I'm using this page as a measure to track the progress of eventually getting Australia to a star article.

Cities

• Sydney - guide
• Canberra - guide
• Adelaide - guide
• Melbourne - guide
• Hobart - guide
• Cairns - guide
• Perth - guide

These ones need work to become guide

• Brisbane - usable
• Darwin - usable

Other destinations

• Uluru - guide
• Kakadu National Park - guide, although needs some work
• Mungo National Park - starnom
• Great Ocean Road - guide
• Great Barrier Reef - guide
• Daintree Rainforest guide
• Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park - guide

These ones need a little bit of work to become guide

• Purnululu National Park - usable, nearing guide
• Blue Mountains National Park - usable

Regions (jurisdictions)

• NSW/ACT - guide
• Qld - guide
• NT - guide
• Tas - guide
• SA - guide
• Vic and WA need some work
• Offshore territories also need work, but it's nearly impossible to get all of those to guide

--SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 04:18, 13 January 2022 (UTC)Reply

Or in simple, the ones that need work:

• Brisbane
• Darwin
• Purnululu NP
• Blue Mountains NP
• Victoria
• Western Australia SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 04:59, 16 January 2022 (UTC)Reply

As there's three from NSW and zero in SA, I'll be replacing Kosciuszko with Cradle Mountain SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 03:09, 22 January 2022 (UTC)Reply

I just noticed that a Wikitravel admin (likely an IB staff), indef protected Wikitravel's Australia article to "allow only admins" to edit. It's no surprise why that museum piece is dying ;). --SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 09:38, 24 January 2022 (UTC)Reply

I'm a little surprised that there's nothing about the Makassan contact. Perhaps w:Makassan contact with Australia is a good guide but would that make it too encyclopedic? --SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 12:18, 10 February 2022 (UTC)Reply

It's interesting. I don't think 1-3 sentences would be out of line at all. Ikan Kekek (talk) 14:47, 10 February 2022 (UTC)Reply

I added a little bit about it. I think mainly the Islamic cultural elements brought in is the most relevant part since that's the main thing that a traveler can experience. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 10:21, 14 February 2022 (UTC)Reply

I just read this very interesting Wikipedia article. One part of me wants to include it, while the other part says it's too trivial and out of the scope for a travel guide. Any other opinions? --SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 09:32, 16 February 2022 (UTC)Reply

I enjoy a good conspiracy theory, too (the government is putting 5G in the water supply!), but it's not travel-related. —The preceding comment was added by Ground Zero (talk • contribs)

Yeah. It's not related to travel. The dog2 (talk) 16:50, 16 February 2022 (UTC)Reply

Okay, thanks for the input. --SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 06:36, 17 February 2022 (UTC)Reply

The reason why Mungo was initially added was because we had no Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park article before (replacing the previous Watarrka NP), but now that we do, should that park article be replaced with Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park? It is much more well-known, on the tentative list for world heritage, and the fact that we have at least one other destination from every state and the NT except South Australia, so it seems more logical to me to replace it. --SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 08:55, 16 March 2022 (UTC)Reply

Done. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 03:37, 19 March 2022 (UTC)Reply

Please, let's use mainstream digits. I don't want to search for an image of an Australian dialling pad to figure out what numbers the letters stand for, and I am certainly not the only reader who isn't acquainted to the letter scheme: for me the "NO CASH" looks like just a comment, as phone numbers consist of digits over here. By all means include that format, but either add it in parenthesis and quotes or add the real number in a parenthesis.

I think we should include a short paragraph on the letter codes here and in other country articles where relevant, and have a section on them in Telephone service, including a table on the letter-digit equivalents. Are these the same all over the world or do we need several tables and appropriate warnings?

