia has since maintained a stable liberal democratic political system that functions as a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy comprising six states and several territories. The population of 24 million[5] is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard.[19]

Australia has the world's 13th-largest economy and ninth-highest per capita income (IMF).[20] With the second-highest human development index globally, the country ranks highly in quality of life, health, education, economic freedom, and civil liberties and political rights.[21] Australia is a member of the United Nations, G20, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), World Trade Organization, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and the Pacific Islands Forum.

Contents  [hide] 

Name

Main article: Name of Australia

The name Australia (pronounced [əˈstɹæɪljə, -liə] in Australian English[22]) is derived from the Latin Terra Australis ("southern land") a name used for putative lands in the southern hemisphere since ancient times.[23] The earliest recorded use of the word Australiain English was in 1625 in "A note of Australia del Espíritu Santo, written by Sir Richard Hakluyt", published by Samuel Purchas in Hakluytus Posthumus, a corruption of the original Spanish name "Austrialia del Espíritu Santo" (Southern Land of the Holy Spirit)[24][25][26] for an island in Vanuatu.[27] The Dutch adjectival form Australische was used in a Dutch book in Batavia (Jakarta) in 1638, to refer to the newly discovered lands to the south.[28] The first time that the name Australia appears to have been officially used was in a despatch to Lord Bathurst of 4 April 1817 in which Governor Lachlan Macquarie acknowledges the receipt of Matthew Flinders' charts of Australia.[29] On 12 December 1817, Macquarie recommended to the Colonial Office that it be formally adopted.[30] In 1824, the Admiralty agreed that the continent should be known officially as Australia.[31]

History

Main article: History of Australia

Aboriginal rock art in the Kimberleyregion of Western Australia

Human habitation of the Australian continent is estimated to have begun between 42,000 and 48,000 years ago,[32][33] possibly with the migration of people by land bridges and short sea-crossings from what is now Southeast Asia. These first inhabitants may have been ancestors of modern Indigenous Australians.[34] At the time of European settlement in the late 18th century, most Indigenous Australians were hunter-gatherers, with a complex oral culture and spiritual values based on reverence for the land and a belief in the Dreamtime. The Torres Strait Islanders, ethnically Melanesian, were originally horticulturists and hunter-gatherers.[35] The northern coasts and waters of Australia were visited sporadically by fishermen from Maritime Southeast Asia.[36]

See also: European exploration of Australia

Portrait of Captain James Cook, the first European to map the eastern coastline of Australia in 1770

The first recorded European sighting of the Australian mainland, and the first recorded European landfall on the Australian continent, are attributed to the Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon. He sighted the coast of Cape York Peninsula in early 1606, and made landfall on 26 February at the Pennefather River near the modern town of Weipa on Cape York.[37] The Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines and named the island continent "New Holland" during the 17th century, but made no attempt at settlement.[37]William Dampier, an English explorer and privateer, landed on the north-west coast of New Holland in 1688 and again in 1699 on a return trip.[38]In 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain.[39] With the loss of its American colonies in 1783, the British Government sent a fleet of ships, the "First Fleet", under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip, to establish a new penal colony in New South Wales. A camp was set up and the flag raised at Sydney Cove, Port Jackson, on 26 January 1788,[15]a date which became Australia's national day, Australia Day, although the British Crown Colony of New South Wales was not formally promulgated until 7 February 1788. The first settlement led to the foundation of Sydney, and the exploration and settlement of other regions.

Tasmania's Port Arthur penal settlement is one of eleven UNESCO World Heritage-listed Australian Convict Sites.

A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land, now known as Tasmania, in 1803, and it became a separate colony in 1825.[40] The United Kingdom formally claimed the western part of Western Australia (the Swan River Colony) in 1828.[41] Separate colonies were carved from parts of New South Wales: South Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851, and Queensland in 1859.[42] The Northern Territory was founded in 1911 when it was excised from South Australia.[43] South Australia was founded as a "free province"—it was never a penal colony.[44] Victoria and Western Australia were also founded "free", but later accepted transported convicts.[45][46] A campaign by the settlers of New South Wales led to the end of convict transportation to that colony; the last convict ship arrived in 1848.[47]

The indigenous population, estimated to have been between 750,000 and 1,000,000 in 1788,[48] declined for 150 years following settlement, mainly due to infectious disease.[49] Thousands more died as a result of frontier conflict with settlers.[50] A government policy of "assimilation" beginning with the Aboriginal Protection Act 1869 resulted in the removal of many Aboriginal children from their families and communities—often referred to as the Stolen Generations—a practice which may also have contributed to the decline in the indigenous population.[51] The Federal government gained the power to make laws with respect to Aborigines following the 1967 referendum.[52] Traditional ownership of land—aboriginal title—was not recognised until 1992, when the High Court case Mabo v Queensland (No 2) overturned the legal doctrine that Australia had been terra nullius ("land belonging to no one") before the European occupation.[53]

A gold rush began in Australia in the early 1850s[54] and the Eureka Rebellion against mining licence fees in 1854 was an early expression of civil disobedience.[55] Between 1855 and 1890, the six colonies individually gained responsible government, managing most of their own affairs while remaining part of the British Empire.[56] The Colonial Office in London retained control of some matters, notably foreign affairs,[57] defence,[58] and international shipping.

