The essential single-volume reference source describes all aspects of Australia. With contributions from over ninety experts, it provides comprehensive coverage of life in twentieth-century Australia alongside a host of insights into culture, the Aboriginal heritage, the natural world, and the continent's colourful past. Eight major sections examine all the key aspects of the continent, past and present: the physical continent, the Aboriginal heritage, history since European contact, government, economy, society, science and technology, and culture and the arts.