Australia Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==History== {{Main|History of Australia}} {{For timeline|Timeline of Australian history}} === Indigenous prehistory === {{Main|Prehistory of Australia|Indigenous Australians}} [[File:Bradshaw rock paintings.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|right|[[Aboriginal rock art]] in the [[Kimberley (Western Australia)|Kimberley]] region of Western Australia]] [[Indigenous Australians]] comprise two broad groups: the [[Aboriginal Australians|Aboriginal peoples]] of the Australian mainland (and surrounding islands including Tasmania), and the [[Torres Strait Islanders]], who are a distinct [[Melanesia]]n people. Human habitation of the Australian continent is estimated to have begun 50,000 to 65,000 years ago,<ref name="ClarksonJacobs2017"/><ref name="Nunn2018">{{Cite book|first=Patrick|last=Nunn|title=The Edge of Memory: Ancient Stories, Oral Tradition and the Post-Glacial World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z4xaDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT16|year=2018|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-1-4729-4327-9|page=16|access-date=17 July 2023|archive-date=3 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203142811/https://books.google.com/books?id=Z4xaDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT16#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="FaganDurrani2018">{{Cite book|first1=Brian M.|last1=Fagan|first2=Nadia|last2=Durrani|title=People of the Earth: An Introduction to World Prehistory|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W0NvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT250|year=2018|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-3517-5764-5|pages=250–253|access-date=17 July 2023|archive-date=3 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203142816/https://books.google.com/books?id=W0NvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT250#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last1=Veth |first1=Peter |url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgehistory0001unse_m8y7 |title=The Cambridge History of Australia, Volume 1, Indigenous and Colonial Australia |last2=O'Connor |first2=Sue |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-1070-1153-3 |editor-last=Bashford |editor-first=Alison |location=Cambridge |pages=19 |chapter=The past 50,000 years: an archaeological view |editor-last2=MacIntyre |editor-first2=Stuart |url-access=registration}}</ref> with the migration of people by [[land bridge]]s and short sea crossings from what is now Southeast Asia.<ref name="Oppenheimer2013">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VQQvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PP111|title=Out of Eden: The Peopling of the World|first=Stephen|last=Oppenheimer|date=2013|publisher=Little, Brown Book Group|isbn=978-1-7803-3753-1|pages=111–|access-date=17 July 2023|archive-date=3 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203142820/https://books.google.com/books?id=VQQvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PP111#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> It is uncertain how many waves of immigration may have contributed to these ancestors of modern Aboriginal Australians.<ref>Malaspinas, A. S., Westaway, M. C., Muller, C., Sousa, V. C., Lao, O., Alves, I., Bergström, A., Athanasiadis, G., Cheng, J. Y., Crawford, J. E., Heupink, T. H., Macholdt, E., Peischl, S., Rasmussen, S., Schiffels, S., Subramanian, S., Wright, J. L., Albrechtsen, A., Barbieri, C., Dupanloup, I., et al., Willerslev, E. (2016). A genomic history of Aboriginal Australia. Nature, 538(7624), 207–214. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature18299 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203142815/https://www.nature.com/articles/nature18299 |date=3 December 2023 }} [https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/unprecedented-study-of-aboriginal-australians-points-to-one-shared-out-of-africa-migration-for press release] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615162942/https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/unprecedented-study-of-aboriginal-australians-points-to-one-shared-out-of-africa-migration-for |date=15 June 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Dorey |first=Fran |title=When did modern humans get to Australia? |url=https://australian.museum/learn/science/human-evolution/the-spread-of-people-to-australia |publisher=Australian Museum |access-date=21 August 2020 |archive-date=17 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200817140725/https://australian.museum/learn/science/human-evolution/the-spread-of-people-to-australia/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Madjedbebe]] rock shelter in [[Arnhem Land]] is recognised as the oldest site showing the presence of humans in Australia.<ref name="Gilligan2018">{{Cite book|first=Ian|last=Gilligan|title=Climate, Clothing, and Agriculture in Prehistory: Linking Evidence, Causes, and Effects|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ux50DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA237|date=2018|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-1084-7008-7|page=237|access-date=17 July 2023|archive-date=3 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203142816/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ux50DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA237#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> The oldest human remains found are the [[Lake Mungo remains]], which have been dated to around 41,000 years ago.<ref name="TunizGillespie2016">{{Cite book|first1=Claudio|last1=Tuniz|first2=Richard|last2=Gillespie|first3=Cheryl|last3=Jones|title=The Bone Readers: Science and Politics in Human Origins Research|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WrJmDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA43|year=2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-3154-1888-9|page=43|access-date=17 July 2023|archive-date=3 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203142820/https://books.google.com/books?id=WrJmDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA43#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Castillo2015">{{Cite book|first=Alicia|last=Castillo|title=Archaeological Dimension of World Heritage: From Prevention to Social Implications|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jV64BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA41|date=2015|publisher=Springer Science|isbn=978-1-4939-0283-5|page=41|access-date=17 July 2023|archive-date=3 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203142821/https://books.google.com/books?id=jV64BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA41#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> Aboriginal Australian culture is one of the oldest continuous cultures on Earth.