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History of Australia
The first people in Australia were Aborigines who arrived at least 50,000 years ago. They probably travelled from Southeast Asia.
The early Chinese knew about
Australia, and the northern coast was visited by Indonesian
fishermen for hundreds of years before Europeans visited the
continent. There is some disagreement about the nationality of
the first Europeans to see Australia. Some historians believe
that the Portuguese were the first European visitors to
Australia.
The first recorded European to see Australia was Willem Jansz, a
Dutch captain who explored the Gulf of Carpentaria in 1606. Other
Dutch sailors explored both the western and southern coasts of
Australia. In 1770, the English captain James Cook became the
first European to make a recorded voyage along the east coast of
Australia. He named it New South Wales and claimed it for Britain
(now also known as the United Kingdom).
In 1787, the First Fleet left England with convicts and their
guards to establish a penal settlement at Botany Bay. The fleet
reached the bay in January 1788. Arthur Phillip, of the Royal
Navy, was the fleet's commander and the first governor of New
South Wales. Phillip shifted the settlement to Sydney Cove on
Jan. 26, 1788.
The early colony of New South Wales came close to starvation. But
by 1792, it was out of danger. The New South Wales Corps
established a trading monopoly in the colony and was powerful
enough to depose Governor William Bligh in the Rum Rebellion in
1808. The new military governor, Lachlan Macquarie, proved to be
the colony's most able administrator.
During the 1830's, the immigration of free settlers to the
Australian colonies was encouraged. As the numbers of free
settlers grew, the society of the colonies changed. In 1840, the
transportation of convicts to central New South Wales ceased. It
was resumed on a limited scale to the Port Phillip district of
the colony during the 1840's. Transportation of convicts to
Tasmania was abolished in 1851 and to Western Australia in 1870.
The Aborigines suffered badly at the hands of the European
settlers, and by the 1850's, most Europeans believed them to be a
dying race.
Exploration was initially restricted to the coast. Inland
exploration followed the crossing of the Blue Mountains in 1813
and opened up the interior. During the 1820's, the wool industry
was established.
Gold was discovered in New South Wales and Victoria in 1851. Gold
transformed Australia's economy. It attracted a large new
population and laid the foundation for economic growth. It also
helped bring democracy to the colonies, which, except for Western
Australia, had been granted self-government in their internal
affairs. Western Australia gained self-government in 1890.
In the 1890's, the colonies agreed to unite in a federal union to
form the Commonwealth of Australia. Petty colonial jealousies
delayed the federation, but in 1899 and 1900, the voters of
Australia agreed to federation at several referendums. The new
nation was proclaimed on Jan. 1, 1901, at Centennial Park in
Sydney.
Australia's history in the 1900's has been one of growth and
expansion into a modern, multicultural society. As a modern
nation, Australia has played an important role in world affairs.
Australian soldiers fought in both World War I (1914-1918) and
World War II (1939-1945). In the 1960's, Australia also became
involved in the Vietnam War, although widespread opposition to
the war eventually led to the fall of the government.
In the period between the wars, Australia suffered from economic
depression and high unemployment, which reached its peak in the
early 1930's. After World War II, the government began a massive
immigration programme in order to strengthen the economy and
populate the country. This programme, and the introduction of
so-called New Australians into Australian society, had a profound
impact in shaping modern Australia as it is today.
The foundation of
Australia
The beginning. The First Fleet,
carrying British convicts, arrived in Botany Bay in January 1788.
It was commanded by Captain Arthur Phillip, who was also the
first governor of New South Wales. The early years were hard, and
starvation was a real threat. But by the time Phillip returned to
England in 1792, government farms had been established, and the
colony was out of danger.
The New South Wales Corps, a regiment sent to the colony for
convict duty, became a powerful force in New South Wales. It
controlled the colony's trade and was strong enough to depose
Governor William Bligh in 1808. Colonel Lachlan Macquarie, the
new governor, quickly brought the colony to order. Macquarie was
one of the colony's most able governors. He encouraged reform
among the convicts and constructed many public buildings, roads
and bridges, and other public works.
But Macquarie's policies were unpopular with the wealthy free
settlers and some officials in Britain. Commissioner John Thomas
Bigge was sent to investigate the colony. His recommendations
were important in encouraging the growth of the wool industry and
in introducing a limited form of self-government with a
Legislative Council appointed by the governor.
During the 1800's, four new colonies were founded. European
settlement began in Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) in 1803. The
colony of Western Australia was founded in 1829. South Australia
was founded in 1836. Victoria, which had been settled by
pastoralists (farmers) from Van Diemen's Land in 1834 and 1835,
was separated from New South Wales in 1850.
During the 1830's, an increasing number of assisted free
immigrants from Britain arrived in the colonies. They were
opposed to transportation and the convict system. They found
supporters in Britain, and in 1840, transportation to New South
Wales was suspended.
Exploration of the continent had increased during the 1820's. By
the 1830's and 1840's, much of the southeast of the continent had
been explored, and Ludwig Leichhardt had explored the
northeastern part of Australia.
The explorers were quickly followed by squatters, who illegally
set up stations on crown land; and by overlanders, who drove
cattle and sheep overland from New South Wales to present-day
Victoria, South Australia, and Queensland. A boom in the wool
industry had begun in the 1820's and reached a peak in the
1830's. Australian wool was in great demand in Britain, and wool
had become the main export of the colonies. Pastoralists moved
their flocks beyond the settlement limits set by the governors
and squatted on the land.
During the 1840's, control of the land became a major political
issue. The squatters demanded security of tenure. The governor
was not willing to grant it. The squatters won their fight in
1847, when the British government intervened.
By the late 1840's, the Australian colonies had changed
substantially. In 1850, the British government allowed four of
the colonies--the present states of New South Wales, Tasmania,
Victoria, and South Australia--to draw up their own
constitutions, giving them self-government. Self-government was
granted to Queensland when it separated from New South Wales in
1859 but was not granted to Western Australia until 1890.
The impact of European settlement on the Aborigines was
devastating. Unable to survive in their traditional ways, the
Aboriginal population declined, and Australia's Aborigines were
believed to be a dying race.
This information was provided by World Book 1999.
