Lyla Lindsey
Australia's history of colonisation began in 1788 when a fleet of 11 British ships carrying convicts arrived at the colony of New South Wales, which was originally planned as a penal colony. This marked the beginning of British settlement in Australia, which was then known as New South Wales. The British claimed sovereignty over Australia via occupation, believing that the Indigenous people had not laid claim to the land through established agricultural practices. This concept, known as terra nullius, was used to justify British rule and deny Indigenous people their land rights. Over time, the British established other colonies and expanded their presence in Australia, leading to conflicts with the Aboriginal population and disruption of their cultures. In 1901, six colonies were joined to create the Commonwealth of Australia, a self-governing Dominion within the British Empire.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of claim | 26 January 1788 |
| Country that claimed Australia | Great Britain |
| Name of the fleet | First Fleet |
| Number of ships | 11 |
| Number of convicts | 778 (586 men and 192 women) |
| Commander of the fleet | Captain Arthur Phillip |
| Port of arrival | Botany Bay |
| Settlement established | Sydney Cove, Port Jackson |
| Date of settlement | 26 January 1788 |
| Date of formal proclamation of the colony | 7 February 1788 |
| Colony name | New South Wales |
| Territory claimed | All of Australia eastward of the meridian of 135° East, including more than half of mainland Australia |
| Other features of the claim | "All the Islands adjacent in the Pacific" between the latitudes of Cape York and the southern tip of Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) |
| Powers used to claim sovereignty | Occupation, terra nullius |
| Impact on Indigenous people | Dispossession of land, decline in population, disruption of cultures due to introduced diseases, violent conflict, and enforcement of property rights |
| Later developments | Australia became a self-governing Dominion in the British Empire in 1901, gaining gradual control over its external policy; it became a sovereign nation with the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act in 1942 |
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What You'll Learn
The British claimed Australia in 1770
Prior to British colonisation, Dutch navigators had explored and named the western and southern coasts of Australia in the 17th century, with Dutch explorer Abel Tasman contributing to almost complete maps of the continent. In 1766, John Callander proposed that Britain found a colony of banished convicts in the South Sea or Terra Australis. In 1770, James Cook, captain of HMB Endeavour, claimed the eastern portion of the Australian continent for the British Crown, naming it New South Wales. In his journal, he wrote:
> So far as we know [it] doth not produce any one thing that can become an Article in trade to invite Europeans to fix a settlement upon it.
Following Cook's voyage, he returned to London and advocated for colonisation at Botany Bay (now in Sydney). In 1788, the First Fleet of British ships arrived at Botany Bay to establish a penal colony, marking the beginning of the British colonial period in Australia. This colony included more than half of mainland Australia and "all the Islands adjacent in the Pacific" between the latitudes of Cape York and the southern tip of Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania).
The British colonial period in Australia lasted from 1788 to 1850 and saw the establishment of other colonies, scientific exploration, and the expansion of the economy. However, it also witnessed conflict with Aboriginal people, resulting in a decline in their population and disruption of their cultures due to introduced diseases, violence, and dispossession of their traditional lands.
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$13.65
The French also explored Australia
Australia was initially explored by Dutch navigators in the 17th century, who named the continent New Holland. In 1770, Lieutenant James Cook charted the east coast of Australia and claimed it for Great Britain. The British established a penal colony in New South Wales in 1788, marking the beginning of the colonial period.
However, the French also explored Australia extensively and played a significant role in mapping and naming the continent. In March 1772, two French expeditions were exploring opposite ends of the continent. Marc-Joseph Marion Dufresne visited Tasmania and stayed with the Indigenous people, while Francois de Saint-Alouarn buried two bottles containing statements of proclamation on Dirk Hartog Island off the far northwest coast. One of these bottles was found in 1998 and is now in Western Australia's Maritime Museum.
In 1788, just days after the arrival of the First Fleet of British ships at Botany Bay, two French vessels under the command of Jean François de Galaup, Comte de Lapérouse, arrived at the same location. The French expedition spent six weeks in the area, building a stockade and establishing a small garden before sailing for the south seas, never to be seen again. This French exploration caused unease among the British, as it indicated France's interest in the new land.
The French explorer Nicolas Baudin led another significant expedition to Australia from 1801 to 1804. His crew charted much of the southern coastline, including what is now known as Encounter Bay in South Australia, where he met with his English counterpart, Matthew Flinders. Baudin's expedition also resulted in the first printed maps to chart almost the entire continent of Australia, published in the early 1800s.
In addition to these expeditions, the French explorer Louis-Antoine, Comte de Bougainville, had his ship blocked by the outer shoals of the Great Barrier Reef in 1768, two years before James Cook claimed the east coast for Britain. Furthermore, in 1826, the governor of New South Wales sent a military garrison to King George Sound to prevent the French from establishing a settlement in New Holland.
Thus, while Australia was claimed and colonized by the British, French exploration and mapping significantly influenced the country's history, and the French played a key role in exploring and charting the continent.
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Terra Nullius was used to deny Indigenous Australians land rights
The term "Terra Nullius" translates to empty land in Latin and was historically used to justify the dispossession, dispersal, and inhumane treatment of Indigenous Australians. The doctrine of Terra Nullius was based on the premise that Australia was uninhabited at the time of British colonisation, with the continent being regarded as land belonging to no one. This notion was challenged and ultimately overturned in the High Court of Australia's Mabo decision in 1992, which recognised the continuing connection and rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to their traditional lands.
