GONDWANA AUSTRALIA was part of Gondwana. Gondwana also included Antarctica, India, Africa and South America. Gondwana has moved both north and south over aeons of time. Between 200 and 300 million years ago Australia was attached to Antarctica near the South Pole. The climate was warm to hot, producing dense forests and large animals such as primitive mammals and dinosaurs. About 100 million years ago Australia began to separate from the rest of Gondwana and began to move north. It is now moving north-east at seven centimetres a year.