History of Australia
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Chronological
Prehistory
1606–1787
1788–1850
1851–1900
1901–1945
Since 1945
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Topical
Exploration
Constitution · Federation
Economic · Railway
Immigration
Military · Diplomatic
States, Territories and cities
New South Wales · Sydney · Newcastle
Victoria · Melbourne
Queensland · Brisbane
Western Australia · Perth
South Australia · Adelaide
Tasmania · Hobart
Australian Capital Territory · Canberra
Northern Territory · Darwin
Australia Portal  v • d • e

The written history of Australia began when Dutch explorers first sighted the landmass in the 17th century. The interpretation of the history of Australia is currently a matter of some contention, particularly regarding the British settlement and early treatment of Indigenous Australians. The prehistory of Australia is the period between the first human habitation of the Australian continent and the first definitive sighting of Australia by Europeans in 1606, which may be taken as the beginning of the recent history of Australia. ... The history of Australia from 1788-1850 covers the early colonies period of Australias history, from the first British settlement and penal colony at Port Jackson in 1788 to the establishment of other colonies and the spread of settlers. ... The history of Australia since 1945 has seen a move away from Britain in political, social and cultural terms to engagement with the United States and Asia. ... This is a timeline of Australian history. ... The European exploration of Australia encompasses several waves of seafarers and land explorers. ... The federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia formed a federation. ... This article is a brief timeline of the economic history of Australia. ... The diplomatic history of Australia covers the events of Australian foreign relations. ... // Foundation and growth Governor Lachlan Macquarie In 1770 Captain James Cook sailed along the east coast of Australia, the first European to do so. ... The history of Queensland spans thousands of years, encompassing both a lengthy indigenous presence in the state, as well as the eventful times of post-European settlement. ... Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, is named for Sir Thomas Brisbane (1773–1860), British soldier and colonial administrator born in Ayrshire, Scotland. ... This article details the History of Perth from the first human activity in the region to the 20th century. ... The history of South Australia details from the first human activity in the region, estimated at about 20 000 years ago to the current events of the 21st century. ... Adelaide is the capital city of the Australian state of South Australia. ... The first settlement in Hobart was started in 1803 as a penal colony at Risdon Cove on the eastern shores of the Derwent River, amid British concerns over the presence of French explorers. ... The History of the Australian Capital Territory details the Australian Capital Territorys development from before white settlement to Canberras planning by the Chicago architect Walter Burley Griffin and subsequent development to the present day. ... The history of the Northern Territory began over 40,000 years ago when Indigenous Australians settled the region. ... The history of Darwin has been a colourful and often tragic one; the Australian citys location has meant that it has been a victim of man-made disasters, such as World War Two and also natural ones, such as Cyclone Tracy. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... The History wars are an ongoing public debate in Australia over the interpretation of the history of the European colonisation of Australia, and its impact on Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islanders. ... Languages Several hundred Indigenous Australian languages (many extinct or nearly so), Australian English, Australian Aboriginal English, Torres Strait Creole, Kriol Religions Primarily Christian, with minorities of other religions including Islam and various forms of Traditional belief systems based around the Dreamtime Related ethnic groups see List of Indigenous Australian group...

First human habitation

The consensus among scholars for the arrival of humans of Australia is placed at 40,000 to 50,000 years ago, but possibly as early as 70,000 years ago. The earliest human remains found to date are that of Mungo Man which have been dated at about 40,000 years old. At the time of first European contact, it has been estimated the absolute minimum pre-1788 population was 315,000, while recent archaeological finds suggest that a population of 750,000 could have been sustained ^[1] The population was split into 250 individual nations, many of which were in alliance with one another, and within each nation there existed several clans, from as few as 5 or 6 to as many as 30 or 40. Each nation had its own language and a few had multiple, thus over 250 languages existed, around 200 of which are now extinct. A 19th century engraving of an Indigenous Australian encampment, showing the indigenous lifestyle in the cooler parts of Australia at the time of European settlement. ... The prehistory of Australia is the period between the first human habitation of the Australian continent and the first definitive sighting of Australia by Europeans in 1606, which may be taken as the beginning of the recent history of Australia. ... For other uses, see Consensus (disambiguation). ... The Mungo Man (also known as Lake Mungo 3) was an early human inhabitant of the continent of Australia, who is believed to have lived about 40,000 years ago, during the Pleistocene epoch. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ...

