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. Australia's neighbouring countries are Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia to the north-east, and New Zealand to the south-east.

The continent of Australia has been inhabited for more than 42,000 years by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. After sporadic visits by European explorers and merchants from the 17th century onwards, the eastern half of the continent was claimed by the British in 1770, and officially settled as the penal 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 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 current population of around 21 million is concentrated mainly in the coastal cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

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Ian Michael Chappell (born 26 September 1943), is a former cricketer who played for South Australia and Australia. He captained Australia between 1971 and 1975 before taking a central role in the breakaway World Series Cricket organisation. Born into a cricketing family—his grandfather and brother also captained Australia—Chappell made a hesitant start to international cricket playing as a right-hand middle-order batsman and spin bowler. He found his niche when promoted to bat at number three. Known as “Chappelli”, he earned a reputation as one of the greatest captains the game has seen. Chappell's blunt verbal manner led to a series of confrontations with opposition players and cricket administrators; the issue of sledging first arose during his tenure as captain and he was a driving force behind the professionalisation of Australian cricket in the 1970s.

John Arlott called him, “a cricketer of effect rather than the graces”. An animated presence at the batting crease, he constantly adjusted his equipment and clothing, and restlessly tapped his bat on the ground as the bowler ran in. Basing his game on a sound defence learned during many hours of childhood lessons, Chappell employed the drive and square cut to full effect. He had an idiosyncratic method of playing back and across to a ball of full length and driving wide of mid on, but his trademark shot was the hook. A specialist slip fielder, he was the fourth player to take one hundred Test catches.

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The Three Sisters are a famous rock formation in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. They are close to the town of Katoomba and are one of the Blue Mountains' most famous sights, towering above the Jamison Valley. Their names are Meehni (922 m), Wimlah (918 m), and Gunnedoo (906 m).

Photo credit: David Iliff

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On this day...

December 3:

• 1797 - George Bass sets out from Sydney in a whaleboat with six oarsmen to explore south along the coast.
• 1825 - Van Diemen's Land becomes independent from New South Wales, the Legislative Council of Tasmania is established and George Arthur becomes Governor.
• 1854 - The Eureka Stockade.
• 1967 - The Oberon class submarine HMAS Onslow is launched at Greenock in Scotland.
• 1999 - The Glenbrook train disaster occurs on the CityRail network in New South Wales. Seven people are killed.

Did you know...

• ... that Jordan Rankin, at 16 years and 238 days, is the youngest player to make his first-grade debut in Australian rugby league in over 70 years?
• ... that Reg Lindsay was a Australian Country and Western singer who won three Golden Guitars Awards and wrote more than five hundred songs in his fifty year music career?
• ... that the murder of Celia Douty was the first murder in Australia to be solved using DNA profiling, after remaining unsolved for 18 years?

  

• ...that the town of Bismarck in Tasmania was renamed Collinsvale due to anti-German sentiment during World War I?
• ...that Indigenous Australian activist Michael Mansell convinced Lybian leader Muammar al-Gaddafi to officially recognise a separate Aboriginal Australian passport in order to draw international attention to the issue of native land rights?
• ...that Wally Koochew was the first VFL player of Chinese background?
• ...that Wing Commander Stanley Goble and Flying Officer Ivor McIntyre, piloting a single-engined seaplane (pictured), became the first men to circumnavigate Australia by air in 1924?
• ...that a series of storms in south-east Queensland spawned two of the most powerful supercells and tornadoes in recorded Australian history?
• ...that the lamington cake is believed to have been named after Charles Cochrane-Baillie, 2nd Baron Lamington, the Governor of Queensland at the time of its invention?
• ...that during the first seven years of the Australian edition of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? nobody won the top prize of one million dollars?
• ...that in New South Wales, a Sentencing Council which is the first of its type in Australia, conducts research to improve the consistency of sentencing of criminals?
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