<ref name=":9">{{cite book | last=Flood | first=J. | title=The Original Australians: The story of the Aboriginal People | publisher=Allen & Unwin | year=2019 | isbn=978-1-76087-142-0 |edition=2nd |location=Crows Nest NSW |page=161 |author-link=Josephine Flood}}</ref><ref name="Australian Geographic 2011 i652">{{cite web | title=DNA confirms Aboriginal culture one of Earth's oldest | website=Australian Geographic | date=September 23, 2011 | url=https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/news/2011/09/dna-confirms-aboriginal-culture-one-of-earths-oldest/ | access-date=February 9, 2024 | archive-date=20 January 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240120022657/https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/news/2011/09/dna-confirms-aboriginal-culture-one-of-earths-oldest/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Jozuka 2016 i592">{{cite web | last=Jozuka | first=Emiko | title=Aboriginal Australians are Earth's oldest civilization: DNA study | website=CNN | date=September 22, 2016 | url=https://www.cnn.com/2016/09/22/asia/indigenous-australians-earths-oldest-civilization/index.html#:~:text=A%20new%20genomic%20study%20has,stretching%20back%20roughly%2075%2C000%20years. | access-date=February 9, 2024 | archive-date=4 March 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240304225419/https://www.cnn.com/2016/09/22/asia/indigenous-australians-earths-oldest-civilization/index.html#:~:text=A%20new%20genomic%20study%20has,stretching%20back%20roughly%2075%2C000%20years. | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Malaspinas Westaway Muller Sousa 2016 pp. 207–214">{{cite journal| title=A genomic history of Aboriginal Australia | journal=Nature | publisher=Springer Science and Business Media LLC | volume=538 | issue=7624 | date=September 21, 2016 | issn=0028-0836 | doi=10.1038/nature18299 | pages=207–214| hdl=10754/622366 | hdl-access=free | last1=Malaspinas | first1=Anna-Sapfo | last2=Westaway | first2=Michael C. | last3=Muller | first3=Craig | last4=Sousa | first4=Vitor C. | last5=Lao | first5=Oscar | last6=Alves | first6=Isabel | last7=Bergström | first7=Anders | last8=Athanasiadis | first8=Georgios | last9=Cheng | first9=Jade Y. | last10=Crawford | first10=Jacob E. | last11=Heupink | first11=Tim H. | last12=Macholdt | first12=Enrico | last13=Peischl | first13=Stephan | last14=Rasmussen | first14=Simon | last15=Schiffels | first15=Stephan | last16=Subramanian | first16=Sankar | last17=Wright | first17=Joanne L. | last18=Albrechtsen | first18=Anders | last19=Barbieri | first19=Chiara | last20=Dupanloup | first20=Isabelle | last21=Eriksson | first21=Anders | last22=Margaryan | first22=Ashot | last23=Moltke | first23=Ida | last24=Pugach | first24=Irina | last25=Korneliussen | first25=Thorfinn S. | last26=Levkivskyi | first26=Ivan P. | last27=Moreno-Mayar | first27=J. Víctor | last28=Ni | first28=Shengyu | last29=Racimo | first29=Fernando | last30=Sikora | first30=Martin | pmid=27654914 | bibcode=2016Natur.538..207M | display-authors=1 }}</ref> At the time of first European contact, Aboriginal Australians were complex [[hunter-gatherer]]s with diverse economies and societies, and spread across at least [[Australian Aboriginal languages|250 different language groups]].<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Complex hunter-gatherers: a view from Australia |journal=Antiquity|volume=61|issue=232|pages=310–321|first=Elizabeth|last=Williams|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2015|doi=10.1017/S0003598X00052182|s2cid=162146349}}</ref><ref name="SáenzEmbrick2015">{{Cite book |first1=Rogelio|last1=Sáenz|first2=David G.|last2=Embrick|first3=Néstor P.|last3=Rodríguez |title=The International Handbook of the Demography of Race and Ethnicity|url={{GBurl|id=v_bLCQAAQBAJ|p=602}}|date=3 June 2015|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-9-0481-8891-8|pages=602–}}</ref> Estimates of the Aboriginal population before British settlement range from 300,000 to one million.<ref>[https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/94713ad445ff1425ca25682000192af2/bfc28642d31c215cca256b350010b3f4!OpenDocument "1301.0 – Year Book Australia, 2002"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220116012204/https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/94713ad445ff1425ca25682000192af2/bfc28642d31c215cca256b350010b3f4!OpenDocument |date=16 January 2022 }}. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 25 January 2002.</ref><ref>Gough, Myles (11 May 2011). [https://web.archive.org/web/20120912060604/http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/4305/prehistoric-aboriginal-populations-australia-were-growing "Prehistoric Australian Aboriginal populations were growing"]. ''[[Cosmos Magazine]]''. Archived from [https://cosmosmagazine.com/news/4305/prehistoric-aboriginal-populations-australia-were-growing the original] on 12 September 2012.</ref> Aboriginal Australians have an oral culture with [[Australian Aboriginal religion and mythology|spiritual values]] based on reverence for the land and a belief in the [[Dreamtime]].<ref name="Galván2014">{{Cite book|first=Javier A.|last=Galván |title=They Do What? A Cultural Encyclopedia of Extraordinary and Exotic Customs from around the World|url={{GBurl|id=e2RyBAAAQBAJ|p=83}}|year=2014|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-6106-9342-4|page=83}}</ref> Certain groups engaged in [[fire-stick farming]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wyrwoll |first=Karl-Heinz |date=2012-01-11 |title=How Aboriginal burning changed Australia's climate |url=http://theconversation.com/how-aboriginal-burning-changed-australias-climate-4454 |access-date=2023-11-01 |website=The Conversation |language=en-US |archive-date=15 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230715015907/https://theconversation.com/how-aboriginal-burning-changed-australias-climate-4454 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Robbie |date=2023-06-21 |title=Before the colonists came, we burned small and burned often to avoid big fires. It's time to relearn cultural burning |url=http://theconversation.com/before-the-colonists-came-we-burned-small-and-burned-often-to-avoid-big-fires-its-time-to-relearn-cultural-burning-201475 |access-date=2023-11-01 |website=The Conversation |language=en-US |archive-date=8 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308085331/https://theconversation.com/before-the-colonists-came-we-burned-small-and-burned-often-to-avoid-big-fires-its-time-to-relearn-cultural-burning-201475 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[fish farming]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bates |first=Badger |last2=Westaway |first2=Michael |last3=Jackson |first3=Sue |date=2022-12-15 |title=Aboriginal people have spent centuries building in the Darling River. Now there are plans to demolish these important structures |url=http://theconversation.com/aboriginal-people-have-spent-centuries-building-in-the-darling-river-now-there-are-plans-to-demolish-these-important-structures-195966 |access-date=2023-11-01 |website=The Conversation |language=en-US |archive-date=1 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231101042204/https://theconversation.com/aboriginal-people-have-spent-centuries-building-in-the-darling-river-now-there-are-plans-to-demolish-these-important-structures-195966 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Clark |first=Anna |date=2023-08-31 |title=Friday essay: traps, rites and kurrajong twine – the incredible ingenuity of Indigenous fishing knowledge |url=http://theconversation.com/friday-essay-traps-rites-and-kurrajong-twine-the-incredible-ingenuity-of-indigenous-fishing-knowledge-210467 |access-date=2023-11-01 |website=The Conversation |language=en-US |archive-date=11 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240211091555/https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-traps-rites-and-kurrajong-twine-the-incredible-ingenuity-of-indigenous-fishing-knowledge-210467 |url-status=live }}</ref> and built [[Indigenous architecture#Australia|semi-permanent shelters]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wahlquist |first=Calla |date=2016-09-05 |title=Evidence of 9,000-year-old stone houses found on Australian island |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/sep/05/evidence-of-9000-year-old-stone-houses-found-on-australian-island |access-date=2023-11-01 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=1 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231101042138/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/sep/05/evidence-of-9000-year-old-stone-houses-found-on-australian-island |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Flood, Josephine (2019). pp. 239–40</ref> The extent to which some groups engaged in agriculture is controversial.