Although English has no official status in the Constitution, Australian English is Australia's de facto official language and is the first language of the majority of the population.

The one-off test in 1999 between England and Australia that was played to commemorate Australia's first test against Reverend Matthew Mullineux's British side saw England wear an updated version of this jersey.

Banknotes are mostly paper, but Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation developed the world's first polymer currency in the 1980s that went into circulation on the nation's bicentenary in 1988.

The Dutch visited Australia's northern coastline in the 1600s, and created the first European maps of the area.

The early colonial governors held an almost autocratic power due to the distance from and poor communications with Great Britain, until 1824 when the New South Wales Legislative Council, Australia's first legislative body, was appointed to advise the governor.

Australia's first legal casino was the 17-storey Wrest Point Hotel Casino in Sandy Bay, opened in 1973.

Accordingly McEwen personally supervised the signing of the first post-war trade treaty with Japan, new trade agreements with New Zealand and Britain, and Australia's first trade agreement with the USSR ( 1965 ).

On 4 June 1829, newly arriving British colonists had their first view of the mainland, and Western Australia's Foundation Day has since been recognised by a public holiday on the first Monday in June each year.

In September 2009 Western Australia's dams reached 50 % overall capacity for the first time since 2000.

Labor formed South Australia's first majority government after winning the 1910 state election, two weeks after federal Labor formed Australia's first majority government after winning the 1910 federal election.

The 1965 campaign against the Labor Government ( lead since April 1964 by Jack Renshaw ), a government widely perceived to be tired and devoid of ideas, was notable for being one of Australia's first " presidential-style " campaigns, with Askin being the major focus of campaigning and a main theme of " With Askin You'll Get Action ".

He also put on 167 in a partnership with Alan Davidson, the first collaboration between the pair, who would later go on to lead Australia's bowling in the last five years of their career.

He scored 97 in Australia's only innings and then took 7 / 46 in the hosts ' first innings as the tourists took an innings win.

Benaud took 4 / 69 and 4 / 42 in the First Test in Dhaka ( now in Bangladesh ), sealing Australia's first win in Pakistan.

The first Test of the season, against the touring South Africans, saw high drama as Australia's left arm paceman Ian Meckiff was called for throwing by Colin Egar and removed from the attack by Benaud after one over.

Motel ( 1968 ) was Australia's first half-hour soap opera.

Meanwhile in 1974 the Reg Grundy Organisation created its first soap opera, and significantly Australia's first teen soap opera, Class of ' 74.

* 2001 – Ansett Australia, Australia's first commercial interstate airline, collapses due to increased strain on the international airline industry, leaving 10, 000 people unemployed.

* The agony of Australia's Stolen Generation – The first of Australia's Stolen Generations to win compensation.

The private Melbourne Telephone Exchange Company opened Australia's first telephone exchange in August 1880.

In 1888, Australia's first telephone trunk call was connected from Hobart to the Bush Inn Hotel in New Norfolk.

* 2010 – The Federal Court of Australia's ruling in Roadshow Films v iiNet sets a precedent that Internet service providers ( ISPs ) are not responsible for what their users do with the services the ISPs provide them.

Labor leader Arthur Calwell bitterly opposed Australia's part in the war and promised that Australian troops would be brought home if Labor won office, and opposition to overseas service by Australian conscripts had long been part of ALP policy.

Historically anti-union, the party has vacillated between state support for primary industries (" agrarian socialism ") and free agricultural trade and has opposed tariff protection for Australia's manufacturing and service industries.

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation ( ASIO ) is Australia's national security service, which is responsible for the protection of the country and its citizens from espionage, sabotage, acts of foreign interference, politically motivated violence, attacks on the Australian defence system, and terrorism.

The service was attended by a host of former and current Test cricketers, as well as Australia's then prime minister, John Howard, leader of the opposition Kim Beazley and former prime minister Bob Hawke.

Australia's national public Videotex service, Viatel, was launched by Telecom Australia on 28 February 1985.

The Australia Network, established in 2001, is Australia's international television service, beaming to more than 44 countries across Asia, the Pacific and the Indian subcontinent.

In 1990 he was appointed an honorary Companion of the Order of Australia ( AC ), Australia's highest civilian honour, " for service to Australian / British relations, particularly through the Britain – Australia Society.

Radio VNG was Australia's national time signal service.

In 1992 he was appointed an honorary Companion of the Order of Australia ( AC ), Australia's highest civilian honour, " for eminent service to Australian / French relations and the preservation of the Antarctic environment ".

In 1993, Toyoda was appointed an honorary Companion of the Order of Australia ( AC ), Australia's highest civilian honour, " for eminent service to Australian / Japanese relations, particularly the Australian automotive industry ".

WAA commenced operations including Australia's first scheduled airline service eleven ( 11 ) months before Qantas got off the ground.

Later that year he wrote to the Western Australian premier Sir John Forrest requesting employment in Western Australia's public service.

* Overseas Telecommunications Commission, Australia's former international telecommunications service

This highlighted the changing focus of Australia's military planning towards Regular forces, however, it had a negative impact upon the division as essentially it was forced to compete with the ARA for manpower and although some gains were made from men that chose to serve longer national service terms in the CMF in order to defer their service in ARA units, these were negligible and arguably of limited quality.

* On 6 January 1992, he was appointed an honorary Companion of the Order of Australia ( AC ), Australia's highest civilian honour, " for eminent service to Australian / Greek relations ".

On 11 June 2012, Murphy was named an Officer of the Order of Australia for " distinguished service to the performing arts, both nationally and internationally, particularly ballet and contemporary dance, as a choreographer and director, and to the enhancement of Australia's cultural environment.

TEN launched Australia's first metropolitan nightly one-hour news bulletin in 1975, while NBN-3 in Newcastle was first to air a one-hour news service in Australia in 1972.

Taking place immediately after Ark Angel, the novel sees Alex recruited by ASIS, Australia's secret service, to infiltrate a Snakehead organisation by posing as an Afghan refugee.

iiNet Limited is Australia's second largest internet service provider with over 1. 3 million customers as of 15 August 2011.

In February 1991, he was made an honorary Companion of the Order of Australia ( AC ), Australia's highest civilian honour, " for eminent service to Turkish / Australian relations ".

One consequence of this is the operation of Australia's last riverboat postman, a river service that delivers mail to properties on the river between Brooklyn and Spencer.

Tonkin's dedication to public service was in evidence through his honorary service as an eye surgeon to Adelaide public hospitals and the initiation, through the Lions Club, of Australia's first public screening programme for glaucoma.