The mode of life and material cultures varied greatly from nation to nation. The greatest population density was to be found in the southern and eastern regions of the continent, the River Murray valley in particular. Indigenous Australians lived and utilised resources on the continent sustainably, agreeing to cease hunting and gathering at particular times to give populations and resources the chance to replenish. Indigenous Australians were amongst the oldest, most sustainable and most isolated cultures on Earth prior to European settlement beginning in 1788. A branch of the Murray in its middle reaches, near Howlong, New South Wales. ... The Earth Day flag includes a NASA photo of the Earth. ...

For centuries, Makassar had traded with Indigenous Australians on Australia's north coast, particularly the Yolngu of north-east Arnhem Land. A Macassan wooden sailing vessel or prau. ... Location of Makassar in Indonesia Coordinates: , Country Indonesia Province South Sulawesi Government  - Mayor Ilham Arief Sirajuddin Area  - City 175. ... Languages Several hundred Indigenous Australian languages (many extinct or nearly so), Australian English, Australian Aboriginal English, Torres Strait Creole, Kriol Religions Primarily Christian, with minorities of other religions including Islam and various forms of Traditional belief systems based around the Dreamtime Related ethnic groups see List of Indigenous Australian group... For Yolngu language see Yolngu Matha. ... Arnhem Land is an area of 97,000 km² in the north-eastern corner of the Northern Territory, Australia. ...

An early map of the known world, made in 1603 by Father Matteo Ricci, an Italian Jesuit who spent a long time in China, noted in a block space where Australia lies: No one has ever been to this land in the south, hence we know nothing about it. In smaller characters he brushed the Chinese characters Fire Land and Land of Parrots^[2] suggesting the Chinese were aware of and had perhaps sighted Australia. The reference to parrots may mean that someone had in fact made a landing on the continent after all, or had heard about Australia via word of mouth. However, the reference to Fire Land may suggest the frequent volcanic activity of the Indonesian archipelago, and Land of Parrots may refer to the Parrot species throughout the islands to Australia's north. Matteo Ricci. ... Languages Italian, Sicilian, Neapolitan, Corsican, Sardinian, Emiliano-Romagnolo, Ligurian, Lombard, Piedmontese, Venetian, Ladin, Friulian Religions predominantly Roman Catholic      The Italians are a Southern European ethnic group found primarily in Italy and in a wide-ranging diaspora throughout Western Europe, the Americas and Australia. ... The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu), commonly known as the Jesuits, is a Roman Catholic religious order. ... Technical note: Due to technical limitations, some web browsers may not display some special characters in this article. ... Systematics (but see below) Family Cacatuidae (cockatoos) Subfamily Microglossinae (Palm Cockatoo) Subfamily Calyptorhynchinae (dark cockatoos) Subfamily Cacatuinae (white cockatoos) Family Psittacidae (true parrots) Subfamily Loriinae (lories and lorikeets) Subfamily Psittacinae (typical parrots and allies) Tribe Arini (American psittacines) Tribe Cyclopsitticini (fig parrots) Tribe Micropsittini (pygmy parrots) Tribe Nestorini (kakas and... For other uses, see Word of mouth (disambiguation). ... A volcano (plural, volcanoes) is a geological landform (usually a mountain) where magma (rock of the earths interior made molten or liquid by high pressure and temperature) erupts through the surface of the planet. ... World map depicting Malay Archipelago The Malay Archipelago is a vast archipelago located between mainland Southeastern Asia (Indochina) and Australia. ...

British settlement and colonisation

A pioneering settler family, circa 1900.