–LPfi (talk) 09:10, 22 April 2022 (UTC)Reply

Letter codes are extremely rare to encounter these days in Australia, and I myself have no idea what 1800 NO CASH means. The dog2 may probably have a better answer to this one. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 09:35, 22 April 2022 (UTC)Reply

In some countries, notably the USA, dials have letters assigned to the digits, mostly in groups of three, starting from the "2". "6" has "MNO" so e.g. "NO" will be dialled "66". Thus "NO CASH" translates to "66 2274" on US phones. No idea whether the distribution of letters is the same in Australia. If you've had a non-smart mobile phone, you recognise the markings, although instead of a many-to-one scheme the mobile phones had a one-to-many one, requiring several presses of a key to get the right letter (for an SMS or the like), until predictive text technologies such as T9. –LPfi (talk) 14:03, 22 April 2022 (UTC)Reply

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion:

• Australian banknotes in wallet.jpg

Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 15:21, 12 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

Australian banknotes. If we want a picture of them in the article, we're going to have to upload it as fair use, but does https://banknotes.rba.gov.au/legal/reproducing-banknotes/ even allow that? Ikan Kekek (talk) 17:12, 12 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

I'd let this one go. These aren't even the current banknotes (they've slowly been replaced since 2016) (see this website for what the new banknotes look like). SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 00:38, 13 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

I don't think the nominated image is much help to a visitor, and it would be more useful to have a link to the Reserve Bank page showing pictures. AlasdairW (talk) 21:09, 13 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

That's a good idea. Ikan Kekek (talk) 21:18, 13 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

Since October 23, the Spirit of Tasmania's Victorian terminal has relocated to Geelong from the Port of Melbourne. As of writing this, I've updated Devonport, Geelong, Victoria (state), and Tasmania. I might've missed a page where it is mentioned, and if I did, please update accordingly or let me know. --SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 09:58, 25 October 2022 (UTC)Reply

+Melbourne. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 10:01, 25 October 2022 (UTC)Reply

I would be tempted to leave a single sentence about the move in Melbourne for the next 3-5 years. Travellers with old guidebooks may come here looking for it (or wonder why they don't see the ferry even if they aren't going across the strait). There is also scope for improving the directions in Geelong - which station should I get off the train for the ferry? (I am sorry to see the move, as I remember getting the ferry to Melbourne in 2000, and there is something special about a ferry approaching a major city.) AlasdairW (talk) 20:08, 25 October 2022 (UTC)Reply

Done. I'm also not sure why they moved, but at least it might boost the Bellarine Peninsula's tourism ;-). I plan to visit Tasmania this summer using the Spirit of Tasmania and I didn't have plans to visit Geelong (I've only been on the Princes Freeway around it), but now I do. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 20:36, 25 October 2022 (UTC)Reply

@The dog2: Also thanks for Special:Diff/4549272. Don't know how I missed this page. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 07:47, 26 October 2022 (UTC)Reply

I must say, Wikivoyage does a poor job at handling Australian external territories (except the (Sub)antarctic islands).

While these are conventionally linked and can be accessible through our breadcrumb hierarchy, it's not instantly obvious, unlike how the US's organized territories, France's overseas departments, or New Zealand's dependent territories are handled. In fact, while five of the six articles are directly breadcrumbed to Australia, they're only mentioned in Australia#Islands, along with islands that are part of a state (e.g. Lord Howe Island, which is a part of NSW, the Torres Strait Islands, which is mostly in Queensland, or Kangaroo Island, a popular tourist spot in South Australia).

Possible suggestions:

1. Keep the status quo. That is, do nothing and hope that users will eventually find it
2. Keep the status quo on this article, but breadcrumb the territory to whatever region it's in (so Norfolk Island and Coral Sea Islands under Melanesia, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and possibly the Ashmore and Cartier Islands under Southeast Asia, and keep the Heard Island and McDonald Islands (HMI) under Subantarctic islands
3. Essentially proposal two, but breadcrumb Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands under Australian Indian Ocean Territories (IOT). Although the Ashmore and Cartier Islands is not officially a part of the IOT, we can include it for practical purposes – the territory is uninhabited, and Wikivoyage is not bound to following official administration anyway
4. Proposal 3 but all external territories (except HMI) are breadcrumbed underneath Australia
5. Don't change the breadcrumbs, but add the three external territories under "Regions" (I fear this will make a few insignificant islands of no more than 5,000 combined overprominent)

I don't really have a strong preference for any but 1 for the reasons I've mentioned above.

