Australia

History

Aborigines

Began 50,000 to 65,000 years ago (historians disagree on exact dates)

Oldest continuous, surviving culture in the world.Thrived on adaptation

Able to live in Australia’s hot desertsUtilized nature to their fullest advantage. Boomerangs carved from trees to hunt kangaroosGathered wild honey from hollowed-out tree trunksObtained water from any source possible and knew where each water source was

located

Aborigines

Incorporated music and dance into their cultural traditions

Dances honored the spiritsEach dance group had their

own, unique rhythmAboriginal musicians crafted

didgeridoos, which provide a hollow, echoed sound

Made from hollowed termite nests

Image Credit: Wise Moves Dance

Aborigines

Tribal warfare rarely occurred, which made Aboriginal culture very peaceful overall.

Spears and boomerangs were used to acquire food, not to harm other humans.

Image Credit: Aboriginal Dreamtime Stories

Aborigines

Oral tradition played a huge role in furthering Aboriginal culture by passing it from generation to generation.

Though cave paintings were created, Aboriginal culture passed on their traditions verbally, not in written form.

Image Credit: Traveller’s Point

Aborigines

Aborigines viewed themselves as a part of the land rather than owners of it.

In 1770, European colonizers would arrive in Australia with the opposite mentality, viewing themselves as owners of land rather than part of the land.

Image Credit: David R. Horton

Map of Aboriginal Tribal Territories

British Colonization

In 1606, a Dutch sailor named William Janszoon became the first European to sail into “Australian” waters.

Called the continent Terra Australis Incognita (Unknown Southern Land), which is where modern Australia derives its name.

Image Credit: Vintage Maps

British Colonization

In 1770, James Cook sailed to East Australia and claimed the land for Britain under King George III.

A colonial fleet follow 18 years later (in 1788) and settled in the Aboriginal territory of Cali. More colonial fleets followed.

Image Credit: The Times

Captain James Cook Lands at Botany Bay

British Colonization

The British government used Australia as a prison colony from 1788 to 1823, specifically the area of New South Wales.

Britain sent their most prominent criminals to the island/continent to serve as farm labor in the newly established British territory.

Image Credit: Founding Docs: Australia

Australia circa 1788

British Colonization

In 1851 (two years after the California Gold Rush), gold was discovered in a water hole in Australia.

By 1852, 370,000 prospective gold miners arrived in Australia from Europe.

Gold Miners in Australia

Image Credit: Australian Geographic

British Colonization

Technically, Australia became an independent country (free from British rule) in 1931, though it didn’t fully exercise its independence until 1986. Independence was achieved peacefully.

Image Credit: Flags Australia

Tension Between Cultures

When Britain colonized North America, it created conflict between colonists and Native Americans.

The same type of conflict occurred between Australia's British colonists and Aborigines.

Image Credit: How Stuff Works

Aboriginal Man

Tension Between Cultures

● Initial relations between the British and the Aboriginal inhabitants were generally hospitable

● Hostility grew when Aborigines realized that their land, resources, and ways of life were disrupted by colonists

● From 1790 to 1810, the Eora group (living near modern-day Sydney), led by Bidjigal clan leader, Pemulwuy, launched an attacking campaign against British colonists

Tension Between Cultures

Eventually, the British Australian government controlled most of the continent with legally binding contracts.

In 1915, A.O. Neville became Australia’s “Chief Protector of Aborigines”

Image Credit: Find and Connect

A.O. Neville

Tension Between Cultures

Under Neville’s “protection”, thousands of Aboriginal children were to British-style schools and institutions, which dissipated and diluted Aboriginal culture.

Aborigines were forced onto reservations, which left their culture in a state of near-disappearance after 50,000+ years.

Image Credit: The Telegraph

Aboriginal Reservation in Australia