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Australia is a unique and diverse country in every way - in culture, population, climate, geography, and history. For articles on specific topics about Australian history and culture visit our Australian Stories Index. Australia's population is concentrat...

The first ship and crew to chart the Australian coast and meet with Aboriginal people was the Duyfken captained by Dutchman, Willem Janszoon. In 1770, Englishman Lieutenant James Cook charted the Australian east coast in his ship HM Barque Endeavour. Coo...

Many Australians are directly or indirectly involved in farming. For those Australians not involved with farming, the country's recent rural and agricultural history still has strong links to the heritage and culture of Australia. Wheat and other grain ...

For those living in the Northern Territory, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia, football usually refers to Australian Rules Football. In the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, and Queensland, it could mean rugby league ...

Riversleigh, north-west Queensland, one of the most important fossil sites in the world. The Riversleigh fossil site, near Mount Isa Queensland, is recognised as one of the most important fossil sites in the world. The Riversleigh and Narracoote (SA) fo...

Duyfken Broadside; Sailing off the coast of Fremantle, Western Australia. Image courtesy of the National Library of Australia. In 1770, Englishman Lieutenant James Cook charted the Australian east coast in his ship HM Barque Endeavour. ...

Australia experiences a range of 'natural disasters' including bushfires, floods, severe storms, earthquakes and landslides. Fire can often follow drought, and drought can be followed by flood. I love a sunburnt country, a land of sweeping plains, Of ra...

Public subscription has supported the construction of ocean baths and swimming pools around Australia. Australia's first Olympic Gold and Silver medalists were women: Fanny Durack and Mina Whylie respectively (Stockholm, 1912), training in McIvers ocean ...

Like other art forms, Australian theatre has built on previous traditions and developed over time, shaped by local and international artistic movements, events and trends. Australian theatre history incorporates the stories of many actors, entrepreneurs,...

Even though the four 'official' calendar seasons have the same names as the northern hemisphere seasons, the weather during these seasons is very different to northern hemisphere weather patterns. Indigenous Australians have long had their own seasonal c...

As Australia had no native grape varieties suitable for wine-making, grapes were imported from Europe and much of the wine produced was shipped back to the United Kingdom. Early wine production at Lindemans, established in the Hunter Valley (New South Wa...

Australian animation is internationally recognised, Leisure (1976), Harvey Krumpet (2003) and Happy Feet (2006) have all won Oscars. Leisure employs cell style animation, Harvey Krumpet is made using the method of stop-motion claymation and Happy Feet fe...

Works by many contemporary visual artists in Western Australia demonstrate a vital consciousness of the land. Western Australian art traces a presence on the land, a cultural loss and, ultimately, a belief in the future. Contemporary artists such as pai...

In England, furniture, jewellery, household items, ceramics, hand-decorated wallpapers and textiles, gardens and even entire houses were produced in the Arts and Crafts style. The Arts and Crafts movement spread internationally. Australian designers lea...

Unknown photographer, Freda Thompson (1906-1980), Pictured here in 1934 just before take off at Lympne Airport when she became the first Australian woman to fly solo from England to Australia, 1934. Courtesy of National Pioneer Women's Hall of Fame. Avia...

The Australian Flying Corps (AFC) was as influential on Australian civil aviation as it was on early Australian aviation. Two former AFC officers, Hudson Fysh and Paul McGinness, established what later became known as Qantas, with Fysh also supporting th...

Until the Second World War, Australia was one of the world's leaders in aviation in terms of both air mileage and prominent aviation pioneers. Since the early development of powered flight in Australia in 1910, various air services have been established:...

Cable Beach, Broome, north-west Kimberley Coast, Western Australia. Most of Australia's population lives close to the coastline and the beach has long occupied a special place in the Australian identity. Based on this definition, the Coastal Studies Uni...

In 1788, the eleven ships of the First Fleet landed their 'cargo' of around 780 British convicts at Botany Bay in New South Wales. From 1788 to 1823, the Colony of New South Wales was officially a penal colony comprised mainly of convicts, marines and th...

Merchant vessels Barossa and Neptuna burning in Darwin Harbour near the jetty after receiving direct hits during the first Japanese air raid on 19 February 1942. During the Second World War, the Japanese flew 64 raids on Darwin and 33 raids on other targ...