Реферат: The history of Australia

Реферат: The history of Australia

Реферат

на тему:

“The history of Australia”

Работу выполнила

студентка

Института Молодежи

группы МО- 102

Москва

1999 г.

Contents

General information about Australia..............3

National anthem, flag and the coat-of-arms..........3

Terra Incognita (Unknown land).................4

First European settlement...................4

Creation of the Commonwealth of Australia...........5

New crown colonies.....................5

Australia’s ties with Great Britain and the USA...........6

Literature..........................8

General Information about Australia

Australia is situated in the south-west of the Pacific Ocean. The area of

all official and ceremonial occasions.

Terra Incognita

(Unknown Land)

It is supposed that Australia’s native inhabitants, the Aborigines, arrived

in Australia at least 40,000 years ago. The first Europeans visited the

shores of Australia in 1606. The Spanish ship of Luis Vaes de Torres sailed

through the strait which now bears his name and separates Australia and

Papua New Guinea. In the same year the Dutch ship Duyfken (Little Dove)

sailed into the Gulf of Carpentaria. Among later voyagers is Dirk Hartog

(1616), who left an inscribed pewter plate (Australia’s most famous early

European relic, now in Amsterdam) in Western Australia.

Abel Tasman, Dutch navigator, visited Tasmania, which he named Van Diemen’s

Land, in 1642.

The first Englishman to visit the continent was a buccaneer, William Dampier,

who landed near King Sound on the northwest coast in 1699.

A second wave of immigration began in 1770, when Captain James Cook, of the

British Navy, sighted the east coast of the continent.

Cook had been sent to Tahiti to make astronomical observations and when his

mission was completed, he sailed south in Endeavour, circumnavigated New

Zealand and headed due west. On April 20, 1770, Cook sighted land near Cape

Everard, in the southeast corner of Australia. He turned north, charting the

coastline as he went and, 9 days later, landed at Botany Bay, which he named

for the variety of botanic specimen found there. He raised the British flag

and claimed New South Wales as a British Colony.

First European Settlement

It is probably due to its geographical position that Australia was the last

continent to be inhabited by the white man. It was just a little over 390

years that the Australian continent was discovered.

The first landing by Europeans took place in 1606. More than a century and a

half later an expedition headed by the British explorer James Cook added the

land to the possessions of the British crown.

Until the name “Australia” (meaning “South Land”) became generally accepted

for the continent, it had been referred to as New Holland, New South Wales,

or Botany Bay. During the War of Independence (1776) the former British

colonies in America declared themselves independent. Britain tried to make

up for this loss by the seizure of new territories. Besides, the convicts

could no longer be transported to the American colonies (which had served

this purpose for over hundred years) and British jails were more than badly

overcrowded.

The first contingent of the convicts and their guards landed where Sydney

stands today, on January 26, 1788. It was the so-called “First Fleet” and

these people were called “first fleeters” Now, Australia Day, January 26,

commemorates the landing. Gradually more and more people arrived (they were

convicts as well as free settlers) and a number of settlements were founded

along the southern and eastern coasts. For the first few years, the colonists

were almost entirely dependent on food supplies from overseas but gradually

the land around the settlements was brought under cultivation. Soils were

generally poor and crop yields low, but better agricultural land was soon

found near Parramatta, to the west. Exploratory voyages were also made along

the east coast. The boldest was that of Captain Matthew Flinders who, in

1802-1803 circumnavigated the continent.

Australia Day is a very important holiday for the Australians, another

equally important holiday is called Anzac Day.

Creation of The Commonwealth of Australia

In 1901 the separate colonies in Australia merged together and became the

States of the Commonwealth of Australia, which acquired the status of

dominion of Great Britain. The Commonwealth of Australia – a federation of

the 6 former colonies as states – was declared to come into being on January

1, 1901. The first Governor – General, the Earl of Hopetoun, convened the

first Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia on April 29, 1901. It was

opened in Melbourne on May 9 by Duke of Cornwall and York, son of King Edward

VII. Sir Edmund Barton was the first Prime Minister.

The constitution provided for Federal Parliament to sit in Melbourne until a

federal capital territory was selected and established. The present

Australian Capital Territory was ceded from New South Wales to become federal

territory in 1911, and the future capital was named Canberra in 1913. The

first Federal Parliament to meet in Canberra was opened by the Duke of York,

later King George VI, on May 9, 1927.

