177-540: The History of Australia (1851–1900) refers to the history of the people of the Australian continent during the 50-year period which preceded the foundation of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. The gold rushes of the 1850s led to high immigration and a booming economy. Increasing prosperity and the growing number of free settlers and locally born people led to popular demands for the end of penal transportation and
354-479: A Mediterranean climate . The south-east ranges from oceanic (Tasmania and coastal Victoria) to humid subtropical (upper half of New South Wales), with the highlands featuring alpine and subpolar oceanic climates . The interior is arid to semi-arid . Driven by climate change , average temperatures have risen more than 1°C since 1960 . Associated changes in rainfall patterns and climate extremes exacerbate existing issues such as drought and bushfires . 2019
531-511: A belt of Brigalow grasslands lie between the coast and the mountains, while inland of the dividing range are large areas of grassland and shrubland. These include the western plains of New South Wales, and the Mitchell Grass Downs and Mulga Lands of inland Queensland. The northernmost point of the mainland is the tropical Cape York Peninsula . The landscapes of the Top End and
708-793: A large wave of immigration from across Europe , with such immigrants referred to as " New Australians ". This required a relaxation of the white Australia policy , which was justified to Australians using the slogan "populate or perish". A member of the Western Bloc during the Cold War , Australia participated in the Korean War and the Malayan Emergency during the 1950s and the Vietnam War from 1962 to 1972. During this time, tensions over communist influence in society led to unsuccessful attempts by
885-492: A Commission of Inquiry into goldfields grievances. It also considered a proposal to abolish the licence fee in return for a royalty on the gold and a nominal charge for maintaining the police service. In November, it was resolved by the Legislative Council that the licence fee be reinstated on a sliding scale of 1 pound per month, 2 pounds per three months, 4 pounds for six months, and 8 pounds for 12 months. License evasion
1062-616: A Royal Commission, the monthly licence was replaced with an annual miner's right at a lower cost which also gave holders the right to vote and build a dwelling on the goldfields. The administration of the Victorian goldfields was also reformed. Stuart Macintyre states, "The Eureka rebellion was a formative event in the national mythology, the Southern Cross [on the Eureka flag ] a symbol of freedom and independence." However, according to A. G. L. Shaw,
1239-553: A choice between "The Old Dead Tree and the Young Tree Green/ The Land that belongs to the lord and the Queen,/And the land that belongs to you." A unified Australia was usually associated with a white Australia. In 1887, The Bulletin declared that all white men who left the religious and class divisions of the old world behind were Australians. The 1880s and 1890s saw a proliferation of books and articles depicting Australia as
1416-471: A conflict of interest presiding over a case involving the prosecution of Bentley, said to be a friend and indebted business partner. Gregorius, a physically disabled servant who worked for Father Smyth of St Alipius chapel, had been in the past subjected to police brutality and false arrest for licence evasion, even though he was exempt from the requirement. On 15 October, a mass meeting of predominantly Catholic miners took place on Bakery Hill in protest over
1593-538: A crowd of some 10,000 swore allegiance to the Eureka Flag . Gold miner Peter Lalor became the rebellions de facto leader, as he had initiated the swearing of allegiance. The Battle of Eureka Stockade ended the short-lived rebellion on 3 December. A group of 13 captured rebels (not including Lalor, who was in hiding) was put on trial for high treason in Melbourne, but mass public support led to their acquittal. The legacy of
1770-461: A date which later became Australia's national day . Most early settlers were convicts , transported for petty crimes and assigned as labourers or servants to "free settlers" (willing immigrants). Once emancipated , convicts tended to integrate into colonial society. Convict rebellions and uprisings were suppressed under martial law, which lasted for two years following the 1808 Rum Rebellion , Australia's only successful coup d'état . During
1947-591: A degree of autonomy and freedom to enter and leave. In contrast, the Victorian Board for the Protection of Aborigines (created in 1869) had extensive power to regulate the employment, education and place of residence of Aboriginal Victorians, and closely managed the five reserves and missions established since self government in 1858. In 1886, the protection board gained the power to exclude "half caste" Aboriginal people from missions and stations. The Victorian legislation
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#17330852642352124-768: A delegate to the Federal Convention on Australian Federation. Women won the vote in Western Australia in 1899, with some restrictions based on race. Women in the remainder of Australia only won full rights to vote and to stand for elected office in the decade after Federation, although there were some racial restrictions. Indigenous Australian males gained the right to vote when Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania and South Australia gave voting rights to all male British subjects over 21. However, they were not encouraged to vote and few did. Only Queensland legally barred Aboriginal people from voting, although Western Australia had
2301-540: A distinctive Australian identity rather than shared "Britishness" as the basis for a unified Australia. Some, such as the radical magazine The Bulletin and the Tasmanian Attorney-General Andrew Inglis Clark , were republicans, while others were prepared to accept a fully independent country of Australia with only a ceremonial role for the British monarch. In 1887, poet Henry Lawson wrote of
2478-550: A few days behind. On 28 November, the 12th (East Suffolk) Regiment of Foot arrived to reinforce the government camp in Ballarat. As they moved alongside where the Eureka Stockade was about to be erected members of the convoy were attacked by a mob looking to loot the wagons. By the beginning of December, the police contingent at Ballarat had been surpassed by the number of soldiers from the 12th and 40th regiments. The strength of
2655-640: A greater number of liberal members. That year, the New South Wales Legislative Council petitioned the British Government requesting self-government for the colony. The Anti-Transportation League also saw the convict system as a barrier to the achievement of self-government. In 1852, the British Government announced that convict transportation to Van Diemen's Land would cease and invited the eastern colonies to draft constitutions enabling responsible self-government. The Secretary of State cited
2832-610: A matter of hours previously. They became tragic heroes to the European settlers, their funeral attracting a crowd of more than 50,000 and their story inspiring numerous books, artworks, films and representations in popular culture. In 1862, John McDouall Stuart succeeded in traversing central Australia from south to north. His expedition mapped out the route which was later followed by the Australian Overland Telegraph Line . The completion of this telegraph line in 1872
3009-576: A more appropriate coat of arms, or a motto more in character with themselves. The design of the Digger's flag was along the same lines as the flag flown at Forrest Creek in 1851. It has four quarters that feature a pick, shovel and cradle, symbolising the mining industry; a bundle of sticks tied together, symbolising unity; the scales of justice, symbolising the remedies the miners sought; and a Kangaroo and Emu, symbolising Australia. On 20 August 1853, just as an angry mob of 500–600 miners went to assemble outside
3186-665: A property qualification for voting existed for male Aboriginals, Asians, Africans and people of mixed descent. Propertied women in the colony of South Australia were granted the vote in local elections (but not parliamentary elections) in 1861. Henrietta Dugdale formed the first Australian women's suffrage society in Melbourne , Victoria in 1884. Societies to promote women's suffrage were also formed in South Australia in 1888 and New South Wales in 1891. The Women's Christian Temperance Union established branches in most Australian colonies in
3363-591: A property qualification which effectively denied them the vote. By the late 1880s, a majority of people living in the Australian colonies were native born, although more than 90 per cent were of British and Irish heritage. The Australian Natives Association , a friendly society open to Australian-born males, flourished in the 1880s. It campaigned for an Australian federation within the British Empire, promoted Australian literature and history, and successfully lobbied for
3540-545: A protest flag of the Chartist movement in the nineteenth century". The Ballarat Reform League charter was inspired by the charter ratified at the 1839 Chartist National Convention held in London. The Ballarat charter contains five of the same demands as the London one. The Ballarat league did not adopt the Chartist's sixth demand: secret ballots. The meeting passed a resolution "that it is the inalienable right of every citizen to have
3717-560: A riot at Ballarat. Protesters formed the Ballarat Reform League to support the arrested men and demanded manhood suffrage, reform of the mining licence and administration, and land reform to promote small farms. Further protests followed and protesters built a stockade on the Eureka Field at Ballarat. On 3 December troops overran the stockade, killing about 20 protesters. Five troops were killed and 12 seriously wounded. Following
