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Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a
country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the world's
smallest continent and a number of islands in the Southern,
Indian and Pacific Oceans. Neighbouring countries include
Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north, the
Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and the French dependency of New
Caledonia to the northeast, and 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 north and by European explorers and
merchants starting in the seventeenth century, the eastern
half of the continent was claimed by the British in 1770 and
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 nineteenth century.
On 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated and the Commonwealth
of Australia was formed. Since federation, Australia has maintained
a stable liberal democratic political system and remains a
Commonwealth Realm. The capital city is Canberra, although
the current national population of around 20.6 million is
concentrated mainly in the large coastal cities of Sydney,
Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide.
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