Ruqayyah Snyder
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a federal parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy. It is made up of six states and ten territories, with a highly urbanised population of almost 28 million. Before it became a country, the land that is now Australia was inhabited by Aboriginal Australians, who have lived on the continent for at least 50,000 years and spoke 250 distinct languages. From the 17th century onwards, various European explorers, including the Dutch, Spanish, French, and British, began to arrive in Australia and attempt to establish colonies. In 1770, a British crew sighted southeastern Australia and James Cook claimed the land as New South Wales. Despite this, it wasn't until 1788 that the British began to colonise Australia, and even then, the colonies were still subject to British law-making power. Australia officially became a nation on 1 January 1901 when six British colonies united to form the Commonwealth of Australia.
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What You'll Learn
Aboriginal Australians and their history
Aboriginal Australians are the indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia between 45,000 and 65,000 years ago, and over time, they formed as many as 500 linguistic and territorial groups. These groups lived in three main cultural areas: the Northern, Southern, and Central cultural areas. The Northern and Southern areas, with their richer natural marine and woodland resources, were more densely populated than the Central area.
The Aboriginal people have a long and rich history that has been passed down through stories, dances, myths, and legends. They have one of the oldest continuous cultures on Earth, with oral histories comprising complex narratives passed down by the Yolngu people through hundreds of generations. The Aboriginal rock art, dated by modern techniques, showcases their ancient culture.
Before the European invasion of Australia in 1788, the Aboriginal people lived in a way that had continued for thousands of years. The colonists believed the land was terra nullius ('no one's land'), despite evidence to the contrary observed by Lt. James Cook in 1770 during his voyage up the east coast of Australia. The invasion brought diseases that decimated the Aboriginal population, particularly the Sydney tribes. Conflict between the colonists and Aboriginal people led to a significant loss of life, with the spread of British settlement also causing an increase in inter-tribal Aboriginal conflict as people were forced off their traditional lands.
Today, Aboriginal Australians continue to face health and economic challenges, with higher rates of suicide compared to non-indigenous communities due to issues such as historical trauma, socioeconomic disadvantage, and decreased access to education and healthcare. Efforts are being made to reclaim and bury the remains of their ancestors that were taken for scientific study and museum displays.
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$13.65
European exploration and settlement
The first documented European landing in Australia occurred in 1606 when the Dutch East India Company ship Duyfken, captained by Willem Janszoon, explored the western and southern coasts of Australia and named the continent "New Holland". The Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines but did not attempt to settle. The first recorded European sightings and landfalls on the Australian mainland were made by this Dutch expedition.
In 1616, Dirk Hartog landed on an island off Shark Bay, Western Australia, en route from the Cape of Good Hope to Batavia. In 1622–23, the ship Leeuwin made the first recorded rounding of the southwest corner of the continent. In 1627, the south coast of Australia was discovered by François Thijssen and named after Pieter Nuyts. In 1628, a squadron of Dutch ships explored the northern coast, particularly in the Gulf of Carpentaria. Abel Tasman's voyage of 1642 was the first known European expedition to reach Van Diemen's Land (later Tasmania) and New Zealand, and to sight Fiji.
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). In 1779, Sir Joseph Banks, who had accompanied Cook on his voyage, recommended Botany Bay as a suitable site for settlement, saying that "it was not to be doubted that a Tract of Land such as New Holland, which was larger than the whole of Europe, would furnish Matter of advantageous Return".
The British government decided to establish a colony at Botany Bay in 1787, following the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) during which Britain lost most of its territory in North America. The First Fleet of British ships arrived at Botany Bay in January 1788 to establish a penal colony. The fleet consisted of 11 vessels, including 6 transports, carrying about 730 convicts (570 men and 160 women) and more than 250 free persons, chiefly marines of various ranks. The British government's motives for colonisation have become a matter of some controversy. The traditional view is that Britain sought to relieve the pressure on its prisons, intensified by the loss of its American colonies. This view is supported by the fact that convicts were sent to the settlement from the outset and that official statements put this among the colony's intended purposes.