<ref>Gammage, Bill (October 2011). The Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines made Australia. Allen & Unwin. pp. 281–304.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gammage |first=Bill |date=2023-09-19 |title=Colonists upended Aboriginal farming, growing grain and running sheep on rich yamfields, and cattle on arid grainlands |url=http://theconversation.com/colonists-upended-aboriginal-farming-growing-grain-and-running-sheep-on-rich-yamfields-and-cattle-on-arid-grainlands-207118 |access-date=2023-11-01 |website=The Conversation |language=en-US |archive-date=12 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240212095624/https://theconversation.com/colonists-upended-aboriginal-farming-growing-grain-and-running-sheep-on-rich-yamfields-and-cattle-on-arid-grainlands-207118 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Flood, Josephine (2019). pp. 25–27, 146</ref> The Torres Strait Islander people first settled their islands around 4,000 years ago.<ref>The Story of Australia's People, Volume 1: The Rise and Fall of Ancient Australia, Penguin Books Australia Ltd., Vic., 2015 {{ISBN|978-0-6700-7871-4}}, p.87</ref> Culturally and linguistically distinct from mainland Aboriginal peoples, they were seafarers and obtained their livelihood from seasonal horticulture and the resources of their reefs and seas.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Early Aussie Tattoos Match Rock Art |last=Viegas|first=Jennifer|publisher=Discovery News|date=3 July 2008 |access-date=30 March 2010|url=http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/07/03/australia-tattoos-art.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080710014604/http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/07/03/australia-tattoos-art.html |archive-date=10 July 2008}}</ref> Agriculture also developed on some islands and villages appeared by the 1300s.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Veth |first1=Peter |title=The Cambridge History of Australia, Volume 1, Indigenous and Colonial Australia |last2=O'Connor |first2=Sue |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-107-01153-3 |editor-last=Bashford |editor-first=Alison |location=Cambridge |pages=34–35 |chapter=The past 50,000 years: an archaeological view |editor-last2=MacIntyre |editor-first2=Stuart}}</ref> By the mid-18th century in northern Australia, [[Makassan contact with Australia|contact, trade and cross-cultural engagement]] had been established between local Aboriginal groups and [[Makassar people|Makassan]] [[trepanging|trepangers]], visiting from present-day Indonesia.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Macknight |first=Charles Campbell |year=2011 |title=The view from Marege': Australian knowledge of Makassar and the impact of the trepangindustry across two centuries |journal=[[Aboriginal History]] |volume=35 |pages=134 |doi=10.22459/AH.35.2011.06 |jstor=24046930 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Country">{{cite web |author=T. Vigilante |display-authors=etal |year=2013 |title=Biodiversity values on selected Kimberley Islands, Australia |url=http://museum.wa.gov.au/sites/default/files/WAM_Supp81_Internals%20pp145-181.pdf |access-date=2 August 2021 |publisher=[[Western Australian Museum]] |archive-date=5 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181005235850/http://museum.wa.gov.au/sites/default/files/WAM_Supp81_Internals%20pp145-181.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Russell |first=Denise |date=2004-03-22 |title=Aboriginal-Makassan interactions in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in northern Australia and contemporary sea rights claims |url=http://lryb.aiatsis.gov.au/PDFs/aasj04.1_%20makassan.pdf |journal=Australian Aboriginal Studies |publisher=Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies |volume=2004 |issue=1 |pages=3–17 |issn=0729-4352 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306230858/http://lryb.aiatsis.gov.au/PDFs/aasj04.1_%20makassan.pdf |archive-date=6 March 2019 |access-date=21 April 2019}}</ref> ===European exploration and colonisation=== {{Main|European maritime exploration of Australia|European land exploration of Australia|History of Australia (1788–1850)}} [[File:Landing of Lieutenant James Cook at Botany Bay, 29 April 1770 (painting by E Phillips Fox).jpg|alt=Landing of Lieutenant James Cook at Botany Bay, 29 April 1770|left|thumb|Landing of [[James Cook]] at [[Botany Bay]] on 29 April 1770 to claim Australia's east coast for [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]]]] The Dutch are the first Europeans that recorded sighting and making landfall on the Australian mainland.<ref name="BarberBarnes2013">{{Cite book|first1=Peter|last1=Barber|first2=Katherine|last2=Barnes|author3=Nigel Erskine|title=Mapping Our World: Terra Incognita To Australia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uZ_sAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA99|year=2013|publisher=National Library of Australia|isbn=978-0-6422-7809-8|page=99|access-date=17 July 2023|archive-date=27 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231027123323/https://books.google.com/books?id=uZ_sAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA99#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> The first ship and crew to chart the Australian coast and meet with Aboriginal people was the ''[[Duyfken]]'', captained by Dutch navigator [[Willem Janszoon]].<ref name="SmithBurke2007">{{Cite book|first1=Claire|last1=Smith|first2=Heather|last2=Burke|title=Digging It Up Down Under: A Practical Guide to Doing Archaeology in Australia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0HsRb_AY9jQC&pg=PA47|date=2007|publisher=Springer Science|isbn=978-0-3873-5263-3|page=47|access-date=17 July 2023|archive-date=27 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231027123306/https://books.google.com/books?id=0HsRb_AY9jQC&pg=PA47#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> He sighted the coast of [[Cape York Peninsula]] in early 1606, and made landfall on 26 February 1606 at the [[Pennefather River]] near the modern town of [[Weipa, Queensland|Weipa]] on Cape York.<ref name=dhm233>{{Harvnb|Davison|Hirst|Macintyre|1998|p=233}}</ref> Later that year, Spanish explorer [[Luís Vaz de Torres]] sailed through and navigated the [[Torres Strait Islands]].