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Lieutenant James Cook claims the East coast for Australia
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Period: to
Australia’s History (1770 – 1918)
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The French made a claim on the Western Side of Australia.
Other nations were interested in establishing posts on the Australian continent.
Two years after Cook had claimed the eastern coast.
During the Next 30 years French navigators and scientists had conducted what they claimed to be scientific and exploration expeditions at various places around Australia. -
Period of exploration, frontier war, new settlement established
1788-1850
Period of exploration, frontier war, new settlements being built. -
Major areas of Australia mapped
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First Settlement which is today now Sydney
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Aboriginal Population: 315 000 to 750 00
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Large sections of the Australian Coast: not been mapped.
Especially the southern and south-eastern coastline. -
The Voyages of George Bass and Matthew Flinders ocurred
Occurred during the 1792-1803. -
George Bass: a ship's surgeon/explorer
1771-1803
George Bass: a ship's surgeon, explored the coast south of Australia as far as Western Port in Victoria.
His observations of the wave patterns and currents led him to believe that Tasmania (then called Van Diemen's Land) was a separate island. -
George Bass Theory of Tasmania being a seperate island were confirmed when Bass accompanied by Matthew Flinders made a journey.
(1774-1814)
George Bass Theory of Tasmania being a seperate island were confirmed when Bass accompanied by Matthew Flinders made a journey.
Journey lasted from 7 October 1798 to 12 January 1799.
Voyage sailed right around Tasmania, exploring the Tamar River mouth in north Tasmania and the Derwent River in the south-east. While there they climbed Mt Wellington. They returned to Port Jackson on 12 January 1799. -
Aboriginal people were dispossessed of their land and increasingly marginalised through colonial government policies
Few people involved in writing the Constitution were interested in discussing their rights. In fact, the opposite took place: three limitations were placed on the rights of Aboriginal people in the Constitution. Their right to vote was removed.
They were not to be included in the census.
The Commonwealth Government did not have any power to make laws on their behalf.
These did not seem significant at the time but, by the 1960s, there was pressure for change. -
Early Settlement in Tasmania was established
Two settlements were established. The first was at the mouth of the Derwent River in Tasmania.
Also in late 1803 another settlement of 455 persons, mainly convicts and marines, was established at Port Phillip, near the modern Victorian town of Sorrento. -
Crossing of the Blue Mountains
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Bathurst was established as a city.
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Europeans struggled to survive in isolated settlements
Europeans struggled to survive in four little isolated settlements: Sydney, Norfolk Island, and two in Tasmania.
30 years after the first European Settlement at Sydney Cove. -
New attitudes developing towards settlement in Australia
Late 1820's
The wars with France over: high unemployment: soldiers returned to civilian life.
Attitudes to slavery and prisons were changing.
The Americans were now competing with the British in the cotton industry and British textile manufacturers were turning to wool.
Pressure was was building up for pparliamentary reform and, in the Great Reform Act of 1832,more male voters (doubled), electors were still a small minority of the adult male population because you needed to be rich to vote -
Convict Settlement: Moreton Bay convict colony was established
To preserve its isolation, settlement of free settlers was forbidden. It reached its maximum number of convicts of 947 in 1831. However, with a declining convict population and pressure on the land from free settlers, it was closed a few years later and the settlement was officially opened up to free settlers in 1838. -
Van Diemen's Land became a colony in its own right
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South Australian Colony Expanded
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Swan River Settlement was Formed
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Great Reform Act
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British Parliament passed the first South Australia Act
In 1834 the British Parliament passed the first South Australia Act and further refinements were made in 1842. -
Myall Creek Massacre: Conflict arose betweeen Aboriginals and European Settlers they could not co-exist amongst one another.
1838-1874
As European occupation spread further inland, settlers were now a long way from any government supervision.
