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1770: Captain James Cook sailed around Australia
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1787; British ships called the “First Fleet” left England with convicts to establish a prison colony
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1788; British prisoners settled in Australia
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1788 to 1832: New South Wales was officially a penal (prison) colony consisting mainly of convicts, marines (guards), and the marines’ families
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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.
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January 1, 1901: the Commonwealth of Australia was established.
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Immigration Restriction Act of 1901: restricted migration to people primarily of European descent
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1967: federal government began to pass legislation to help the Aborigines
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1986: Australia Act -- all legal ties with the British Empire were severed
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1999: 55% of voters rejected the idea of becoming an independent republic.
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