Introduction to History of Australia
The ancestors of the first aborigines may have come from Southeast Asia to what is now Australia some 50,000 years ago. For thousands of years, the aborigines lived a primitive, peaceful, and nomadic life, undisturbed by outsiders.
Until British settlement began late in the 18th century, Australia remained inhabited only by the aborigines. However, as early as the second century A.D., some ancient map makers were indicating the probable existence of a large, unknown continent south of Asia. The actual discovery of Australia followed the expansion of Portuguese, Dutch, and Spanish trade into Asian waters.
Important dates in Australia (before 1788)45,000-60,000 B.C. The Aborigines reached Australia from Southeast Asia.6,000 B.C. Rising sea levels separated Tasmania from the mainland at the end of the last great ice age. Aborigines on the island were separated from mainland Aborigines by Bass Strait.A.D. 1606 The Dutch captain Willem Jansz made the first recorded European exploration of the Australian coast, sailing along the western side of the Cape York Peninsula.1642 The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman charted the southern coast of Tasmania and the southern island of New Zealand.1770 The English navigator James Cook sailed completely around the New Zealand islands, proving they were not part of Australia. He then charted the eastern coast of Australia, claiming it for Britain.Discovery and Exploration
Portuguese sailors may have known of Australia's existence early in the 1500's, but there are no records of landings by the Portuguese. In 1606 a Spanish navigator, Luis Vaez de Torres, sailed through the island-dotted strait between Australia and New Guinea that now bears his name.
Also in 1606, the Dutch ship Duyfken sailed along the northern coast in the bay the Dutch named the Gulf of Carpentaria. During the years that followed, Dutch navigators explored several points along Cape York Peninsula and the western coast. They called the land New Holland. In 1642, Abel Janszoon Tasman landed on the island south of New Holland now known as Tasmania. He named it Van Diemen's Land (its name until 1856, when it was officially changed).
The first Englishman to set foot on the mainland was William Dampier, an adventurer, who landed on the northwestern coast in 1688. His unenthusiastic reports did little to quicken English interest in the new land.
Nearly a century passed before the voyage of Captain James Cook. He sighted the southeastern shores of the continent in 1770. Although a large part of New Holland's coastal lands had already been fairly well mapped by then, it was Cook who discovered the most promising region for settlement. He anchored in Botany Bay, near the present site of Sydney. Cook claimed the eastern part of New Holland for Great Britain, naming this area New South Wales.
Australia in 1829 Western Australia became the third British colony in Australia in 1829. The United Kingdom had established New South Wales in 1788 and Van Dieman's Land in 1825.Important dates in Australia (1788-1850)1788 The First Fleet arrived at Botany Bay to establish a prison colony. Arthur Phillip was commander of the fleet and the colony's first governor.1803 Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) was founded as a prison colony.1808 Governor William Bligh was deposed by the New South Wales Corps in the Rum Rebellion.1809 The British sent Lachlan Macquarie to be governor of New South Wales.1819 John Thomas Bigge released his recommendations for the colony in the Bigge Report. He recommended large land grants and assigned convict labor for men with capital, which helped establish the wool industry.1829 Western Australia was founded as a free colony.1830 In Van Diemen's Land, Governor George Arthur attempted to isolate the Tasmanian Aborigines by driving them into Tasman Peninsula. He captured only two Aborigines.1836 Colonial officials allowed squatters (illegal settlers) outside the limits of occupation to occupy crown land for an annual license fee.1836 South Australia was founded as a free colony.1838 A group of Europeans attacked an Aboriginal camp at Myall Creek in New South Wales, killing its inhabitants. Seven of the Europeans were later hanged.1840 Transportation of convicts to New South Wales was abolished, but transportation to Van Diemen's Land continued.1850 All colonies except Western Australia were invited to draw up their own constitutions in preparation for self-government.Settlement
Although Cook's reports of his discovery were encouraging, they might have gone unheeded for some time had Britain not lost the thirteen colonies in North America (1783), where it had long sent convicts to work as indentured servants. The British then turned to Australia as a place to deport criminals. In 1788 a British convict expedition under Captain Arthur Phillip was sent to Botany Bay in New South Wales. The party actually disembarked a short distance away at Sydney Cove, where the penal settlement was established. Phillip became the first governor of the colony and encouraged exploration of the neighborhood.
