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  • First Europeans to sail to Australia were the Dutch (Netherlands) in 1606, but they didn’t settle there
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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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  1830s: remnants of the tribes in the settled areas were moved onto Reserves
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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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  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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  1861: government officials created boundaries for the colonies that are still in place today
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  British transported prisoners to Australia until 1868
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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
 This was dismantled after the Second World War.
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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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  • First Europeans to sail to Australia were the Dutch (Netherlands) in 1606, but they didn’t settle there