The British Crown Colony of New South Wales started with the establishment of a settlement at Sydney Cove by Captain Arthur Phillip on 26 January 1788. This date later became Australia's national day, Australia Day. These land masses included the current islands of New Zealand, which was administered as part of New South Wales.^[3] Van Diemen's Land, now known as Tasmania, was settled in 1803. The history of Australia from 1788-1850 covers the early colonies period of Australias history, from the first British settlement and penal colony at Port Jackson in 1788 to the establishment of other colonies and the spread of settlers. ... A United Kingdom overseas territory (formerly known as a dependent territory or earlier as a crown colony) is a territory that is under the sovereignty and formal control of the United Kingdom but is not part of the United Kingdom proper (almost exclusively Great Britain and Northern Ireland). ... Sydney Cove is a small bay on the southern shore of Port Jackson (commonly but incorrectly called Sydney Harbour), on the coast of the state of New South Wales, Australia. ... Admiral Arthur Phillip RN (11 October 1738 – 31 August 1814) was a British naval officer and colonial administrator. ... Anniversary Day redirects here. ... 1663 map of Van Diemens Land, showing the parts discovered by Tasman, including Storm Bay, Maria Island and Schouten Island. ... Slogan or Nickname: Island of Inspiration; The Apple Isle; Holiday Isle Motto(s): Ubertas et Fidelitas (Fertility and Faithfulness) Other Australian states and territories Capital Hobart Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Peter Underwood Premier David Bartlett (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 5  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2006-07)  - Product...

Other British settlements followed, at various points around the continent, most of them unsuccessful. In 1824, a penal colony was established near the mouth of the Brisbane River (the basis of the later colony of Queensland). In 1826, a British military camp was established in Western Australia at King George Sound, to discourage French colonisation. (The camp formed the basis of the later town of Albany.) In 1829, the Swan River Colony and its capital of Perth were founded on the west coast proper and also assumed control of King George Sound. Initially a free colony, Western Australia later accepted British convicts, because of an acute labour shortage. The Brisbane River is situated in southeast Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay. ... For other uses, see Queensland (disambiguation). ... Slogan or Nickname: Wildflower State or the Golden State Other Australian states and territories Capital Perth Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Ken Michael Premier Alan Carpenter (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 15  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2005-06)  - Product ($m)  $107,910 (4th)  - Product per capita  $53,134/person... Albany is a city of approximately 30,000 people on the south coast of Western Australia, 261 miles southeast of Perth. ... Albany, (IPA: }, is the largest regional city in WA situated on the south coast of Western Australia south-southeast of Perth. ... Swan River Colony was a British settlement established at the Swan River on the west coast of Australia in 1829. ... Location of Perth within Australia This article is about the metropolitan area of Perth, Western Australia. ...

The British Colonial Office in 1835 issued the Proclamation of Governor Bourke, implementing the legal doctrine of terra nullius upon which British settlement was based, reinforcing the notion that the land belonged to no one prior to the British Crown taking possession of it and quashing earlier treaties with Aboriginal peoples, such as that signed by John Batman. Its publication meant that from then, all people found occupying land without the authority of the government would be considered illegal trespassers^[4]. The Secretary of State for the Colonies or Colonial Secretary was the British Cabinet official in charge of managing the various British colonies. ... Terra nullius (English pronunciation IPA: , Latin pronunciation IPA: ) is a Latin expression deriving from Roman Law meaning land belonging to no one, nobodys land i. ... John Batman Statue of John Batman at former National Mutual Plaza off Collins Street in Melbourne unveiled 26 January 1979 John Batman (born 21 January 1801 - 5 May 1839) was an Australian farmer and businessman who was one of the first settlers of the Melbourne area and known for founding...

Separate colonies were created from parts of New South Wales: South Australia in 1836, New Zealand in 1840, Victoria in 1851, and Queensland in 1859. The Northern Territory was founded in 1863 as part of South Australia. The transportation of convicts to Australia was phased out between 1840 and 1868. For the song, see South Australia (song). ... VIC redirects here. ... For other uses, see Queensland (disambiguation). ... For similar terms, see Northern Territories (disambiguation) Slogan or Nickname: The Territory, The NT, The Top End Motto(s): none Other Australian states and territories Capital Darwin Government Constitutional monarchy Administrator Ted Egan Chief Minister Clare Martin (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 2  - Senate seats 2 Gross Territorial Product (2004...

Massive areas of land were cleared for agriculture and various other purposes, in addition to the obvious impacts this early clearing of land had on the ecology of particular regions, it severely affected indigenous Australians, by reducing the resources they relied on for food, shelter and other essentials. This progressively forced them into smaller areas and reduced their numbers as the majority died of newly-introduced diseases and lack of resources. Indigenous resistance against the settlers was widespread, and prolonged fighting between 1788 and the 1930s led to the deaths of at least 20,000 Indigenous people and between 2,000 and 2,500 Europeans.^[5] During the mid-late 19th century, many indigenous Australians in south eastern Australia were relocated, often forcibly, to reserves and missions. The nature of many of these institutions enabled disease to spread quickly and many were closed as their populations fell.

