DID YOU KNOW? Chinese explorers travelled to Australia centuries before any Europeans arrived.

Long before any European people ever saw Australia, indigenous people called Aborigines and Torres Straight Islanders made the country their home. Because these Aboriginal people arrived in Australia as early as 50,000 years ago, it is difficult to say where they first came from or how they got there. It is likely that they were Africans and over many generations they walked through Southeast Asia and into Australia when it was connected by a land bridge.

However, there is an unsolved mystery about the first people to populate the country. In 1974, scientists discovered a man who had been buried up to 60,000 years earlier. They named him Mungo man.

They compared his DNA to 3,500 other people including Asians, Neanderthals, Africans and Aborigines. Mungo man's DNA was different to the DNA of all other people now living on Earth. Unlike every other human, Mungo man's ancestors cannot be traced back to any people from Africa in the last 200,000 years. So, not only are Australia's animals and plants unique, but so are the indigenous people who live there.

About 50,000 years ago, the ancestors of the Australian Aboriginal people settled in the country. They arrived by way of Indonesia, so their first trade experiences were with Indonesians. Later, Chinese sailors and fishermen went to Australia in the 1400s looking for se-cucumbers. The indigenous people of Australia began to trade with them also.

When European explorers began to look for new land, they sailed around Australia for more than 100 years,sometimes stopping on land to have a look. The British explored a bit of Tasmania, the Dutch sailed their ships through the waters surrounding Australia and the French claimed Western Australia without even stepping onto the land there.

Captain James Cook is given the honour of being the first European to land on Australia's east coast and to explore it. He arrived in 1770 in Botany Bay in Sydney. He made contact with the Aboriginal people living there, then sailed north along the east coast of the country and claimed everything he discovered along the way as British territory. Eighteen years later, the British returned to colonize Australia which began two hundred years of suf ering for the native people

Aboriginal Australians

DID YOU KNOW? The culture of native Australians called the “ Dreamtime ” is the foundation for aboriginal art, stories and traditions.

Aboriginal Australians are the oldest, surviving culture in the world. For thousands of years, there were three distinct groups of natives who lived in the country. Tasmanian Aborigines who were likely descendants of Africans, lived on that island to the south. The Torres Strait Islanders who lived on the 100 islands of Papua New Guinea and the people who we call Aboriginal Australians that lived on the mainland.

In ancient times, Aboriginal Australians were strongly dependent on the abundance of food on the land and in the water found in the country. They were skilled hunters, gatherers and fishermen. Aboriginal people lived near the water and harvested food from the ocean and the surrounding land. They had no need to travel as there was an abundance of food and the various tribes traded with each other. Indigenous Australians only needed to spend about five hours each day working to care for themselves. Because they had so much leisure time, they were able to develop their traditions . By the time Europeans arrived in Australia, the Aboriginal tribes living there had a rich culture that included customs, laws and spiritual practices that connected them to the land.

Australian aboriginal people called the beginning of the world the Dreamtime. Their beliefs said that their ancestors rose up from below the earth and became all of nature – the animals, water,trees, sky, rocks, etc. Humans were not more important than nature, so they believed they were equal to nature. Their stories, dances, art and songs tell about creation . Many ancient rock carvings and paintings can be found in various places throughout Australia.

Aboriginal music is best known for the didgeridoo which men played in formal ceremonies or social gatherings. The first didgeridoos were made from hollow branches of trees that had been eaten by termites . Some scientists think this is the world's oldest musical instrument. Many musicians think the didgeridoo is the most difficult instrument to play. It requires circular breathing to make the vibrating, hum noise. The musician must breathe in air at the same time as he pushes air out to make the sound.

Music is one way that indigenous people pass their cultural knowledge from one generation to another. Theirs is an oral society so the ceremonies, stories and performances are ways that native people learn about their history. Objects and sacred sites are also used to teach the youth about their culture.

One of the best examples of how Aboriginal knowledge is passed through oral traditions are songlines. These songs describe the location of waterholes, hills, bushes and other natural landmarks. By singing the words of these songlines as they move from one place to another, people can travel long distances without getting lost and can even find food and water in the desert.

When James Cook arrived in 1770, he found many indigenous tribes living harmoniously with nature near Sydney harbour. Their knowledge, beliefs and practices allowed them to live a healthy and rich life from what they could hunt and gather there. Cook did not understand this. He saw people living outside without shelter or clothing and thought they were uncivilized . He did not even try to establish relationships or negotiate with the Australian natives when he declared New South Wales to be the property of Britain.

The First Fleet arrived in January of 1788. This group of British ships was carrying convicts from England who were sent to Australia as punishment for their crimes. These prisoners established a colony of Europeans by fighting the Aboriginal people living there. They caused a shortage of food by catching huge amounts of fish in their nets and overhunting kangaroos. They cleared the land and polluted the water. The Aboriginal people were driven away from the abundant food at the water's edge. It was not long before the native people were close to starvation .

