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The colony of New South Wales
The colony of New South Wales was established in 1788.Captain Cook used the name NSW when he claimed the east coast of Australia for Britain in 1770. In England ,poverty caused many people to steal and as a result the jails were overcrowded. England established NSW as a penal colony to take the overflow of convicts from England. -
The colony of Tasmania
The colony of Tasmania was established in 1825. In 1803 it was declared a penal colony. Then in 1825 it was oficially declared an independent colony.Tasmania (Van Diemens Land) joined the federated Australia in1901. Tasmania definitely wanted to federate and did not want to be left out. -
The colony of Western Australia
The colony of Western Australia was established in 1829. In 1826, the first British military outpost was established at King George Sound. In 1829, there were townships at Fremantle and Perth. Perth later became the state's capital. The harsh conditions faced by the settlers meant population growth was quite small, until the discovery of gold in the 1880s. Since the gold rush, the population of the state has grown. -
The colony of South Australia
The colony of South Australia was established in 1836. It was a colony of free settlers, many of them German people seeking religous freedom. Such free settlement was different to any other Australian colony at the time. After considering problems of the other colonies Edward Gibbon Wakefield thought of a plan which involved systematic colonisation. Settlers needed skills such as farming and trades. Also, people of a certain age were needed, to raise families and expand the colony. -
The colony of Victoria
The Colony of Victoria was established in 1851. In 1855 Victoria achieved self government . The Victorian gold rush in the 1850s and 1860s increased the population and the wealth of the colony significantly. -
The colony of Queensland
The colony of Queensland was established in 1859. The free settlers living there at the time wanted to become their own independent colony. The main settlement was soon moved to the sight of what is now Brisbane, the capital city of Queensland.