In 1801–03 the British explorer Matthew-Flinders circumnavigated the continent and charted many of its waters. The Blue Mountains, a barrier to the interior, were crossed in 1813.
In spite of many difficulties, the Sydney Cove colony survived and began to develop. When their terms expired, most of the convicts chose to remain and some obtained land for farming. A native-born generation grew up, and free immigrants began to arrive. Settlements were made at Hobart, Tasmania (1804); on the Brisbane River in Queensland (1824); on the Swan River in Western Australia (1829); at Melbourne in Victoria (1835); and Adelaide in South Australia (1836).
During the middle of the 19th century, the widely separated coastal settlements gradually developed into individual colonies with governors of their own. From 1820 to 1850, population rose from 34,000 to 405,000. Sheep raising for wool export displaced whaling and sealing as the major activity. Sheepmen in search of new pastures crossed the mountains to the interior and "squatted" on (took possession by occupying) the land. Also important to the early growth of the Australian, economy was crop agriculture, particularly wheat farming.
Australia in 1836 and 1851. The United Kingdom established two more colonies in Australia—South Australia in 1836 and Victoria in 1851. The land for the new colonies came from New South Wales.In 1851 gold was discovered by Edward Hargraves near Bathurst, New South Wales. Other finds followed quickly, including the rich deposits of Ballarat in Victoria. Gold brought thousands of people to Australia, and population rose to about 1,146,000 by 1860. In 1892–93, new gold fields were found in Western Australia, at Coolgardie and at Kalgoorlie, which became Australia's most important gold-mining center.
Important dates in Australia (1851-1901)1851 Gold was discovered in New South Wales and Victoria.1852 South Australia legislated to provide a secular state system of education.1854 Miners rebelled against gold license fees at the Eureka Stockade in Victoria.1855 Victoria passed legislation prohibiting the entry of Chinese into the colony, the first of similar legislation passed in the colonies.1856-1857 The first parliaments assembled in New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania, and Victoria.1859 Queensland was created as a separate colony.1860 The Nicholson Land Act was passed in Victoria to settle the small farmers on the land.1880 The Bulletin, a pro-Australian journal, was first published.1890's A severe economic depression began in the eastern colonies.1897-1898 A federal convention was held, in three sessions, to draft a constitution for a union of the colonies.1901 After successful referendums in all colonies, the Commonwealth of Australia was proclaimed on January 1.Self-government and National Unity
The gold rushes not only brought more people and increased wealth, but caused new settlements to spring up in the interior and led to the building of roads and railways. The increased settlement gave stimulus to the wool and wheat industries. The most important development, however, was the impetus given to demands for self-government and eventually to union of the colonies.
New South Wales in 1855 was the first colony to be granted self-government by the British. Victoria, Tasmania, and South Australia followed in 1856; Queensland, in 1859; and Western Australia, in 1890.
After years of being preoccupied each with its own affairs, the colonies came to realize the need for cooperation. Several intercolonial conferences were held, the first in 1863, but the first federal convention did not meet until 1891. During the 1890's, a constitution was drafted and approved by the colonies.
Australia in 1911. The map of Australia looked in 1911 much as it looks today. Queensland and the mainland territories were set up. Van Diemen's Land had been renamed Tasmania.In 1900 the British Parliament passed the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act, granting the constitution. The former colonies became states united in the federal Commonwealth of Australia on January 1, 1901. The first federal Parliament convened later that year in Melbourne. It continued to meet there until 1927, when it was moved to Canberra, the new federal capital. The early parliaments concerned themselves with fostering nationalism and raising living standards. It was during this period also that a "white only" policy (restriction of nonwhite immigration) was adopted.
