The Sydney Cricket Ground triumph gave England an unprecedented third victory by an innings in a single series against Australia, which has been condemned in the domestic media as the country's worst ever test team.
It was also the first time since 1978-79 that England had won back-to-back test matches in Australia.
Paul Collingwood, who has played a part in three Ashes series wins and is now retiring from test cricket, said the England squad had all the qualities needed to be No. 1 in the test rankings.
"This is a very special moment," he said.
It was just a matter of time for the series to be wrapped up on the last day, with England only requiring three wickets.
Steve Smith (54 not out) and Peter Siddle (43) prolonged Australia's resistance for an hour around a couple of suspensions for rain, but Graeme Swann broke the 86-run, eighth-wicket stand when he had Siddle caught on the boundary by Jimmy Anderson.
Anderson then had Ben Hilfenhaus (7) caught behind to collect his third wicket for the innings. He returned 3-61, collecting eight wickets for the match. Chris Tremlett picked off No. 11 Michael Beer (2), just as the trumpet player for the Barmy Army started "The Last Post" for the Australian team, to finish off the series before lunch on the final day. He returned figures of 3-79.
In one of the few highlights for Australia, young allrounder Smith raised his second test half century with a stylish late cut to the boundary off Anderson.
Critics have called for a complete overhaul of Australian cricket, starting with the administration and the national team.
"Pretty disappointing and a hard pill to swallow," said Mike Hussey, Australia's leading batsman in the series. "But you've got to give credit to England. They deserved the 3-1 scoreline."