<ref>Brett Hilder (1980) ''The Voyage of Torres'' University of Queensland Press, St. Lucia, Queensland {{ISBN|978-0-7022-1275-8}}</ref> The Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines and named the island continent "[[New Holland (Australia)|New Holland]]" during the 17th century, and although no attempt at settlement was made,<ref name=dhm233/> [[Shipwrecks of Western Australia#Notable wrecks|a number of shipwrecks]] left men either stranded or, as in the case of the ''[[Batavia (1628 ship)|Batavia]]'' in 1629, marooned for mutiny and murder, thus becoming the first Europeans to permanently inhabit the continent.<ref>Davis, Russell Earls (2019) ''A Concise History of Western Australia'' Woodslane Press {{ISBN|978-1-9258-6822-7}} pp. 3–6</ref> In 1770, Captain [[James Cook]] sailed along and mapped the east coast, which he named "[[New South Wales]]" and claimed for Great Britain.<ref name="GoucherWalton2013">{{Cite book|first1=Candice|last1=Goucher|first2=Linda|last2=Walton |title=World History: Journeys from Past to Present|url={{GBurl|id=O_3fCgAAQBAJ|p=427}} |year=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-1350-8829-3|pages=427–428}}</ref> Following the loss of its [[Thirteen Colonies|American colonies]] in 1783, the British Government sent a fleet of ships, the [[First Fleet]], under the command of Captain [[Arthur Phillip]], to establish a new [[penal colony]] in New South Wales. A camp was set up and the [[Union Flag]] raised at [[Sydney Cove]], [[Port Jackson]], on 26 January 1788,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/european-discovery-and-colonisation |title=European discovery and the colonisation of Australia|publisher=Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Commonwealth of Australia|quote=[The British] moved north to Port Jackson on 26 January 1788, landing at Camp Cove, known as 'cadi' to the Cadigal people. Governor Phillip carried instructions to establish the first British Colony in Australia. The First Fleet was underprepared for the task, and the soil around Sydney Cove was poor.|date=11 January 2008 |access-date=7 May 2010 |archive-date=13 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171213231728/http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/european-discovery-and-colonisation |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Egan2003">{{Cite book|first=Ted|last=Egan|title=The Land Downunder|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ND3OqVdOwqoC&pg=PA25|year=2003|publisher=Grice Chapman Publishing|isbn=978-0-9545-7260-0|pages=25–26|access-date=17 July 2023|archive-date=28 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328153358/https://books.google.com/books?id=ND3OqVdOwqoC&pg=PA25#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> a date which later became [[Australia Day|Australia's national day]]. Most early settlers were [[convicts in Australia|convicts]], [[penal transportation|transported]] for petty crimes and [[convict assignment|assigned]] as labourers or servants to "free settlers" (willing immigrants). Once [[emancipist|emancipated]], convicts tended to integrate into colonial society. Martial law was declared to suppress convict rebellions and uprisings,<ref>Kercher, Bruce (2020). ''An Unruly Child: A History of Law in Australia''. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781000248470. pp. 26–27.</ref> and lasted for two years following the 1808 [[Rum Rebellion]], the only successful armed takeover of government in Australia.<ref>Matsuda, Matt K. (2012) ''Pacific Worlds: A History of Seas, Peoples, and Cultures'' Cambridge University Press {{ISBN|978-0-5218-8763-2}} pp. 165–167</ref> Over the next two decades, social and economic reforms, together with the establishment of a [[New South Wales Legislative Council|Legislative Council]] and [[Supreme Court of New South Wales|Supreme Court]], saw New South Wales transition from a penal colony to a civil society.<ref>{{Cite book| last=Ward| first=Russel| title=Australia: a short history| year=1975| publisher=Ure Smith| edition=rev| isbn=978-0-7254-0164-1| url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/9442954| pages=37–38| access-date=15 January 2022| archive-date=20 November 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120221059/https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/9442954| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | last=Molony | first=John Neylon | title=The Penguin History of Australia | year=1987 | publisher=Penguin | location=Ringwood, Vic | isbn=978-0-1400-9739-9 | url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/18412463 | pages=47 | access-date=15 January 2022 | archive-date=21 November 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121021802/https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/18412463 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kemp |first=David |title=The Land of Dreams: How Australians Won Their Freedom, 1788–1860 |url={{GBurl|id=LUVvDwAAQBAJ}} |year=2018 |publisher=Melbourne University Publishing |isbn=978-0-5228-7334-4 |oclc=1088319758 |access-date=14 September 2020}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=February 2024}} <!-- Please take note of talk page diacussion before editing. -->The indigenous population declined for 150 years following European settlement, mainly due to infectious disease.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Smallpox Through History |url=http://encarta.msn.com/media_701508643/Smallpox_Through_History.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040618142015/http://encarta.msn.com/media_701508643/Smallpox_Through_History.html |archive-date=18 June 2004 |work= |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Flood 2019 p."/> British colonial authorities did not sign any treaties with [[Aboriginal Australians#Groups and sub-groups|Aboriginal groups]].<ref name="Flood 2019 p.">{{cite book | last=Flood | first=J. | title=The Original Australians: The story of the Aboriginal People | publisher=Allen & Unwin | year=2019 | isbn=978-1-76087-142-0 |edition=2nd |location=Crows Nest NSW |pages=42, 111, 147–59, 300 |author-link=Josephine Flood}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{cite web |author=Rule of Law Education Centre |title=European Settlement and Terra Nullius |url=https://www.ruleoflaw.org.au/education/australian-colonies/terra-nullius/ |access-date=26 January 2024 |archive-date=26 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240126110348/https://www.ruleoflaw.org.au/education/australian-colonies/terra-nullius/ |url-status=live }}</ref> As settlement expanded, thousands of Indigenous people died in [[Australian frontier wars|frontier conflicts]] while others were dispossessed of their traditional lands.<ref>Attwood, Bain; Foster, Stephen Glynn (2003) ''Frontier Conflict: The Australian Experience'' National Museum of Australia {{ISBN|978-1-8769-4411-7}} p. 89</ref> ===Colonial expansion=== {{Main|History of Australia (1788–1850)|History of Australia (1851–1900)}} [[File:PortArthurPenitentiary.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|right|alt=A calm body of water is in the foreground. The shoreline is about 200 metres away. To the left, close to the shore, are three tall [[Eucalyptus|gum trees]]; behind them on an incline are ruins, including walls and watchtowers of light-coloured stone and brick, what appear to be the foundations of walls, and grassed areas. To the right lie the outer walls of a large rectangular four-storey building dotted with regularly spaced windows. Forested land rises gently to a peak several kilometres back from the shore.