In 1798, the former convict John Wilson and two companions crossed the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, in an expedition ordered by Governor Hunter. In 1813, Gregory Blaxland, William Lawson, and William Wentworth crossed the mountains by a different route, and a road was soon built to the Central Tablelands. This enabled the expansion of the British settlement into the interior.
In 1801–02, Matthew Flinders in HMS Investigator led the first circumnavigation of Australia. An Aboriginal explorer, Bungaree, was also aboard and became the first person born on the Australian continent to circumnavigate it.
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Colonisation and conflict
The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians first arrived in Australia between 50,000 and 65,000 years ago, during the last glacial period. By the time of British settlement, Aboriginal Australians spoke 250 distinct languages and had one of the oldest living cultures in the world.
The written history of Australia began with Dutch exploration of most of the coastline in the 17th century. In 1606, Willem Janszoon of Amsterdam sailed aboard the Duyfken from Bantam in the Dutch East Indies in search of New Guinea. He reached the Torres Strait and named what was later to be part of the Australian coast—Cape Keer-Weer, on the western side of Cape York Peninsula. In 1644, a second Dutch expedition led by Abel Tasman contributed to the knowledge of Australia's northern coast, and the Dutch named the new landmass New Holland.
In 1688, the English buccaneer William Dampier landed on New Holland's northwestern coast. On returning to England, he published his Voyages and persuaded the Admiralty to back another venture. He traversed the western coast for 1,000 miles (1699–1700) and reported more fully than any previous explorer, but his criticism of the land and its people caused another hiatus in exploration.
In the 18th century, various proposals for the colonisation of Australia were made, but none were attempted. In 1717, Jean-Pierre Purry sent a plan to the Dutch East India Company for the colonisation of an area in modern-day South Australia. The company rejected the plan, commenting that it would incur "very certain and heavy costs". Emanuel Bowen, in 1747, promoted the benefits of exploring and colonising the country, writing:
> It is impossible to conceive a Country that promises fairer from its Situation than this of TERRA AUSTRALIS, no longer incognita, as this Map demonstrates, but the Southern Continent Discovered.
In 1770, a crewman on the HMS Endeavour sighted southeastern Australia. James Cook landed several times, most notably at Botany Bay and Possession Island in the north, where, on 23 August, he claimed the land, naming it New South Wales. Cook's voyages led to settlement but did not complete the exploration of the Australian coasts.
In 1788, the French expedition led by Louis Aleno de St Aloüarn became the first European to formally claim sovereignty over the west coast of Australia, but no attempt was made to follow this with colonisation. In 1791, the British navigator George Vancouver traversed and described the southern shores discovered by Pieter Nuyts years earlier.
From the late 1700s, British colonies were established in Australia. By the late 1800s, these colonies had their own parliaments but were still subject to the law-making power of the British Parliament. The colonies were almost like six separate countries. Each colony had its own militia, consisting of a small permanent force and volunteers, but they all relied on the British navy to periodically patrol the Australian coastline.
The spread of British settlement led to an increase in inter-tribal Aboriginal conflict as more people were forced off their traditional lands into the territory of other, often hostile, tribes. Aboriginal casualty rates in conflicts increased as the colonists made greater use of mounted police, Native Police units, and newly developed revolvers and breech-loaded guns. Conflict was particularly intense in NSW in the 1840s and in Queensland from 1860 to 1880. In central Australia, it is estimated that 650 to 850 Aboriginal people, out of a population of 4,500, were killed by colonists from 1860 to 1895. The last recorded massacre of Aboriginal people by settlers was at Coniston in the Northern Territory in 1928, where at least 31 Aboriginal people were killed.
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The road to Federation
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. It has a total area of 7,688,287 square kilometres, making it the sixth-largest country in the world and the largest in Oceania.
For at least 60,000 years, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have lived on these lands and practised their traditional cultures and languages. By the time of British settlement, Aboriginal Australians spoke 250 distinct languages and had one of the oldest living cultures in the world.
