(Redirected from History of Australia before 1901)
The 'history of Australia' began when people first migrated to the
Australian continent from the north, at least 40,000-45,000 years ago. The written history of
Australia began when Dutch explorers first sighted the country in the
17th century. The interpretation of the history of Australia is currently the matter of contention, particularly regarding
British colonisation and the treatment of
Indigenous Australians.
The history
Main articles: Prehistory of Australia,
Indigenous Australians
The prehistory of Australia is a term which may be used to describe the period of approximately 41,000-46,000 years (or up to 68,000 years, as is contended by some studies
[1]) between the first human habitation of the
Australian continent and the first known sighting of Australia by Europeans in 1600, which may be taken as the beginning of the recent history of Australia. This era is referred to as prehistory rather than history because there are no written records of human events in Australia which pre-date this contact.
Asian contact
Main articles: History of Australia before 1788,
Macassan contact with Australia
For at least a number of centuries,
Macassar had traded with
Indigenous Australians on Australia's north coast, particularly the
Yolngu of north-east
Arnhem Land.
An early map of the known world, made in 1603 by Father
Matteo Ricci, an
Italian Jesuit who spent a long time in
China, noted in a blank space where Australia lies: ''No one has ever been to this land in the south, hence we know nothing about it''. In smaller characters he brushed the
Chinese characters ''Fire Land'' and ''Land of Parrots''
[2] suggesting the Chinese were aware of and had perhaps sighted Australia.
European exploration
Main articles: History of Australia before 1788,
European exploration of Australia
Records of the discovery of the
Australian continent by European expeditions date back to the early
17th century.
[3] The first known sighting was in 1606 by the Dutch navigator
Willem Janszoon, who in his ship ''
Duyfken'' navigated the
Gulf of Carpentaria, sighting and making landfall on the western coast of
Cape York Peninsula. In 1616, another Dutchman
Dirk Hartog left a pewter plate commemorating his landfall at
Shark Bay in
Western Australia. Some writers have argued that Portuguese navigators discovered Australia in the 16th century (see
Theory of Portuguese discovery of Australia), but there is no firm evidence to support this theory. Other 17th century European voyagers (predominantly Dutch, but also French and English) were to follow suit, and by the start of the
18th century all but the eastern coastlines of what had become known as "
New Holland" had been charted. No attempts to establish settlements were made, however.
In 1770, the
expedition of the
''Endeavour'' under command of
British Royal Navy Lieutenant
James Cook navigated and charted the east coast of Australia, making first landfall at
Botany Bay on
April 29,
1770. Cook continued northwards, and before leaving put ashore on Possession Island in the
Torres Strait off Cape York on
August 22,
1770. Here he formally claimed the eastern coastline he had discovered for the Crown, naming it
New South Wales. Given that Cook was a British explorer and his discoveries would lead to the British settlement of Australia, he is often popularly considered its European discoverer, although he had been preceded by many and by Janszoon in particular more than 160 years prior.
The favourable reports of these lands relayed by Cook's expedition upon their return to England generated interest in its offered solution to the problem of penal overcrowding in Britain, which had been exacerbated by the loss of its
American colonies.
[4] Accordingly, on
May 13,
1787 the 11 ships of the
First Fleet set sail from
Portsmouth, England, bound for Botany Bay.
Settlement and colonisation
Main articles: History of Australia (1788-1850)
Map showing the creation of the colonies/states and mainland territories.
The British
Crown Colony of New South Wales started with the establishment of a settlement and
penal colony at
Port Jackson by Captain
Arthur Phillip on
26 January 1788. This date was later to become Australia's national day,
Australia Day.
Van Diemen's Land, now known as
Tasmania, was settled in 1803 and became a separate colony in 1825. Britain formally claimed the western part of Australia in 1829. Separate colonies were created from parts of New South Wales:
South Australia in 1836,
New Zealand in 1840,
Victoria in 1851, and
Queensland in 1859. The
Northern Territory (NT) was founded in 1863 as part of the Province of South Australia. Victoria and South Australia were founded as "free colonies" — that is, they were never penal colonies, although the former did receive some convicts from Tasmania. Western Australia was also founded as a free colony, but later accepted
transported convicts due to an acute labour shortage. The transportation of convicts to Australia was phased out between 1840 and 1868.
★ 1788 - New South Wales, according to Arthur Phillip's amended Commission dated
25 April 1787, as including "all the islands adjacent in the Pacific Ocean" and running westward to the 135th meridian. These islands included the current islands of New Zealand, which was administered as part of New South Wales.