|Tasmania's [[Port Arthur, Tasmania|Port Arthur]] penal settlement is one of eleven UNESCO World Heritage-listed [[Australian Convict Sites]].]] In 1803, a settlement was established in [[Van Diemen's Land]] (present-day [[Tasmania]]),<ref name="Davison pp464-5">{{Harvnb|Davison|Hirst|Macintyre|1998|pages=464–465, 628–629}}</ref> and in 1813, [[Gregory Blaxland]], [[William Lawson (explorer)|William Lawson]] and [[William Wentworth]] [[1813 crossing of the Blue Mountains|crossed]] the [[Blue Mountains (New South Wales)|Blue Mountains]] west of Sydney, opening the interior to European settlement.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Conway |first=Jill |title=Biography – Gregory Blaxland – Australian Dictionary of Biography |publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University |chapter=Blaxland, Gregory (1778–1853) |access-date=14 July 2011 |chapter-url=http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A010109b.htm?hilite=blaxland |archive-date=8 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110408201858/http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A010109b.htm?hilite=blaxland |url-status=live }}</ref> The British claim extended to the whole Australian continent in 1827 when Major [[Edmund Lockyer]] established a settlement on [[King George Sound]] (modern-day [[Albany, Western Australia|Albany]]).<ref>{{Cite book|last=Grey|first=Jeffrey |title=A Military History of Australia|url=https://archive.org/details/militaryhistorya00grey_277|url-access=limited |publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Port Melbourne|year=2008|edition=Third|isbn=978-0-5216-9791-0|pages=[https://archive.org/details/militaryhistorya00grey_277/page/n43 28]–40}}</ref> The [[Swan River Colony]] (present-day [[Perth]]) was established in 1829, evolving into the largest Australian colony by area, [[Western Australia]].<ref name="Davison p678">{{Harvnb|Davison|Hirst|Macintyre|1998|p=678}}</ref> In accordance with population growth, separate colonies were carved from New South Wales: Tasmania in 1825, [[South Australia]] in 1836, [[New Zealand]] in 1841, [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] in 1851, and [[Queensland]] in 1859.<ref name="Davison p464">{{Harvnb|Davison|Hirst|Macintyre|1998|p=464}}</ref> South Australia was founded as a free colony—it never accepted transported convicts.<ref name="Davison p598">{{Harvnb|Davison|Hirst|Macintyre|1998|p=598}}</ref> Growing [[Australasian Anti-Transportation League|opposition to the convict system]] culminated in its abolition in the eastern colonies by the 1850s. Initially a free colony, Western Australia practised penal transportation from 1850 to 1868.<ref>{{Cite web |date=25 December 2005 |title=Public Record Office Victoria online catalogue |url=http://www.access.prov.vic.gov.au/public/PROVguides/PROVguide057/PROVguide057.jsp |access-date=15 January 2022 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051225154618/http://www.access.prov.vic.gov.au/public/PROVguides/PROVguide057/PROVguide057.jsp |archive-date=25 December 2005 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The six colonies individually gained [[responsible government]] between 1855 and 1890, thus becoming elective democracies managing most of their own affairs while remaining part of the [[British Empire]].<ref name="Davison p556">{{Harvnb|Davison|Hirst|Macintyre|1998|p=556}}</ref> The Colonial Office in London retained control of some matters, notably foreign affairs.<ref name="Davison p138-9679">{{Harvnb|Davison|Hirst|Macintyre|1998|pages=138–39}}</ref> In the mid-19th century, explorers such as [[Burke and Wills expedition|Burke and Wills]] charted Australia's interior.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/explorers |title=Early explorers|publisher=Australia's Culture Portal |access-date=6 November 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110408183209/http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/explorers/ |archive-date=8 April 2011}}</ref> A [[Australian gold rushes|series of gold rushes]] beginning in the early 1850s led to an influx of new migrants from [[Chinese Australians|China]], North America and continental Europe,<ref name="JuppJupp2001">{{Harvnb|Jupp2|pp=35–36}}</ref> as well as outbreaks of [[bushranger|bushranging]] and civil unrest; the latter peaked in 1854 when [[Ballarat]] miners launched the [[Eureka Rebellion]] against gold license fees.<ref name="Davison pp227-9">{{Harvnb|Davison|Hirst|Macintyre|1998 |pages=227–29}}</ref> The 1860s saw a surge in [[blackbirding]], where [[Pacific Islander]]s were forced into indentured labour, mainly in Queensland.<ref>[https://www.slq.qld.gov.au/discover/exhibitions/australian-south-sea-islanders "Australian South Sea Islanders"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231210065156/https://www.slq.qld.gov.au/discover/exhibitions/australian-south-sea-islanders |date=10 December 2023 }}, State Library of Queensland. Retrieved 21 February 2024.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Higginbotham |first=Will |date=17 September 2017 |title=Blackbirding: Australia's history of luring, tricking and kidnapping Pacific Islanders |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-17/blackbirding-australias-history-of-kidnapping-pacific-islanders/8860754 |access-date=22 February 2024 |website=ABC News |archive-date=26 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240126044712/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-17/blackbirding-australias-history-of-kidnapping-pacific-islanders/8860754 |url-status=live }}</ref> From 1886, Australian colonial governments began introducing policies resulting in the [[Stolen Generations|removal of many Aboriginal children]] from their families and communities.<ref>Banivanua Mar, Tracey; Edmonds, Penelope (2013). "Indigenous and settler relations". ''The Cambridge History of Australia, Volume I''. p. 355–58, 363–64</ref> The [[Second Boer War]] (1899–1902) marked the largest overseas deployment of [[colonial forces of Australia|Australia's colonial forces]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2 June 2021 |title=Australia and the Boer War, 1899–1902 |url=https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/atwar/boer |access-date= |website=Australian War Memorial |archive-date=24 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180324185402/https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/atwar/boer |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Wilcox, Craig (2002). ''Australia's Boer War: The War in South Africa, 1899-1902''. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195516371.</ref> ===Federation to the World Wars=== {{Main|History of Australia (1901–1945)}} {{See also|Federation of Australia|Military history of Australia during World War I|Military history of Australia during World War II}} [[File:Opening of the first parliament.jpg|thumb|left|''[[The Big Picture (painting)|The Big Picture]]'', a painting by [[Tom Roberts]], depicts the opening of the first Australian Parliament in 1901.]] On 1 January 1901, [[Federation of Australia|federation of the colonies]] was achieved after a decade of planning, [[Constitutional Convention (Australia)|constitutional conventions]] and [[1898–1900 Australian constitutional referendums|referendums]], resulting in the establishment of the Commonwealth of Australia as a nation under the new [[Constitution of Australia|Australian Constitution]].