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European Exploration: Dutch
First Europeans to sail to Australia were the Dutch (Netherlands) in 1606, but they didn’t settle there -
European Exploration : British
1770: Captain James Cook sailed around Australia
Cook named the area New South Wales
Ignored the Aborigines living there & claimed the land for England
Sailors also mapped the coast eastern Australia & Tasmania -
New South Wales
1788 to 1832: 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
British transported prisoners to Australia until 1868
By this time, many free immigrants were settling there
They built businesses, trading posts, farms, etc. -
Port Arthur, Tasmania
From 1833, until the 1850s,
The Island of the Dead was the destination for all who died inside the prison camps. -
Commonwealth of Australia
Nonprisoner colonization continued…
Major coastal settlements became 7 independent colonies
1861: government officials created boundaries for the colonies that are still in place today
January 1, 1901: the Commonwealth of Australia was established.
Melbourne served as the national capital until Canberra was completed in 1927 -
White Australia
Originally, Australia promoted a policy called “White Australia”
They would not allow non-Caucasians to immigrate to Australia.
That has since changed… Immigration Restriction Act of 1901: restricted migration to people primarily of European descent
This was dismantled after the Second World War. Today, Australia has a global, non-discriminatory policy and is home to people from more than 200 countries!
