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In 1606, the Dutch (Netherlands) found Autralia. Attacks from the Aborigines stopped further exploration.
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Captain James Cook sailed around Australia and named the area New South Wales.
Cook ignored the Aborigines living there & claimed the land for England. -
Great Britain had to start looking for another place to send its prisoners since the America Revolution forced them to stop sending prisoners to Georgia.
Australia seemed like a good choice: no chance of escape, no colonies around it, and very few indigenous people lived there. In 1788, Prisoners settled the colony. -
New South Wales is officially a penal (prison) colony of Britain.
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Remnants of the tribes in the settled areas were moved onto Reserves where they were forbidden from teaching their children their language and customs.
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Major coastal settlements became 7 independent colonies and in 1861, government officials created boundaries for the colonies that are still in place today.
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British prisoners stop being transported to Australia.
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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, and trade with Asia and the Americas. -
The Commonwealth of Australia is established and Melbourne served as the national capital until Canberra was completed in 1927.
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The federal government began to pass legislation to help the Aborigines.
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Australia Act -- all legal ties with the British Empire were severed.