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#17330852642353894-537: A road crew. Catherine Bentley was acquitted. Two days later, the miners Westerby, Fletcher and McIntyre were convicted for burning the Eureka Hotel and were sentenced to jail terms of six, four and three months. The jury recommended the prerogative of mercy be evoked and noted that they held the local authorities in Ballarat responsible for the loss of property. One week later, a reform league delegation, including Humffray, met with Hotham, Stawell and Foster to negotiate
4071-568: A settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land (present-day Tasmania ), and in 1813, Gregory Blaxland , William Lawson and William Wentworth crossed the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, opening the interior to European settlement. 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 ). The Swan River Colony (present-day Perth )
4248-435: A short distance off the north-east coast and extends for more than 2,000 km (1,200 mi). Mount Augustus , claimed to be the world's largest monolith, is located in Western Australia. At 2,228 m (7,310 ft), Mount Kosciuszko is the highest mountain on the Australian mainland. Even taller are Mawson Peak , at 2,745 m (9,006 ft), on the remote Australian external territory of Heard Island , and, in
4425-576: A significant population of Japanese, Filipinos and Malays were working in pearling and fishing. In 1890, the population of northern Australia is estimated at 70,000 Europeans and 20,000 Asians and Pacific Islanders. Indigenous people probably outnumbered these groups, leaving white people a minority north of the Tropic of Capricorn. From the late 1870s trade unions, Anti-Chinese Leagues and other community groups campaigned against Chinese immigration and low-wage Chinese labour. Following intercolonial conferences on
4602-515: A sparsely populated white nation threatened by populous Asian neighbours. A white Australia also meant the exclusion of cheap Asian labour, an idea strongly promoted by the labour movement. According to historian John Hirst, "Federation was not needed to make the White Australia policy, but that policy was the most popular expression of the national ideal that inspired federation." Growing nationalist sentiment coincided with business concerns about
4779-530: A statement made on 10 November in the name of the Ballarat Reform League that was signed by John Basson Humffray , Fredrick Vern , Henry Ross and Samuel Irwin of the Geelong Advertiser . The final report agreed with the League's submission, blaming the government camp for the unsatisfactory state of affairs. The recommendation that Magistrate Dewes and Sergeant Major-Milne of the constabulary should be dismissed
4956-411: A strict enforcement system and conduct a weekly cycle of licence hunts, which it was hoped would cause the exodus to the goldfields to be reversed. In August 1854, Hotham and his wife were received in Ballarat during a tour of the Victorian goldfields. In September, Hotham imposed more frequent twice-weekly licence hunts, with more than half of the prospectors on the goldfields remaining non-compliant with
5133-640: A union, one of the highest rates in the world. Economic growth was accompanied by expansion into northern Australia. Gold was discovered in northern Queensland in the 1860s and 1870s, and in the Kimberley and Pilbara regions of Western Australia in the 1880s. Sheep and cattle runs spread to northern Queensland and on to the Gulf Country of the Northern Territory and the Kimberley region of Western Australia in
5310-466: A voice in making the laws he is called on to obey, that taxation without representation is tyranny". The meeting resolved to secede from the United Kingdom if the situation did not improve. Throughout the following weeks, the league sought to negotiate with Rede and Hotham on the specific matters relating to Bentley and the death of James Scobie, the men being tried for the burning of the Eureka Hotel,
5487-411: A wide variety of landscapes, with tropical rainforests in the north-east, mountain ranges in the south-east, south-west and east, and desert in the centre. The desert or semi-arid land commonly known as the outback makes up by far the largest portion of land. Australia is the driest inhabited continent; its annual rainfall averaged over continental area is less than 500 mm. The population density
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5664-436: Is 3.4 inhabitants per square kilometre, although the large majority of the population lives along the temperate south-eastern coastline. The population density exceeds 19,500 inhabitants per square kilometre in central Melbourne. In 2021 Australia had 10% of the global permanent meadows and pastureland. Forest cover is around 17% of Australia's total land area. The Great Barrier Reef , the world's largest coral reef, lies
5841-413: Is a constitutional monarchy , a parliamentary democracy and a federation . The country has maintained its mostly unchanged constitution alongside a stable liberal democratic political system since Federation in 1901. It is one of the world's oldest federations, in which power is divided between the federal and state governments. The Australian system of government combines elements derived from
6018-857: Is a middle power , and has the world's thirteenth-highest military expenditure . It is a member of international groups including the United Nations; the G20 ; the OECD ; the World Trade Organization ; Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation ; the Pacific Islands Forum ; the Pacific Community ; the Commonwealth of Nations ; and the defence and security organisations ANZUS , AUKUS , and the Five Eyes . It
6195-424: Is a mere cloak to cover a democratic revolution", and the day before the battle reported to the chief gold commissioner that the government forces stood ready to "crush them and the democratic agitation at one blow". The James Scobie murder trial ended on 18 November 1854, with the accused, James Bentley, Thomas Farrell and William Hance, being convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to three years of hard labour on
6372-720: Is also a major non-NATO ally of the United States. The name Australia (pronounced / ə ˈ s t r eɪ l i ə / in Australian English ) is derived from the Latin Terra Australis ( ' southern land ' ), a name used for a hypothetical continent in the Southern Hemisphere since ancient times. Several 16th-century cartographers used the word Australia on maps, but not to identify modern Australia. When Europeans began visiting and mapping Australia in
6549-468: Is controversially identified with the birth of democracy in Australia and interpreted by many as a political revolt. The Eureka Rebellion had its origins in the Australian gold rush that began in 1851. Following the separation of Victoria from New South Wales on 1 July 1851, gold prospectors were offered 200 guineas for making discoveries within 320 kilometres (200 mi) of Melbourne. In August 1851,
6726-438: Is diverse, and the country has one of the highest foreign-born populations in the world . It has a highly developed market economy and one of the highest per capita incomes globally . Its abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade relations are crucial to the country's economy. It ranks highly for quality of life, health, education, economic freedom, civil liberties and political rights. Australia
6903-578: Is governed by convention and their precise scope is unclear. The most notable exercise of these powers was the dismissal of the Whitlam government in the constitutional crisis of 1975 . Eureka Rebellion The Eureka Rebellion was a series of events involving gold miners who revolted against the British administration of the colony of Victoria , Australia during the Victorian gold rush . It culminated in
7080-557: Is one of only two pristine Archaean 3.6–2.7 Ga (billion years ago) crusts identified on the Earth. Having been part of all major supercontinents , the Australian continent began to form after the breakup of Gondwana in the Permian , with the separation of the continental landmass from the African continent and Indian subcontinent. It separated from Antarctica over a prolonged period beginning in
7257-548: Is uncertain how many waves of immigration may have contributed to these ancestors of modern Aboriginal Australians. The Madjedbebe rock shelter in Arnhem Land is possibly the oldest site showing the presence of humans in Australia. The oldest human remains found are the Lake Mungo remains , which have been dated to around 41,000 years ago. Aboriginal Australian culture is one of the oldest continuous cultures on Earth. At
History of Australia (1851–1900) - Misplaced Pages Continue
7434-411: Is unique. About 85% of flowering plants, 84% of mammals, more than 45% of birds , and 89% of in-shore, temperate-zone fish are endemic . Australia has at least 755 species of reptile, more than any other country in the world. Besides Antarctica, Australia is the only continent that developed without feline species. Feral cats may have been introduced in the 17th century by Dutch shipwrecks, and later in
7611-631: The Admiralty agreed that the continent should be known officially by that name. The first official published use of the new name came with the publication in 1830 of The Australia Directory by the Hydrographic Office . Colloquial names for Australia include " Oz ", " Straya " and " Down Under ". Other epithets include "the Great Southern Land", "the Lucky Country" (from the 1964 book of
7788-493: The Australia Acts of 1986. Australia is a federal parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy comprising six states and ten territories . Its population of more than 28 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard. Canberra is the nation's capital, while its most populous cities are Sydney and Melbourne , both with a population of more than 5 million. Australia's culture