These first settlers also brought diseases with them that native Australians had not ever been exposed to. They had no resistance to smallpox, syphilis and flu that the sailors and convicts carried. Within six months over half the indigenous population living near Sydney had died from smallpox. In just half a year, the British destroyed a way of life that had endured for thousands of years.

The British were not concerned however. They thought indigenous Australians were no better than animals. In Tasmania, they hunted them for sport and fought them over land use. Those that were not killed this way, died of disease. The entire Tasmanian Aboriginal population was eventually wiped out .

On the mainland, the British forced all indigenous people to live on reserves and missions, away from white settlers. They believed the natives would eventually die out, but instead many had children with white settlers. The government then decided that these mixed race children should be assimilated . In the 1880s, adults were moved off the reservations and sent to live in urbanized areas. However, they were discriminated against there. They were not permitted to go into community places like hospitals and swimming pools. They could not get jobs and as a result they lived in poverty on the outskirts of towns.

Beginning in 1910, Aboriginal children were forcibly taken from their families and sent to live at mission schools. There, they were taught to speak English, to dress like Europeans and to adopt the customs of the British. They were separated from their families and not permitted to speak their mother tongues. Their living conditions were very harsh and punishments were often cruel. Many of them were sexually abused or made to work as servants.

The British thought these children would grow up to be like Europeans and they would have a better life. However, these children were also discriminated against when they became adults. They did not have the same rights or opportunities as white people so their lives did not improve. These children are now called the Stolen Generations.

In the 1970s, Aboriginal people began to speak out about equal rights and they strongly advocated for land rights. They felt the British had forcibly taken their land away from them and they took their case to court. They won their lawsuit and the Aboriginal Land Rights Act was established in 1976 in the Northern Territory. Aboriginal people living there could claim the rights to the land if they could prove a traditional association with it through their ancestors. As a result, almost 50% of the Northern Territory is now owned by indigenous people.

On February 13, 2008, the prime minister of Australia apologised to the Aboriginal people for this mistreatment. He said in part:

Convict Australians

DID YOU KNOW? January 26 ^th is Australia Day. It is the anniversary of the first ships to arrive in Sydney carrying British convicts who began the population of Australia by Europeans.

The eleven ships of the First Fleet arrived in 1788 carrying 778 convicts (586 men and 192 women).They also had supplies,agricultural tools, officers and some free people who would help to establish a penal colony at Port Jackson, about 15 kilometres north of Sydney. Although Captain Arthur Phillip, who was in charge of the First Fleet, wanted friendly relationships with the Aboriginal people, as we know already, they were soon in conflict over land.

The criminals sent to Australia had not committed serious crimes such as murder. Those dangerous criminals were given death sentences in England. The ones who arrived with the First Fleet had been arrested for such crimes as stealing fish, setting fires, or supporting Irish terrorism. They were likely chosen to be sent to Australia because they were farmers and tradesmen before they were arrested. Their skills were needed to help establish a British settlement in Australia.

Once they arrived at the penal colony,the convicts were assigned work.Those with skills were given tasks that matched their abilities. Stonemasons were highly valued while unskilled people were made to build roads and given other labouring jobs. Female convicts most often became servants to the free settlers who began to arrive a few years later. As much as possible, convicts were assigned to these free settlers who would feed and discipline them, making it unnecessary for the British to build many jails or employ many guards.

Most of the convicts were from British minority, racial groups like Africans, French and Americans. They were the beginnings of modern day multi-culturalism in Australia.

Once the criminals had served their sentences, they were set free in Australia. Some became farmers or business owners. The first police force was comprised of a band of 12 of the most well behaved convicts. Many of the convicts married indigenous Australians and had children.

By 1868, when the transportation of convicts ended, 40% of the Australian, English-speaking population were either prisoners, former prisoners or descendants of convicts. Even today, at least 20% of all Australians can trace their ancestry back to a British convict.

Australia Gets Its Name

At the same time that the British were establishing a penal colony, Captain Matthew Flinders was circumnavigating the country from 1801-1803.He was the first one to identify the country as a continent. Flinders named it Terra Australis which means southern land in Latin. Later, it was shortened to Australia.

Australian Gold Rush

DID YOU KNOW? The largest gold nugget ever discovered was found in central Victoria, Australia. It weighed 97 kilograms (more than a baby elephant) and was named “ Welcome Stranger ” .