<ref name="Davison pp243-4">{{Harvnb|Davison|Hirst|Macintyre|1998 |pages=243–44}}</ref> After the [[1907 Imperial Conference]], Australia and several other self-governing British [[settler colonialism|settler colonies]] were given the status of self-governing [[dominion]]s within the British Empire.<ref name="dominionstatus">{{Cite web|title=History of the Commonwealth|url=http://www.commonwealthofnations.org/commonwealth/history/|website=Commonwealth Network|publisher=Commonwealth of Nations|access-date=16 February 2015|archive-date=25 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200425043631/http://www.commonwealthofnations.org/commonwealth/history/|url-status=live}}</ref> Australia was one of the founding members of the [[League of Nations]] in 1920,<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Covenant of the League of Nations |url=https://www.ungeneva.org/en/about/league-of-nations/covenant |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127003532/https://www.ungeneva.org/en/about/league-of-nations/covenant |archive-date=2024-01-27 |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=The United Nations Office at Geneva |language=en}}</ref> and subsequently of the [[Member states of the United Nations|United Nations]] in 1945.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Growth in United Nations membership |url=https://www.un.org/en/about-us/growth-in-un-membership |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240201204200/https://www.un.org/en/about-us/growth-in-un-membership |archive-date=2024-02-01 |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=United Nations |language=en}}</ref> The [[Statute of Westminster 1931]] formally ended the ability of the UK to pass laws with effect at the Commonwealth level in Australia without the country's consent. Australia [[Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942|adopted it]] in 1942, but it was backdated to 1939 to confirm the validity of legislation passed by the Australian Parliament during World War II.<ref name="Davison p609">{{Harvnb|Davison|Hirst|Macintyre|1998|p=609}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://foundingdocs.gov.au/item-did-25.html |title=Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 (Cth) |publisher=National Archives of Australia |access-date=28 July 2014 |archive-date=12 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140212020054/http://foundingdocs.gov.au/item-did-25.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite Legislation AU|Cth|act|sowaa1942379|Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942}}</ref> The [[Australian Capital Territory]] was formed in 1911 as the location for the future federal capital of [[Canberra]].<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2020-04-25 |title=Establishing the nation's capital |url=https://www.parliament.act.gov.au/visit-and-learn/resources/factsheets/establishing-the-nations-capital |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory |language=en |archive-date=8 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240208115409/https://www.parliament.act.gov.au/visit-and-learn/resources/factsheets/establishing-the-nations-capital |url-status=live }}</ref> While it was being constructed, [[Melbourne]] served as the temporary capital from 1901 to 1927.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://uninews.unimelb.edu.au/news/4332 |title=When Melbourne was Australia's capital city|last=Otto|first=Kristin|date=25 June – 9 July 2007|publisher=University of Melbourne |access-date=29 March 2010|location=Melbourne, Victoria |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100402083202/http://uninews.unimelb.edu.au/news/4332/ |archive-date=2 April 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[Northern Territory]] was transferred from the control of the South Australian government to the federal parliament in 1911.<ref name="Souter2012">{{Cite book|first=Gavin|last=Souter|title=Lion & Kangaroo: The Initiation of Australia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oQIBMD23lL0C&pg=PT141|year=2012|publisher=Xoum Publishing|isbn=978-1-9220-5700-6|page=141|access-date=17 July 2023|archive-date=13 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230413130303/https://books.google.com/books?id=oQIBMD23lL0C&pg=PT141|url-status=live}}</ref> Australia became the colonial ruler of the [[Territory of Papua]] (which had initially been annexed by Queensland in 1883) in 1902 and of the [[Territory of New Guinea]] (formerly [[German New Guinea]]) in 1920.<ref name=":7">{{Cite journal |last=McDermott |first=Peter M |date=2009 |title=Australian Citizenship and the Independence of Papua New Guinea |url=https://austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/journals/UNSWLawJl/2009/3.html |journal=UNSW Law Journal |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=50–2 |via=[[Austlii]] |access-date=8 February 2024 |archive-date=8 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240208072215/https://austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/journals/UNSWLawJl/2009/3.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite Legislation AU|Cth|num_act|nga1920251920138|New Guinea Act 1920}}</ref> The two were unified as the [[Territory of Papua and New Guinea]] in 1949 and gained independence from Australia in 1975.<ref name=":7" /><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://unimelb.libguides.com/png |title=Papua New Guinea Legal Research Guide |publisher=University of Melbourne |access-date=2 April 2021 |archive-date=4 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604205454/https://unimelb.libguides.com/png |url-status=live }}</ref> [[File:Darwin 42.jpg|thumb|The 1942 [[Bombing of Darwin]], the first of over 100 [[Air raids on Australia, 1942–1943|Japanese air raids on Australia]] during [[World War II]]]] In 1914, Australia joined the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]] in fighting the First World War, and took part in many of the major battles fought on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2 June 2021 |title=First World War 1914–18 |url=https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/atwar/first-world-war |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240120020555/https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/atwar/first-world-war |archive-date=2024-01-20 |access-date= |website=Australian War Memorial}}</ref> Of about 416,000 who served, about 60,000 were killed and another 152,000 were wounded.