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Australian History
The first humans are believed to have arrived in
Australia
over 40,000 years ago. These people arrived via land-bridges and/or sea
crossings from Southeast Asia, and became the indigenous people known
as "aborigines". An additional and distinct group of early
settlers, ethnically Melanesian, settled in the Torres Strait Islands
(the Strait between
Australia
and Papua New Guinea)
and the far North of Queensland.
Europeans first began to reach the area at the aroud the beginning
of the 17th century. The first undisputed sighting of the Australian
mainland was by the Dutch sea captain, William Janszoon in 1606.
The Dutch are known to have chartered the western and northern
shorelines of the continent during the 17th century, but made no attempt
at settlement of what they called at the time "New Holland".
In 1770, British navigator, James Cook mapped parts of the East coast of
Australia:
the region today known as New South Wales. Cook claimed the area
for Great Britain.
The first British colony was established in New South Wales on
January 26th,
a day that is now remembered as "Australia Day".
The British formerly claimed the western portions of
Australia
in 1859, and during the 19th century a whole series of separate British
colonies were established around the continent. Much of this British colonization
was based upon the transportation of convicts to penal colonies, and it
was only in 1848 that the transportation of convicts to New South Wales stopped.
The arrival of Europeans had a drastic effect on the indigenous aboriginal
population. This fell dramaticly from a high of 350,000 due to the
infectious diseases, forced resettlements, and other factors. Indeed,
although the issues remain highly controversial and disputed, some
historians have characterized the events of the period as genocide.
In 1850s, the European population increased further thanks to a gold rush,
and between 1855 and 1890, each of the six British colonies was separately
granted responsible government - while the the colonies were autonomous in
their internal affairs, they Britain
retained control of foreign affairs and defense.
In 1901,
the six colonies were united in a federation known as the Commonwealth of Australia.
Australia
participated in both World War I and World War II as part of the British
Empire. To many Australians the events of the world wars, especially
the Gallipoli campaign in World War I, and the Kokoda Track Campaign
in World War II, were important milestones in
Australia's
path to independent nationhood.
Legally,
Australia
first moved towards independence from Britain
with the Statue of Westminister in
1931
(although
Australia
did not ratify it until
1942,
but then back dated its effect to
1939),
which granted effective independence in most matters.
Australia
however did retain some constitutional ties with
Britain for another 40 years,
these only finally be severed with the passing of the Australia Act in
1986.
It should be noted that the British Queen Elizabeth II is also
Queen of Australia, and a
1999
national referendum rejected becoming a republic.
Here are some books about the history of
Australia:
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Alphascript Publishing
Paperback (164 pages)
 | List Price: $69.00*
Lowest New Price: $69.00*
Usually ships in 24 hours*
*(As of 03:19 Pacific 10 Mar 2010 More Info)
Click Here | Product Description:
Indigenous Australians. Australian Aborigines, Torres Strait Islanders, Indigenous Australian languages, Australian Aboriginal sign languages, History of Indigenous Australians, Prehistory of Australia, Australian Aboriginal culture, Australian Aboriginal mythology, Indigenous Australian music, Indigenous Australian art, List of Indigenous Australian group names, Australian Aboriginal kinship, Tasmanian Aborigines, Stolen Generations, Voting rights of Australian Aboriginals, Lists of Indigenous Australians, List of laws concerning Indigenous Australians |
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Alphascript Publishing
Paperback (312 pages)
 | List Price: $112.00*
Lowest New Price: $86.57*
Lowest Used Price: $166.67*
Usually ships in 24 hours*
*(As of 03:19 Pacific 10 Mar 2010 More Info)
Click Here | Product Description:
Military history of Australia. Australian frontier wars, First Taranaki War, Invasion of Waikato, Colonial forces of Australia, Colonial navies of Australia, History of the Australian Army, History of the Royal Australian Navy, History of the Royal Australian Air Force, Military history of Australia during World War I, Australian contribution to the Allied Intervention in Russia 1918?1919, Military history of Australia during World War II, Military history of Australia during the Korean War, Military history of Australia during the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation, Military history of Australia during the Vietnam War, Australian Defence Force, Australian contribution to the 1991 Gulf War, Operation Slipper, Australian contribution to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Australia and the United Nations, Australian military involvement in peacekeeping. |
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By Neil McKilligan
CSIRO Publishing
Paperback (144 pages)
 | List Price: $35.95*
Lowest New Price: $35.95*
Lowest Used Price: $33.43*
Usually ships in 7 days*
*(As of 03:19 Pacific 10 Mar 2010 More Info)
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This is the first book to deal exclusively with the Australian members of the Family Ardeidae (herons, egrets and bitterns). It gives a comprehensive, easy-to-read account of their origins, classification and biology, and explains the features that distinguish them from other birds. The book devotes a major chapter to the 14 Australian species, covering their distribution and movements, feeding, breeding, population dynamics and conservation. Some of Australia’s herons have become very scarce in the southern half of the continent and are at risk of national or local extinction. In northern Australia heron habitats and resources are largely pristine and consequently this region accommodates large numbers of certain species. A final chapter on population and conservation provides a useful summary of the present status of the Australian herons, some of whom are thriving and others who are in a very precarious position. |
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By Bob Bessant
Australian Association for Research in Education
Unknown Binding (363 pages)
| Lowest Used Price: $71.69*
*(As of 03:19 Pacific 10 Mar 2010 More Info)
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|
Penguin Books Ltd
Paperback (640 pages)
| Lowest Used Price: $58.54*
*(As of 03:19 Pacific 10 Mar 2010 More Info)
Click Here | Product Description:
"A NEW LITERARY HISTORY OF AUSTRALIA" IS A MAJOR RE-EVALUATION OF THE LITERATURE OF AUSTRALIA WRITTEN BY LEADING AUTHORITIES IN THEIR FIELD, ALL WRITINGS WITH A DESIRE TO COMMUNICATE THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING TO THE GENERAL AND STUDENT READER. WHILE ITS STRUCTURE IS LOOSELY CHRONOLOGI- CAL IT DIPS INTO SPECIFIC THEMES AND ASPECTS THAT CHARACTERISE THE DEVELOP- MENT OF AUSTRALIAN LITERATURE. THE TITLE EMPHASISES THAT THE BOOK PLACES LITERTURE IN THE SOCIAL CONTEXT OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF AUSTRALIA AND IS BEING PUBLISHED WITH THE SUPPORT AND PROMOTION OF THE AUSTRALIAN BICENTENNIAL AUTHORITY. |
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By H. M. Saxby
Scholastic
Hardcover (848 pages)
| Lowest Used Price: $219.35*
*(As of 03:19 Pacific 10 Mar 2010 More Info)
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Australian Orthopaedic Association
Unknown Binding (319 pages)
| Lowest Used Price: $49.99*
*(As of 03:19 Pacific 10 Mar 2010 More Info)
Click Here |
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By r younger
Rigby
Hardcover
| Lowest Used Price: $3.35*
*(As of 03:19 Pacific 10 Mar 2010 More Info)
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By Itiel Bereson
Heinemann Educational Australia
Paperback (161 pages)
| Lowest Used Price: $14.95*
*(As of 03:19 Pacific 10 Mar 2010 More Info)
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University of Western Australia Press
Paperback
| Lowest Used Price: $108.93*
*(As of 03:19 Pacific 10 Mar 2010 More Info)
Click Here |
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