7965-482: The Battle of the Eureka Stockade , which took place on 3 December 1854 at Ballarat between the rebels and the colonial forces of Australia . The fighting resulted in an official total of 27 deaths and many injuries, the majority of casualties being rebels. There was a preceding period beginning in 1851 of peaceful demonstrations and civil disobedience on the Victorian goldfields. The miners had various grievances, chiefly
8142-474: The Gulf Country —with their tropical climate—include forest, woodland, wetland, grassland, rainforest and desert. At the north-west corner of the continent are the sandstone cliffs and gorges of The Kimberley , and below that the Pilbara . The Victoria Plains tropical savanna lies south of the Kimberley and Arnhem Land savannas, forming a transition between the coastal savannas and the interior deserts. At
8319-542: The Indian Ocean Dipole and the El Niño–Southern Oscillation , which is correlated with periodic drought , and the seasonal tropical low-pressure system that produces cyclones in northern Australia. These factors cause rainfall to vary markedly from year to year. Much of the northern part of the country has a tropical, predominantly summer-rainfall ( monsoon ). The south-west corner of the country has
8496-529: The Iraq War from 2003 to 2009. The nation's trade relations also became increasingly oriented towards East Asia in the 21st century, with China becoming the nation's largest trading partner by a large margin. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic , several of Australia's largest cities were locked down for extended periods and free movement across the national and state borders was restricted in an attempt to slow
8673-638: The Menzies Government to ban the Communist Party of Australia , and a bitter split in the Labor Party in 1955. As a result of a 1967 referendum , the federal government gained the power to legislate with regard to Indigenous Australians, and Indigenous Australians were fully included in the census . Pre-colonial land interests (referred to as native title in Australia) was recognised in law for
8850-520: The Permian and continuing through to the Cretaceous . When the last glacial period ended in about 10,000 BC, rising sea levels formed Bass Strait , separating Tasmania from the mainland. Then between about 8,000 and 6,500 BC, the lowlands in the north were flooded by the sea, separating New Guinea, the Aru Islands , and the mainland of Australia. The Australian continent is moving toward Eurasia at
9027-581: The South Australian and Queensland elections of 1893 . The world's first Labor government was formed in Queensland in 1899, but it lasted only a week. From the mid-1890s colonial governments, often with Labor support, passed acts regulating wages, working conditions and "coloured" labour in a number of industries. At an Intercolonial Conference in 1896, the colonies agreed to extend restrictions on Chinese immigration to "all coloured races". Labor supported
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#17330852642359204-663: The Territory of Papua and New Guinea in 1949 and gained independence from Australia in 1975. In 1914, Australia joined the Allies in fighting the First World War, and took part in many of the major battles fought on the Western Front . Of about 416,000 who served, about 60,000 were killed and another 152,000 were wounded. Many Australians regard the defeat of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) at Gallipoli in 1915 as
9381-514: The Torres Strait Islands . The Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines and named the island continent " New Holland " during the 17th century, and although no attempt at settlement was made, a number of shipwrecks left men either stranded or, as in the case of the Batavia in 1629, marooned for mutiny and murder, thus becoming the first Europeans to permanently inhabit
9558-565: The Union Jack and jokingly said that "if the flag went, it would be replaced by a diggers' flag". The Bendigo "diggers flag" was unfurled at a rally at View Point, Sandhurst, on 12 August 1853 to hear from delegates who had returned from Melbourne with news of the failure of the Bendigo petition. The miners paraded under the flags of several nations, including the Irish tricolour , the saltire of Scotland,
9735-621: The bombing of Darwin and other Japanese attacks on Australian soil , led to a widespread belief in Australia that a Japanese invasion was imminent , and a shift from the United Kingdom to the United States as Australia's principal ally and security partner. Since 1951, Australia has been allied with the United States under the ANZUS treaty. In the decades following World War II, Australia enjoyed significant increases in living standards, leisure time and suburban development. Governments encouraged
9912-404: The concentration of land ownership as large landowners used loopholes in the laws to buy more land. However, refinements to the legislation, improvements in farming technology and the introduction of crops adapted to Australian conditions eventually led to the diversification of rural land use. The expansion of the railways from the 1860s allowed wheat to be cheaply transported in bulk, stimulating
10089-426: The emu and the kookaburra . Australia is home to many dangerous animals including some of the most venomous snakes in the world. The dingo was introduced by Austronesian people who traded with Indigenous Australians around 3000 BCE . Many animal and plant species became extinct soon after first human settlement, including the Australian megafauna ; others have disappeared since European settlement, among them
10266-435: The federation of the colonies . The constitution gained royal assent in 1900 and the Commonwealth of Australia was proclaimed on 1 January 1901. Although gold had been found in Australia as early as 1823 by surveyor James McBrien, a gold rush began when Edward Hargraves widely publicised his discovery of gold near Bathurst, New South Wales , in February 1851. Further discoveries were made later that year in Victoria, where
10443-479: The governor-general at the federal level and by the governors at the state level, who by section 63 of the Constitution and convention act on the advice of their ministers. Thus, in practice the governor-general acts as a legal figurehead for the actions of the prime minister and the Cabinet. The governor-general may in some situations exercise reserve powers : powers exercisable in the absence or contrary to ministerial advice. When these powers may be exercised
10620-409: The last glacial period . By the time of British settlement, Aboriginal Australians spoke 250 distinct languages and had the oldest living culture in the world. Australia's written history commenced with Dutch exploration of most of the coastline in the 17th-century. British colonisation began in 1788 with the establishment of the penal colony of New South Wales . By the mid-19th century, most of
10797-483: The "baptism of fire" that forged the new nation's identity . The beginning of the campaign is commemorated annually on Anzac Day , a date which rivals Australia Day as the nation's most important. From 1939 to 1945, Australia joined the Allies in fighting the Second World War. Australia's armed forces fought in the Pacific , European and Mediterranean and Middle East theatres . The shock of Britain's defeat in Singapore in 1942, followed soon after by
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#173308526423510974-503: The "island continent" and is sometimes considered the world's largest island . Australia has 34,218 km (21,262 mi) of coastline (excluding all offshore islands), and claims an extensive exclusive economic zone of 8,148,250 square kilometres (3,146,060 sq mi). This exclusive economic zone does not include the Australian Antarctic Territory . Mainland Australia lies between latitudes 9° and 44° south , and longitudes 112° and 154° east . Australia's size gives it
11151-443: The 17th century, the name Terra Australis was applied to the new territories. Until the early 19th century, Australia was best known as New Holland , a name first applied by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in 1644 (as Nieuw-Holland ) and subsequently anglicised. Terra Australis still saw occasional usage, such as in scientific texts. The name Australia was popularised by the explorer Matthew Flinders , who said it
11328-421: The 1870s and 1880s. Sugar plantations also expanded in northern Queensland during the same period. The gold discoveries in northern Australia attracted a new wave of Chinese immigrants. The Queensland sugar cane industry also relied heavily on indentured South Sea Island workers, whose low wages and poor working conditions became a national controversy and led to government regulation of the industry. Additionally,
11505-585: The 1880s half the Australian population lived in towns, making Australia more urbanised than the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. Between 1870 and 1890 average income per person in Australia was more than 50 per cent higher than that of the United States, giving Australia one of the highest living standards in the world. The size of the government sector almost doubled from 10 per cent of national expenditure in 1850 to 19 per cent in 1890. Colonial governments spent heavily on infrastructure such as railways, ports, telegraph, schools and urban services. Much of
11682-402: The 1880s, promoting votes for women and a range of social causes. Women became eligible to vote for the Parliament of South Australia in 1895. This was the first legislation in the world permitting women also to stand for election to political office and, in 1897, Catherine Helen Spence became the first female political candidate for political office, unsuccessfully standing for election as
