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First Europeans to sail to Australia were the Dutch (Netherlands) in 1606, but they didn’t settle there.
The Dutch made one landing, were attacked by Aborigines, and then abandoned further exploration. -
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1770: Captain James Cook sailed around Australia
-Cook named the area New South Wales
-Ignored the Aborigines living there & claimed the land for England
-Sailors also mapped the coast eastern Australia -
1787 – British ships called the “First Fleet” left England with convicts to establish a prison colony
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1788—British prisoners settled in Australia
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1788 to 1832: New South Wales was officially a penal (prison) colony consisting mainly of convicts, marines (guards), and the marines’ families
Only 20% of the first convicts were women -
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.
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1861: Government officials created boundaries for the colonies that are still in place today
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British transported prisoners to Australia until 1868
By this time, many free immigrants were settling there
They built businesses, trading posts, farms, etc. -
January 1, 1901: the Commonwealth of Australia was established.
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1967: Federal government began to pass legislation to help the Aborigines
It was widely seen as affirmation of the Australian people’s wish to see its government take direct action to improve the living conditions of Aborigines
