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History of Australia
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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
The Dutch made one landing, were attacked by Aborigines, and then abandoned further exploration -
European Exploration: British
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 of eastern Australia & Tasmania -
First Fleet
British ships called the “First Fleet” left England with convicts to establish a prison colony -
British Prisoners
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
Only 20% of the first convicts were women -
Port Arthur, Tasmania
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.
In addition, Port Arthur had some of the strictest security measures of the British penal system.
Some tales suggest that prisoners committed murder (an offence punishable by death) just to escape the desolation of life at the camp.
The Island of the Dead was the destination for all who died inside th -
The Perfect Colony
Great Britain saw that Australia was a good location to base its navy in the South Pacific Ocean
Its location would make it possible for British ships to make repairs & get supplies
Had many opportunities for trade with Asia and the Americas -
Commonwealth of Australia
Nonprisoner colonization continued…
Major coastal settlements became 7 independent colonies
1861: government officials created boundaries for the colonies that are still in place today -
British prison stopped
British transported prisoners to Australia until 1868
By this time, many free immigrants were settling there
They built businesses, trading posts, farms, etc. -
Commonwealth of Australia
January 1, 1901: the Commonwealth of Australia was established. -
White Australia
Originally, Australia promoted a policy called “White Australia”They would not allow non-Caucasians to immigrate to Australia.That has since changed…Immigration Restriction Act of 1901: restricted migration to people primarily of European descentThis was dismantled after the Second World War. Today, Australia has a global, non-discriminatory policy and is home to people from more than 200 countries! -
Commonwealth of Australia
Melbourne served as the national capital until Canberra was completed in 1927 -
Aborigines
1967: federal government began to pass legislation to help the AboriginesIt 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
In March, striking Aboriginal farmers changed political history by extending a demand for equal wages to a declaration of their rights of ownership of traditional lands.
This became one of Australia’s first successful land claims by its indigenous people. -
Australia Today. . .
Australia Act -- all legal ties with the British Empire were severed
Today, Australia is a parliamentary democracy (constitutional monarchy) with Elizabeth II as queen -
Australia Today
55% of voters rejected the idea of becoming an independent republic.
