Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a area in the Southern Hemisphere consisting the world's smallest celibate and a number of islands in the Southern, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Neighbouring countries let in Indonesia, East Timor & Papua New Guinea to the north, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu & the French dependency of New Caledonia to the northeasterly, & New Zealand to the southeast.

The continent of Australia has been inhabited for more than 42,000 years by Indigenous Australians. After sporadic visits by fishermen from the northerly and by European explorers and merchants starting in the seventeenth century, the eastern half of the continent was claimed by the British in 1770 & officially settled through penal transportation as the 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 settlements federated & the Commonwealth of Australia was formed. Since federation, Australia has maintained a stable liberal democratic political system & remains a Commonwealth Realm.

The capital city is Canberra, though the current national population of as much as 20.6 million is concentrated mainly in the big coastal cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, & Adelaide.

The primary basis of Australian culture up till the mid-20th century was Anglo-Celtic, although distinctive Australian features had been developing from the surroundings and indigenous culture. All over the past 50 years, Australian culture has been strongly influenced by American popular culture (particularly television and cinema), big-scale immigration caused by non-English-speaking countries, and Australia's Asian neighbours. The vigour & originality of the arts in Australia - films, opera, music, painting, theatre, dancing, and crafts - accomplish international acknowledgement.

Australia has got a long chronicle of visual arts, starting with the cave and bark paintings of its indigenous peoples. caused by the time of European settlement, a mutual theme in Australian art has been the Australian landscape, seen in the works of Arthur Streeton, Arthur Boyd and Albert Namatjira, among others. The traditions of indigenous Australians are mostly transmitted orally & are closely tied to ceremonial & the telling of the stories of the Dreamtime. Australian Aboriginal music, dance and art have a palpable influence on modern Australian visual & acting arts.

Australia has an active tradition of music, ballet and theatre many of its performing arts companies receive public funding through the federal government's Australia Council. There is a symphony orchestra in each capital city, & a national opera house company, opera house Australia, first made prominent by the famous diva Dame Joan Sutherland; Australian music includes classical, jazz, and many popular music genres.

Australian literature has also been acted upon by the landscape; the works of writers such as Banjo Paterson and Henry Lawson captured the experience of the Australian bush. The character of colonial Australia, as embodied in early literature, resonates with contemporary Australia and its perceived emphasis on egalitarianism, mateship, and anti-authoritarianism. In 1973, Patrick White existed awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, the only Australian to have achieved this; he is recognised as one of the great English-language writers of the twentieth century.

Australian English is a major variety of the language; its grammar and spelling are mostly based on those of British English, overlaid with a rich vernacular of unparalleled lexical items and phrases, some of which have discovered their way into standard English.

Sport plays an important part in Australian culture, assisted by a climate that favours outdoor activities; 23.5% Australians Over the age of 15 on a regular basis participate in organised sporting activities. At an global level, Australia has particularly strong teams in cricket, hockey, netball, rugby league, rugby union, and executes well in cycling, rowing and swimming. Across the country, other popular sports admit Australian rules football, horse racing, soccer and motor racing. Australia has participated in every summer Olympic Games of the contemporary era, and every Commonwealth Games.

Australia has hosted the 1956 and 2000 Summer Olympics, and has ranked among the top five medal-takers since 2000. Australia has got also hosted the 1938, 1962, 1982 and 2006 Commonwealth Games. Other major international events held regularly in Australia include the Australian Open, one of the four Grand Slam tennis tourneys, annual global cricket matches and the Formula One Australian Grand Prix. Corporate and government sponsorship of several sports and elite athletes is mutual in Australia. Televised sport is popular; some of the highest rating television programs include the summer Olympic Games and the grand finals of local and international football competitions