11859-428: The 18th century by European settlers. They are now considered a major factor in the decline and extinction of many vulnerable and endangered native species. Seafaring immigrants from Asia are believed to have brought the dingo to Australia sometime after the end of the last ice age—perhaps 4000 years ago—and Aboriginal people helped disperse them across the continent as pets, contributing to the demise of thylacines on
12036-416: The 2018 Environmental Performance Index . There are more than 1,800 animals and plants on Australia's threatened species list, including more than 500 animals. Paleontologists discovered a fossil site of a prehistoric rainforest in McGraths Flat , in South Australia, that presents evidence that this now arid desert and dry shrubland / grassland was once home to an abundance of life. Australia
12213-510: The 26 January to be Australia's national day. Australian nationalists often claimed that unification of the colonies was Australia's destiny. Australians lived on a single continent, and the vast majority shared a British heritage and spoke English. Many nationalists spoke of Australians sharing common blood as members of the British "race". Henry Parkes stated in 1890, "The crimson thread of kinship runs through us all...we must unite as one great Australian people." A minority of nationalists saw
12390-500: The Australian Antarctic Territory, Mount McClintock and Mount Menzies , at 3,492 m (11,457 ft) and 3,355 m (11,007 ft) respectively. Eastern Australia is marked by the Great Dividing Range , which runs parallel to the coast of Queensland, New South Wales and much of Victoria. The name is not strictly accurate, because parts of the range consist of low hills, and the highlands are typically no more than 1,600 m (5,200 ft) in height. The coastal uplands and
12567-438: The Australian mainland. The first ship and crew to chart the Australian coast and meet with Aboriginal people was the Duyfken , captained by Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon . 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 on Cape York. Later that year, Spanish explorer Luís Vaz de Torres sailed through and navigated
12744-642: The Australian population was 430,000. In 1871, it was 1.7 million. Among this number was "a heavy sprinkling of ex-convicts, gamblers, thieves, rogues and vagabonds of all kinds". The local authorities soon found themselves with fewer police and lacked the infrastructure needed to support the expansion of the mining industry. The number of public servants, factory and farm workers leaving for the goldfields to seek their fortune made for chronic labour shortages that needed to be resolved. On 16 August 1851, just days after Hiscock's lucky strike, Lieutenant-Governor Charles La Trobe issued two proclamations that reserved to
12921-542: The Eureka affair "is often painted as a great fight for Australian liberty and the rights of the working man, but it was not that. Its leaders were themselves small capitalists...and even after universal suffrage was introduced...only about a fifth of the miners bothered to vote." Elections for the semi-representative Legislative Councils, held in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Van Diemen's Land in 1851, produced
13098-413: The New South Wales diggings. There was a widespread belief that they represented a danger to white Australian living standards and morality, and colonial governments responded by imposing a range of taxes, charges and restrictions on Chinese migrants and residents. Anti-Chinese riots erupted on the Victorian goldfields in 1856 and in New South Wales in 1860. According to Stuart Macintyre, "The goldfields were
13275-666: The Northern Territory in 1928 where at least 31 Aboriginal people were killed. Broome estimates the total death toll from settler-Aboriginal conflict between 1788 and 1928 as 1,700 settlers and 17–20,000 Aboriginal people. Reynolds has suggested a higher "guesstimate" of 3,000 settlers and up to 30,000 Aboriginals killed. A project team at the University of Newcastle, Australia, has reached a preliminary estimate of 8,270 Aboriginal deaths in frontier massacres from 1788 to 1930. In New South Wales, 116 Aboriginal reserves were established between 1860 and 1894. Most reserves allowed Aboriginal people
13452-488: The Rebellion is contested. Rebel leader Peter Lalor was elected to the parliament in 1856, though he proved to be less of an ally to the common man than expected. Several reforms sought by the rebels were subsequently implemented, including legislation providing for universal adult male suffrage for Legislative Assembly elections and the removal of property qualifications for Legislative Assembly members. The Eureka Rebellion
13629-1055: The Reid government of New South Wales in passing the Coloured Races Restriction and Regulation Act , a forerunner of the White Australia Policy. However, after Britain and Japan voiced objections to the legislation, New South Wales, Tasmania and Western Australia instead introduced European language tests to restrict "undesirable" immigrants. The secret ballot was adopted in Tasmania, Victoria and South Australia in 1856, followed by New South Wales (1858), Queensland (1859) and Western Australia (1877). South Australia introduced universal male suffrage for its lower house in 1856, followed by Victoria in 1857, New South Wales (1858), Queensland (1872), Western Australia (1893) and Tasmania (1900). Queensland excluded Aboriginal males from voting in 1885 (all women were also excluded). In Western Australia,
13806-859: The Torres Strait Islands from 1868 bringing exotic diseases which halved the Indigenous population. In 1871, the London Missionary Society began operating in the islands and most Torres Strait Islanders converted to Christianity which they considered compatible with their beliefs. Queensland annexed the islands in 1879. In the 1860s New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia introduced Selection Acts intended to promote family farms and mixed farming and grazing. Legislation typically allowed individual "selectors" to select small parcels of unused crown land or leased pastoral land for purchase on credit. The reforms initially had little impact on
13983-693: The Union Jack, revolutionary French and German flags, and the Stars and Stripes. The Geelong Advertiser reported that: Gully after gully hoisted its own flag, around which the various sections rallied, and as they proceeded towards the starting points, formed quite an animated spectacle … But the flag which attracted the greatest attention was the Diggers' Banner, the work of one of the Committee, Mr Dexter, an artist of considerable talent, and certainly no company ever possessed
14160-418: The United Kingdom, continental Europe, the United States and China also poured into Victoria and New South Wales. The Australian population increased from 430,000 in 1851 to 1,170,000 in 1861. Victoria became the most populous colony and Melbourne the largest city. Chinese migration was a particular concern for colonial officials. There were 20,000 Chinese miners on the Victorian goldfields by 1855 and 13,000 on
14337-473: The beginning of December, there was discontent when it was announced that the licence fee would be raised to 3 pounds a month, a 200 per cent increase, effective 1 January 1852. In Ballarat, some miners became so agitated that they began to gather arms. On 8 December, the rebellion continued to build momentum with an anti-mining tax banner put on public display at Forrest Creek . After remonstrations, particularly in Melbourne and Geelong , on 13 December 1851,
14514-425: The broader issues of the abolition of the licence, suffrage and democratic representation of the goldfields, and the disbanding of the gold commission. Hotham sent a message to England on 16 November which revealed his intention to establish an inquiry into goldfields grievances. Notes to the royal commissioners had already been made on 6 November, where Hotham stated his opposition to an export duty on gold replacing
14691-598: The bush with freedom was the beginning of an enduring myth. The resurgence of bushranging from the 1850s drew on the grievances of the rural poor (several members of the Kelly gang , the most famous bushrangers, were the sons of impoverished small farmers). The exploits of Ned Kelly and his gang garnered considerable local community support and extensive national press coverage at the time. After Kelly's capture and execution for murder in 1880 his story inspired numerous works of art, literature and popular culture and continuing debate about
14868-610: The centre and Phanerozoic sedimentary basins , metamorphic and igneous rocks in the east. The Australian mainland and Tasmania are situated in the middle of the tectonic plate and have no active volcanoes, but due to passing over the East Australia hotspot , recent volcanism has occurred during the Holocene , in the Newer Volcanics Province of western Victoria and south-eastern South Australia. Volcanism also occurs in
15045-550: The chairmanship of Chartist John Humffray. (Several other reform league leaders, including George Black, Henry Holyoake, and Tom Kennedy, are also believed to have been Chartists.) It was reported by the Ballarat Times that at the appointed hour, the "Union Jack and the American ensign were hoisted as signals for the people to assemble". It was at this time the Union Jack became a national flag while being "inscribed with slogans as
15222-420: The colonies was achieved after a decade of planning, constitutional conventions and referendums , resulting in the establishment of the Commonwealth of Australia as a nation under the new Australian Constitution . After the 1907 Imperial Conference , Australia and several other self-governing British settler colonies were given the status of self-governing dominions within the British Empire. Australia
