How was Australia established?

Answer 1

Australia was founded by the British for several reasons:

• As a penal colony - British prisons were overcrowded with people charged with minor offences, in an attempt to crack down on rampant crime as people sought to survive unemployment in the Industrial Revolution.
• Britain had originally been able to send convicts to America, but the American War of Independence stopped that. An alternative had to be found.
• To gain a strategic foothold in the Pacific: The British and the French had been engaged in a colonial empirical "competition" since the 1600s. Both countries sought to colonise as much new land as they could. Britain was concerned that Australia, which would essentially be their only claim in the western Pacific, could be taken up by the French. Hence, they aimed to quickly colonise the new, southern continent with convicts.
• There were resources in nearby territories (such as Norfolk Island) which were valuable to the British.

Answer 2

In 1606, Dutch explorers became the first Europeans to "discover" Australia, naming it New Holland. They did not settle it.

In 1688, English pirate William Dampier also came across Australia's western coast, but found the land to be inhospitable, and the Aborigines a "savage" people. He did not recommend Australia for settlement.

In 1770, British explorer James Cook (not yet a captain) encountered the east coast of Australia. He called it New South Wales, and claimed it for Britain. HE thought it would be a good place to settle.

In 1788 the British sent a fleet of ships to settle Australia. Britain needed a place to send its convicts (people who have been sent to jail for thefts and other crimes). This First Fleet settled at Port Jackson, establishing a settlement which they called Sydney. For the first few years they did not have much food, and life was very hard. But soon they began to farm, and more people came. Sydney grew, and new towns were started.

For twenty five years, the Blue Mountains to the west of Sydney prevented the colony from expanding. Once the explorers Lawson, Blaxland and Wentworth found a suitable crossing route over the mountains, there was no limit to the expansion of Australia. New colonies were created north, south and west.

Answer 3

Australia was established as a British convict settlement in 1788.