The first fleet captained by Captain Arthur Philip arrived in 1788. It arrived at Botany Bay and comprised 11 ships carrying 1,350 people. British settlement actually occurred at Port Jackson because Botany Bay was deemed to unsuitable for unsettlement. The First Fleet brought insufficient supplies so the people relied on vegetables from farms established at Parramatta. The Second Fleet arrived with much needed replenishments in 1790.
Colonisation of Western Australia proceded in 1801 after being claimed by George Vancouver in 1791.
Meetings between Europeans and Aboriginals was initially cordial, but as had happended in North America, clashes occurred between the two groups. white people won out, so aboriginals have had to adopt the European way of life .
A government was set up in NSW in 1823 to govern the convicts, mariners and their wives. Signing of land treaties with aboriginals began in the 1830s. Bourke brought in a new law which basically said aboriginals made no claim of land ownership prior to European settlement. The settlement system was established whereby land was allocated in 320 lots upon a person paying a deposit and living on the land for three years. Disputes ultimately arose between these landholders and settlers.
Ships continued to arrive from Britain until all of Australia was in European hands.
TysAustralia.com
An Australian author wrote, "I Love a Sunburnt Country". To people who live in the outback, which is very sparcely populated, this applies to many of them. Born and brought up on the land they embrace this philosophy. Indeed, even the young in the major coastal cities have affection for the spirit of the 'old days' - the image of the tough Aussie who battles on no matter what. But they do not 'live it' in there daily city lives, today. Nonetheless, the Australian heritage is the foundation on which the nation is built. We celebrate the day Captain Cook 'discovered' Australia - the Portuguese and Dutch were not interested in colonizing the continent. Furthermore, Aboriginals have been here for at least 40 thousand years, and the Chinese and the Southeast Asians have regularly visited northern Australia in their fishing boats to get fresh drinking water and medicinal herbs.
Gold was discovered in Victoria in 1851, but by 1854 the easy surface gold working was finished. Miners then had to sink deep shafts to reach the lode of gold. The administration of the gold field was corrupt. It is increased licence hunts, which permitted a miner to work a 3.6 metre square claim, to twice a week. Furthermore, it wrongfully arrested an immigrant who had a license and acquitted a publican accused of murdering a miner. The hotel was burned to the ground and the mining area was barricaded against state troopers. A "Southern Cross" flag was hoisted in defiance of the authorities. Troopers arrested eight licence defaulters which inflammed the situation. When the troopers peceived the revolt to be weakening they attacked killing 22 stockaders. There was uproar throughout the state. Consequently, an export duty was placed on gold instead of the licences.
In 1860 Robert Burke attempted to be the first person to travel across Australia from south to north. He joined with William Wills, Wright, King and Gray. Burke became impatient waiting for supplies at Coopers Creek, so he with Wills, King and Gray pressed on. Wright and the group bringing supplies dug a hole near a tree, buried the stores, then left. They carved "DIG" into the tree. When Burke, Wills, King and Gray returned to the base camp they did not find the water and food. Consequently, Burke, Wills and Gray died. King was helped by Aboriginals. He was found by a search party then returned to Melbourne.
So we have a rich culture. Australia is an interesting place and offers much for visitors.
The past has made us what we are today. Both old and new are moulded into Australian culture. Cattle farmers are still held in high esteem as those who toil on the land to eke out a living: jackaroos, shearers, and horsemen of the Snowy Mountains are things of the outback that many believe will continue on forever despite the economic constraints. Australians who live in the more densely populated coastal areas honour this traditional Australiana, even as they themselves earn a living working in the service sector such as serving in department stores or providing technical services.
An English 'gentleman' once said that Australia would never amount to anything because "mediocracy is the norm" in the antipodean colony. However, the nation has achieved quite a lot since the days when 'convicts' were brought here from England.
By Banjo Paterson
THE MAN FROM SNOWY RIVER
And the stock-horse snuffs the battle with delight.
For the bushmen love hard riding where the wild bush horses are,
Had mustered at the homestead overnight,
All the tried and noted riders from the stations near and far
So all the cracks had gathered to the fray.
And had joined the wild bush horses, he was worth a thousand pound,
That the colt from old Regret had got away,
There was movement at the station, for the word had passed around
Captain Cook was born in Marton, England, in 1728. His father was a northumberland farmer He enlisted in the British navy in 1755. Until 1767 he charted North Atlantic coastal waters off Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. His first voyage to the Pacific involved transporting astronomers to Tahiti. Following this he charted the coastline of New Zealand. His main claim to fame was his discovery Australia, which he named New South Whales, for Great Britain in 1770.
Captain Cook and the Discovery of Australia