Colonial self-government and the discovery of gold

The discovery of gold in remote areas was followed by tradesmen.

A Gold rush began in Australia in the early 1850s, and the Eureka Stockade rebellion in Ballarat in 1854 was an early expression of nationalist sentiment; the flag that was used to represent it has been seriously considered by some as an alternative to the Australian flag. The gold rushes brought many immigrants from Great Britain, Ireland, Europe, North America and China. The history of Australia from 1851 - 1900 continues Australias colonial history, the discovery of gold in 1851 which led to increased economic and political independence from Britain and a great debate about federation. ... GOLD refers to one of the following: GOLD (IEEE) is an IEEE program designed to garner more student members at the university level (Graduates of the Last Decade). ... For other meanings, see Gold rush (disambiguation) A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers into the area of a dramatic discovery of commercial quantities of gold. ... The Eureka Flag The Eureka Stockade was the setting of a gold miners revolt in 1854 in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, against the officials supervising the mining of gold in the region. ... Ballarat is a city in regional Victoria, Australia, approximately 120 kilometres north-west of Melbourne, with a population of 84,000 people. ... Australia is blue with the flag of the United Kingdom (the Union Flag) in the canton (the upper hoist-side quadrant), and a large seven-pointed star known as the Commonwealth Star (six points representing the six original states and one point for the territories and any future states of... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... North American redirects here. ...

New South Wales in 1855 was the first colony to gain responsible government, managing most of its own affairs while remaining part of the British Empire. Victoria, Tasmania, and South Australia followed in 1856; Queensland, from its foundation in 1859; and Western Australia, in 1890. The Colonial Office in London retained control of some matters, notably foreign affairs, defence and international shipping. Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability which is the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ...

The gold led to a period of prosperity, but eventually the economic expansion came to an end, and the 1890s were a period of economic depression.

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was formed from New South Wales in 1911 to provide a location for the proposed new federal capital of Canberra (Melbourne was the capital from 1901 to 1927). The FCT was renamed to the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) in 1938. The Northern Territory was transferred from the control of the South Australian government to the Commonwealth in 1911. so wats up stop changing this page i want u to leave it the way it is thx peacecapital lies within its borders. ... For other uses, see Canberra (disambiguation). ... This article is about the Australian city; the name may also refer to City of Melbourne or Melbourne city centre (also known as The CBD). ... Slogan or Nickname: The Nations Heart or The Capital Motto(s): For the Queen, the Law and the People Other Australian states and territories Capital Canberra Government Constitutional monarchy Administrator Governor General of Australia Chief Minister Jon Stanhope (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 2  - Senate seats 2 Gross Territorial Product...

Federation and the World Wars

The opening of the Parliament of Australia in 1901

An Australian light machine gun team in action near Wewak in June 1945

On 1 January 1901, federation of the colonies was achieved after a decade of planning, consultation and voting, and the Commonwealth of Australia was born, His Majesty King George V proclaimed Australia as a Dominion in 1911 of the British Empire. Australia achieved Independent Sovereign Nation status for the first time in 1919 following the end of WW1. Australia became a foundation member state of the League of Nations on the 28th June 1919 at the time of the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in the 'Hall of Mirrors' in the Palace of Versailles in France. The original manuscript and transcript are held in the Swiss Government Archives in Geneva. Australia's independence and sovereign nation status was officially recognised by all world nations when the Charter and Articles of the League of Nations legally became International Law in January 1920. British rule ceased at that point. No ruling British Monarch has held any valid legal power of authority since. Australia also became a foundation member state of the United Nations in 1945. The history of Australia from 1901 - 1945 begins with the federation of the colonies to create the Commonwealth of Australia. ... Type Bicameral Houses House of Representatives Senate Speaker of the House of Representatives David Hawker, Liberal Party since 16 November 2004 President of the Senate Alan Ferguson, Liberal Party since 14 August 2007 Members 226 (150 Representatives, 76 Senators) Political groups Liberal Party ALP National Party Country Liberal Party Greens... Wewak is the capital of the East Sepik region of Papua New Guinea. ... The federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia formed a federation. ... This article is about Dominions of the British Empire and of the Commonwealth of Nations. ...

