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.

Australia's first steam operated railway was a Victorian broad gauge line between the Melbourne ( or City ) Terminus ( on the site of modern day Flinders Street Station ) and Sandridge ( now Port Melbourne ), constructed by the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company and opened in September 1854.

In the late 1860s the Walrus, a large paddle steamer built at Cleveland, was converted to Australia's first floating distillery with the addition of a steam driven sugar mill on board.

Companies such as Telstra's call centre, Simplot Australia's ( more recognisable as brands such as Edgells, BirdsEye, Chiko Roll, and I & J Seafood products ) food processing and canning plant, Downer EDi's locomotive workshops, and Burkes Transport a local trucking and distribution company.

The Victorian producer Aust-N-Rail pioneered this approach, while in 2011 BadgerBits released Australia's first ready-to-run N gauge locomotive, a 48 class retailing for around $ AUD240-00.

In the 1990s, given Australia's long dominance of the Ashes and the popular acceptance of the Darnley urn as ‘ The Ashes ’, the idea was mooted that the victorious team should be awarded the urn as a trophy and allowed to retain it until the next series.

It was Australia's second consecutive innings defeat in a wet summer, and the hosts were in strong positions in the two drawn Tests, in which half the playing time was washed out.

Lawry was sacked after the Sixth Test after the selectors finally lost patience with Australia's lack of success and dour strategy.

In 1978, the term Barassi Line was used to describe the dichotomy that existed in Australia's football culture, where Australian Football was most popular in all states bar New South Wales and Queensland.

Riversleigh, in Queensland, is one of Australia's most renowned fossil sites and was recorded as a World Heritage site in 1994.

Riversleigh, in Queensland, is one of Australia's most renowned fossil sites and was recorded as a World Heritage site in 1994.

From the 1963 season, Brabham was partnered by American driver Dan Gurney, the pair now running in Australia's racing colours of green and gold.

It was reported that in 2006 Fiji's Prime Minister Qarase asked Australia's Prime Minister John Howard for military assistance should a coup take place, but Howard declined.

Australia's senior diplomat in Fiji was also expelled in the 2006 coup.

He later opined that the governor-general's role was more than a representative of the sovereign, explaining: " under section 2 of the Constitution the Governor-General is the Queen's representative and exercises certain royal prerogative powers and functions ; under section 61 of the Constitution the Governor-General is the holder of a quite separate and independent office created, not by the Crown, but by the Constitution, and empowered to exercise, in his own right as Governor-General and not as a representative or delegate of the Queen, all the powers and functions of Australia's head of state.

More than two years of intensive research was undertaken to chronicle the historical events that resulted in what was then Australia's worst peace time disaster.

During the war, General Motors-Holden's was a major industrial force in Australia's defence effort.

The closest successor to the Torana was the Camira, released in 1982 as Australia's version of GM's medium-sized " J-car ".

Besides manufacturing Australia's best selling car, which was exported in significant numbers, Holden continued to export many locally produced engines to power cars made elsewhere.

Holden was critical, saying that Australia's population was not large enough, and that the changes could tarnish the local industry.

Hobart was named Australia's 6th most sustainable city, by the Australian Conservation Foundation in 2010.

At age 27, he was one of Australia's youngest-ever MPs.

He served on numerous committees and overseas delegations, he was appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1953, and in 1954 he was named one of Australia's six best-dressed men.