[5]
★ 1825 – New South Wales western border is extended to 129° E. In the same year
Van Diemen's Land proclaimed.
★ 1829 -
Swan River Colony is declared by
Charles Fremantle for Britain.
[6]
★ 1832 – Swan River Colony has its name changed to Western Australia.
★ 1836 – South Australia is proclaimed with its western border at 132° E.
★ 1840 - New Zealand is proclaimed.
★ 1846 - The colony of
North Australia was proclaimed by Letters Patent on
17 February. This was all of New South Wales north of 26° S. Although revoked in November 1846, the colony did formally exist.
Colonial self-government and the discovery of gold
The discovery of
gold in remote areas was followed by tradesmen.
A
gold rush began in Australia in the early
1850s, and the
Eureka Stockade rebellion in 1854 was an early expression of nationalist sentiment; the flag that was used to represent it has been seriously considered by some as an alternative to the
Australian flag. The gold rushes brought many immigrants from
Great Britain,
Ireland,
Europe,
North America and
China.
Between 1855 and 1890, the six colonies individually gained
responsible government, managing most of their own affairs while remaining part of the
British Empire. The Colonial Office in London retained control of some matters, notably foreign affairs, defence and international shipping.
The gold led to a period of great prosperity, but eventually, the economic expansion came to an end, and the
1890s were a period of economic depression.
★ 1851 – Victoria is proclaimed.
★ 1856 – Van Diemen's Land name changed to Tasmania.
★ 1859 – Queensland is proclaimed with its western border at 141° E.
★ 1860 – South Australia border changed from 132° E to 129° E.
★ 1862 – Queensland's western border is moved to 139° E.
★ 1863 – Northern Territory annexed to South Australia by Letters Patent.
Federation and the World Wars
Main articles: History of Australia (1901-1945)
On
1 January 1901,
federation of the colonies was achieved after a decade of planning, consultation and voting, and the Commonwealth of Australia was born, as a
Dominion of the British Empire.
The
Australian Capital Territory (ACT) was formed from New South Wales in 1911 to provide a location for the proposed new federal capital of
Canberra (
Melbourne was the capital from 1901 to 1927). The Northern Territory was transferred from the control of the South Australian government to the Commonwealth in 1911. Australian troops took part in both world wars.
The
Statute of Westminster 1931 formally ended most of the constitutional links between Australia and Britain, but Australia did not
adopt the Statute until 1942. The shock of Britain's defeat in Asia in 1942 and the threat of Japanese invasion caused Australia to turn to the
United States as a new ally and protector.
★ 1911 – Federal Capital Territory proclaimed; and
Northern Territory transferred to the
Commonwealth.
★ 1938 – Federal Capital Territory name changed to the Australian Capital Territory.
From
1 February 1927 until
12 June 1931 the Northern Territory was divided up as
North Australia and
Central Australia at latitude 20° S. New South Wales has had one further territory surrendered, namely
Jervis Bay Territory comprising 6,677
hectares, in
1915. The external Territories were added - 1914 -
Norfolk Island; 1933 - Territory of
Ashmore Island and
Cartier Islands – transferred from Britain; 1933 -
Australian Antarctic Territory transferred from Britain; 1947 -
Heard Island and
McDonald Islands, and
Macquarie Island transferred to Australia from Britain.
Post-war prosperity
Main articles: History of Australia since 1945
Following
World War II the Australian government instigated a massive program of European immigration. After narrowly preventing a Japanese invasion, and suffering attacks on Australian soil for the first time, it was seen that the country must "populate or perish". Immigration brought traditional migrants from the United Kingdom along with, for the first time, large numbers of Southern and Central Europeans. A booming Australian economy stood in sharp contrast to war-ravaged Europe and newly-arrived migrants found employment in government assisted programs such as the
Snowy Mountains Scheme. Two million were to arrive between 1948 and 1975.
Robert Menzies' newly-founded
Liberal Party of Australia dominated much of the immediate post war era, defeating the
Australian Labor Party government of
Ben Chifley in 1949. Menzies oversaw the post-war expansion and was to become the country's longest-serving leader. Manufacturing industry, previously playing a minor part in an economy dominated by primary production, greatly expanded. Since World War II Australia has been transformed by a massive
immigration programme, and since the
1970s and the abolition of the
White Australia policy from Asia and other parts of the world; radically transforming Australia's demography, culture and image of itself. Although the policy has been abolished, instances of racism continue.