Though Australia now is an independent state, according to the Constitution

the head of the state is the Monarch of Great Britain, represented by the

Governor-General. His duties include assenting to bills, opening, proroguing

and dissolving Parliament and commissioning the Prime Minister to form a

government. Governor-General’s residence Jarralumla is in Canberra.

The Commonwealth of Australia is composed of 6 states and 2 territories: the

State of New South Wales with its capital in Sydney, the State of Victoria

with its capital in Melbourne, the State of Queenland with its capital in

Brisbane, the Sate of Western Australia with its capital in Perth, the State

of Tasmania with its capital in Hobart, Australian Capital Territory with its

Federal Capital in Canberra, and Northern Territory with its capital in

Darwin.

New Crown Colonies

Great Britain was on the verge of loosing 13 rebellious American Colonies in

1770. At that time Captain James Cook who led a scientific voyager planted

the British ensign on a continent that would soon provide a vast new colony:

Australia.

The will to establish new crown colonies was insistent even before the old

ones mere lost. The Parliament debated the site as early as 1779. Only 18

years after Captain James Cook had landed in Botany Bay, Captain Arthur

Philip arrived in Sydney Cove to begin the first settlement.

In many ways, America and Australia have had corresponding histories of

exploration, colonization, immigration, and growth. Both began with

settlements on the fringes of huge continents, gradually pushing inward to

cultivate a wilderness interior. And both developed a frontier ethos of

independence.

As the convicts earned their freedom, they went into the outback and staked

claims on land. These men, known as Squatters, raised sheep or cattle,

depending on the type of land they found for themselves.

Other convicts however reverted to their criminal ways and became outlaws,

raiding the towns and stealing from the squatters. The early part of

Australian history is filled with the tales of the settlers. These

bushrangers often became folk-heroes in the tradition of Robin Hood and Dick

Turpin in England, and Jesse James in the United States. Many poems and

songs were written about them and at one time it was a criminal offence to

sing or recite these ballads which glorified crime. Nonetheless, every

Australian today knows the stories of the famous bushrangers. These ballads

and songs started the tradition of Australian “yarn” and its heroes, Dad’s

Dave among them.

The hard rough life in the outback was no place for women. The Squatters

searched the towns for wives to take to their stations. It wasn’t very

pleasant prospect for a new bride, but some girls were lucky enough to

undertake the adventure. The image of a typical Australian was a tall, thin

and blond man who was called a “Cornstalk”, sometimes wearing a cabbage tree

hat.

Australians celebrated their bicentennial beginning Jan. 26, 1988 and

continuing all next year. On that date in 1788, 11 ships arrived from

Britain, and 1.030 settlers, including 776 convicts, began their new life in

waterfront section of Sydney called “the Rocks”.

Australia’s Ties With Great Britain And The USA

Initially, Britain and the Commonwealth countries were the central elements

of Australia’s foreign policy and activity. Later, closer relations were

also developed with the USA, partly because of the vital role it played in

the Pacific during and after World War II.

Australia can seem quite British at times and somewhat American at others.

Political, legal, and educational institutions derive from Britain. Each

state capital is named after a colonial politician (Perth, Brisbane, Sydney,

Hobart, Melbourne) or British royal figure (Adelaide). Dry and witheringly

hot towns bear names from England’s green and pleasant land. The

representative of the England queen is the formal head of the governmental

structure. Only since 1984 has required that a civil servant in Australia be

an Australian – previously it was sufficient to be British.

American influence comes in culture, technology, defense arrangements, and

business. Books from USA have made a major advance in Australian intellectual

circles since the 1960s. American ideas of management and problem-solving are

becoming more and more popular.

Significantly, Australian dollar was introduced in 1966.

In the past some Australians often felt that Australian culture, products,

accents, lifestyles compared unfavorably with Britain and the USA. This

attitude has changed. A strong sense of distinct Australian identity has

grown with the growing recognition in the world of Australian films,

literature and arts.

Literature:

1. Australia and New Zealand in brief, Москва, издательство «Лист», 1998

3. Филипп Стил. Атлас мира. Москва, «Олма-Пресс», 1998 г., с. 95