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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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By Richard Broome
Allen & Unwin
Paperback (336 pages)
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A powerful history of black and white encounters in Australia since colonization, this fully updated edition remains the only concise survey of Aboriginal history since 1788 In the creation of any new society, there are winners and losers. So it was with Australia as it grew from a colonial outpost to an affluent society. Richard Broome tells the history of Australia from the standpoint of the original Australians: those who lost most in the early colonial struggle for power. Surveying two centuries of Aboriginal-European encounters, he shows how white settlers steadily supplanted the original inhabitants, from the shining coasts to inland deserts, by sheer force of numbers, disease, technology, and violence. He also tells the story of Aboriginal survival through resistance and accommodation, and traces the continuing Aboriginal struggle to move from the margins of a settler society to a more central place in modern. Since its first edition in 1982, Broome's Aboriginal Australians has won acclaim as a classic account of race relations in Australia. This fully rewritten fourth edition continues the story, covering the uneven implementation of native title, the plight of remote Aboriginal communities, the "Intervention," and the landmark apology to the "stolen generations" by Federal Parliament. |
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By Denis Gregory
Exisle Publishing
Released: 2010-04-25
Kindle Edition (67 pages)
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The often harsh and unforgiving Australian landscape was a far cry from what the early colonisers were used to, and it proved a daunting obstacle to settlement. However, a few brave – and at times foolhardy – men were determined to prove themselves equal to the challenge. AUSTRALIA'S GREAT EXPLORERS looks at the tragedies and triumphs of men such as Wentworth and Lawson, Hume and Hovell, Burke and Wills, Leichhardt and Strzelecki as they battled to conquer the Great Diving Range, find an elusive inland sea, and traverse the length and breadth of this great country. |
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By Stuart Macintyre
Cambridge University Press
Paperback (368 pages)
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Australia is the last continent to be settled by Europeans, but it also sustains a people and a culture tens of thousands years old. For much of the past 200 years the newcomers have sought to replace the old with the new. This book tells how they imposed themselves on the land, and brought technology, institutions and ideas to make it their own. It relates the advance from penal colony to a prosperous free nation and illustrates how, as a nation created by waves of newcomers, the search for binding traditions was long frustrated by the feeling of rootlessness, until it came to terms with its origins. The third edition of this acclaimed book recounts the key factors - social, economic and political - that have shaped modern-day Australia. It covers the rise and fall of the Howard government, the 2007 election and the apology to the stolen generation. More than ever before, Australians draw on the past to understand their future. |
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By Kerrie Christensen
Rivers of Living Water Inc
Released: 2012-01-17
Kindle Edition
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From the early convict era right up to the present time 'the Australian Brave Heart' looks at the adventures of those early pioneers who blazed a trail in this sunburnt country, overcoming amazing odds, to make the way for the birthing of a great nation.
It looks at the very real, strong stuff that this nation was made of. This was not a place for the heartless nor the fearful. It was a country hungry for pioneers; a people with blazing spirits who would arise to bring forth the astounding treasures that lay undiscovered in this great land.
These early pioneers went where many would have even feared to tread. They went to great lengths to subdue the land, and they won. And out of their struggles and trials, a nation sprang up and prospered.
THIS HEART, THIS COURAGE, THIS STRENGTH endures today for all Australians and is there for the taking. And the best is yet to come!
God has earmarked a people in this nation who will be overcomers and who will trumpet the sounds of freedom in every other nation to where He calls them. It’s not a call for the faint-hearted nor is it a call to the weak; it is a call to the fearless and the brave, who will take of the spirit that Christ puts upon them, run the race with fiery zeal, and capture many souls for the kingdom of Christ.