Other thoughts? --SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 09:21, 29 October 2022 (UTC)Reply

Also, for the rationale behind why external territories be breadcrumbed under Southeast Asia and Melanesia, it's because these aren't really fully integrated into Australia (they're dependent territories for a reason). I can't speak for the Indian Ocean territories, but if you were to visit Norfolk Island from Sydney, all visitors have to go through the international terminal. In other words, even Australians will need to carry their passport when visiting NF (this is not a problem for most people, but from a practical perspective, it's a separate jurisdiction). SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 11:21, 29 October 2022 (UTC)Reply

Are any overseas territories missing from the entirety of the "Regions" section including the concluding sentence after the "Islands" listings? Ikan Kekek (talk) 11:36, 29 October 2022 (UTC)Reply

None are missing (exl. the w:Australian Antarctic Territory), they're just not instantly obvious. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 11:51, 29 October 2022 (UTC)Reply

Then I think things are fine the way they are now. Making the overseas territories more prominent by moving them up will make contiguous or closer-in parts of Australia less prominent, and I think that's likely to be of less benefit to most travelers. Ikan Kekek (talk) 13:55, 29 October 2022 (UTC)Reply

What about a two- or three-liner listing all external territories along the lines of United States of America#Regions or New Zealand#Regions? SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 03:36, 30 October 2022 (UTC)Reply

Something like this:

In addition to the six states and two main territories, Australia has seven other external territories scattered throughout its nearby surrounds, though only three of them are inhabited by civilians. Australia administers three territories Southeast Asia: Christmas Island, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and the Ashmore and Cartier Islands. The former inhabited two are sometimes both collectively grouped as the Australian Indian Ocean Territories, or simply the Indian Ocean Territories (IOT). In Melanesia, Australia administers two territories: Norfolk Island is the third inhabited territory, home to around 2,000 inhabitants around halfway between New Zealand and New Caledonia, and the Coral Sea Islands, which mostly contains a bunch of atolls and islands halfway between Queensland and New Caledonia. The other two territories are in the Antarctic, but largely off-limits. Heard Island and McDonald Islands is an Antarctic archipelago in the Subantarctic, while the other is the Australian Antarctic Territory, which is only recognised by the United Kingdom, France, Norway and New Zealand.

It's more like an eight-liner, though. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 08:08, 30 October 2022 (UTC)Reply

User-unfriendly wall of text, in my opinion. Ikan Kekek (talk) 10:02, 30 October 2022 (UTC)Reply

Okay, so what about this?

In addition to the six states and two main territories, Australia has seven other external territories scattered throughout its nearby surrounds, though only three of them are inhabited by civilians. Australia administers the following territories in:

• Melanesia: Norfolk Island and the Coral Sea Islands
• Southeast Asia: Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. The latter two are sometimes collectively grouped as the Australian Indian Ocean Territories.
• Antarctica: Heard Island and McDonald Islands and the Australian Antarctic Territory, only recognised by the United Kingdom, France, Norway and New Zealand.

Conversely, many offshore islands that have a strong regional identity or are well-known are a part of a state or territory. Of particular note are Lord Howe Island, which is a part of New South Wales, the Torres Strait Islands, which are a part of Queensland, or the uninhabited Macquarie Island, which is administered from Tasmania.

SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 08:25, 2 November 2022 (UTC)Reply

That looks much better. I can copy edit when I have time and am less tired. One quick thing, though: it needs to be made clearer that it is only the Antarctic territory that is recognised by only X, Y and Z, not Heard and McDonald, which has much wider recognition. Ikan Kekek (talk) 10:23, 2 November 2022 (UTC)Reply

Rereading this again, I too think it should be more clearer. Maybe "Antarctica: Australian Antarctic Territory, only recognised by the United Kingdom, France, Norway and New Zealand and the Heard Island and McDonald Islands, recognised by every UN member state"? --SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 10:36, 2 November 2022 (UTC)Reply

Does who recognizes what matter that much at this level? Would "Antarctica: Heard Island and McDonald Islands and Australian Antarctic Territory, a largely unrecognized claim on the Antarctic mainland" (or perhaps "... in East Antarctica") make sense? Vidimian (talk) 11:01, 2 November 2022 (UTC)Reply

... or listing them in reverse, so it's both alphabetical and clear that the largely unrecognized claim is for the Antarctic territory only. Vidimian (talk) 11:06, 2 November 2022 (UTC)Reply