15399-406: The colonies except Western Australia. All resulted in yes votes. Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia , is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent , the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands . Australia has a total area of 7,688,287 km (2,968,464 sq mi), making it the sixth-largest country in the world and
15576-543: The colonies. The leagues organised a conference in Corowa in July 1893 which developed a new plan for federation involving a constitutional convention with directly elected delegates and a referendum in each colony to endorse the proposed constitution. The new NSW premier, George Reid , endorsed the "Corowa plan" and in 1895 convinced the majority of other premiers to adopt it. Most of the colonies sent directly elected representatives to
15753-545: The colony continued to strain due to the gold rush. On 25 November 1852, a police patrol was attacked by a mob of miners who wrongly believed they were obliged to take out a whole month's subscription for seven days at Oven's goldfield in Bendigo. In 1852, it was decided by the UK government that the Australian colonies should each draft their own constitutions, pending final approval by the Imperial parliament in London. The disquiet on
15930-520: The constitutional convention, although those of Western Australia were chosen by its parliament. Queensland did not send delegates. The convention held sessions in 1897 and 1898 which resulted in a proposed constitution for a Commonwealth of federated states under the British Crown. Referendums held in 1898 resulted in solid majorities for the constitution in Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. However,
16107-450: The continent had been explored by European settlers and five additional self-governing British colonies were established, each gaining responsible government by 1890. The colonies federated in 1901, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. This continued a process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom, highlighted by the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 , and culminating in
16284-688: The continent. In 1770, Captain James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast, which he named " New South Wales " and claimed for Great Britain. Following the loss of its 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,
16461-534: 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. 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 . The Colonial Office in London retained control of some matters, notably foreign affairs. In
16638-408: The corrupt practice of police demanding blackmail of 5 pounds from repeat offenders. Miners were arrested for not carrying licences on their person, as they often left them in their tents due to the typically wet and dirty conditions in the mines, then subjected to such indignities as being chained to trees and logs overnight. The impost was most felt by a greater number of miners, who were finding
16815-464: The cost of mining permits and the officious way the system was enforced. Tensions began in 1851, with the introduction of a tax on gold mines. Miners began to organize and protest the taxes; miners stopped paying the taxes en masse. The October 1854 murder of a gold miner, and the burning of a local hotel (which miners blamed on the government), ended the previously peaceful nature of the miner's dispute. Open rebellion broke out on 29 November 1854, as
16992-431: The crown all land rights to the goldfields and introduced a mining licence (tax) of 30 shillings per month, effective 1 September. The universal mining tax was based on time stayed rather than what was seen as the more equitable option, an export duty levied only on gold found, meaning it was always designed to make life unprofitable for most prospectors. There were several mass public meetings and miners' delegations in
17169-536: The delegation reported on the exchange with La Trobe. The crowd reacted with "loud disapprobation and showers of hisses" when the lieutenant governor was mentioned. Manning Clark speaks of one of the leaders of the "moral force" faction, George Thompson, who returned to Bendigo, where he attended another meeting on 28 July. Formerly, there was talk of "moral suasion" and "the genius of the English people to compose their differences without resort to violence". Thompson pointed to
17346-619: The depression and employer resistance to trade unions saw union membership fall to only about five per cent of the workforce. The defeat of the 1890 Maritime Strike led trade unions to form political parties. In New South Wales, the Labor Electoral League won a quarter of seats in the elections of 1891 and held the balance of power between the Free Trade Party and the Protectionist Party . Labor parties also won seats in
17523-490: The deputies sent to negotiate with Rede. The meeting resolved to petition Hotham for a retrial of Gregorius and to the reassignment of the assistant commissioner Johnston away from Ballarat. On 27 October, Captain John Wellesley Thomas laid contingency plans for the defence of the government outpost. In the weeks leading up to the battle, men had already been aiming musket balls at the barely fortified barracks during
17700-443: The development of a wheat belt from South Australia to Queensland. Land under cultivation increased from 200,000 hectares to 2 million hectares from 1850 to 1890. The period 1850 to 1880 saw a revival in bushranging . The first bushrangers had been escaped convicts or former convicts in the early years of British settlement who lived independently in the bush , often supporting themselves by criminal activity. The early association of
17877-426: The diggers. There was strong opposition to the strict prohibition of liquor imposed by the government at the goldfields settlements, whereby the sale and consumption of alcohol were restricted to licensed hotels. Despite the high turnover in population on the goldfields, discontent continued to simmer throughout 1852. La Trobe received a petition from the people of Bendigo on 2 September 1862, drawing attention to
18054-459: The early 2010s after the 2000s Australian drought . Although most of Australia is semi-arid or desert, the continent includes a diverse range of habitats from alpine heaths to tropical rainforests . Fungi typify that diversity—an estimated 250,000 species—of which only 5% have been described—occur in Australia. Because of the continent's great age, extremely variable weather patterns, and long-term geographic isolation, much of Australia's biota
18231-422: The economic inefficiency of customs barriers between the colonies, the duplication of services by colonial governments and the lack of a single national market for goods and services. Colonial concerns about German and French ambitions in the region also led to British pressure for a federated Australian defence force and a unified, single-gauge railway network for defence purposes. A Federal Council of Australasia
18408-534: The economy contracted by 20 per cent from 1891 to 1895. Unemployment rose to almost a third of the workforce. The depression was followed by the " Federation Drought " from 1895 to 1903. In 1890, a strike in the shipping industry spread to wharves, railways, mines and shearing sheds. Employers responded by locking out workers and employing non-union labour, and colonial governments intervened with police and troops. The strike failed, as did subsequent strikes of shearers in 1891 and 1894, and miners in 1892 and 1896. By 1896,
18585-410: The extent to which he was a rebel fighting social injustice and oppressive police, or a murderous criminal. From the 1850s to 1871 gold was Australia's largest export and allowed the colony to import a range of consumer and capital goods. More importantly, the increase in population in the decades following the gold rush stimulated demand for housing, consumer goods, services and urban infrastructure. By
18762-755: 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. Following the abolition of the last vestiges of the White Australia policy in 1973, Australia's demography and culture transformed as a result of a large and ongoing wave of non-European immigration, mostly from Asia. The late 20th century also saw an increasing focus on foreign policy ties with other Pacific Rim nations. The Australia Acts severed
18939-527: The fringes of cities and towns. In pastoral districts the British Waste Land Act of 1848 gave traditional landowners limited rights to live, hunt and gather food on Crown land under pastoral leases. Many Aboriginal groups camped on pastoral stations where Aboriginal men were often employed as shepherds and stockmen. These groups were able to retain a connection with their lands and maintain aspects of their traditional culture. Foreign pearlers moved into
19116-455: The future states and New Zealand represented. A draft constitutional Bill was adopted and transmitted to the colonial parliaments for approval by the people. The worsening economic depression and parliamentary opposition, however, delayed progress. In early 1893 the first citizens' Federation League was established in the Riverina region of New South Wales and many other leagues were soon formed in
19293-473: The gold fields. As the size of allowable claims was small (6.1 metres square), and much of the gold was near the surface, the licensing system favoured small prospectors over large enterprises. The gold rush initially caused some economic disruption including wage and price inflation and labour shortages as male workers moved to the goldfields. In 1852, the male population of South Australia fell by three per cent and that of Tasmania by 17 per cent. Immigrants from
19470-461: The goldfields continued in 1853, with public meetings held in Castlemaine , Heathcote and Bendigo. On 3 February 1853, a policeman accidentally caused the death of William Guest at Reid's Creek. Assistant Commissioner James Clow had to defuse a difficult situation with a promise to conduct an inquiry into the circumstances. A group of one thousand angry miners overran the government camp and relieved
