History of Australia
It is generally thought that Aborigines have lived on the continent for 50,000 years, originally migrating from Indonesia. The arrival of white people brought an end to the traditional Aboriginal way of life (as nomadic hunter-gatherers) when settlement began to encroach on tribal lands.
The earliest European explorers were the Portuguese in the 16th century, followed by Dutch navigators who mapped much of the coastline but didn't show much interest in settling a hostile and barren continent. It was not until 1770 that the east coast was sighted by Captain James Cook of the British Royal Navy, who charted the coastline and reported that the east coast was fertile and suitable for settlement. He named the land
New South Wales and claimed it for the British Crown in the name of King George III.
Early Settlers
The First Fleet of 11 ships with 736 convicts and their guards arrived in Port Jackson, now known as Sydney Harbour, in 1788. A total of 160,000 convicts were brought to the Australian colonies until 1852 when transportation ended. Free settlers started to arrive from 1793, while explorers opened up the land in all directions and rich grazing areas were discovered west of Sydney. Wool soon became one of the country's most important industries.
During the 1850s, gold and copper discoveries brought a fresh influx of immigrants from Europe, China and America. Some of the richest gold seams were found at
Ballarat, north of
Melbourne, and in central
Western Australia at
Kalgoorlie, while large copper deposits were discovered at Yorke Peninsula in
South Australia. As the cities grew and the roads connecting them were upgraded, a sense of nationalism developed and
Australia was declared a commonwealth on 1 January 1901.