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European's Find Australia
First Europeans to sail to Australia were the Dutch (Netherlands) in 1606, but they didn’t settle there. -
Captain James cook sails around Australia
In 1770, Captain James Cook sailed around Australia.
Cook named the area “New South Wales". -
Penal Colony
In 1787, British ships called the “First Fleet” left England with convicts to establish a prison colony. -
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New South Wales
From 1788 to 1832, British prisoners settled in Australia, 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. -
Aborgines
In the 1830s, remnants of the tribes in the settled areas were moved onto reserves.
They were forbidden from teaching their children their own language and customs. -
Period: to
Port Arthur, Tasmania
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. -
Commonwealth of Australia.
In 1861, government officials created boundaries for the colonies that are still in place today. -
Stopped transporting Prisoners
The British transported prisoners to Australia until 1868.By this time, many free immigrants were also settling there. They built businesses, trading posts, farms, etc. -
Aborgines
During the 1900s, separation was an official government policy which lasted for many decades. -
Commonwealth was established
On January 1, 1901, the Commonwealth of Australia was established. Immigration Restriction Act of 1901: restricted migration to people primarily of European descent
This was dismantled after World War II. -
Melbourne was a Capital
Melbourne served as the national capital until Canberra was completed in 1927 -
Australia's federal government
In 1967: Australia’s federal government began to pass legislation to help the Aborigines. -
Australia today
In 1986, the Australia Act severed all legal ties with the British Empire. -
Australia today
1999: 55% of voters rejected the idea of becoming an independent republic.