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Tucker|first=Spencer |title=Encyclopedia of World War I|publisher=ABC-CLIO|location=Santa Barbara, California|year=2005|page=273|isbn=978-1-8510-9420-2|url={{GBurl|id=2YqjfHLyyj8C|p=273}}}}</ref> Many Australians regard the defeat of the [[Australian and New Zealand Army Corps]] (ANZAC) at [[Gallipoli Campaign|Gallipoli]] in 1915 as the "baptism of fire" that forged the [[Anzac spirit|new nation's identity]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Reed |first=Liz |title=Bigger than Gallipoli: war, history, and memory in Australia |publisher=University of Western Australia |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-9206-9419-7 |location=Crawley, Western Australia |page=5}}</ref><ref>Macintyre, Stuart (2000) ''A Concise History of Australia'' Cambridge: [[Cambridge University Press]], pp. 151–53, {{ISBN|978-0-521-62359-9}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=17 January 2024 |title=The Anzac legend |url=https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/ww1/personnel/anzac-legend |website=Department of Veterans' Affairs |access-date=9 February 2024 |archive-date=4 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240304225421/https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/ww1/personnel/anzac-legend |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Landing at Anzac Cove|beginning of the campaign]] is commemorated annually on [[Anzac Day|Anzac day]], a date which rivals Australia day as the nation's most important.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Dennis |first1=Peter |title=The Oxford Companion to Australian Military History |last2=Grey |first2=Jeffrey |last3=Morris |first3=Ewan |last4=Prior |first4=Robin |last5=Bou |first5=Jean |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-1955-1784-2 |edition=2nd |location=Melbourne |pages=32, 38 |author2-link=Jeffrey Grey}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Manne |first=Robert |date=2007-04-25 |title=The war myth that made us |url=https://www.theage.com.au/opinion/the-war-myth-that-made-us-20070425-ge4qmh.html |access-date=2024-02-09 |website=The Age |language=en |archive-date=4 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240304225419/https://www.theage.com.au/opinion/the-war-myth-that-made-us-20070425-ge4qmh.html |url-status=live }}</ref> From 1939 to 1945, Australia joined the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] in fighting the Second World War. Australia's [[Australian Defence Force|armed forces]] fought in the [[Pacific War|Pacific]], [[European Theatre of World War II|European]] and [[Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War II|Mediterranean and Middle East]] [[List of theaters and campaigns of World War II|theatres]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Beaumont |first=Joan |editor=Beaumont, Joan|author-link=Joan Beaumont |title=Australia's War, 1939–1945 |year=1996 |publisher=Allen & Unwin |location=Sydney |isbn=978-1-86448-039-9 |chapter=Australia's war: Europe and the Middle East}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Beaumont |first=Joan |editor=Beaumont, Joan |title=Australia's War, 1939–1945 |year=1996a |publisher=Allen & Unwin |location=Sydney |isbn=978-1-86448-039-9 |chapter=Australia's war: Asia and the Pacific}}</ref> The shock of Britain's [[fall of Singapore|defeat in Singapore]] in 1942, followed soon after by the [[bombing of Darwin]] and [[Air raids on Australia, 1942–43|other Japanese attacks on Australian soil]], led to a widespread belief in Australia that [[Proposed Japanese invasion of Australia during World War II|a Japanese invasion was imminent]], and a shift from the United Kingdom to the [[Australia–United States relations|United States]] as Australia's principal ally and security partner.<ref name="Davison pp22-3">{{Harvnb|Davison|Hirst|Macintyre|1998|pages=22–23}}</ref> Since 1951, Australia has been allied with the United States under the [[ANZUS]] treaty.<ref name="Davison p30">{{Harvnb|Davison|Hirst|Macintyre|1998|p=30}}</ref> ===Post-war and contemporary eras=== {{Main|History of Australia (1945–present)}} [[File:Dutch Migrant 1954 MariaScholte=50000thToAustraliaPostWW2.jpg|thumb|left|[[Post-war immigration to Australia|Postwar migrants]] from Europe arriving in Australia in 1954]] In the decades following World War II, Australia enjoyed significant increases in living standards, leisure time and suburban development.<ref name="Susan_Something">{{Cite book|editor-first=Susan|editor-last=Hosking|display-editors=etal |title=Something Rich and Strange: Sea Changes, Beaches and the Littoral in the Antipodes|url={{GBurl|id=6mQ_-ZD5xBUC|p=6}}|year=2009|publisher=Wakefield Press|isbn=978-1-8625-4870-1|pages=6–}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|first1=Brian|last1=Hodge|first2=Allen|last2=Whitehurst|title=Nation and People: An Introduction to Australia in a Changing World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qE0OAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA184|year=1967|publisher=Hicks, Smith|pages=184–|access-date=17 July 2023|archive-date=28 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328153346/https://books.google.com/books?id=qE0OAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA184|url-status=live}}</ref> Using the slogan "populate or perish", the nation encouraged a [[Post-war immigration to Australia|large wave of immigration from across Europe]], with such immigrants referred to as "[[New Australians]]".<ref>{{Cite web |url= http://www.immi.gov.au/media/publications/statistics/federation/timeline1.pdf |title=Immigration to Australia During the 20th Century – Historical Impacts on Immigration Intake, Population Size and Population Composition – A Timeline |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080801014246/http://www.immi.gov.au/media/publications/statistics/federation/timeline1.pdf |archive-date=1 August 2008 |publisher=Department of Immigration and Citizenship (Australia) |year=2001| access-date=18 July 2008}}</ref> A member of the [[Western Bloc]] during the [[Cold War]], Australia participated in the [[Australia in the Korean War|Korean War]] and the [[Military history of Australia during the Malayan Emergency|Malayan Emergency]] during the 1950s and the [[Military history of Australia during the Vietnam War|Vietnam War]] from 1962 to 1972.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Fighting Australia's Cold War |date=2021 |publisher=ANU Press |isbn=978-1-76046-482-0 |editor-last=Dean |editor-first=Peter |location=Canberra |pages=1 |chapter=Introduction |editor-last2=Moss |editor-first2=Tristan |chapter-url=https://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/n9414/pdf/introduction.pdf |access-date=9 February 2024 |archive-date=12 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240112170033/https://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/n9414/pdf/introduction.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> During this time, tensions over communist influence in society led to [[1951 Australian Communist Party ban referendum|unsuccessful attempts]] by the [[Menzies Government (1949–1966)|Menzies Government]] to ban the [[Communist Party of Australia]],<ref>Frank Crowley (1973) ''Modern Australia in Documents, 1939–1970''. pp. 222–26. Wren Publishing, Melbourne. {{ISBN|978-0-1700-5300-6}}</ref> and a [[Australian Labor Party split of 1955|bitter split]] in the [[Australian Labor Party|Labor Party]] in 1955.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Calwell|first=Arthur Augustus |title=Be just and fear not|url=https://archive.org/details/bejustfearnot0000calw|url-access=registration|publisher=Lloyd O'Neil Pty Ltd.|location=[[Hawthorn, Victoria|Hawthorn]], [[Victoria, Australia|Victoria]]|year=1972|isbn=978-0-8555-0352-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/bejustfearnot0000calw/page/188 188]}}</ref> As a result of a [[Australian referendum, 1967 (Aboriginals)|1967 referendum]], the federal government gained the power to legislate with regard to Indigenous Australians, and Indigenous Australians were fully included in the [[Census in Australia|census]].