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The Dutch made one landing, were attacked by Aborigines, and then abandoned further exploration.
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Cook named the area New South Wales
Ignored the Aborigines living there & claimed the land for England -
Called the “First Fleet” left England with convicts to establish a prison colony
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Approximately 50,000 criminals were transported from Great Britain to the “land down under,”
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They were forbidden from teaching their children their language and customs.
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They created boundaries for the colonies that are still in place today,
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The colonies, all of which had Westminster-style representative institutions by 1890, became one nation on 1 January 1901. The Commonwealth of Australia, with a federal structure, was established.
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Restricted immigration to people primarily of European descent and was dismantled after the Second World War.
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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
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all legal ties with the British Empire were severed
