History of Australia

The history of Australia dates back to 40,000 years when aborigine settlers from Southeast Asia landed on the continent. These hunting-gathering people led a nomadic life and their technical culture was quite primitive. They spoke several languages and were divided into a number of confederacies.

Though many European explorers knew about Australia's presence, there were no formal claims for territorial possession of the continent. It was only in 1770 AD when Captain Cook and his crew landed on the east coast of Australia and formally claimed it for Great Britain. 17 years later, a fleet of 11 ships referred to as the “First Fleet” landed in Australia. Loaded with food supplies, live animals, seed, soldiers, and convicts (both male and female) from Britain, the arrival of this fleet under the captaincy of Arthur Phillip signaled the colonization of Australia. So the history of Australia points out that a majority of the first settlers in the continent were convicts from Britain, some of who were sent there for very trivial offences.

By the middle of the 19 th century, six colonies were created in Australia. Initially, these colonies were directly under the British crown. But with the passage of time, these colonies started managing their own affairs even though they maintained their allegiance to the crown. An event that played a very important role in the history of Australia is the gold rush of the 1850's that brought in many immigrants from countries like Great Britain, North America, China and Ireland.

Later in 1901, these colonies were federated to make up the Commonwealth of Australia under the British dominion. The ACT or the Australian Capital Territory was formed in 1911 and it proposed the establishment of a new capital for Australia, namely Canberra. It must also be mentioned here that Melbourne functioned as the capital of the Commonwealth of Australia from 1901 to 1927. Owing to the rich presence of natural resources, the country was able to made big strides in agricultural and industrial development.

Australia shot into international limelight after World War II when it started participating actively in world affairs. It also had a role to play in the Far Eastern Commission in Japan and the Indonesian struggle for independence. It was also one of the founders of the United Nations as well as the South Pacific Commission. Australia was also among the first countries to contribute to the UN forces in Korea after the signing of the ANZUS defence treaty in 1951 with the US and New Zealand. One of the major events in the history of Australia was the snapping of constitutional ties between Australia and Great Britain with the passing of the Australia Act in 1986.

Due to the economic reforms of the 1980's, Australia became of the fastest growing economies in the 1990's. Today it is a major player in world affairs and continues to make further progress with the passage with the passage of time.