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In 1770, Capt. James Cook sailed around the northern part of Australia. He named the area "New South Wales". He ignored the indigenous Aborigines living there and claimed the continent for England. -
The "First Fleet" left England in 1787 and headed to Australia. They wanted to establish Australia as a penal colony since there was almost no chance of escaping. -
From the time of its establishment in 1788 to 1832, New South Wales was used as a penal (prison) colony for the British Empire. The population at this time mainly consisted of prisoners, guards, and the guard's families. -
During the 1830s, as the English began to settle the continent, the Aborigines were removed from settled areas to "reserves". One of the restrictions that was placed on them was that they could not teach the Aborigine language to their children. -
When the penal colony was established, the English set up a secondary location for the hardest of convicted criminals. This separate colony was Port Arthur on the island of Tasmania. -
As non prisoner immigration began, major coastal settlements became 7 independent colonies. In 1861, the government officials created boundaries for each of these colonies that are still in place today. -
By 1868, the English no longer transported prisoners to Australia. More free immigrants began settling in Australia and started to set up trading posts, farms, and businesses. -
The commonwealth of Australia was established on January 1, 1901. Melbourne served as the first capital until Canberra was finished in 1927. -
The English created a policy known as "White Australia". This would only caucasian immigrants into Australia. The Immigration Restriction Act of 1901 restricted migration to Australia to people primarily of European descent. -
Queen Elizabeth II signed the Australia Act in 1986. This severed all legal ties with England. Australia became a parliamentary democracy with Elizabeth II as its queen.
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