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Aborigines- meaning "here from the beginning" are the indigenous people whom first populated Australia. They arrived from Southeast Asia and have occupied Australia for around 40,000 years.
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The first Europeans to sail to Australia were the Dutch (Netherlands), but they did not settle there. The Dutch made one landing, but were attacked by the Aborigines and ultimately decided to abandon further exploration.
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Cook named the area "New South Wales." He ignored the aborigines living there and claimed the land for England.
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American Revolution forced Britain to stop using Georgia (a colony in the United States) as a place to send their convicts. Australia seemed like a good choice: no chance of escape, no colonies around, and very few indigenous people.
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"First Fleet" left England with convicts to establish a penal colony. British prisoners settled in Australia. Before their arrival, around 500,000 Aborigines lived in Australia.
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Aborigines lived on Australia's coast, where Europeans wanted to settle. The Europeans soon waged war against the Aborigines to take over their land.
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The Europeans had major advantages against the Aborigines that helped them win the war.
1) they had guns
2) they had soldiers
3) (the MAJOR one) they had disesases
More than 1/2 of the Aborigines died
Entire Aboriginal population in Tasmania died -
The remnants of Aborigines tribes in the settled area were moved to reserves, where they were forbidden from teaching their language and customs.
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This is still in place today.
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British transported prisoners to Australia until 1868. By this time, many free immigrants had settled there, having built businesses, trading posts, farms, etc.
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Separation became an official government policy, which lasted for many decades.
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Melbourne served as the national capital until Canberra was completed in 1927.
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Originally, Australia promoted a policy called "White Australia".
The Immigrant Restriction Act of 1901 restricted migration to people primarily of European descent. -
The "White Australia" policy was dismantled after WWII. Because of this, today Australia has a global, non-discriminatory policy and is home to people from more than 200 countries.
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The federal government began to pass legislation to help the aborigines. It was the granting of the Australian peoples' wish to improve the living conditions of the aborigines.
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All legal ties with the British Empire were severed.
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55% of voters rejected the idea of Australia becoming an independent republic.
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Archaeologists have found early Aboriginal inventions, such as
-Rock Art
-Boomerangs
-Ground Axes
-Grindstones Some of these inventions are still used in the modern world today. (ex. boomerangs) -
Today, many aboriginal people living in Australia do not know of their origins, such as which tribe they descended from and the names of their parents and grandparents. They are described as a "lost generation."
