Classroom Pronunciation Reductions Grammar Conversation Reading Listening Vocabulary Activities Videos
Idioms Slang Acronyms Phonics Portmanteau Words Handwriting Alphabet Surveys Tests
Holidays Movies Everyday Environment Learning News Places Flashcards Study Literacy
World America History Drive Education Teaching Dictionary Resources About Contact
 
Australia
 
Australia
Australia

Australia's indigenous inhabitants, a hunting-gathering people collectively referred to today as Aboriginals and Torres Straits Islanders, arrived more than 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. Indigenous population density ranged from one person per square mile along the coasts to one person per 35 square miles in the arid interior. When Captain 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. In 2006 the indigenous population was approximately 517,200, representing about 2.5% 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, most recently with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's historic apology to the indigenous people in February 2008.

Immigration has been vital to Australia's development since the beginning of European settlement in 1788. For generations, most settlers came from the British Isles, and the people of Australia are still predominantly of British or Irish origin, with a culture and outlook similar to those of Americans. Non British/Irish immigration has increased significantly since World War II through an extensive, planned immigration program. Since 1945 around 6.6 million migrants have settled in Australia, including 690,000 refugee and humanitarian entrants. About 80% have remained; 24 percent--almost one in four--of Australians are foreign-born. Britain, Ireland, Italy, Greece, New Zealand, and the former Yugoslavia were the largest sources of post-war immigration, but New Zealand is closing on Britain as the largest source country for permanent migrants to Australia, with India, China, and the Philippines making up the rest of the top five. Since the end of World War II, Australia's population has more than doubled.

Australia's humanitarian and refugee program of about 13,000 per year is in addition to other immigration programs. In recent years, refugees from Africa, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia have comprised the largest element in Australia's refugee program. Although Australia has scarcely more than three people per square kilometer, it is one of the world's most urbanized countries. Less than 2.5% of the population lives in remote or very remote areas.
Australia was uninhabited until stone-culture peoples arrived, perhaps by boat across the waters separating the island from the Indonesia archipelago more than 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 Captain 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, some condemned for offenses that today would often be thought trivial. From the mid-19th century convict transportation to Australia significantly declined; the last ship to arrive was in 1868. The discovery of gold in 1851 led to increased population, wealth, and trade.

The six colonies that now constitute the states of the Australian Commonwealth were established in the following order: New South Wales, 1788; Tasmania, 1825; Western Australia, 1829; South Australia, 1836; Victoria, 1851; and Queensland, 1859. Settlement preceded these dates in most cases. Discussions between Australian and British representatives led to adoption by the British Government of an act to constitute the Commonwealth of Australia in 1900. In 1911, control of the Northern Territory was transferred from South Australia to the Commonwealth. Also that year, the Australian Capital Territory (where the national capital, Canberra, is located), was established. The Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory were granted self-government in 1978 and 1988, respectively.

The first federal Parliament was opened at Melbourne in May 1901 by the Duke of York (later King George V). In May 1927, the seat of government was transferred to Canberra, a planned city designed by American Walter Burley Griffin. The first session of Parliament in Canberra was opened by another Duke of York (later King George VI). Australia passed the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act on October 9, 1942, which officially established Australia's complete autonomy in both internal and external affairs and formalized a situation that had existed for years. The Australia Act (1986) eliminated almost all remaining vestiges of British legal authority, including the ability to appeal to the British Privy Council.
Quick Links
North America Canada - Mexico - United States
Central America Antigua and Barbuda - Aruba - The Bahamas - Barbados - Belize - Bermuda - Cayman Islands - Costa Rica - Cuba - Dominica - Dominican Republic - El Salvador - Grenada - Guatemala - Haiti - Honduras - Jamaica - Netherlands Antilles - Nicaragua - Panama - Saint Kitts and Nevis - Saint Lucia - Saint Vincent and the Grenadines - Trinidad and Tobago
South America Argentina - Bolivia - Brazil - Chile - Colombia - Ecuador - Guyana - Paraguay - Peru - Suriname - Uruguay - Venezuela
Asia Afghanistan - Bangladesh - Bhutan - Brunei - Cambodia - China - Hong Kong - India - Indonesia - Japan - Kazakhstan - Kyrgyzstan - Laos - Macau - Malaysia - Maldives - Mongolia - Myanmar - Nepal - North Korea - Pakistan - Philippines - Singapore - South Korea - Sri Lanka - Taiwan - Tajikistan - Timor Leste - Thailand - Turkmenistan - Uzbekistan - Vietnam
Europe Albania - Andorra - Armenia - Austria - Azerbaijan - Belarus - Belgium - Bosnia-Herzegovina - Bulgaria - Croatia - Cyprus - Czech Republic - Denmark - Estonia - Finland - France - Georgia - Germany - Greece - Holy See - Hungary - Iceland - Ireland - Italy - Latvia - Liechtenstein - Lithuania - Luxembourg - Malta - Moldova - Monaco - Montenegro - Netherlands - North Macedonia - Norway - Poland - Portugal - Romania - Russia - San Marino - Serbia - Slovakia - Slovenia - Spain - Sweden - Switzerland - Turkey - Ukraine - United Kingdom
Middle East Bahrain - Egypt - Iran - Iraq - Israel - Jordan - Kuwait - Lebanon - Oman - Qatar - Saudi Arabia - Syria - United Arab Emirates - Yemen
Africa Algeria - Angola - Benin - Botswana - Burkina Faso - Burundi - Cameroon - Cape Verde - Central African Republic - Chad - Comoros - Congo Brazzaville - Congo-Kinshasa - Cote d'Ivoire - Djibouti - Equatorial Guinea - Eritrea - Eswatini - Ethiopia - Gabon - The Gambia - Ghana - Guinea - Guinea Bissau - Kenya - Lesotho - Liberia - Libya - Madagascar - Malawi - Mali - Mauritania - Mauritius - Morocco - Mozambique - Namibia - Niger - Nigeria - Rwanda - Sao Tome and Principe - Senegal - Seychelles - Sierra Leone - Somalia - South Africa - South Sudan - Sudan - Tanzania - Togo - Tunisia - Uganda - Zambia - Zimbabwe
Oceania Australia - Fiji - Kiribati - Marshall Islands - Micronesia - Nauru - New Zealand - Palau - Papua New Guinea - Samoa - Solomon Islands - Tonga - Tuvalu - Vanuatu
 
 
 
 
 
Search Fun Easy English
 
 
 
 
About    Contact    Copyright    Resources    Site Map