The Last Post is played at an Anzac Day ceremony in Port Melbourne, Victoria. Similar ceremonies are held in many suburbs and towns.

On 1 January 1901, federation of the colonies was achieved after a decade of planning, consultation and voting.[59] This established the Commonwealth of Australia as a dominion of the British Empire.[60] The Federal Capital Territory (later renamed the Australian Capital Territory) was formed in 1911 as the location for the future federal capital of Canberra. Melbourne was the temporary seat of government from 1901 to 1927 while Canberra was being constructed.[61] The Northern Territory was transferred from the control of the South Australian government to the federal parliament in 1911.[62] In 1914, Australia joined Britain in fighting World War I, with support from both the outgoing Commonwealth Liberal Party and the incoming Australian Labor Party.[63][64] Australians took part in many of the major battles fought on the Western Front.[65] Of about 416,000 who served, about 60,000 were killed and another 152,000 were wounded.[66]Many Australians regard the defeat of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZACs) at Gallipoli as the birth of the nation—its first major military action.[67][68] The Kokoda Track campaign is regarded by many as an analogous nation-defining event during World War II.[69]

Britain's Statute of Westminster 1931 formally ended most of the constitutional links between Australia and the UK. Australia adopted it in 1942,[70] but it was backdated to 1939 to confirm the validity of legislation passed by the Australian Parliament during World War II.[71][72]The shock of the United Kingdom's defeat in Asia in 1942 and the threat of Japanese invasion caused Australia to turn to the United States as a new ally and protector.[73] Since 1951, Australia has been a formal military ally of the US, under the ANZUS treaty.[74] After World War II Australia encouraged immigration from Europe. Since the 1970s and following the abolition of the White Australia policy, immigration from Asia and elsewhere was also promoted.[75] As a result, Australia's demography, culture, and self-image were transformed.[76] The final constitutional ties between Australia and the UK were severed with the passing of the Australia Act 1986, ending any British role in the government of the Australian States, and closing the option of judicial appeals to the Privy Council in London.[77] In a 1999 referendum, 55% of voters and a majority in every state rejected a proposal to become a republic with a president appointed by a two-thirds vote in both Houses of the Australian Parliament. Since the election of the Whitlam Government in 1972,[78] there has been an increasing focus in foreign policy on ties with other Pacific Rim nations, while maintaining close ties with Australia's traditional allies and trading partners.[79]

Government

Main articles: Government of Australia, Politics of Australia, and Monarchy of Australia

Parliament House, Canberra

Australia is a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy[80] with Elizabeth II at its apex as the Queen of Australia, a role that is distinct from her position as monarch of the other Commonwealth realms. The Queen is represented in Australia by the Governor-General at the federal level and by the Governors at the state level, who by convention act on the advice of her ministers.[81][82] The most notable exercise to date of the Governor-General's reserve powers outside the Prime Minister's request was the dismissal of the Whitlam Government in the constitutional crisis of 1975.[83]

The federal government is separated into three branches:

Malcolm Turnbull, Prime Minister

Peter Cosgrove, Governor-General

In the Senate (the upper house), there are 76 senators: twelve each from the states and two each from the mainland territories (the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory).[85] The House of Representatives (the lower house) has 150 members elected from single-member electoral divisions, commonly known as "electorates" or "seats", allocated to states on the basis of population,[86] with each original state guaranteed a minimum of five seats.[87] Elections for both chambers are normally held every three years simultaneously; senators have overlapping six-year terms except for those from the territories, whose terms are not fixed but are tied to the electoral cycle for the lower house; thus only 40 of the 76 places in the Senate are put to each election unless the cycle is interrupted by a double dissolution.[85]

Australia's electoral system uses preferential voting for all lower house elections with the exception of Tasmania and the ACT which, along with the Senate and most state upper houses, combine it with proportional representation in a system known as the single transferable vote. Voting is compulsory for all enrolled citizens 18 years and over in every jurisdiction,[88] as is enrolment (with the exception of South Australia).[89] The party with majority support in the House of Representatives forms the government and its leader becomes Prime Minister. In cases where no party has majority support, the Governor-General has the constitutional power to appoint the Prime Minister and, if necessary, dismiss one that has lost the confidence of Parliament.[90]

There are two major political groups that usually form government, federally and in the states: the Australian Labor Party and the Coalition which is a formal grouping of the Liberal Party and its minor partner, the National Party.[91][92] Within Australian political culture, the Coalition is considered centre-right and the Labor Party is considered centre-left.[93] Independent members and several minor parties have achieved representation in Australian parliaments, mostly in upper houses.

In September 2015, Malcolm Turnbull successfully challenged Abbott for leadership of the Coalition, and was sworn in as the 29th Prime Minister of Australia.[94] The most recent federal election was held on 2 July 2016 and resulted in the Coalition forming a majority government.[95]

States and territories

Main article: States and territories of Australia

A clickable map of Australia's states, mainland territories and their capitals

Australia has six states—New South Wales (NSW), Queensland (QLD), South Australia (SA), Tasmania (TAS), Victoria(VIC) and Western Australia (WA)—and two major mainland territories—the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and the