The British attitude towards colonisation was influenced by their belief in the superiority of agricultural farming and techniques. They associated cultivation skills with an established society and considered property rights to be inherent to landowners who engaged in agriculture and farming. When the British arrived in Australia, they encountered Indigenous Australians who were primarily hunters and gatherers, and they interpreted the lack of evidence of farming as an indication that the land was uninhabited and available for colonisation. This perspective was recorded by Captain Cook, who described the continent as ""thinly inhabited" in his diary, reflecting his perception of the sparse population in contrast to the densely populated England.
The British legal system further discriminated against Indigenous Australians, failing to afford them equal respect and protection under the law. While the British Government urged Governors to treat Indigenous people with goodwill, the enforcement of property rights and disciplinary actions for trespassing created tensions and distanced Indigenous communities from the legal system. The expansion of British colonies into traditional Indigenous lands, such as Dharawal country and Wiradjuri country, led to violent conflicts and the disruption of their cultures.
The colonisation of Australia by the British resulted in the decline of the Aboriginal population due to introduced diseases, violent conflicts, and the dispossession of their traditional lands. The concept of Terra Nullius, which denied Indigenous land rights, was a key factor in justifying British colonisation and facilitated the establishment of colonies across the continent. However, it is important to recognise that Terra Nullius was a false construct that ignored the rich history and connection of Indigenous Australians to their land.
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The British believed Indigenous Australians were not agriculturally advanced
The British were the first to claim sovereignty over Australia. In 1770, Lieutenant James Cook charted the east coast of Australia and claimed it for Great Britain. He returned to London with accounts favouring colonisation at Botany Bay (now in Sydney). The British believed that the Indigenous people were not agriculturally advanced, nor had they laid claim to the land through established agricultural practices. This belief was compounded by the fact that the British saw no form of Indigenous government and so assumed that there was no 'valid' way to make a treaty with the Indigenous Australians. The British also considered themselves racially superior, believing that there was only one race on Earth, the White race.
The British claim of sovereignty over Australia was further solidified when the First Fleet of British ships arrived at Botany Bay in January 1788 to establish a penal colony. The colony was established in New South Wales, the portion of Australia that Cook had claimed for the British Crown. The territory of New South Wales claimed by Britain included all of Australia eastward of the meridian of 135° East, reflecting the line of division between the claims of Spain and Portugal established in the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494. This included more than half of mainland Australia and "all the Islands adjacent in the Pacific" between the latitudes of Cape York and the southern tip of Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania).
The British arrival brought armed conflict and a lack of understanding, which heralded the demise of the northern Sydney clans, along with the other peoples of the Sydney basin – the Dharawal to the south and the Dharug to the west. Food shortages soon became a problem. The large white population depleted the fish by netting huge catches, reduced the kangaroo population with unsustainable hunting, cleared the land, and polluted the water. As a result, the Aboriginal people throughout the Sydney Basin were soon close to starvation.
Disease struck a fatal and extensive blow to the Aboriginal people, who until that point had been isolated for thousands of years from the diseases that had raged through Europe and Asia. They had no resistance to the deadly viruses carried by the sailors and convicts such as smallpox, syphilis, influenza, measles, whooping cough, tuberculosis, and leprosy. In less than a year, over half the indigenous population living in the Sydney Basin had died from smallpox. Those not ravaged by disease were displaced when land was cleared for settlements and farms. Dispossessed of the land that had nourished them for so long, the Aboriginal people became dependent on white food and clothing. Alcohol, used as a means of trade by the British, served to further shatter traditional social and family structures.
The history of Aboriginal dispossession is central to understanding contemporary Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal relations. Colonial takeover was premised on the assumption that European culture was superior to all others, and that Europeans could define the world in their terms. A British governor, Watkin Tench, commented:
> "By this partition, it may be fairly presumed, that every source of future litigation between the Dutch and us, will be forever cut off, as the discoveries of English navigators only are comprized in this territory."
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Australia became a self-governing Dominion in 1901
Australia has a long and complex history of colonisation, beginning with the arrival of the First Fleet of British ships in January 1788. The British established the colony of New South Wales, which included more than half of mainland Australia and various islands in the Pacific. This marked the beginning of the British colonial period in Australia, which lasted until the early 1900s.
Over time, the British established other colonies in Australia, including Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania), Western Australia, and the Province of South Australia. These colonies gradually expanded and developed their own economies, but they were still subject to the law-making power of the British Parliament. By the late 1800s, public opinion began to favour unification and independence from Britain.
On January 1, 1901, the six colonies of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, and Tasmania united to form the Commonwealth of Australia, becoming a self-governing Dominion within the British Empire. This process, known as Federation, was achieved through years of planning, consultation, and voting. The colonies had their own governments and laws, defence forces, and even issued their own stamps. However, despite this new autonomy, the British monarch remained the head of state, and Australia retained close ties to Britain.
The Commonwealth of Australia was proclaimed by the Governor-General, Lord Hopetoun, and Edmund Barton was sworn in as the country's first prime minister. The new constitution established a federal government with defined powers, including external affairs, defence, immigration, and taxation. The first federal elections were held in March 1901, and the country began its journey as a self-governing nation within the British Empire.
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Frequently asked questions
Great Britain claimed Australia in 1770. Lieutenant James Cook charted the east coast of Australia and claimed it for Britain.
Australia was called New Holland by Dutch navigators in the 17th century. The British called the land New South Wales.
The British intended to use Australia as a penal colony.
No, the British believed that the Indigenous Australians had not laid claim to the land through established agricultural practices. This belief was known as terra nullius, meaning 'nobody's land'.