<ref name="Edwards2004">{{Cite book|first=William Howell|last=Edwards|title=An Introduction to Aboriginal Societies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kF-_Pe5WX6UC&pg=PA132|year=2004|publisher=Cengage Learning Australia|isbn=978-1-8766-3389-9|pages=25–26, 30, 132–133|access-date=17 July 2023|archive-date=12 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412154810/https://books.google.com/books?id=kF-_Pe5WX6UC&pg=PA132|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Aboriginal title|Pre-colonial land interests]] (referred to as [[Native title in Australia|native title]] in Australia) was recognised in law for the first time when the [[High Court of Australia]] held in ''[[Mabo v Queensland (No 2)]]'' that Australia was neither ''[[terra nullius]]'' ("land belonging to no one") or "desert and uncultivated land" at the time of European settlement.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Galloway |first=Kate |date=2017-04-26 |title=Australian politics explainer: the Mabo decision and native title |url=http://theconversation.com/australian-politics-explainer-the-mabo-decision-and-native-title-74147 |access-date=2024-01-25 |website=The Conversation |language=en-US |archive-date=25 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240125000636/http://theconversation.com/australian-politics-explainer-the-mabo-decision-and-native-title-74147 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Davison pp. 5-7, 402">{{Harvnb|Davison|Hirst|Macintyre|1998|pages=5–7, 402}}</ref> Following the abolition of the last vestiges of the [[White Australia policy]] in 1973,<ref>{{Cite web |url= http://www.border.gov.au/about/corporate/information/fact-sheets/08abolition |title= Fact Sheet – Abolition of the 'White Australia' Policy|location= Commonwealth of Australia|publisher= National Communications Branch, Department of Immigration and Citizenship|work= Australian Immigration |access-date= 27 March 2013 |archive-date= 19 September 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150919131355/http://www.border.gov.au/about/corporate/information/fact-sheets/08abolition |url-status= dead}}</ref> Australia's demography and culture transformed as a result of a large and ongoing wave of non-European immigration, mostly from Asia.<ref name="Davison pp338-6, 681-2">{{Harvnb|Davison|Hirst|Macintyre|1998|pages=338–39, 442–43, 681–82}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sawer |first1=Geoffrey |title=The Australian Constitution and the Australian Aborigines |journal=Federal Law Review |date=1966 |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=17–36 |publisher=Australian National University |location=Canberra |doi=10.1177/0067205X6600200102 |s2cid=159414135 |issn=1444-6928 |url=http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/FedLawRw/1967/2.pdf |access-date=3 August 2020 |archive-date=17 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200917034746/http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/FedLawRw/1967/2.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The late 20th century also saw an increasing focus on foreign policy ties with other [[Pacific Rim]] nations.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Pacific Basin since 1945: A history of the foreign relations of the Asian, Australasian, and American rim states and the Pacific islands|last=Thompson|first=Roger C. |isbn=978-0-5820-2127-3|publisher=Longman|year=1994|url=https://archive.org/details/pacificbasinsinc0000thom}}</ref> The [[Australia Acts]] severed the remaining constitutional ties between Australia and the United Kingdom while maintaining the monarch in her independent capacity as [[Queen of Australia]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/item-did-32.html|title=Australia Act 1986 (Cth)|access-date=25 July 2020|work=Documenting a Democracy|publisher=Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House|archive-date=22 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190422204352/https://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/item-did-32.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Twomey |first=Anne |date=January 2008 |title=The States, the Commonwealth and the Crown—the Battle for Sovereignty |url=https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Senate/Powers_practice_n_procedures/pops/pop48/battlesovereignty |access-date= |website=Parliament of Australia |series=Papers on Parliament No. 48 |language=en-AU |quote= |archive-date=9 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220909014023/https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Senate/Powers_practice_n_procedures/pops/pop48/battlesovereignty |url-status=live }}</ref> In a [[1999 Australian republic referendum|1999 constitutional referendum]], 55% of voters rejected [[Republicanism in Australia|abolishing the monarchy]] and becoming a republic.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1999: Republic referendum: Queen and/or Country |url=https://moadoph.gov.au/explore/democracy/1999-republic-referendum |access-date=2024-02-10 |website=Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House |archive-date=17 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240117083033/https://www.moadoph.gov.au/explore/democracy/1999-republic-referendum |url-status=live }}</ref> Following the [[September 11 attacks]] on the United States, Australia joined the United States in fighting the [[Military history of Australia during the War in Afghanistan|Afghanistan War]] from 2001 to 2021 and the [[Australian contribution to the 2003 invasion of Iraq|Iraq War]] from 2003 to 2009.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Neville |first=Leigh |year=2019 |title=The Australian Army at War 1976–2016|edition=First |publisher=Bloomsbury |location=London |isbn=978-1-4728-2631-2}}</ref> The nation's trade relations also became increasingly oriented towards East Asia in the 21st century, with China becoming the nation's [[List of the largest trading partners of Australia|largest trading partner]] by a large margin.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/fifty-years-of-Australias-trade.pdf |title=Fifty years of Australia's trade |website=Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade |access-date=11 January 2022 |archive-date=6 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206235853/http://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/fifty-years-of-Australias-trade.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2020, during the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Australia|COVID-19 pandemic]], several of Australia's largest cities were [[COVID-19 lockdowns|locked down]] for extended periods and free movement across the national and state borders was restricted in an attempt to slow the spread of the [[Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2|SARS-CoV-2 virus]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dawson |first=Emma |year=2020 |title=What Happens Next? Reconstructing Australia After COVID-19| publisher=Melbourne University Press |location=Melbourne |isbn=978-0-5228-7721-2}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page