Outline of Australia

The continent of Australia, the world's smallest continent, is in the Southern Hemisphere and borders both the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.

The Commonwealth of Australia comprises the mainland of the Australian continent, the major island of Tasmania, other nearby islands, and various external territories.

[1] 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.

[2] After sporadic visits by fishermen from the north and then European discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606,[3] the eastern half of Australia was later claimed by the British in 1770 and initially settled through penal transportation as part of the colony of New South Wales, commencing on 26 January 1788.

As the population grew and new areas were explored, another five largely self-governing Crown colonies were established during the 19th century.

Location of Australia
An enlargeable basic map of Australia
An enlargeable topographic map of Australia
Climatic zones in Australia based on Köppen classification
Extreme points of mainland Australia
An enlargeable satellite image of Australia
Australian external territories
Political parties in government in 1945.
Labor
Liberal
National/Country
Other Coalition
Other
No government
Map showing the creation of the colonies/states and mainland territories.