Australia

Australia's original inhabitants, the Aborigines, have a long cultural history, with origins dating back to the last Ice Age. The first humans travelled across the sea from Indonesia about 70,000 years ago and were followed 20,000 years later by the ancestors of the Australian Aborigines. By the 16th century, Europeans had began to appear, including Portuguese navigators followed by Dutch explorers and the enterprising English pirate William Dampier. Captain James Cook sailed down the east coast in 1770, stopping at Botany Bay on the way. After rounding Cape York, he claimed the continent for the British and named it New South Wales.

In 1787, convicts were transported to New South Wales from Britain to try to solve overcrowding problems in British prisons. The first fleet setting sail for Botany Bay was under the command of Captain Arthur Philip, who was made to become the colony's first governor. This fleet comprised of 11 ships, 750 male and female convicts, four companies of marines and supplies for two years. After arriving they soon moved north to Sydney Cove, where there was better land and water. Compared to Britain, this was a harsh, dry, hot continent, and the threat of starvation hung over the colony for at least 16 years.

Other settlers began to be attracted to Australia over the next decades, especially after the discovery of gold in the 1850s. A huge influx of migrants resulted, taking over Aboriginal land, as they set up farming and mining. The discovery of gold and the Industrial Revolution in England, which required much needed raw materials, boosted the economy to a large extent. On the 1st of January 1901, Australia became a nation when federation of the separate colonies took place; however, many ties with England remained. Australian troops fought alongside the British in the Boer War, WWI and WWII. However, allegiances shifted during WWII when the USA protected Australia from Japanese invasion. Australia subsequently followed the USA into both the Korean and Vietnam wars in Asia.

Post WWII immigration brought a flood of other European immigrants as well as refugees from various Asian countries (mainly Vietnam), resulting in the rich cultural diversity it still boasts of today. Australia's raw materials, once again in great demand, helped the economy move from strength to strength.

The “Native Title Act” was passed in 1993, which included policies regarding refugees and a push for an official government apology for the injustices suffered by the Aborigines. Unfortunately, many Aborigines continue to live in poor conditions and still suffer from years of oppression. However, these injustices are being corrected and the native people of Australia have now been given a platform in which to voice their grievances of the past.