The history of Australia

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Abel Tasman, Dutch navigator, visited Tasmania, which he named Van
Diemen’s Land, in 1642.

The first Englishman to visit the continent was a buccaneer, William
Dampier, who landed near King Sound on the northwest coast in 1699.

A second wave of immigration began in 1770, when Captain James Cook, of the British Navy, sighted the east coast of the continent.

Cook had been sent to Tahiti to make astronomical observations and when his mission was completed, he sailed south in Endeavour, circumnavigated New Zealand and headed due west. On April 20, 1770, Cook sighted land near Cape Everard, in the southeast corner of Australia. He turned north, charting the coastline as he went and, 9 days later, landed at Botany Bay, which he named for the variety of botanic specimen found there. He raised the British flag and claimed New South Wales as a British
Colony.

First European Settlement

It is probably due to its geographical position that Australia was the last continent to be inhabited by the white man. It was just a little over 390 years that the Australian continent was discovered.

The first landing by Europeans took place in 1606. More than a century and a half later an expedition headed by the British explorer James Cook added the land to the possessions of the British crown.

Until the name “Australia” (meaning “South Land”) became generally accepted for the continent, it had been referred to as New Holland, New
South Wales, or Botany Bay. During the War of Independence (1776) the former British colonies in America declared themselves independent.
Britain tried to make up for this loss by the seizure of new territories.
Besides, the convicts could no longer be transported to the American colonies (which had served this purpose for over hundred years) and
British jails were more than badly overcrowded.

The first contingent of the convicts and their guards landed where
Sydney stands today, on January 26, 1788. It was the so-called “First
Fleet” and these people were called “first fleeters” Now, Australia Day,
January 26, commemorates the landing. Gradually more and more people arrived (they were convicts as well as free settlers) and a number of settlements were founded along the southern and eastern coasts. For the first few years, the colonists were almost entirely dependent on food supplies from overseas but gradually the land around the settlements was brought under cultivation. Soils were generally poor and crop yields low, but better agricultural land was soon found near Parramatta, to the west.
Exploratory voyages were also made along the east coast. The boldest was that of Captain Matthew Flinders who, in 1802-1803 circumnavigated the continent.

Australia Day is a very important holiday for the Australians, another equally important holiday is called Anzac Day.

Creation of The Commonwealth of Australia

In 1901 the separate colonies in Australia merged together and became the States of the Commonwealth of Australia, which acquired the status of dominion of Great Britain. The Commonwealth of Australia – a federation of the 6 former colonies as states – was declared to come into being on
January 1, 1901. The first Governor – General, the Earl of Hopetoun, convened the first Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia on April
29, 1901. It was opened in Melbourne on May 9 by Duke of Cornwall and York, son of King Edward VII. Sir Edmund Barton was the first Prime Minister.

The constitution provided for Federal Parliament to sit in Melbourne until a federal capital territory was selected and established. The present
Australian Capital Territory was ceded from New South Wales to become federal territory in 1911, and the future capital was named Canberra in
1913. The first Federal Parliament to meet in Canberra was opened by the
Duke of York, later King George VI, on May 9, 1927.

Though Australia now is an independent state, according to the
Constitution the head of the state is the Monarch of Great Britain, represented by the Governor-General. His duties include assenting to bills, opening, proroguing and dissolving Parliament and commissioning the Prime
Minister to form a government. Governor-General’s residence Jarralumla is in Canberra.

The Commonwealth of Australia is composed of 6 states and 2 territories: the State of New South Wales with its capital in Sydney, the
State of Victoria with its capital in Melbourne, the State of Queenland with its capital in Brisbane, the Sate of Western Australia with its capital in Perth, the State of Tasmania with its capital in Hobart,
Australian Capital Territory with its Federal Capital in Canberra, and
Northern Territory with its capital in Darwin.

New Crown Colonies

Great Britain was on the verge of loosing 13 rebellious American
Colonies in 1770. At that time Captain James Cook who led a scientific voyager planted the British ensign on a continent that would soon provide a vast new colony: Australia.

The will to establish new crown colonies was insistent even before the old ones mere lost. The Parliament debated the site as early as 1779. Only
18 years after Captain James Cook had landed in Botany Bay, Captain Arthur
Philip arrived in Sydney Cove to begin the first settlement.

In many ways, America and Australia have had corresponding histories of exploration, colonization, immigration, and growth. Both began with settlements on the fringes of huge continents, gradually pushing inward to cultivate a wilderness interior. And both developed a frontier ethos of independence.

As the convicts earned their freedom, they went into the outback and staked claims on land. These men, known as Squatters, raised sheep or cattle, depending on the type of land they found for themselves.

Other convicts however reverted to their criminal ways and became outlaws, raiding the towns and stealing from the squatters. The early part of Australian history is filled with the tales of the settlers. These bushrangers often became folk-heroes in the tradition of Robin Hood and
Dick Turpin in England, and Jesse James in the United States. Many poems and songs were written about them and at one time it was a criminal offence to sing or recite these ballads which glorified crime.
Nonetheless, every Australian today knows the stories of the famous bushrangers. These ballads and songs started the tradition of Australian
“yarn” and its heroes, Dad’s Dave among them.

The hard rough life in the outback was no place for women. The
Squatters searched the towns for wives to take to their stations. It wasn’t very pleasant prospect for a new bride, but some girls were lucky enough to undertake the adventure. The image of a typical Australian was a tall, thin and blond man who was called a “Cornstalk”, sometimes wearing a cabbage tree hat.

Australians celebrated their bicentennial beginning Jan. 26, 1988 and continuing all next year. On that date in 1788, 11 ships arrived from
Britain, and 1.030 settlers, including 776 convicts, began their new life in waterfront section of Sydney called “the Rocks”.

Australia’s Ties With Great Britain And The USA

Initially, Britain and the Commonwealth countries were the central elements of Australia’s foreign policy and activity. Later, closer relations were also developed with the USA, partly because of the vital role it played in the Pacific during and after World War II.