From 1 February 1927 until 12 June 1931, the Northern Territory was divided up as North Australia and Central Australia at latitude 20°S. New South Wales has had one further territory surrendered, namely Jervis Bay Territory comprising 6,677 hectares, in 1915. The external territories were added: Norfolk Island (1914); Ashmore Island, Cartier Islands (1931); the Australian Antarctic Territory transferred from Britain (1933); Heard Island, McDonald Islands, and Macquarie Island transferred to Australia from Britain (1947). An Australian light machine gun team in action against Japanese positions near Wewak in June 1945 Australia entered World War II shortly after the invasion of Poland, declaring war on Germany on September 3, 1939. ... // North Australia was a short-lived territory of Australia. ... Central Australia is a term used to describe the area of land surrounding and including Alice Springs in Australia. ... The Jervis Bay Territory is a territory of the Commonwealth of Australia. ... Ashmore and Cartier Islands The Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands are two groups of small low-lying uninhabited tropical islands in the Indian Ocean situated on the edge of the continental shelf north-west of Australia and south of the Indonesian island of Roti at . ... Cartier Island is a small uninhabited islet in the Indian Ocean north of Australia and south of Indonesia. ... The Australian Antarctic Territory (AAT) is the part of Antarctica claimed by Australia. ... Heard Island, from NASA World Wind Heard Island and the McDonald Islands are uninhabited, barren islands located in the Southern Ocean at 53°6S, 72°31E, about two-thirds of the way from Madagascar to Antarctica. ... Macquarie Island lies in the southwest corner of the Pacific Ocean, about half-way between Australia and Antarctica. ...

The Great Depression brought economic hardship to all of Australia. Australia, with its extreme dependence on exports, particularly primary products such as wool and wheat^[6], is thought to have been one of the hardest-hit countries in the Western world along with Canada and Germany. Unemployment reached a record high of 29% in 1932.^[7] In 1931, over 1000 unemployed men marched from the Esplanade to the Treasury Building in Perth, Western Australia to see Premier Sir James Mitchell. ... For other uses, see Wool (disambiguation). ... Species T. aestivum T. boeoticum T. dicoccoides T. dicoccon T. durum T. monococcum T. spelta T. sphaerococcum T. timopheevii References:   ITIS 42236 2002-09-22 Wheat Wheat For the indie rock group, see Wheat (band). ... Occident redirects here. ...

The shock of Britain's defeat in Asia in 1942 and the threat of Japanese invasion caused Australia to turn to the United States as a new ally and protector.

Post-war prosperity

Following World War II the Australian government instigated a massive program of European immigration. After narrowly preventing a Japanese invasion and suffering attacks on Australian soil for the first time, it was seen that the country must "populate or perish". Immigration brought traditional migrants from the United Kingdom along with, for the first time, large numbers of southern and central Europeans. A booming Australian economy stood in sharp contrast to war-ravaged Europe, and newly-arrived migrants found employment in government assisted programs such as the Snowy Mountains Scheme. Two million immigrants arrived between 1948 and 1975. Robert Menzies' newly-founded Liberal Party of Australia dominated much of the immediate post war era, defeating the Australian Labor Party government of Ben Chifley in 1949. Menzies oversaw the post-war expansion and became the country's longest-serving leader. Manufacturing industry, previously playing a minor part in an economy dominated by primary production, greatly expanded. Since the 1970s and the abolition of the White Australia policy from Asia and other parts of the world, Australia's demography, culture and image of itself has been radically transformed. However, despite the abolition of the policy, instances of racism continue.^[8] The history of Australia since 1945 has seen a move away from Britain in political, social and cultural terms to engagement with the United States and Asia. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Talbingo Dam The Snowy Mountains Scheme is a hydro-electricity and irrigation complex in south-east Australia. ... Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, KT, AK, CH, FRS, QC (20 December 1894 – 15 May 1978), Australian politician, was the twelfth and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia, serving eighteen and a half years. ... This article is about the modern Australian political party. ... ALP redirects here. ... Joseph Benedict Chifley (22 September 1885 – 13 June 1951), Australian politician and 16th Prime Minister of Australia, was one of Australias most influential Prime Ministers. ... This badge from 1906 shows the use of the expression White Australia at that time While there was never any specific official policy called the White Australia policy, this is the term used for a collection of historical legislation and policies which either intentionally or unintentionally restricted non-white immigration...

