The first Australians
It is believed that the Aboriginal people migrated from some unknown
point in Asia to Australia between 60,000 and 50,000 years ago, and
quickly covered the entire continent, considering the variety of environments
in Australia. The Aborigines were hunters and gatherers, they moved
when the seasons changed; taking with them only those possessions that
were necessary for the hunting and preparation of food. In the arid
and semi-arid regions they were forced to travel over vast tracts of
land to obtain food and water. The Aboriginal society was a complex
network of intricate kinship relationships. All members of the family
unit had their own role and responsibilities. No formal government or
authority existed, but social control was maintained by a sophisticated
system of beliefs. These beliefs found expression in song, art, and
dance. A rich oral tradition existed in which Aboriginal history was
passed down to generations.
The Torres Strait Islanders
The Torres Strait Islanders have occupied the small islands that separate
the land masses of the southwest Pacific, Australia and New Guinea,
for over 10,000 years. They have their own separate identity and culture,
and traded with the Aborigines to the south and New Guinea to the north.
They are a highly skilled seafaring people who once used dug-out canoes
to travel back and forth from island to island.
Groups of small islands, made up the communities, and each community
contained several clans. Land was held by clans, and was allocated to
individual families from clan elders. The economy was based on harvests
of fish and turtles, and also on garden cultivation. Today Torres Strait
Islanders still maintain their separate identity and culture.
Early Explorations
European exploration of Australia began in 1606, when the Spanish navigator
Luis Vaez de Torres sailed through the Torres Strait, now named after
him, which separates Australia and Papua New Guinea. Before that, Macassan
traders, originating from what is now Indonesia, would visit the north
of Australia to trade with the Aborigines and harvest sea cucumber.
After the Vaez de Torres voyage, Dutch explorers began to chart the
new continent. First was Willem Janszoon, who sailed into the Gulf of
Carpentaria, and then 17 years later, Jan Carstensz mapped and named
the main features of the western coast. By that time, other Dutch navigators
had reached parts of the northern and western coasts of Australia. The
Dutch called the continent New Holland.
The first English explorer was an adventurer named William Dampier,
who landed near King Sound, on the northwest coast in 1688. Dampier
was followed by Captain James Cook in 1770. After circumnavigating New
Zealand, Cook headed west to Australia. Sighting land near Cape Everard,
in the southeast corner of Australia, he turned north charting the coastline
as he went. After nine days he landed at an inlet that he named Botany
Bay after the rich variety of plant life he found. The area is now part
of the city of Sydney.
European Settlement
European settlement of Australia began in 1788 when a British penal
colony was established on the east coast. From this starting point Australia
grew rapidly and continually, expanding across the entire continent.
A number of reasons contributed to Britain's decision to colonise Australia.
The most important factor was Britain's need to relieve its overcrowded
prisons. Several violent incidents at overcrowded prisons convinced
the British government of the need to separate unruly elements from
the rest of the prison populace.
Additionally, Australia was of strategic importance to Britain, and
it provided a base for the Royal Navy in the eastern sea. Also, Australia
could be used as an entry point to the economic opportunities of the
surrounding region. All these points figured in the decision by Lord
Sydney, secretary of state of home affairs, to authorise the colonisation.
To this affect, on May 13, 1787, Captain Arthur Phillip, commanding
eleven ships full of convicts, left Britain for Australia. He successfully
landed a full fleet at Botany Bay on January 18, 1788. However, they
left the bay eight days later because of its openness and poor soil,
and settled instead at Port Jackson, a few kilometres north. The ships
landed 1,373 people, including 732 convicts, and the settlement became
Sydney. Australia Day is now celebrated on 26 January each year, to
commemorate this first fleet landing.
Development of Settlements
After the establishment of the colony at Port Jackson, further settlements
were begun at Hobart (Tasmania) in 1803; on the Brisbane River (Queensland)
in 1824; and on the Swan River (Western Australia) in 1829. Melbourne
was established at Port Phillip Bay (Victoria) in 1835, and Adelaide
at the Gulf of St.Vincent (South Australia) in 1836.
Explorations into and along the coast, helped the growing settlements
expand and survive. In 1802-3, Captain Matthew Flinders bypassed the
continent; in 1813 Gregory Blaxland, William Wentworth, and William
Lawson found a way over the Blue Mountains, part of a range of mountains
that extended almost unbroken down the east coast and prevented the
expansion of settlements; and in 1827, Captain Charles Sturt, traced
the Lachlan River, reaching the Darling Downs.
Perhaps the most important innovation to happen to colonial Australia
was the introduction of sheep. In the Late 1700s Captain John Macarthur
began experiments in breeding fine-wool sheep using Spanish merinos
from Cape Province, South Africa, and others from the royal flock at
Kew, England. These experiments laid the foundations of the country's
economic development. The merino was gradually transformed into a superior
wool growing animal. The wool industry flourished and the sheep population
grew from 34,000 in 1820 to 405,000 in 1850.
Transportation of convicts from Britain to most of Australia ended in
1840 and to Tasmania in 1853. Western Australia continued receiving
convicts until 1868. In total, more than 100,000 convicts had arrived
in Australia since the settlement began.
The Gold Rush
The gold rush began when gold was first discovered in 1851 at Bathurst,
New South Wales, then later at Ballarat and Bendigo, Victoria. At first
the authorities tried to keep the news as quiet as possible, for fear
that it would seriously damage the agricultural economy by aggravating
the chronic labour shortage. However, after a succession of tend years,
and the news of the wealth that the California gold rush had brought
there in 1848, the government decided to publicise the discovery.
Prospectors from all over the world rushed to New South Wales and Victoria
in the hope of making their fortune. Tent cities dotted the Australian
countryside, some as large as 40,000 people. There were a number of
gold fields. Violence was not uncommon, although the stories of violence
have been greatly exaggerated, much like the stories of the old American
West. In general, most prospectors were from Britain or China.
Federation
The colonies were widely separated and far from the motherland, and
governing them directly from the crown was administratively difficult.
Self-government became an objective of the colonists and, in 1823, New
South Wales was granted the first constitutional charter by a British
law authorizing creation of a councils with limited legislative power.
In 1842 Britain extended the New South Wales Legislative Council's powers
and allowed two-thirds of its membership to be elected on a restricted
franchise. The British Government's Australian Colonies Government Act
of 1850 empowered the colonies to establish legislatures, determine
the voting rights for legislation, and frame constitutions. In 1851,
Victoria gained its legislature under this Act.
New South Wales was the first to draft a constitution, in 1855. All
other colonies except Western Australia became self-governing in 1859.
Western Australia's decision to become a penal colony in 1850 delayed
responsible government until 1890.
A draft federal constitution was drawn up in 1891 to protect and promote
common interests. After intense debate at a colonial conference in 1898,
it was submitted to the British Parliament for approval. The British
Parliament ratified the constitution, and after the Australian People
had shown their support for federation and the Constitution in a series
of mini state-wide referendums, the Commonwealth of Australia came into
being on January 1, 1901.
Back to the Top
