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The 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. -
Captain James Cook sailed around Australia. Cook named the area New South Wales. Cook also ignored the Aborigines living there & claimed the land for England. Sailors also mapped the coast eastern Australia Tasmania . -
British ships called the “First Fleet” left England with convicts to establish a prison colony. -
New South Wales was officially a prison colony consisting mainly of convicts, marines , and the marines’ families. Only 20% of the first convicts were women. British transported prisoners to Australia until 1868. -
From 1833, until the 1850s, Port Arthur, Tasmania 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. -
The major coastal settlements became 7 independent colonies. In 1861, government officials created boundaries for the colonies that are still in place today.
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The Commonwealth of Australia was established on January 1st, 1901. Melbourne served as the national capital until Canberra was completed in 1927. -
The Immigration Restriction Act restricted migration to people primarily of European descent. This was dismantled after the Second World War. -
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. -
55% of voters rejected the idea of becoming an independent republic. -
Today, Australia is a parliamentary democracy (constitutional monarchy) with Elizabeth II as queen.