Australia's native inhabitants, the Aborigines, arrived in Australia at least 40,000 years ago. The existence of this continent
was believed long ago - in ancient times - and was supported by information from Marco
Polo at the end of the 13th century (Terra
Australis Incognita).
The first Europeans - the Dutch
ship Duyfken ("little dove") under the command of Willem
Jansz - sighted the western coast of Cape York in
1606. The Spanish ship of Luis Vaez de Torres sailed north of Cape York and through the Torres
Strait. Later voyagers include Abel Tasman, William
Dampier, and Dirk Hartog.
The wave of immigration began in 1788, after Captain
James Cook had claimed New South Wales as a British colony in 1770. The continent was inhabited by a variety of different tribes.
(Founding of Sydney in 1788 - Captain Arthur Philip hoists the British flag.)
The
first immigration was a special one. On May 13, 1787, the "First Fleet" set out from England on the way to Australia, having on the board 1,030 people,
of whom 700 were convicts. The
commander of this fleet - Arthur Philip - landed in Botany
Bay and became the first governor of this colony. For 40 years the
region around Sydney and Tasmania Island were the only parts of Australia which were
colonized. The convict system lasted till 1866, when it was officially abolished in the
last colony in Australia - in Western Australia.
The creation of other separate colonies followed the first settlement
in New South Wales at Sydney in 1788: Tasmania in 1825, Western Australia in 1829, South
Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851, and Queensland in 1859. The convicts' contribution to
the economic foundation of the country as well as to the language spoken in Australia was
considerable.
The gold rushes of the 1850s
(Bathurst near Sydney and Ballarat and Bendigo in the state of Victoria) and 1890s
(Coolgardie in Western Australia and Kalgoorlie, where the gold mines are until now)
contributed to the exploration as well as to the economic and constitutional growth of
Australia.
The idea of independence appeared
as early as in the first half of the 19th century. The proposition of a federal
constitution was made in 1891. The British Parliament agreed with this constitutional law
and on September 17, 1900, Queen Victoria proclaimed the Commonwealth of Australia to be
founded from January 1, 1901. The first capital was
Melbourne.
Australia played an important role in both World Wars. After WW I
Australia had a strongly developed economy. The economic crisis in the 1930s lasted
relatively shortly. In World War II Australian troops fought e. g. in the Near East.
About 3 million Europeans had entered Australia since 1945. Aborigines
and part-aborigines are mostly detribalized but there are several preserves in the
Northwest Territory. They remain economically disadvantaged.
