History of Australia

  • European Exploration

    Captain James Cook Sailed around Australia. Named the area the New south Whales.
  • Prisoners and Colonist

    American Revolution forced the British to stop sending prisoners to Georgia.
  • First Fleet

    They left England with convicts to establish a prison colony.
  • New South Whales

    The New South Whales was officially penal colony consisting mainly of convicts, marines, and the marines families. 20% of the convicts were women.
  • First Flett

    British prisoners settled in Australia.
  • The Perfect Colony

    Great Britain saw that Australia was a good location to base its Navy in the South Pacific Ocean.
  • Period: to

    Port Arthur, Tasmania

    From 1833 to the 1850's, it was the destination for the hardest of convicted British and Irish criminals, those who were secondary offenders having re-offenders after their arrival in Australia.
  • Commonwealth of Austalia

    Major coastal settlements became 7 independent colonies.
  • New South Whales

    British continued to send prisoners to Australia until 1868. By then many immigrants were settled there.
  • White Australia

    They would not allow non-Caucasians to immigrate to Australia. restricted migration to people primarily of European descent