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European Exploration: Dutch
First Europeans to sail to Australia were the Dutch (Netherlands) in 1606, but they didn’t settle there -
European Exploration: British
1770: Captain James Cook sailed around Australia -
First Fleet
1787 – British ships called the “First Fleet” left England with convicts to establish a prison colony -
Prisoners sailed
1788—British prisoners settled in Australia -
New south Wales
1788 to 1832: New South Wales was officially a penal (prison) colony consisting mainly of convicts, marines (guards), and the marines’ families -
Port Arthur
From 1833, until the 1850s, it was the destination for the hardest of convicted British and Irish criminals, those who were secondary offenders having re-offended after their arrival in Australia -
Common Wealth of Australia
1861: government officials created boundaries for the colonies that are still in place today -
British Transported
British transported prisoners to Australia until 1868 -
Common Wealth
January 1, 1901: the Commonwealth of Australia was established.
Melbourne served as the national capital until Canberra was completed in 1927 -
Aborigines
1967: federal government began to pass legislation to help the Aborigines