The first written history of Australia commenced with Dutch exploration of most of the coastline in the 17th century. In 1606, Willem Jansz of Amsterdam sailed aboard the Duyfken from Bantam in the Dutch East Indies in search of New Guinea. He reached the Torres Strait and named what was later proven to be part of the Australian coast—Cape Keer-Weer, on the western side of Cape York Peninsula. In 1644, a second Dutch expedition contributed to the knowledge of Australia's northern coast, and the Dutch named the new landmass New Holland.
In 1768, the HMS Endeavour left England and, in 1770, a crewman sighted southeastern Australia. James Cook landed several times, notably at Botany Bay and Possession Island in the north, where, on 23 August 1770, he claimed the land, naming it New South Wales. From the late 1700s, British colonies were established. By the late 1800s, these colonies had their own parliaments but were still subject to the law-making power of the British Parliament. The colonies were almost like six separate countries.
The process of uniting the six colonies—New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, and Tasmania—into the Commonwealth of Australia is known as Federation. This process began with a push for a united defence force to better protect Australia from potential attacks by other nations with larger military forces. This argument was supported by a report released in 1889 by British Major-General Sir J. Bevan Edwards, who found that the colonies lacked the necessary soldiers, weapons, and ammunition to defend themselves adequately.
In 1897 and 1898, the second National Australasian Convention met three times, in Adelaide, Sydney, and Melbourne, using the 1891 draft constitution as a starting point. An 'enabling bill' was drafted, allowing each colony to hold a referendum on whether to join the Federation.
In March 1900, a delegation, including a representative from each of the six colonies, travelled to London to present the constitution to the British Parliament. On 5 July 1900, the British Parliament passed the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900, which was signed by Queen Victoria on 9 July 1900.
A referendum was held in Western Australia, which had initially opposed Federation. Once it realised that the other colonies would proceed without it, Western Australia reversed its opposition. On 1 January 1901, the six colonies united to form the Commonwealth of Australia, becoming a nation.
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Australia's written history
Australia has a long and complex history that dates back thousands of years. Before it became a country in 1901, Australia did not exist as a single entity but was inhabited by diverse Indigenous communities with distinct cultures and languages. The Indigenous Australians had a rich oral history and lived in harmony with the land, sustaining themselves through hunting, fishing, and gathering.
The first recorded European contact with Australia came in 1606 when Dutch explorer Willem Janszoon sailed along the western coast of Cape York Peninsula. Over the next two centuries, several European powers, including the British, French, and Dutch, made attempts to explore and claim parts of Australia. The British presence in Australia began in 1770 when Captain James Cook claimed the east coast for Britain, naming it New South Wales.
The British government then established a penal colony at Port Jackson (now Sydney) in 1788, marking the beginning of European colonization in Australia. Over the next century, the British continued to expand their presence in Australia, establishing additional colonies such as Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, and Western Australia. The colonies gradually gained more autonomy and self-governance, and in the late 19th century, they began to federate, leading to the formation of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901.
The process of colonization had a devastating impact on the Indigenous Australian population, with diseases, violence, and dispossession of land leading to a significant decline in their numbers. Despite this, Indigenous Australians have survived and continue to play an important role in Australian society, with their cultural heritage and knowledge being increasingly recognized and valued.
In conclusion, Australia's written history is deeply intertwined with the stories of both its Indigenous peoples and the European colonists who arrived later. It is a history of resilience, adaptation, and the coming together of diverse cultures. Today, Australia is a diverse and multicultural nation that continues to evolve and shape its identity, recognizing and valuing the contributions of all its peoples.
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Frequently asked questions
Australia was called New Holland by the Dutch and Terra Australis by the Portuguese. The British also called the land Van Diemen's Land.
Australia became a country on January 1, 1901, when six British colonies united to form the Commonwealth of Australia.
The six colonies were New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, and Tasmania.
Before Australia became a country, the continent was inhabited by Aboriginal Australians, who spoke 250 distinct languages and practiced traditional cultures and languages. From the late 1700s, British colonies were established, and by the late 1800s, these colonies had their own parliaments but were still subject to British law-making power.
Colonisation had a devastating impact on Aboriginal Australians, with an increase in conflict leading to a significant loss of life. Aboriginal people were forced off their traditional lands, and the spread of British settlement led to an increase in inter-tribal conflict.