[7]
The
ANZUS defence treaty was signed in 1951 with the United States and New Zealand, and Australia committed troops to the
Korean War and the
Malayan Emergency.
Melbourne hosted the
1956 Summer Olympics and joint British-Australia
nuclear tests and rocket launches began near
Woomera, South Australia. The population reached 10 million in 1959.
Since 1951, Australia has been a formal military ally of the US under the auspices of the ANZUS treaty. The final constitutional ties between Australia and Britain ended in 1986 with the passing of the
Australia Act 1986, ending any British role in the Australian States, and ending judicial appeals to the UK Privy Council. Australia remains a
constitutional monarchy with
Queen Elizabeth II the
Queen of Australia; the 1999
referendum to establish a republic was marginally rejected. Australia's formal links to its British past are increasingly tenuous, although people-to-people and cultural connections between Australia and Britain remain significant. Since the election of the
Whitlam Government in 1972, there has been an increasing focus on the nation's future as a part of the so-called "
Asia-Pacific" region.
Territories transferred in this period were; 1958 -
Christmas Island; 1955 -
Cocos (Keeling) Islands; 1969 - The
Coral Sea Islands Territory was established as a Territory of the Commonwealth under the Coral Sea Islands Act 1969. In 1989 when the Australian Capital Territory achieved self government, Jervis Bay became a separate territory administered by the Ministry of Territories.
Indigenous Australians
Main articles: Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the first human inhabitants of the Australian continent and its nearby islands. The combination of disease, loss of land and direct violence reduced the Aboriginal population by an estimated 90% between 1788 and 1900. A wave of massacres and resistance followed the frontier of European settlement. In 1838, twenty eight indigenous people were killed at the
Myall Creek massacre. The convict settlers responsible for the massacres were hanged. The
Kalkadoon of Queensland resisted the settlers, and there was a massacre of over 200 people on their land at Battle Mountain in 1884. There was a massacre at
Coniston in the Northern Territory in 1928. Poisoning of food and water had been recorded as early as the 1830s.
The
removal of children, that some historians and
Indigenous Australians have argued could be considered to constitute
genocide by some definitions, may have had a major impact on the indigenous population. Such interpretations of Aboriginal history are disputed by
Keith Windschuttle as being exaggerated or fabricated for political or ideological reasons.
[8] This debate is part of what is known within Australia as the
History Wars.
Indigenous Australians were given the right to vote in Commonwealth elections in Australia in November 1963, and in state elections shortly after, with the last state to do this being Queensland in 1965. The 1967 referendum passed in Australia with a 90.2% majority which allowed the Commonwealth to make laws with respect to Aboriginal people, and for Aboriginal people to be included when the country does a count to determine electoral representation. This has been the largest affirmative vote in the history of Australia's referendums.
See also
★
Territorial evolution of Australia
★
Australian archaeology
★
History of Oceania
★
History of present-day nations and states
Further reading
★ Stuart Macintyre, ''A Concise History of Australia'', Cambridge University Press 2004, ISBN 0521601010
References
1. Fossil challenge to Africa theory
2. Rolls, Eric, ''Sojourners'', University of Queensland Press, Brisbane 1992, ISBN 0702224782, p11.
3. Ancient heritage, modern society
4. Norval Morris and David J. Rothman, eds. ''The Oxford History of the Prison: The Practice of Punishment in Western Society'' (1995) p. 76
5. For example the UK Act New South Wales Judicature Act 1823 made specific provision for administration of justice of New Zealand by the New South Wales Courts; stating "And be it further enacted that the said supreme courts in New South Wales and Van Diemen’s Land respectively shall and may inquire of hear and determine all treasons piracies felonies robberies murders conspiracies and other offences of what nature or kind soever committed or that shall be committed upon the sea or in any haven river creek or place where the admiral or admirals have power authority or jurisdiction or committed or that shall be committed in the islands of New Zealand".
6. Acting under instructions from England, Captain Freemantle took possession of the Swan River, to found a new colony; and formally laid claim to "all that part of New Holland which is not included within the territory of New South Wales".
7. Campus racism rises Sarah Price, www.smh.com.au. August 29, 2004. Retrieved 2007-06-12.
8. Windschuttle, K. (2001). ''The Fabrication of Aboriginal History'', The New Criterion Vol. 20, No. 1, September 20.
External links
★
History of the Australian nation - State Library of NSW
★ The
Australian History page at
Project Gutenberg of Australia
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