In northern New South Wales, on 10 June 1838, approximately 28 men, women and children were murdered by 12 stockmen. The murderers dismembered their bodies and two days later came back to burn them to try to hide the evidence. This was the only case where white men were charged with the murder and, in this case after two trials, found guilty. Seven of them were hanged. -
Eighteen Afghans were brought out to Australia
The industry really got underway when a pastoralist, Joseph Stuckey, brought out 100 camels and 31 cameleers in 1866. Numbers continued to increase and, in 1884, another 300 camels and 56 cameleers were brought out. -
Migration of Chinese to Australia Manchu Dynasty's neglect to Southern China. Opium War
This migration was a response to the Manchu dynasty's neglect of southern China. By the mid nineteenth century the situation had become even worse.
There had been a war with Britain (the Opium Wars 1839–42), followed by a rebellion in the south of China, which on some estimates resulted in 20 million deaths. -
Was the Great Australian Gold Rush, the colonies experienced huge growth and immigration
1850 - 1860 -
Chinese had come prior to the Gold Rushes
They came as indentured labourers — having to work to pay off the cost of their voyage. These were part of a much larger migration from South China that had been going on for 200 years, especially to Malaya after 1800. The British were increasing their control over Malaya and encouraged Chinese migrants to work on tapioca and pepper plantations, and in the tin mines in northern Malaya. There was another large migration of Chinese to the Californian goldfields from 1848 -
Population increase in Victoria
1850-1860
Population went from 76 000 to 540 000, making it the biggest colony. -
Five Largest Cities in Australia
Melbourne, Ballarat and Bendigo were among the five largest cities in Australia (Sydney and Adelaide were the others) and for about 25 years Melbourne's population was larger than that of Sydney -
Black Thursday Bushfires
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The gold rushes in New South Wales and Victoria led to a new wave of Chinese migrants.
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The Eureka Rebellion was an armed conflict which is attributed to as the birth of democracy in Australia.
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Two houses of parliament were established
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Van Diemen's Land name was changed to Tasmania and it had its own governor.
It was concerned that its small size and population would mean it was dominated by the larger states. -
25000 Chinese in Australia and this soon rose to 50 000, a number that then remained fairly constant.
The Chinese stood out among the many other nationalities on the goldfields because of their appearance, language and customs. -
The first city to try to improve the situation in sanitation was Sydney
Work was begun on an underground sewerage system. This relied on rainwater to flush the sewerage drains. The untreated sewage was deposited at five points into Sydney Harbour. It was believed that tides would carry this out to sea, but a lot of it remained close to shore. Also when there was heavy rain there could be a backflow on to roads and into houses. -
Victorian committee reported that a ‘federal union’ would be in the interests of all the growing colonies.
However, there was not enough interest in or enthusiasm for taking positive steps towards bringing the colonies together. Some colonies had only recently achieved independence, and some people felt the rivalry between them was too strong to be able to reach any agreement. Calls for greater unity grew louder as the century progressed, and several reasons began to stand out as significant in the push for a federation of the colonies. -
A rapid increase in the population of Australian cities took place in the second half of the nineteenth century, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne
As the result of the Gold Rushes.
Australia's population of 405 000 in 1850 more than doubled to over one million by 1858 and most of these new people settled in the cities. -
Developments in Water Supplies: Sydney
Sydney first used a convict-built tunnel to bring water from Centennial Park and then, when this began to dry up, in 1859 drew water from the Botany Swamps. -
Queensland was separated from New South Wales
It brought in Pacific Islanders to work on its sugar cane plantations, while all other states opposed non-European migration. -
Is considered the 'heyday' of the Bushrangers. It is believed that at their peak over 2000 bushrangers roamed the continent.
1860-1870 -
Queensland colonial government found a new source of cheap labour in the islands of the South Pacific.
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Boom and Bust: Conditions improved for many Australian Workers
1860-1890
Increased wealth as a consequence of the gold rushes
Investment of this wealth in property and industries
Greater demand for goods and food because of the population increase
More efficient farming methods, including the use of mechanical equipment.
Most prosperity came to an end in the 1890s -
Brisbane's first dam was built on the Enoggera River
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Afghans played an important role in the expeditions of explorers
Afghans played an important role. As well as carrying much needed supplies over large areas of desert using their camels, they accompanied explorers who began their journeys into the inland, such as Warburton in 1873, and Ernest Giles in 1875.