The first gold rush started when a prospector named Edward Hargraves found gold in the state of New South Wales (NSW). Not long afterwards, William Clarke also discovered gold in a different part of NSW. The governor of NSW refused to announce the second find to the public. He was afraid that convicts would rush to the area and cause trouble. The governor said “ Put it away, Mr. Clarke, or we shall have our throats cut. ”

The gold rush did change the convict colonies in NSW. They became larger and more progressive. The men who moved to NSW to look for gold were called “ diggers ” . The influx of diggers brought new skills and businesses to the area. This improved the economy of NSW.

The gold rush also started a massive influx of migrants from China, America, Canada, Britain and European countries. The 40,000 Chinese who came to look for gold in Australia helped to contribute to the huge international immigration that took place there in the 1800s.

The Depression

Because of the gold rush, the Australian population grew from a few thousand people to more than three million. The economy boomed with British investments in roads, railroads and new construction. The banks were wealthy and there were many factory jobs.

In 1890, however, a drought in Australia marked the beginnings of an economic depression. Australia made most of its money by exporting wool and demand for it decreased that same year. Banks began to close their doors and workers went on strike demanding improved conditions. With no one to work, and no overseas countries wanting to buy wool, the Australian economy suf ered. Three years later it had completely collapsed

The depression caused unemployment and many Australians became homeless. It was nearly 10 years before Australia created a stable economy again through wheat and mining. This lasted until the great depression of 1929 when Wall Street in America collapsed causing economies all over the world to fail.

White Australia

Those who suffered from unemployment during the depression were not happy with the large numbers of immigrants who were working in the country. The gold rush had caused a huge increase in the numbers of immigrants from Asian and Pacific Island countries. Competition broke out between British and Chinese gold diggers causing riots and anti-Chinese sentiments .

Also, Pacific Islanders were hired to labour in the sugar plantations, because they worked for much lower wages. They took jobs away from Australians who wanted more pay for their day's work. This caused much resentment .

The Australian government wanted to stop anyone who could take work away from their citizens from immigrating. They passed a policy that stopped any non-Europeans from immigrating to Australia. However, they did not want to seem racist so they made it a law that anyone who wanted to come to Australia had to pass a literacy test.

To pass the test, an applicant had to write down the words that were read to them by an immigration officer. The test could be given in any European language so officers coul exclude people they did not want to enter the country. For example, one man who spoke many European languages was given the test in Gaelic which he failed.

The test could be given to immigrants living in Australia during any of their first five years as many times as the immigration officer desir From 1902 to 1909, the test was given to 1,359 people. Only 52 passed during this time. After 1909, not one single person passed the test. All those who failed the test were made to leave Australia. The dictation law was used until 1958.

The White Australia policy allowed British immigrants to be favoured over all other nationalities. It continued until after the Second World War.

The Australian Constitution

DID YOU KNOW? Before 1901 Australia was not a nation because it did not have a constitution.

The Australian Constitution establishes the rules by which the country is run. Before there was a constitution, the country was divided into six colonies that were governed by the laws of Britain.

Australians living in these British colonies wanted self-government so they drafted a document that explained the roles and powers that an Australian government would have. This document described how laws would be made and some of the rights that Australian citizens would have.

On the first of January 1901, this constitution was accepted and the country became the Commonwealth of Australia.

Australia Gets Its Own Flag

The newly formed country needed its own flag, so in 1901 the Commonwealth government held a competition. The winning design was chosen because of its symbols.

The Union Flag in the upper left part is the British flag.

The large seven point star below it represents the six states of Australia and one territory.

The Southern Cross on the right side of the flag, is one of the brightest constellations in the Southern Hemisphere and has always been used to represent Australia.

The Capital City

When the Commonwealth of Australia was formed, there was no official capital city. Rivalry broke out between the two largest cities – Sydney and Melbourne which both wanted to have this honour.

This rivalry continues today as citizens of one city poke fun at the opposing city with jokes like... “ The best thing to come out of Melbourne is the Hume Highway. ”

After many years the site of Canberra was chosen in 1908 as a compromise since it was located in between the two cities. Canberra means meeting place in the language spoken by the Aboriginal people who live in that area. The city did not exist when it was decided that the capital should be located there. Although some Europeans lived there, it was mostly occupied by rural Aborigines. Canberra is the only fully planned city in Australia. It was designed and built specifically to be the centre of government.

The Royal Australian Navy

DID YOU KNOW? The Royal Australian Navy is one of the largest marine forces in the Pacific region

Until Australia became a Commonwealth country, it relied on British ships to protect its waters. In 1911, the Australian government established the Royal Australian Navy to provide local defence .This navy today consists of 50 vessels and over 16,000 personnel.

The Royal Australian Navy has seen action in every ocean of the world. During the Second World War, it took part in almost all major battles that happened on the seas. It was largely responsible for keeping the Pacific Ocean safe, therefore helping to win the war.

ANZAC Day

DID YOU KNOW? April 25 is ANZAC day in Australia.

ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The soldiers who formed the ANZAC tro ops were all volunteers who fought the Turkish army at a place called Gallipoli. Turkey was allied with Germany so that country was the enemy of Australia and New Zealand.

On April 25, 1915, ships carrying the ANZAC soldiers landed on a beach at Gallipoli. Unfortunately, the beach where they landed had steep clif s in front of it. The Turkish soldiers who stood on top of the clif s found it easy to defend their territory. They killed 11,000 ANZACs and wounded 23,500 more during the ensuing battle.

The battle was a terrible defeat for the ANZACs who fought for over 8 months at Gallipoli. They are remembered every year on ANZAC day for their courage and sacrifice

Australia Gets an Airline

DID YOU KNOW? Qantas is the second oldest airline in the world.

In 1920, the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services (QANTAS) airline was established. The airline began its operations by carrying air mail in Queensland. Eight years later, it became known for its Royal Flying Doctor service.

When Qantas decided to become a passenger service, it began with just two small planes that could carry two travellers and a pilot. On 2 November 1922, eighty-four-year-old Alexander Kennedy became the first passenger to fly on a Qantas plane and received ticket number one for his flight

By 1935 Qantas was flying international flights between Australia and Singapore. In 1958 it became the second round-the-world airline flying from Australia to London through Asia and the Middle East.

Qantas has been nicknamed the “ flying kangaroo ” because of the logo that is painted on the tail of its airplanes.

Immigration to Australia

DID YOU KNOW? In 2010, China surpassed the United Kingdom as the primary nationality of permanent immigrants to Australia.

After the Second World War, the Australian government began to encourage immigration. Australia had come close to being invaded by Japan in that war and Australians believed they had to “ populate or perish ” . Immigrants only needed to be healthy and under the age of 45 years to be accepted into the country. Hundreds of thousands of Europeans migrated, including over one million British citizens.

The increase in the population of Australia was intended to supply workers for the country's booming economy. Adults were charged only ten pounds for the cost of their travel by ship from England. They were promised they would be housed and given a job and that their lifestyle would improve. However, when they arrived, many found they were expected to live in hostels and there were no jobs waiting for them.

In the 1970s the white Australia policy ended, helping many more people immigrate to Australia.Since 1945, almost 7 million people have immigrated to Australia from overseas countries. Today, Australia is one of the world's largest immigration nations. Australians who were born in other countries comprise nearly 30% of the population.

The Australian National Anthem

Advance Australia Fair was first sung in 1878, but it didn't become Australia's official anthem until 1984. That year it won the vote to becom the national song, beating out God Save the Queen, Waltzing Matilda and Song of Australia.

The song was originally used to announce the news on the radio and was played in movie theatres. It was sung at official functions and becam well-known and popular. Most Australians feel that the words of Advance Australia Fair reflect how much they love their country.

Australia Has a Birthday

In 1988 Australia celebrated its bi-centennial. It marked 200 years since the arrival of the First Fleet. The celebration caused debate about Australia's national identity, Aboriginal rights, how its history had been portrayed and multiculturalism.

So me pe ople thought British colonisation was an invasion . On Australia Day, more than 40,0 0 0 people, including Aborigines protested by marching through Sydney shouting about land rights. Many Australians boycotted planned events that year,refusing to celebrate.

Australia's First Saint

Mary MacKillop was born in Melbourne,Australia. At the age of 18 she took a job as a governess to help provide for her family. There she looked after her two cousins and was responsible for teaching them their school work. Mary allowed the other farm children who lived there to study in a class with her cousins. She later became a teacher at a government school before starting her own boarding school.

When Mary became a nun she continued to help the poor by establishing many schools and welfare institutions. She helped educate people throughout Australia who were living in poverty in rural areas.

In 2010, 100 years after Mary's death she was declared a saint by the Catholic Church. She was attributed with two miracles – the cure of Veronica Hopson and Kathleen Evans who were both dying of illnesses until they prayed to Mary.

Many things have been named for her, including the Mary MacKillop rose, a district in South Australia and a passenger ferry.

The First Australian, Female Prime Minister

On June 24, 2010, Kevin Rudd, the Australian Prime Minister was forced to resign when he lost the support of his party. To replace him, Julia Gillard was elected as the leader of the Labour Party and became the 27 ^th Prime Minister of Australia.

The federal election later that year resulted in a hung parliament which means that no one party received enough votes to have a majority. Julia was able to form a minority government by combining her Labour Party with four others. She remained in office until 2013 when she lost the leadership of the Labour Party to Kevin Rudd. She retired from politics the following day.

Since Julia retired, Australia has been led by only male Prime Ministers. 4G1QFJFSR9sAdAK7jVM2As1AEM0DK5PRUQGeBgWLOa2YK8J0V2mnWRZ4crWqu8zG