Australia History Reading Assignment
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Australia History Reading Assignment
A Continent’s Changing Story
Long before Europeans arrived, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples lived across the continent and nearby islands. These diverse communities have enduring connections to Country and developed many languages, laws, traditions, and ways of caring for land and sea. Their histories reach back tens of thousands of years. In 1770, British naval officer James Cook mapped parts of the east coast for Britain. In 1788, the First Fleet—11 ships carrying British officials, soldiers, and convicts—arrived at Sydney Cove. Britain established a penal colony there. British settlement expanded, bringing new people and institutions, but also dispossession, violence, and diseases that caused great harm to First Nations communities. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples resisted and adapted in many ways, and continue to maintain cultures and communities today. Gold discoveries in the 1850s drew people from around the world. The population grew rapidly, and gold helped transform the economy. In 1901, six British colonies joined in Federation to form the Commonwealth of Australia. The new nation did not bring equal rights to everyone: First Nations peoples continued to face discrimination and exclusion from many decisions that affected their lives.
Timeline Clues
Use the timeline to help with the questions. It shows selected events described in the passage. The mark at 1855 represents the decade of the 1850s.
- The continent was uninhabited.
- Many diverse First Nations communities had lived there for tens of thousands of years.
- The only communities were British colonies.
- Gold mining was the main way of life everywhere.
- 1770
- 1788
- 1850s
- 1901
- The First Fleet arrived at Sydney Cove
- Cook mapped parts of the east coast for Britain
- Gold discoveries drew people from around the world
- Federation formed the Commonwealth of Australia
- Dispossession
- Immediate equal rights for everyone
- The end of all First Nations cultures
- Disease
- They resisted and adapted, and continue to maintain cultures and communities today.
- They all left the continent permanently.
- They welcomed every change without question.
- Their communities disappeared after 1901.
3 printable pages
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