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Asia and Oceania
Australia |
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Last updated: 21 May 2009 |
Country information
Longer historical perspective
In 1768 the British Admiralty instructed Captain James Cook to begin a search for the 'Great South Island' first reached by Dutch sailors in the early 17th century. The crew of The Endeavour subsequently landed at Botany Bay in April 1770 and claimed the Island for the British. King George III decided that Botany Bay should become the destination for British convicts under sentence of transportation and on 26 January 1788 the first fleet, sailing under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip, reached Australia (26 January is celebrated annually as Australia Day). In total more than 168,000 convicts were transported and the discovery of gold in the 1850s also began to attract free settlers. Exploration and expansion followed and by the 1890s, calls for the colonies of New South Wales, Western Australia, Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) and Port Phillip (Now Victoria) to federate had became increasingly strong. Australia became a nation on 1 January 1901.
BBC News Country Timeline: Australia