19647-429: The goldfields were signed and sealed "Walter Joseph Latrobe". Many of the police were former convicts from Tasmania. They would get a fifty per cent commission from all fines imposed on unlicensed miners and grog sellers. Plainclothes officers enforced prohibition, and those involved in the illegal sale of alcohol were initially handed 50-pound fines. Subsequent offences were punishable by months of hard labour. This led to
19824-424: The goldfields, William Wright , advised La Trobe of his support for an export duty on gold found rather than the existing universal tax on all prospectors based on time stayed. On 3 August, the Bendigo petition was placed before La Trobe, who refused to act on a request to suspend the mining tax again and give the miners the right to vote. The next day, there was a meeting held at Protestant Hall in Melbourne where
20001-467: The government camp at Waranga, the authorities used a legal technicality to release some mining tax evaders. A meeting in Beechworth called for reducing the licence fee to ten shillings and voting rights for the mining settlements. A larger rally attended by 20,000 people was held at Hospital Hill in Bendigo on 23 August 1853, which resolved to support a mining tariff fixed at 10 shillings a month. There
20178-582: The guard tent to protect gold reserves amid rumours of a planned robbery. A sitting of the goldfields committee of the Legislative Council in Melbourne on 6 September 1853 heard from goldfields activists Dr William Carr, W Fraser and William Jones. An Act for the Better Management of the Goldfields was passed, which, upon receiving royal assent on 1 December, reduced the licence fee to 40 shillings for every three months. The act featured increasing fines in
20355-412: The heart of the country are the uplands of central Australia . Prominent features of the centre and south include Uluru (also known as Ayers Rock), the famous sandstone monolith, and the inland Simpson , Tirari and Sturt Stony , Gibson , Great Sandy, Tanami , and Great Victoria deserts, with the famous Nullarbor Plain on the southern coast. The Western Australian mulga shrublands lie between
20532-470: The interior deserts and Mediterranean-climate Southwest Australia . Lying on the Indo-Australian Plate , the mainland of Australia is the lowest and most primordial landmass on Earth with a relatively stable geological history. The landmass includes virtually all known rock types and from all geological time periods spanning more than 3.8 billion years of the Earth's history. The Pilbara Craton
20709-475: The introduction of colonial self-government. Transportation of convicts to the colonies was phased out from 1840 to 1868. In 1855 and 1856, Britain granted self-government to New South Wales, the new colony of Victoria, Van Diemen's Land (renamed Tasmania) and South Australia. Queensland became a separate self-governing colony in 1859 and Western Australia was granted self-government in 1890. The colonies introduced universal male suffrage from 1856 to 1900. Women won
20886-417: The island of New Guinea (considered geologically as part of the Australian continent), and in the Australian external territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands . Seismic activity in the Australian mainland and Tasmania is also low, with the greatest number of fatalities having occurred in the 1989 Newcastle earthquake . The climate of Australia is significantly influenced by ocean currents, including
21063-447: The issue in 1880–81 and 1888, colonial governments responded with a series of laws which progressively restricted Chinese immigration and citizenship rights. Falling wool prices and the collapse of a speculative property bubble in Melbourne heralded the end of the long boom. When British banks cut back lending to Australia, the heavily indebted Australian economy fell into economic depression. A number of major banks suspended business and
21240-498: The largest country by area in Oceania . It is the world's oldest, flattest, and driest inhabited continent, with some of the least fertile soils. It is a megadiverse country , and its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes and climates including deserts in the interior and tropical rainforests along the coast . The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south-east Asia 50,000 to 65,000 years ago, during
21417-494: The location for the future federal capital of Canberra . While it was being constructed, Melbourne served as the temporary capital from 1901 to 1927. The Northern Territory was transferred from the control of South Australia to the Commonwealth in 1911. 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. The two were unified as
21594-448: The mainland. Australia is also one of 17 megadiverse countries. Australian forests are mostly made up of evergreen species, particularly eucalyptus trees in the less arid regions; wattles replace them as the dominant species in drier regions and deserts. Among well-known Australian animals are the monotremes (the platypus and echidna ); a host of marsupials , including the kangaroo , koala , and wombat , and birds such as
21771-466: The mid-19th century, explorers such as Burke and Wills charted Australia's interior. A series of gold rushes beginning in the early 1850s led to an influx of new migrants from China , North America and continental Europe, as well as outbreaks of bushranging and civil unrest; the latter peaked in 1854 when Ballarat miners launched the Eureka Rebellion against gold license fees. The 1860s saw
21948-563: The migrant reception centres of the nineteenth century, the crucibles of nationalism and xenophobia[.]" As more men moved to the goldfields and the quantity of easily-accessible gold diminished, the average income of miners fell. Victorian miners increasingly saw the flat monthly licence fee as a regressive tax and complained of official corruption, heavy-handed administration and the lack of voting rights for itinerant miners. Protests intensified in October 1854 when three miners were arrested following
22125-411: The miners attempted to respond to rising crime levels by forming a "Mutual Protection Association". They pledged to withhold the licence fee, build detention centres, and begin nightly armed patrols, with vigilantes dispensing summary justice to those suspected of criminal activities. That month, Government House received a petition from Lever Flat, Forrest Creek and Mount Alexander about policing levels as
22302-406: The miners take up arms against the lieutenant governor, who was irreverently viewed as a feather-wearing, effeminate fop . This first meeting was followed by ongoing protests across all the colony's mining settlements in the years leading up to the 1854 armed uprising at Ballarat. In mid-September 1851, D. C. Doveton, the first local gold commissioner appointed by La Trobe, arrived in Ballarat. At
22479-539: The mining settlement at McIvor. There was an incident on 2 July 1853 in which police were assaulted in the vicinity of an anti-licence meeting at the Sandhurst goldfield in Bendigo, with rocks being thrown as they escorted an intoxicated miner to the holding cells. On 16 July 1853, an anti-licence demonstration in Sandhurst attracted 6,000 people, who also raised the issue of lack of electoral rights. The high commissioner of
22656-528: The mining tax untenable without any more significant gold discoveries. In March 1854, La Trobe sent a reform package to the Legislative Council, which was adopted and sent to London for the approval of the Imperial parliament. The voting franchise would be extended to all miners upon purchasing a 12-month permit. La Trobe's successor as lieutenant-governor, Sir Charles Hotham , who took up his commission in Victoria on 22 June 1854. He instructed Rede to introduce
22833-487: The money for this infrastructure was borrowed on the London financial markets, but land-rich governments also sold land to finance expenditure and keep taxes low. In 1856, building workers in Sydney and Melbourne were the first in the world to win the eight hour working day. The 1880s saw trade unions grow and spread to lower skilled workers and also across colonial boundaries. By 1890 about 20 per cent of male workers belonged to
23010-431: The need for improvements in the road from Melbourne. The lack of police protection was also a major issue for the protesting miners. On 14 August 1852, a fight broke out among 150 men over land rights in Bendigo. An inquiry recommended increasing police numbers in the colony's mining settlements. Around this time, the first gold deposits at the Eureka lead in Ballarat were found. In October 1852, at Lever Flat near Bendigo,
23187-424: The news was received around the world that, on top of several earlier finds, Thomas Hiscock had found still more deposits 3 kilometres (2 mi) west of Buninyong . This led to gold fever taking hold as the colony's population increased from 77,000 in 1851 to 198,496 in 1853. In three years, the total number of people living in and around the Victorian goldfields stood at a 12-month average of 100,351. In 1851,
23364-602: The next two decades, social and economic reforms, together with the establishment of a Legislative Council and Supreme Court , saw the penal colony transition to a civil society. The indigenous population declined for 150 years following European settlement, mainly due to infectious disease. British colonial authorities did not sign any treaties with Aboriginal groups . As settlement expanded, tens of thousands of Indigenous people and thousands of settlers were killed in frontier conflicts while settlers dispossessed surviving Indigenous peoples of most of their land. In 1803,