The ANZUS defence treaty was signed in 1951 with the United States and New Zealand, and Australia committed troops to the Korean War and the Malayan Emergency. Melbourne hosted the 1956 Summer Olympics and joint British-Australia nuclear tests and rocket launches began near Woomera, South Australia. The population reached 10 million in 1959. The Australia, New Zealand, United States Security Treaty (ANZUS or ANZUS Treaty) is the military alliance which binds Australia and New Zealand and, separately, Australia and the United States to cooperate on defence matters in the Pacific Ocean area, though today the treaty is understood to relate to attacks in... Belligerents United Nations: Republic of Korea Australia Belgium Canada Colombia Ethiopia France Greece Luxembourg Netherlands New Zealand Philippines South Africa Thailand Turkey United Kingdom United States Naval Support and Military Servicing/Repairs: Japan Medical staff: Denmark Italy Norway India Sweden DPR Korea PR China Soviet Union Commanders Syngman Rhee Chung... Combatants United Kingdom Australia New Zealand British colonies Federation of Malaya Rhodesia Fiji various British East African colonies Malayan Communist Party Malayan Races Liberation Army Commanders Harold Briggs Henry Gurney † Gerald Templer Henry Wells Chin Peng Strength 250,000 Malayan Home Guard troops 40,000 regular Commonwealth personnel 37,000... This article is about the Australian city; the name may also refer to City of Melbourne or Melbourne city centre (also known as The CBD). ... The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were held in 1956 in Melbourne, Australia, although the equestrian events could not be held in Australia due to quarantine regulations. ... The British nuclear tests at Maralinga were performed at the Maralinga site, part of the Woomera Prohibited Area, on the Nullarbor Plain in South Australia. ... Woomera () is a town in South Australia, 488 km/305 mi. ...

Since 1951, Australia has been a formal military ally of the U.S. under the auspices of the ANZUS treaty. The final constitutional ties between Australia and Britain ended in 1986 with the passing of the Australia Act 1986, ending any British role in the Australian States, and ending judicial appeals to the UK Privy Council. Australia remains a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II the Queen of Australia; the 1999 referendum to establish a republic was marginally rejected. Australia's formal links to its British past are increasingly tenuous, although people-to-people and cultural connections between Australia and Britain remain significant. Since the election of the Whitlam Government in 1972, there has been an increasing focus on the nation's future as a part of the so-called "Asia-Pacific" region. Australia Act 1986 (United Kingdom) document, located in Parliament House, Canberra The Australia Act 1986 is an act of the Parliament of Australia (No. ... A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically in a monarchy. ... Forms of government Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A constitutional monarchy or limited monarchy is a form of government established under a constitutional system which acknowledges an elected or hereditary monarch as head of state, as opposed to an absolute monarchy, where the monarch is not... Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor; born 21 April 1926) is Queen of sixteen sovereign states, holding each crown and title equally. ... Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, in 1952 and 2002 The title Queen of Australia has existed since 1973, when the Parliament of Australia passed the Royal Style and Titles Act (1973). ... The 1999 Australian Referendum was held on 6 November 1999. ... Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC (born 11 July 1916), known as Gough Whitlam (pronounced goff), is an Australian former politician and 21st Prime Minister of Australia. ... Map showing general definition of Asia-Pacific The term Asia-Pacific or APAC generally applies to littoral East Asia, Southeast Asia and Australasia near the Pacific Ocean, plus the states in the ocean itself (Oceania). ...

Territories transferred in this period were: Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands. The Coral Sea Islands Territory was established as a Territory of the Commonwealth under the Coral Sea Islands Act 1969. In 1989 when the Australian Capital Territory achieved self government, Jervis Bay became a separate territory administered by the Ministry of Territory. The Coral Sea Islands Territory includes a grouping of small tropical islands and reefs in the Coral Sea, northeast of Queensland, around 18° S 152° E. There are about 30 separate reefs and atolls, 14 of them wholly submerged or drying only during low tide, and 16 others with a...

Indigenous Australians

Indigenous Australians are the first human inhabitants of the Australian continent and its nearby islands. Languages Several hundred Indigenous Australian languages (many extinct or nearly so), Australian English, Australian Aboriginal English, Torres Strait Creole, Kriol Religions Primarily Christian, with minorities of other religions including Islam and various forms of Traditional belief systems based around the Dreamtime Related ethnic groups see List of Indigenous Australian group... The Aboriginal History of Western Australia is the history of the indigenous inhabitants of the western third of the Australian continent, from their own perspective. ...

