1770.He was sent to discover the huge land that
many people believed was south of the equator.He landed south of present day Sydney in New South Wales.He claimed this part of the land for the King of England.At this time England was having many social problems. Unemployment was high.Crime was one of the greatest problems.The government punished people by sending them to prison.England’s solution to crowded prisons was to send priso- ners to far colonies .They could work off their prison sentences as labou- rers in the new colonies and eventually earn their freedom.Therefere, in 1788 Captain Arthur Phillip commanded eleven ships to Australia.About 750 of the 1000 people on the ships were convicts.These first settlers were greeted by the Aboriginers, the first inhabitants of Australia.There were an estimated 300000 Aborigines living in Australia at that time.
Great Britain claimed all of Australia in 1827.In 1851 gold was discovered about 300 km west of Sydney.People rushed to the gold fields to find their fortunes.This attracted robbers called bushrangers.Ned Kelly was a famous bushranger.He was a very clever outlaw.
In 1901 Australia become a nation within the British Empire under Queen Victoria’s rule.It was called the Commonwealth of Australia.Australia had a very limited constitution.Great Britain continued to make decisions re- garding all of Australia’s foreign affairs.
In 1931 Australia gained independense from Great Britain.