Afghan drivers also assisted in building the Overland Telegraph line from Adelaide to Darwin, completed in 1872 -
Japanese in Australia were mainly involved in the Australian pearl industry
At first, Aboriginal and Islander people were used in diving for pearls. The first recorded Japanese diver arrived in Torres Strait in 1876, and by 1898 they outnumbered the European population. Over time the Japanese had their own pearling ships, and by 1897 around one-third of the Thursday Island fleet was in the hands of Japanese. -
Melbourne was one of the richesr cities in the world
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Development of Department Stores
Goods that were sold in individual shops, such as crockery, shoes and clothing, were all sold in the one big store in separate ‘departments’. Sydney had a David Jones store as early as 1838. -
Combination of waterborne sewage and a sewage farm was first introduced in South Australia
With a sewage farm at Botany and an ocean outlet at north Bondi. -
There was a growing sense among many that Australia, rather than Britain, was ‘home’.
In 1881, 60 per cent of the population had been born in Australia and in 1901 this was 75 per cent. -
Melbourne's cable tram system began
Melbourne's cable tram system began in 1885 and operated until 1940. The trams were powered by a continuously moving cable running along a groove between the tracks. -
Queensland and Western Australia removed the right for Aboriginals to vote.
Queensland removed this right in 1885, followed by Western Australia in 1893. -
A series of tunnels, canals and aqueducts diverted water from the Cataract, Cordeaux, Avon and Nepean rivers
A series of tunnels, canals and aqueducts diverted water from the Cataract, Cordeaux, Avon and Nepean rivers to the south-west and stored it in a reservoir at Prospect. After the drought of 1901–02 dams were built along these rivers. -
The Economic Depression
Property prices rose to artificially high levels and then dropped suddenly. Fortunes were lost by people who had borrowed money to invest in the boom.
Australia went through its worst drought up to that time, with many sections of the country being in drought from 1895 to 1903. -
Conciliation and Arbitration Court
The widespread strikes during the Depression of the 1890s had been long and bitter. Farming and industry had been seriously disrupted, but workers gained little of what they were asking for. With the enthusiasm of the new federal government, both workers and employers were prepared to put questions of industrial conflict to arbitration. -
Western Australia, like Tasmania, had a small population and struggled economically
It did not get self-government until 1890. The discovery of gold at Coolgardie in 1892 and Kalgoorlie in 1893 began to turn its fortunes around. -
Queensland is in civil war between the armed unions against government forces. Large skirmishes, attacks on wool sheds, and naval battles take place across the colony.
1891 - 1896 -
In New South Wales, the Labor Electoral League was formed to use government to press for improving the situation for workers
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Queenslanders formed the first Labor Government
In an election that year, the League won 35 seats. In 1893 Queenslanders formed the first Labor government in the world by forming a coalition with other parties, but it lasted only six days. -
Woman in South Australia were granted sufferage which means the right ot vote
In 1894, women in South Australia were granted suffrage, which means ‘the right to vote’ in that colony's elections. This was one of the earliest instances anywhere in the world of women winning voting rights. The success in South Australia strengthened the resolve of women in the other colonies to push for the same rights. -
The Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works was created, to sewer Melbourne and take over the water supply.
Two main sewers took the sewage to a pumping station at Spotswood and from there it went to a sewage farm at Werribee. The first house was connected to the sewerage system in 1897 -
The Dictation Test
In 1897, in the lead-up to discussions of federation, the British government persuaded the colonial premiers to avoid specific mention of race in any future legislation and instead introduce a dictation test as a way of restricting immigration. -
Australia fights in the Boer War.
• 1899 - 1903 -
Western Australia was the next colony to grant women the vote
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Australia's population was just under 3.8million
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No radio, television or movies
Working-class families' lives were so hard they had little time for leisure during the week, and they also had to work Saturday morning. On Saturday afternoon they could go to a football match or horse racing. -
Preseving a 'White Australia: Australia's ethnic composition
Australia in 1900 was made up predominantly of those who had migrated from the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales). Around 17 per cent of the population were British-born. Of the non-Indigenous population, 75 per cent were born in Australia, and most of these had parents or grandparents who had come out from Britain -
Federation of Australia is the beginning of the Australian nation.