(edit conflict) Given that the same could be said for the British, Kiwi, French, and Norwegian claims, sure. I'm sort of opinionless on whether to include East Antarctica or not. --SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 11:07, 2 November 2022 (UTC)Reply

I've thought about this for a few days now and I'm still undecided. One of the reasons I wanted to change the banner was because Uluru is way too recognisable of a landmark to be representative for the entirety of Australia. I don't have the knowledge to answer this question, but I've heard that most non-Australians would think of either Uluru, the GBR or the Sydney Opera House when they first think of Australia (please tell me what you first think of Australia – it might influence my opinion).

The new banner is of the Kata Tjuṯa, about 30 or so kilometres west of Uluru (part of the same national park). One of the reasons I picked this site is because while it's not too recognisable, many people have still heard of it. It's also a significant Indigenous site, and the greenery is a mix-mash of what much of the country looks like. The downside is that, although 350-metre-high rocks like these out in the middle of nowhere are uncommon, the banner does not emphasise this and there's no way to distinguish this whether this is in Australia or South Africa.

So there goes it. I'm undecided, but opinions welcome. In particular, I'd also like to hear what's your first impression of Australia – if it's a site that wasn't on my mind (e.g. the Daintree, the Tasmanian Wilderness, or the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne), then we may very well consider a banner that represents that. After all, it's not easy cherry-picking a banner for a country that stretches from 9°S to 43°S (exl. Mac. Island + ext. territories).

And before I wrap it up: before I get any suggestions of the Sydney Opera House, I'm going to upfront say no to that. It's way too Sydney-specific which is why New South Wales also does not have a banner of Sydney Harbour. It's also not representative of the whole country.

--SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 08:54, 3 November 2022 (UTC)Reply

If it makes any difference, I flat-out like Banner 1 as a photograph more than Banner 0. Ikan Kekek (talk) 09:14, 3 November 2022 (UTC)Reply

Banner 1 is my preference as well. --Comment by Selfie City (talk) (contributions) 19:14, 12 November 2022 (UTC)Reply

Done (albeit very late). SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 00:57, 25 April 2023 (UTC)Reply

It seems a "roadhouse" in Australia is different from one in the USA, and I don't know that word from over here. Is it something that should be explained? I note that the word is used without further comment (i.e. the reader depends on understanding the word itself) e.g. in Coolongolook#Eat and drink. –LPfi (talk) 20:09, 3 November 2022 (UTC)Reply

@LPfi: See w:Roadhouse (premises)#Australia. Basically these are food stores (that usually sell pies and other takeaway food) on long-distance routes. In Coolongolook's case, its roadhouses primarily serve travellers travelling from Queensland down south to Newcastle or Sydney. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 02:58, 5 November 2022 (UTC)Reply

Yes, but shouldn't that be told in Australia#Eat? I don't think we should expect non-Australian readers to check the word in Wikipedia or a dictionary – and American readers might expect that the roadhouses in Coolongolook are like those in the USA. A bit more of a description in that article would be good even if "roadhouse" is explained in this article. –LPfi (talk) 07:55, 5 November 2022 (UTC)Reply

Or possibly Australian cuisine. @The dog2:, what do you think? SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 08:17, 5 November 2022 (UTC)Reply

I think we should probably cover it in English language varieties, under "By car", since travellers are most likely to want to use these facilities when driving. I recall the roadhouses I visited in Australia were just very basic truck stops, so they had basic accommodation, a cafe selling things like pies and, if you're lucky, roast chicken, and with an attached fuel station. The dog2 (talk) 10:41, 5 November 2022 (UTC)Reply

Apparently the roadhouses with basic accommodation are limited to more remote roadhouses such as those on the Eyre or Stewart Highways. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 11:16, 5 November 2022 (UTC)Reply

That's possible. Those roadhouses I passed through were close to Ceduna, South Australia, which is on the main road between Adelaide and Perth. The dog2 (talk) 13:28, 5 November 2022 (UTC)Reply

That makes sense (which is also why Coolongolook does not have any accommodation). I'll update when I visit Ghan, NT sometime next year. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 21:54, 5 November 2022 (UTC)Reply