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AUSTRALIA HISTORY |
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Australia is thought to have been inhabited for at least 60,000 years, since
the remote ancestors of the current Australian Aborigines arrived via land
bridges and navigation of significant sea crossings from present-day
Southeast Asia.
The land was not discovered by Europeans until the 17th century, when it was
sighted and visited by several expeditions: The Dutch explorer Willem Jansz
(1606), the Portuguese explorer Luis Vaez de Torres in Spanish service
(1607), and the Dutch explorers Jan Carstensz (1623), Dirk Hartog and Abel
Tasman (1642). The Dutch called the continent New Holland. The island of
Tasmania Tasman named Anthoonij van Diemenslandt. |
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The first English explorers were Willem Dampier on the west coast of the
continent in 1688, and James Cook, who in 1770 claimed the eastern two-thirds
of the continent for Britain, despite orders from King George III to first
conclude a treaty with the indigenous population. His report to London that
Australia was uninhabited provided impetus for the establishment of a penal
colony there following the loss of the American colonies.
The British Crown Colony of New South Wales began by the establishment of a
settlement (later to become Sydney) in Port Jackson by Captain Arthur
Phillip on January 26, 1788. The date of arrival of the First Fleet was
later to become the date of Australia's national day, Australia Day.
Van Diemen's Land (i.e. the present day Tasmania) was settled in 1803, and
became a separate colony in 1825. The rest of the continent, what is now
Western Australia, was formally claimed by the United Kingdom in 1829.
Following the spread of British settlement, separate Colonies were created
from parts of New South Wales: South Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851 and
Queensland in 1859. The Northern Territory was founded, as part of the
Colony of South Australia, in 1863.
During the period of 1855-1890, the six Crown Colonies each successively
became self-governing colonies, which managed most of their own affairs.
British law was adopted in each colony at the time of the granting of
responsible government, and was subsequently modified by the individual
legislatures. The British government retained control of some matters,
especially foreign affairs, defence, international shipping. Despite its
heavily rural based economy Australia remained significantly urbanised,
centred particularly around the cities of Melbourne and Sydney. In the 1880s
'Marvellous Melbourne' was the second largest city in the British Empire.
Australia also gained a reputation as a 'working man's paradise' and as a
laboratory for social reform, with the world's first secret ballot and first
national Labor Party government.
On 1 January 1901, federation of the Colonies was completed after a 10 year
gestation period, and the Commonwealth of Australia was born, as a dominion
of the British Empire. The Australian Capital Territory was separated from
New South Wales in 1911, to provide a neutral place for the proposed new
federal capital of Canberra (the initial capital having been Melbourne).
Although Australia had become independent, the British government retained
some powers over Australia until the Statute of Westminster in 1931, and the
authority of the British Parliament was not completely severed until 1986).
Indigenous Australians were generally denied both citizenship and the vote
until the Constitution was altered by referendum in 1967.
Australia is a constitutional monarchy, with Elizabeth II reigning as 'Queen
of Australia'. In 1999, a referendum was held on the question of
constitutional change to a republic, with an appointed President replacing
the Queen as head of state, but this was rejected. Various surveys held
before and since the referendum suggest that the majority of Australians
favour some form of republic, and hence many people ascribe the negative
result of the referendum to dissatisfaction with the particular republican
model that was proposed. A further discussion of this issue can be found in
the topic Australian republicanism. |
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