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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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Cook named the area New South Wales. Ignored the Aborigines living there & claimed the land for England. Sailors also mapped the coast of eastern Australia & Tasmania.
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American Revolution forced the British to stop sending prisoners to Georgia (used as a penal colony at the time)
Great Britain had to start looking for another place to send its prisoners…
Australia seemed like a good choice: no chance of escape, no colonies around it, and very few indigenous people lived there -
1787 – British ships called the “First Fleet” left England with convicts to establish a prison colony
1788—British prisoners settled in Australia -
1788 to 1832: New South Wales was officially a penal (prison) colony consisting mainly of convicts, marines (guards), and the marines’ families
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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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government officials created boundaries for the colonies that are still in place today
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Aborigines went through stages of being conquered through an 'invasion' and taking of their lands.