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In 1770, Captain James Cook sailed around Australia
Cook named the area New South Wales. He ignored the Aborigines living there and claimed the land for England
Sailors also mapped the coast eastern Australia and Tasmania. -
The American Revolution forced the British to stop sending prisoners to Georgia, which used as a penal colony at the time. Great Britain had to start looking for another place to send its prisoners…Australia seemed like a good choice: No chance of escape, no colonies around it, and very few indigenous people lived there.
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In 1787, British ships called the “First Fleet” left England with convicts to establish a prison colony.
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In 1788, British prisoners settled in Australia.
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From 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.
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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.
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British transported prisoners to Australia until 1868. By this time, many free immigrants were settling there. They built businesses, trading posts, farms, etc.
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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. It had many opportunities for trade with Asia and the Americas.
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Aborigines went through stages of being conquered through an 'invasion' and taking of their lands. European settlers often separated Aborigines from society. Some were removed from their families and placed into institutions and others were killed because they were seen as a “nuisance”. During the 1900s, separation was an official government policy which lasted for many decades. Many Aboriginal people don't know their origins.
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Nonprisoner colonization continued…major coastal settlements became 7 independent colonies. In 1861, government officials created boundaries for the colonies that are still in place today. In January 1, 1901, the Commonwealth of Australia was established. Melbourne served as the national capital until Canberra was completed in 1927.
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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 descent. This 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! -
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
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In 1967, the 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. 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.
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In this photograph, Mervyn Bishop captures the moment when the country is symbolically handed back to Vincent Lingiari, one of the traditional land owners of Dagu Ragu (Wattie Creek), by the Prime Minister of the day, Gough Whitlam.
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In 1986, the Australia Act -- all legal ties with the British Empire were severed. Today, Australia is a parliamentary democracy (constitutional monarchy) with Elizabeth II as queen. In 1999, 55% of voters rejected the idea of becoming an independent republic.