Important dates in Australia (1902-1960)1903 Alfred Deakin became prime minister and furthered the policy of a White Australia.1907 The Harvester judgment handed down by the Arbitration Court established the concept of a basic wage.1910 The Labor Party commanded a majority in both federal houses for the first time, forming a government under Andrew Fisher.1914 World War I began and lasted until 1918.1916 A referendum asking for conscription for service overseas was rejected, causing a split in the Labor Party and the formation of the Nationalist Party.1920 The Australian Country Party (now the National Party) first entered federal Parliament.1930 The Great Depression began.1931 The Labor Party split for a second time, as four Cabinet members joined with the Nationalists to form the United Australia Party.1939 World War II began and lasted until 1945.1949 Robert Gordon Menzies, leader of the Liberal Party, became prime minister in a coalition government. The coalition held power until 1972.1956 The Summer Olympic Games were held in Melbourne.The World Wars and Modern Development
Australia's isolation was ended by the outbreak of World War I. As part of the British Empire, Australia sent some 330,000 troops (out of a population of only about 4,500,000) overseas during the war. When peace came in 1918, Australia again turned its attention to developing its own resources.
Although some manufacturing had begun, the economy remained dependent primarily upon wool and wheat. Consequently, when the Great Depression struck much of the world in the late 1920's, Australia suffered severely as wool and wheat prices fell. Economic recovery was slow, but it was under way when in 1939 Australia entered World War II as an ally of Britain.
Early in 1942, with many of its troops fighting in North Africa, Australia was suddenly faced with the threat of Japanese invasion. The Battle of the Coral Sea later that year averted this threat. Australia became a vast military base for the South Pacific campaigns. At the peak of its war effort in 1943, Australia's armed forces numbered about 633,400—from a population of 7,300,000.
The years after the war brought increased economic activity and industrial expansion. The need for more farmers and industrial workers led to highly successful attempts to attract European immigrants. The federal welfare program, begun in 1909, was extended, and most social services were transferred to federal control. In its postwar foreign policy, Australia allied itself closely with the United States and participated in Asian affairs. Australian military units fought in the Korean War in the early 1950's and in the Vietnamese War from 1965 to 1972.
In the 1970's, Australia ended its "white only" immigration policy, strengthened its ties with Asian nations, and granted large tracts of land in the Northern Territory to the aborigines. During the worldwide recession of the early 1980's, the country faced its most severe economic problems since the 1930's.
In 1986 the last vestige of British control in Australia was removed when Queen Elizabeth II signed the Australia Act. In 1991 Paul Keating, at age 47, became the youngest prime minister in Australian history. In elections in 1996 the Labor party, after 13 years in power, was defeated. John Howard, head of a coalition of conservative parties, became prime minister. Elections in 2004 kept the coalition in power, and Howard remained prime minister until 2007, when he lost an election to the Labor Party, led by Kevin Rudd .
Important dates in Australia (since 1960)1964 The Menzies government introduced conscription during the Vietnam War (1957-1975).1965 The first Australian troops arrived in South Vietnam.1972 The Labor Party, led by Gough Whitlam, returned to power after 23 years in opposition.1974 With a hostile Senate blocking legislation, Whitlam called a double dissolution (dissolution of the Senate and House). The legislation was passed in an historic joint sitting of both houses, but Whitlam failed to win control of the Senate.1975 The Senate blocked the supply of money for government operations, precipitating a constitutional crisis. The governor general removed Whitlam from power. In the election that followed, Malcolm Fraser became prime minister.1983 Bob Hawke led the Labor Party to electoral victory and became prime minister, holding office until 1991.1983 Australia won the America's Cup yacht race.1988 Australia celebrated its bicentennial.1991 Paul Keating succeeded Hawke as Labor leader and prime minister.1992 A High Court ruling recognized native land title, allowing Aborigines to claim ownership of land.1996 A coalition of the Liberal Party and National Party came to power, with Liberal leader John Howard as prime minister.1999 A referendum failed to achieve the majority vote required for Australia to become a republic.2000 Sydney hosted the Summer Olympic Games.2003 A transcontinental rail line was completed, linking Adelaide in South Australia with Darwin in the Northern Territory.