Now is Australia's time. This book is about that time and is a must-read for every Australian believer. We are on the verge of something huge. It's about to begin! |
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By Jill Blee
Exisle Publishing
Released: 2010-04-25
Kindle Edition (67 pages)
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When the first hot-air balloons took to the air, the quest to build machines that could carry people safely across the skies captured the imagination of the world. It triggered a surge of daring and ingenuity that saw technological barriers tumble, and by World War One, man was using aeroplanes in combat. Among these young men in their flying machines were Australians Richard Williams, Hudson Fysh, Ross and Keith Smith, Bert Hinkler and Charles Kingsford Smith, who would all become household names on their return home. From becoming the ‘father of the RAAF’ to winning the inaugural London to Australia air race, from founding Qantas to being the first to cross the Pacific Ocean, these were some of the men who placed Australia at the forefront of the aviation industry. AVIATION IN AUSTRALIA tells their stories but also looks at more recent events that have seen the demise of icons such as Ansett and the rise of new players in this most competitive of industries. |
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Grove Press
Paperback (400 pages)
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A lively collection of extraordinary stories of adventure and discovery, The Explorers tells the epic saga of the conquest and settlement of Australia. Editor Tim Flannery selects sixty-seven accounts that convey the sense of wonder and discovery, along with the human dimensions of struggle and deprivation, which occurred in the exploration of the last continent to be fully mapped by Europeans. Beginning with the story of Dutch captain Willem Janz's 1606 expedition at Cape York -- the bloody outcome of which would sadly foreshadow future relations between colonists and Aboriginal peoples -- and running through Robyn Davidson's 1977 camelback ride through the desolate Outback deserts, The Explorers bristles with the enterprise that Flannery explains as "heroic, for nowhere else did explorers face such an obdurate country." |
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By Alex McDermott
For Dummies
Paperback (448 pages)
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Created especially for the Australian customer!Exciting and informative history of the land down under Australian History For Dummies is your tour guide through the important events of Australia's past, introducing you to the people and events that have shaped modern Australia. Be there as British colonists explore Australia's harsh terrain with varying degrees of success. In this informative guide you'll
- Find out about Australia's infamous bushrangers
- Learn how the discovery of gold caused a tidal wave of immigration from all over the world
- Understand how Australia took two steps forward to become a nation in its own right in 1901, and two steps back when the government was dismissed by the Crown in 1975
Discover the fascinating details that made Australia the country it is today! |
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By Thomas Keneally
Allen & Unwin
Hardcover (628 pages)
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The outstanding first volume of acclaimed author Thomas Keneally's major new three-volume history of Australia brings to life the vast range of characters who have formed Australia's national story Convicts and Aborigines, settlers and soldiers, patriots and reformers, bushrangers and gold seekers—it is from their lives and their stories that Tom Keneally has woven a vibrant history to do full justice to the rich and colorful nature of Australia's unique national character. The story begins by looking at European occupation through Aboriginal eyes, moving between the city slums and rural hovels of 18th-century Britain and the shores of Port Jackson. Readers spend time on the low-roofed convict decks of transports and see the bewilderment of the Eora people as they see the first ships of turaga, or "ghost people." They follow the daily round of Bennelong and his wife Barangaroo and the tribulations of warrior Windradyne. Convicts like Solomon Wiseman and John Wilson find their feet and even fortune, while Henry Parkes' arrival as a penniless immigrant gives few clues to the national statesman he was to become. Chinese diggers trek to the goldfields, and revolutionaries like Italian Raffaello Carboni and black American John Joseph bring readers the drama of the Eureka uprising. Tom Keneally has brought to life the high and the low, the convict and the free of early Australian society. This is truly a new history of Australia, by an author of outstanding literary skill and experience, whose own humanity permeates every page. |
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By Deborah Oxley
Cambridge University Press
Paperback (352 pages)
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Convict Maids looks at female convicts transported from Britain and Ireland to New South Wales between 1826 and 1840. Deborah Oxley refutes the notion that these women were prostitutes and criminals, arguing that in fact they helped put the colony on its feet. Analyzing their backgrounds, Oxley finds that they were skilled, literate, young and healthy--qualities exploited by the new colony. Convict Maids draws on historical, economic and feminist theory, and is impressive for its extensive and original research. |
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By Marjorie R. Theobald
Cambridge University Press
Paperback (308 pages)
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Knowing Women is a comprehensive study of female education in nineteenth-century Australia, placed in international perspective. It covers a wide range of topics, including the evolution of the teaching profession; the private ladies' academies and their proprietors; the entry of women to the universities and the professions; the establishment of academic secondary schools, both Church and state; girls' experience of compulsory state elementary schooling; and the schooling of outcast girls. The study is rich in narrative and biographical interest, based, where possible, on the experiences of individual girls and women. Knowing Women explores the ambiguities of its material, showing how education could both open and restrict opportunities for women. The author's perspective allows her to contribute to current historical debates on women, culture, education, sexuality and the state. |
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