Australien blev befolket af aboriginerne for omkring 50.000 år siden.[9][10] De var opdelt i omkring 250 nationer,[11][12] da briterne i slutningen af det 18. århundrede koloniserede landet.[13][14] I 1606 opdagede hollandske søfarere Australien, men først i 1770 gjorde Storbritannien krav på kontinentet. Den 26. januar 1789 blev straffekolonien New South Wales grundlagt på den australske østkyst. I løbet af de følgende årtier steg befolkningstallet støt. Omkring 1850 havde man kortlagt langt størstedelen af kontinentet, og yderligere fem kronkolonier var blevet oprettet. Den 1. januar 1901 blev de seks kolonier samlet i forbundsstaten Australien. Australien har siden da formået at bevare et stabilt demokrati, organiseret som et konstitutionelt monarki. Landet består af seks delstater og ti territorier. Australien har 24 millioner indbyggere,[15] hvoraf hovedparten bor i byer langs østkysten.[16]
^"(engelsk) Population clock". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Arkiveret fra originalen 5. januar 2019. Hentet 3. januar 2010. The population estimate shown is automatically calculated daily at 00:00 UTC and is based on data obtained from the population clock on the date shown in the citation.
^"Constitution of Australia"Arkiveret 10. maj 2012 hos Wayback Machine. ComLaw. 9 July 1900. Retrieved 5 August 2011. 3. It shall be lawful for the Queen, with the advice of the Privy Council, to declare by proclamation that, on and after a day therein appointed, not being later than one year after the passing of this Act, the people of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, and Tasmania, and also, if Her Majesty is satisfied that the people of Western Australia have agreed thereto, of Western Australia, shall be united in a Federal Commonwealth under the name of the Commonwealth of Australia.
^Walsh, Michael (1991) "Overview of indigenous languages of Australia" in
^"European discovery and the colonisation of Australia"Arkiveret 13. december 2017 hos Wayback Machine. Australian Government: Culture Portal. Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Commonwealth of Australia. 11 January 2008. Retrieved 7 May 2010. [The British] moved north to Port Jackson on 26 January 1788, landing at Camp Cove, known as 'cadi' to the Cadigal people. Governor Phillip carried instructions to establish the first British Colony in Australia. The First Fleet was under prepared for the task, and the soil around Sydney Cove was poor.
^The population estimate shown is automatically calculated daily at 00:00 UTC and is based on data obtained from the population clock on the date shown in the citation.