World History
History of Australia. This is a good overview of the history of Australia.
From the site:
Australia's aboriginal inhabitants, a hunting-gathering people generally referred to as Aboriginals and Torres Straits Islanders, arrived about 40,000 years ago. Although their technical culture remained static--depending on wood, bone, and stone tools and weapons--their spiritual and social life was highly complex. Most spoke several languages, and confederacies sometimes linked widely scattered tribal groups. Aboriginal population density ranged from 1 person per square mile along the coasts to 1 person per 35 square miles in the arid interior. When Capt. James Cook claimed Australia for Great Britain in 1770, the native population may have numbered 300,000 in as many as 500 tribes speaking many different languages. The aboriginal population currently numbers more than 410,000, representing about 2.2% of the population. Since the end of World War II, the government and the public have made efforts to be more responsive to aboriginal rights and needs.
Australia was uninhabited until stone-culture peoples arrived, perhaps by boat across the waters separating the island from the Indonesia archipelago about 40,000 years ago. Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, and English explorers observed the island before 1770, when Captain Cook explored the east coast and claimed it for Great Britain (three American colonists were crew members aboard Cook's ship, the Endeavour).
On January 26, 1788 (now celebrated as Australia Day), the First Fleet under Capt. Arthur Phillip landed at Sydney, and formal proclamation of the establishment of the Colony of New South Wales followed on February 7. Many but by no means all of the first settlers were convicts, condemned for offenses that today would often be thought trivial. The mid-19th century saw the beginning of government policies to emancipate convicts and assist the immigration of free persons. The discovery of gold in 1851 led to increased population, wealth, and trade.
- Fun Facts About Australia
I found this fun short article at ezinearticles.com. As the site allows for the reproduction of articles by blogs and other websites, I am going to go ahead and reprint it here. The author of the article is Beverly P. Frank. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------...
- Ancient Tools Unearthed In Australia
Humanity has been is Australia a long time. And a new find proves that humans were thriving there 35,000 years ago! Yahoo! has a story on it titled Ancient tools unearthed in Australia. The article notes, "Tools dating back at least 35,000 years have...
- Convicts To Australia
Convicts to Australia. This is a neat site which includes information for Australians (and others) who are researching convict ancestors. It includes a chronological list of all the convict transports sent from England to Australia, convict tales, timeline,...
- James Cook: Celebrated North Country Explorer
James Cook: Celebrated North Country Explorer - The life of Captain Cook and his contemporaries as represented by the collections of the British Library, the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum, and other institutions. The site includes some video clips including...
- "charcoal" Williams - Gold In Australia
"Charcoal" Williams - Gold in Australia" From Wales at the end of the 18th Century, the story follows "Charcoal" Williams and other free settlers, Irish political prisoners and convicts to New South Wales. From the site: The story starts when "Charcoal"...
World History
History of Australia
History of Australia. This is a good overview of the history of Australia.
From the site:
Australia's aboriginal inhabitants, a hunting-gathering people generally referred to as Aboriginals and Torres Straits Islanders, arrived about 40,000 years ago. Although their technical culture remained static--depending on wood, bone, and stone tools and weapons--their spiritual and social life was highly complex. Most spoke several languages, and confederacies sometimes linked widely scattered tribal groups. Aboriginal population density ranged from 1 person per square mile along the coasts to 1 person per 35 square miles in the arid interior. When Capt. James Cook claimed Australia for Great Britain in 1770, the native population may have numbered 300,000 in as many as 500 tribes speaking many different languages. The aboriginal population currently numbers more than 410,000, representing about 2.2% of the population. Since the end of World War II, the government and the public have made efforts to be more responsive to aboriginal rights and needs.
Australia was uninhabited until stone-culture peoples arrived, perhaps by boat across the waters separating the island from the Indonesia archipelago about 40,000 years ago. Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, and English explorers observed the island before 1770, when Captain Cook explored the east coast and claimed it for Great Britain (three American colonists were crew members aboard Cook's ship, the Endeavour).
On January 26, 1788 (now celebrated as Australia Day), the First Fleet under Capt. Arthur Phillip landed at Sydney, and formal proclamation of the establishment of the Colony of New South Wales followed on February 7. Many but by no means all of the first settlers were convicts, condemned for offenses that today would often be thought trivial. The mid-19th century saw the beginning of government policies to emancipate convicts and assist the immigration of free persons. The discovery of gold in 1851 led to increased population, wealth, and trade.
- Fun Facts About Australia
I found this fun short article at ezinearticles.com. As the site allows for the reproduction of articles by blogs and other websites, I am going to go ahead and reprint it here. The author of the article is Beverly P. Frank. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------...
- Ancient Tools Unearthed In Australia
Humanity has been is Australia a long time. And a new find proves that humans were thriving there 35,000 years ago! Yahoo! has a story on it titled Ancient tools unearthed in Australia. The article notes, "Tools dating back at least 35,000 years have...
- Convicts To Australia
Convicts to Australia. This is a neat site which includes information for Australians (and others) who are researching convict ancestors. It includes a chronological list of all the convict transports sent from England to Australia, convict tales, timeline,...
- James Cook: Celebrated North Country Explorer
James Cook: Celebrated North Country Explorer - The life of Captain Cook and his contemporaries as represented by the collections of the British Library, the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum, and other institutions. The site includes some video clips including...
- "charcoal" Williams - Gold In Australia
"Charcoal" Williams - Gold in Australia" From Wales at the end of the 18th Century, the story follows "Charcoal" Williams and other free settlers, Irish political prisoners and convicts to New South Wales. From the site: The story starts when "Charcoal"...