English settlement in Australia
Captain Cook was an English sea captain who sailed the Endeavour in 1770. He went through the Great Barrier Reef which is more than 1,243 miles. He mapped the southern, eastern and northern shores of Australia.
Seventeen years later the English First Fleet sailed to Australia carrying 800 convicts and 200 soldiers with Captain Arthur Phillip. Normally the convicts would have been taken to America but the U.S. had already declared its freedom. Since Australia had already been mapped out by Captain Cook and was uninhabited by everyone but the Aborigines, they decided to go there.
Colony days of Australia
After a few years, the penal colony expanded and people began to build new settlements on Van Dieman's Land (which was later named Tasmania) and on the northeastern coast of Australia. Explorers found a way through the Blue Mountains so they were able to use the land on the other side.
In 1814, Matthew Flinders named this land "Australia". Explorers began crossing west to fully map the country. They established more cities including the major cities Adelaide, Melbourne, and Perth. Britain stopped sending convicts to New South Wales in 1840 and to Western Australia in 1868. During the 1850's, the population rocketed due to a couple of things. First, there was a gold rush and everyone wanted to get a mine and get rich. Another major contributing factor is that there was a lot of land west of Sydney so people wanted to get farmland.
Australia as a nation
In 1901, the very first day of the twentieth century, the six colonies in Australia came together to form the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia still pays respect to the British king or queen, as the British monarch is Head of State, represented by a Governor-General, but Australia is an independent country.
Australia & the great depression
Economic depression had hit Australia in the 1930s just like most other places in the world. Poverty and unemployment were widespread. Post World War II, saw an influx of immigrations, especially the Europeans to Australia. Since then the immigrants have proven to be true asset to the country and added to its resource base in more than one way. In 1972, the Labour party came to power and supported land rights for Aboriginal people.
Modern day Australia
A caretaker government was set by the then Governor General in 1975 which turned out to be a historical decision. Modern day Australians feel that constitutional ties with the British are no longer relevant. The forwarding thought is to declare Australia republic and have Australian President as Head of State. Reflecting this thought was the national referendum in 1999 which resulted in a comprehensive victory for the status quo.
Life in Australia 