23541-458: The night. On 30 October, Hotham appointed a board of enquiry into the murder of James Scobie to sit in Ballarat on 2 and 10 November. The panel included Melbourne magistrate Evelyn Sturt , assisted by his local magistrate Charles Hackett and William McCrea. After receiving representations from the US consul, Hotham released James Tarleton from custody. The inquiry into the Ballarat rioting concluded with
23718-459: The north coast of Western Australia to the overland telegraph, discovering land suitable for grazing in the Kimberley region. The spread of sheep and cattle grazing after 1850 brought further conflict with Aboriginal tribes more distant from the closely settled areas. Aboriginal casualty rates in conflicts increased as the colonists made greater use of mounted police, Native Police units, and newly developed revolvers and breech-loaded guns. Conflict
23895-399: The order of 5, 10 and 15 pounds for repeat offenders, with goldfields residents required to carry their permits, which had to be available for inspection at all times. This temporarily relieved tensions in the colony. In November, the select committee bill proposed a licence fee of 1 pound for one month, 2 pounds for three months, 3 for six months and 5 pounds for 12 months, along with extending
24072-450: The police of their sidearms and weapons, destroying a cache of weapons. George Black assisted Dr John Owens in chairing a public meeting held at Ovens field on 11 February 1853 that called for the death of Guest to be fully investigated. The Anti-Gold Licence Association was formed in June at a meeting in Bendigo, where 23,000 signatures were collected for a mass petition, including 8,000 from
24249-428: The political systems of the United Kingdom (a fused executive , constitutional monarchy and strong party discipline ) and the United States ( federalism , a written constitution and strong bicameralism with an elected upper house), resulting in a distinct hybrid. Federal government power is partially separated between three groups: Charles III reigns as King of Australia and is represented in Australia by
24426-472: The previous increase was rescinded. The Forest Creek Monster Meeting took place at Mount Alexander on 15 December 1851. This was the first truly mass demonstration of the Eureka Rebellion. According to high-end estimates, up to 20,000 miners turned out in a massive display of support for repealing the mining tax. The only pictorial evidence concerning the flag on display at the meeting is an engraving of
24603-572: The protection of threatened species. Numerous protected areas have been created under the National Strategy for the Conservation of Australia's Biological Diversity to protect and preserve unique ecosystems; 65 wetlands are listed under the Ramsar Convention , and 16 natural World Heritage Sites have been established. Australia was ranked 21st out of 178 countries in the world on
24780-479: The question of a protective tariff for a future Australian government to decide. In 1890, representatives of the six colonies and New Zealand met in Melbourne and agreed in principle to a federation of the colonies and for the colonial legislatures to nominate representatives to attend a constitutional convention. The following year, the National Australasian Convention was held in Sydney, with all
24957-475: The rate of 6 to 7 centimetres a year. The Australian mainland's continental crust , excluding the thinned margins, has an average thickness of 38 km, with a range in thickness from 24 km to 59 km. Australia's geology can be divided into several main sections, showcasing that the continent grew from west to east: the Archaean cratonic shields found mostly in the west, Proterozoic fold belts in
25134-438: The referendum failed to gain the required majority in New South Wales after that colony's Labor Party campaigned against it and premier Reid gave it such qualified support that he earned the nickname "yes-no Reid". The premiers of the other colonies agreed to a number of concessions to New South Wales (particularly that the future Commonwealth capital would be located in that state), and in 1899 further referendums were held in all
25311-459: The regulations. The miners in Bendigo responded to the increase in the frequency of licence hunts with threats of armed rebellion. In October 1854 James Scobie was murdered outside the Eureka Hotel. Johannes Gregorius was prosecuted for the murder. A colonial inquest found no evidence of culpability by the Bentley Hotel owners for the fatal injuries amid allegations that Magistrate D'Ewes had
25488-428: The release of the three Eureka Hotel rioters. Hotham declared that he would take a stand on the word "demand", satisfied that due process had been observed. Father Smyth informed Rede in confidence that he believed the miners might be about to march on the government outpost. Foot police reinforcements arrived in Ballarat on 19 October 1854. A further detachment of the 40th (2nd Somersetshire) Regiment of Foot arrived
25665-533: The remaining constitutional ties between Australia and the United Kingdom while maintaining the monarch in her independent capacity as Queen of Australia . In a 1999 constitutional referendum , 55% of voters rejected abolishing the monarchy and becoming a republic. Following the September 11 attacks on the United States, Australia joined the United States in fighting the Afghanistan War from 2001 to 2021 and
25842-419: The resources of their reefs and seas. Agriculture also developed on some islands and villages appeared by the 1300s. By the mid-18th century in northern Australia, contact, trade and cross-cultural engagement had been established between local Aboriginal groups and Makassan trepangers , visiting from present-day Indonesia. The Dutch are the first Europeans that recorded sighting and making landfall on
26019-471: The reward for more information about the Bank of Victoria heist in Ballarat that was carried out by robbers wearing black crepe-paper masks, and which was increased from 500 to 1,600 pounds. Rede received a miner's delegation on 23 October which had heard that the police officers involved in the arrest of Gregorius would be dismissed. Two days later, a meeting led by Timothy Hayes and John Manning heard reports from
26196-512: The richest gold fields were found. By British law all minerals belonged to the Crown, and the governors of New South Wales and Victoria quickly introduced laws aimed at avoiding the disorder associated with the California gold rush of 1848. Both colonies introduced a gold mining licence with a monthly fee, the revenue being used to offset the cost of providing infrastructure, administration and policing of
26373-491: The rise of blackbirding , where South Sea Islanders were coerced or abducted into indentured labour, mainly by Queensland colonists. From 1886, Australian colonial governments began removing many Aboriginal children from their families and communities, justified on the grounds of child protection and forced assimilation policies. The Second Boer War (1899–1902) marked the largest overseas deployment of Australia's colonial forces . On 1 January 1901, federation of
26550-534: The same name ), "the Sunburnt Country", and "the Wide Brown Land". The latter two both derive from Dorothea Mackellar 's 1908 poem " My Country ". Indigenous Australians comprise two broad groups: Human habitation of the Australian continent is estimated to have begun 50,000 to 65,000 years ago, with the migration of people by land bridges and short sea crossings from what is now Southeast Asia. It
26727-476: The scene by Thomas Ham and David Tulloch that features only part of the design. Based on the research of Doug Ralph, Marjorie Theobald and others have questioned whether there was an iconic Digger's flag displayed at Forest Creek that spread to other mining settlements. Two days later, it was announced that La Trobe had reversed the planned increase in the mining tax. The oppressive licence hunts continued and increased in frequency, causing general dissent among
26904-421: The settlers and their descendants, however, rose to become one of the highest in the world until a severe depression and drought in the 1890s caused widespread social distress. Growing nationalist sentiment mixed with demands for a "white Australia" led to a series of inter-colonial conferences and referendums in the 1890s which culminated in a new constitution—endorsed by a majority of the population—providing for
27081-421: The social and economic transformation of the colonies following the discoveries of gold as one of the factors making self-government feasible. The constitutions for New South Wales, Victoria and Van Diemen's Land (renamed Tasmania in 1856) gained Royal Assent in 1855, that for South Australia in 1856. The constitutions varied, but each created a lower house elected on a broad male franchise and an upper house which
27258-656: The spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus . Surrounded by the Indian and Pacific oceans, Australia is separated from Asia by the Arafura and Timor seas, with the Coral Sea lying off the Queensland coast, and the Tasman Sea lying between Australia and New Zealand. The world's smallest continent and sixth-largest country by total area , Australia—owing to its size and isolation—is often dubbed
27435-406: The thylacine. Many of Australia's ecoregions, and the species within those regions, are threatened by human activities and introduced animal, chromistan , fungal and plant species. All these factors have led to Australia's having the highest mammal extinction rate of any country in the world. The federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 is the legal framework for