A wave of massacres and resistance followed the frontier of European settlement. In 1838, twenty-eight Indigenous people were killed at the Myall Creek massacre. The convict settlers responsible for the massacres were hanged. The Kalkadoon of Queensland resisted the settlers, and there was a massacre of over 200 people on their land at Battle Mountain in 1884. There was a massacre at Coniston in the Northern Territory in 1928. Poisoning of food and water had been recorded as early as the 1840s. This is a list of massacres of Aboriginal Australians. ... The Myall Creek Massacre was a massacre of twenty-eight Aboriginal Australian people by eleven white stockmen and squatters and a convict negro named Johnson from London on 10 June 1838, at the Myall Creek sheep station near Inverell, in northern New South Wales. ... Kalkadoon, Australian Aboriginal tribe living in the Mount Isa region of Queensland. ... Coniston, Northern Territory, Australia is a sheep station in central Australia at latitude 22. ...

The removal of children, which the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission argue constituted attempted genocide,^[9] had a major impact on the Indigenous population.^[10] Such interpretations of Aboriginal history are disputed by Keith Windschuttle as being exaggerated or fabricated for political or ideological reasons.^[11] This debate is part of what is known within Australia as the History Wars. Portrayal of The taking of the children on the Great Australian Clock, Queen Victoria Building, Sydney The Stolen Generation (or Stolen Generations) is a term used to describe the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, usually of mixed descent who were removed from their families, under the rationale of... The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) is a national independent statutory body of the Australian Government. ... For other uses, see Genocide (disambiguation). ... Keith Windschuttle (born 1942) is an Australian writer who is the author of several books, including Unemployment (1979) which analyses the economic causes and social consequences of unemployment in Australia, The Media: a New Analysis of the Press, Television, Radio and Advertising in Australia (1984) on the political economy and... The History wars are an ongoing public debate in Australia over the interpretation of the history of the European colonisation of Australia, and its impact on Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islanders. ...

Indigenous Australians were given the right to vote in Commonwealth elections in Australia in November 1962, and in Western Australian state elections in the same year. Aboriginals in Queensland were given the vote in state elections in 1965. There were never any racial qualifications to vote in the other four states. The 1967 federal referendum allowed the Commonwealth to make laws with respect to Aboriginal people, and for Aboriginal people to be included when the country does a count to determine electoral representation. The referendum passed with a 90.2% majority, the largest affirmative vote in the history of Australia's referendums. The referendum of 27 May 1967 approved two amendments to the Australian constitution relating to Indigenous Australians. ...

On 13 February 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd formally apologised to the Aborigines of the stolen generation. Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957), is the leader of the federal Australian Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition in the Australian Parliament. ...

See also

Australia portal

Wikibooks has a book on the topic of Australian History

• Territorial evolution of Australia
• Australian archaeology
• History of Oceania
• Military history of Australia
• History of present-day nations and states

Wikibooks logo Wikibooks, previously called Wikimedia Free Textbook Project and Wikimedia-Textbooks, is a wiki for the creation of books. ... This is a list of the evolution of the borders of Australia. ... Australian Archaeology is a large sub-field in the discipline of Archaeology. ... The Military history of Australia spans several centuries and includes Australias involvement in wars. ...

Notes

Australian Bureau of Statistics logo The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is the Australian government agency that collects and publishes statistical information about Australia. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 163rd day of the year (164th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The New Criterion is a New York-based magazine, a journal of art and cultural criticism. ...

References

• Stuart Macintyre, A Concise History of Australia, Cambridge University Press 2004, ISBN 0521601010

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: History of Australia

• Australia: The Official History, by Professor John Hirst, February 2008, The Monthly
• History of the Australian nation - State Library of NSW
• The Australian History page at Project Gutenberg of Australia
• Bush Poetry a source of Australian History
• "Some Inspirational (Australian) People" Profiled by Laurence MacDonald Muir.
• From Terra Australis to Australia, State Liberty of New South Wales
• European discovery and the colonisation of Australia - Australian Government

• Smyth, Dacre. "Immigrant Ships to Australia". http://www.freetimebooks.com.au/immigrant-ships-australia-p-48.html.