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Federal Constitution
One of the most demmocratic political systems in the world. -
Social legislation: a helping hand
Commonwealth Government introduced some of the most progressive industrial and social legislation in the world at that time. The reforms were of great benefit to ordinary working-class Australian men and women, although Indigenous Australians were generally excluded from most of these reforms. -
The Immigration Restriction Act
The Bill had widespread support, and a variety of reasons were put forward to justify it. The Labor Party supported it because the shortage of work during the 1890s Depression led to concerns among the European Australians that immigrant labour, particularly from Asia, would take their pay and jobs from them. -
Bill was introduced into Parliament
The Bill was introduced into Parliament in its first session in 1901 but was re-introduced in 1903 when Deakin was Prime Minister. Deakin saw the Bill as being in the interests of both employers and unions:
For workers it meant that it would increase the chances of getting ‘reasonable concessions which hitherto too often required to be wrung from reluctant hands under the pressure of storm, and stress and devastation
For employers it would allow them to ‘settle many minor difficulties -
Aboriginal Population: Decreased: 93 000
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One of the first Bills of the new Commonwealth Government was a franchise Bill to give all women a vote in federal elections
One of the first Bills of the new Commonwealth Government was a franchise Bill to give all women a vote in federal elections. This was passed in 1902. Gradually this right was extended to state elections. Victoria was the last to achieve this in 1908 -
The Conciliation and Arbitration Court
The Conciliation and Arbitration Court was established in 1904, and its aim was to settle disagreements between employers and trade unions by acting as a ‘referee’ and coming up with an agreement on work issues and conditions that would be fair to both sides. -
Introduced a policy he called ‘New Protection’.
Beginning in 1905, Alfred Deakin introduced a policy he called ‘New Protection’. -
High Court declared that this was unconstitutional.
Because only unions could represent the interests of workers in the Arbitration Court, this resulted in a strong increase in union membership. -
Before Federation, some states had old age pensions a change ocurred in 1908
Before Federation, some states had old age pensions but it was not until 1908 that a Federal Invalid and Old Age Pension Act was passed. A pension of ten shillings ($1) a week was to be paid to those over 65 or who were too disabled to work. One had to have lived in Australia for 20 years to get the pension and some people were specifically excluded from receiving it. These were Indigenous Australians, indigenous people from Africa and the Pacific Islands, and Asian people. -
The States of Australia were formed
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Under the Workers Compensation Act
Under the Workers Compensation Act 1912, workers compensation was paid to Commonwealth employees who suffered a work-related accident or disease. Although it did not apply to most workers under state awards, it provided a model that could be introduced by states. -
Under the Maternity Allowances Act
Under the Maternity Allowances Act 1912, a ‘baby bonus’ was introduced that gave every mother £5 (equivalent to around $10, or more than two weeks' pay at that time) on the birth of a child. -
The worst of the economic depression was over and new immigrants from Britain led to the population increasing the Australian Population
The worst of the economic depression was over and new immigrants from Britain led to the population rising from 3.8 million in 1901, to 4.9 million by 1913 -
Australia fights in WW1 - Major battles include Gallipoli, Beersheba
1914-1918 -
Further restrictions were placed on Aborigines' right to vote
When Commonwealth and state electoral rolls were standardised. -
Canberra was chosen and the Parliament House Opened
Until a site had been chosen for a federal Parliament House the new federal parliament met in Melbourne. It was not until May 1927 that Canberra had been chosen and the Parliament House opened. -
Indigenous Australians gained or regained the right to vote,
Through a series of changes in various states, Indigenous Australians gained or regained the right to vote, until by 1965 they had voting rights in all state and federal elections. -
The law preventing Aboriginal Australias from being counted in the census were removed
The two sections of the Constitution that restricted federal power to legislate for Aboriginal Australians and prevented them from being counted in the census were removed by a referendum held in 1967.. -
Period: to
Australia’s History Timeline (1770 – 1918)