27612-1023: The time of first European contact, Aboriginal Australians belonged to wide range of societies, with diverse economies spread across at least 250 different language groups . Estimates of the Aboriginal population before British settlement range from 300,000 to 3 million. Aboriginal Australians cultures were (and remain) deeply connected with the land and the environment, with stories of The Dreaming maintained through oral tradition , songs , dance and paintings. Certain groups engaged in fire-stick farming , fish farming , and built semi-permanent shelters . These practices have variously been characterised as " hunter-gatherer ", " agricultural ", "natural cultivation" and "intensification". Torres Strait Islander people first settled their islands at least 2,500 years ago. Culturally and linguistically distinct from mainland Aboriginal peoples, they were seafarers and obtained their livelihood from seasonal horticulture and
27789-408: The treatment of Gregorius. Two days later, responding to the acquittal, a meeting of approximately 10,000 men occurred near the Eureka Hotel in protest. The hotel was set alight as Rede was pelted with eggs. The available security forces were unable to restore order. On 21 October, Andrew McIntyre and Thomas Fletcher were arrested for the arson attack on the Eureka Hotel. A third man, John Westerby,
27966-560: The universal mining tax. W. C. Haines MLC was to be the chairman, serving alongside lawmakers John Fawkner , John O'Shanassy , William Westgarth , as well as chief gold commissioner William Wright. These men were likely to be sympathetic to the diggers. Rather than hear the Ballarat Reform League's grievances, Rede increased the police presence on the Ballarat goldfields and summoned reinforcements from Melbourne. Rede told one deputation that their campaign against "The licence
28143-463: The various units in the government camp was: 40th regiment (infantry): 87 men; 40th regiment (mounted): 30 men; 12th regiment (infantry): 65 men; mounted police: 70 men; and the foot police: 24 men. On 29 November, a meeting involving a crowd of around 10,000 was held at Bakery Hill. The miners heard from their deputies news of the unsuccessful outcome of their meeting with Hotham demanding the release of Westerby, Fletcher and McIntyre. The Eureka Flag
28320-464: The vote in South Australia in 1895 and in Western Australia in 1899. Some colonies, however, denied voting rights to most Aboriginal people, Asians and Africans. European exploration of the interior of the continent, and settlement of the northern coastal regions, progressed rapidly from the 1850s, resulting in further violent conflict with Aboriginal people, disruption of their societies and dispossession of their traditional lands. The living standards of
28497-517: The voting franchise and land rights to the miners. La Trobe amended the scheme by increasing the six-month licence to 4 pounds, with a fee of 8 pounds for 12 months. On 3 December 1853, a crowd of 2,000–3,000 attended an anti-licence rally at View Point. Then, on 31 December 1854, about 500 people gathered there to elect a so-called "Diggers Congress". La Trobe decided to cancel the September 1853 mining tax collections. The Legislative Council supported
28674-491: The years leading up to the armed revolt. The earliest rally was held on 26 August 1851 at Hiscock's Gully in Buninyong and attracted 40–50 miners protesting the new mining regulations, and four resolutions to this end were passed. From the outset, there was a division between the "moral force" activists who favoured lawful, peaceful and democratic means and those who advocated "physical force", with some in attendance suggesting that
28851-520: Was "more agreeable to the ear, and an assimilation to the names of the other great portions of the Earth". The first time that Australia appears to have been officially used was in April 1817, when Governor Lachlan Macquarie acknowledged the receipt of Flinders' charts of Australia from Lord Bathurst . In December 1817, Macquarie recommended to the Colonial Office that it be formally adopted. In 1824,
29028-615: Was Australia's warmest recorded year, and the 2019–2020 bushfire season was the country's worst on record . Australia's greenhouse gas emissions per capita are among the highest in the world. Water restrictions are frequently in place in many regions and cities of Australia in response to chronic shortages due to urban population increases and localised drought. Throughout much of the continent, major flooding regularly follows extended periods of drought, flushing out inland river systems, overflowing dams and inundating large inland flood plains, as occurred throughout Eastern Australia in
29205-440: Was a second multinational-style assembly at View Point on 27 August 1853. The next day a procession of miners passed by the government camp with the sounds of bands and shouting and fifty pistol rounds as an assembly of about 2,000 miners took place. On 29 August 1853, assistant commissioner Robert William Rede at Jones Creek counselled that a peaceful, political solution could still be found. In Ballarat, miners offered to surround
29382-420: Was acted upon. On 1 November, around 5,000 miners gathered in Bendigo, as a plan was drawn up to organise the diggers at all the mining settlements, with speakers openly advocating physical force addressing the crowd. On 11 November 1854, a crowd of more than 10,000 gathered at Bakery Hill , directly opposite the government encampment. At this meeting, the Ballarat Reform League was formally established under
29559-478: Was also indicted. A committee meeting of miners on Bakery Hill agreed to indemnify the bail sureties for McIntyre and Fletcher. As a large mob approached the government camp, the two men were hurriedly released under their own recognisance. Around this time two reward notices were distributed around Ballarat. One offered a 500-pound reward for information leading to an arrest in the Scobie murder case. The other announced
29736-592: Was associated with further exploration of the Gibson Desert and the Nullarbor Plain . While exploring central Australia in 1872, Ernest Giles sighted Kata Tjuta from a location near Kings Canyon and called it Mount Olga. The following year Willian Gosse observed Uluru and named it Ayers Rock, in honour of the Chief Secretary of South Australia , Sir Henry Ayers . In 1879, Alexander Forrest trekked from
29913-401: Was either appointed for life (New South Wales) or elected on a more restricted property franchise. Britain retained its right of veto over legislation regarding matters of imperial interest. When Queensland became a separate colony in 1859 it immediately became self-governing, adopting the constitution of New South Wales. Transportation of convicts to Western Australia ended in 1868 and the colony
30090-413: Was established in 1829, evolving into the largest Australian colony by area, Western Australia . 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 in 1851, and Queensland in 1859. South Australia was founded as a free colony—it never accepted transported convicts. Growing opposition to
30267-422: Was formed in 1885 but it had few powers and New South Wales and South Australia declined to join. An obstacle to federation was the fear of the smaller colonies that they would be dominated by New South Wales and Victoria. Queensland, in particular, although generally favouring a white Australia policy, wished to maintain an exception for South Sea Islander workers in the sugar cane industry. Another major barrier
30444-507: Was granted self-government in 1890. In 1860, Burke and Wills led the first south–north crossing of the continent from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria . Lacking bushcraft and unwilling to learn from the local Aboriginal people, Burke and Wills died in 1861, having returned from the Gulf to their rendezvous point at Coopers Creek only to discover the rest of their party had departed the location only
30621-520: Was one of the founding members of the League of Nations in 1920, and the United Nations in 1945. The Statute of Westminster 1931 formally ended the ability of the UK to pass federal laws without Australia's consent. Australia adopted it in 1942, but it was backdated to 1939 to confirm the validity of legislation passed during World War II. The Australian Capital Territory was formed in 1911 as
30798-517: Was particularly intense in NSW in the 1840s and in Queensland from 1860 to 1880. In central Australia, it is estimated that 650 to 850 Aboriginal people, out of a population of 4,500, were killed by colonists from 1860 to 1895. In the Gulf Country of northern Australia five settlers and 300 Aboriginal people were killed before 1886. The last recorded massacre of Aboriginal people by settlers was at Coniston in
30975-453: Was punishable by increasing fines of 5, 15 and 30 pounds, with serial offenders liable to be sentenced to imprisonment. Licence inspections, treated as a great sport and "carried out in the style of an English fox-hunt" by mounted officials, known to the miners by the warning call "Traps" or "Joes", were henceforth able to take place at any time without notice. The latter sobriquet was a reference to La Trobe, whose proclamations posted around
31152-511: Was the forerunner of the racial segregation policies of other Australian governments from the 1890s. The Queensland Aboriginals Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act of 1897 allowed the government to place any Aboriginal person on a reserve against their will. They were also denied the right to vote or drink alcohol. In more densely settled areas, most Aboriginal people who had lost control of their land lived on reserves and missions, or on
31329-530: Was the free trade policies of New South Wales which conflicted with the protectionist policies dominant in Victoria and most of the other colonies. Nevertheless, the NSW premier Henry Parkes was a strong advocate of federation and his Tenterfield Oration in 1889 was pivotal in gathering support for the cause. Parkes also struck a deal with Edmund Barton , leader of the NSW Protectionist Party, whereby they would work together for federation and leave
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