• 
• 1 answer

Arthur Phillip, the British Naval Captain who brought the First Fleet of convicts to Australia, was born on 11 October 1738.

• 
• 1 answer

$330,300 as of July 1st 2007

• 
• 1 answer

There were a number of reasons. The Dutch explored enroute to where they traded goods in the West Indies, and came across the continent by accident. The British explored with the aim of increasing the size of their Empire. The British then sent convicts to the Australian continent because their prisons were extremely overcrowded, and the US colonies were no longer accepting British prisoners. Once initial settlement occurred, people of other cultural groups moved to Australia for a better life, or to escape religious persecution, or to make their fortune in the goldrushes.

• 
• 1 answer

Possibly. Captain Arthur Phillip had a sister, Rebecca, born in 1737, and it is said that he was the "second son", though no information appears to be available on the first son.

• 
• 2 answers

There were many positive effects from the Australian gold rush.

One of the positive effects was immigration. The goldrush brought a large number of immigrants to Australia, all of whom contributed their own cultural influences. It was the beginning of multiculturalism in Australia. The Chinese in particular converged on Australia, and resentment against the Asian nationalities was a contributing factor to the introduction of the White Australia Policy in the twentieth century. Enormous numbers of immigrants, especially Chinese, brought their unique cultural influences to Australia, and many of the Chinese stayed on to build businesses in the towns once the main gold deposits were mined out.

There was a new boom of Victorian architecture in cities such as Melbourne, and the richness of this architecture can still be seen today. Victoria itself became a very wealthy colony, rivalling New South Wales.

The newfound wealth meant that Britain no longer had any reason to withhold self-government. New rules, policies and legislation were implemented, giving Australia more of an understanding of how to draft future legislation and, indeed, its own constitution. Australia now had the confidence to "go it alone" - to break free from 'Mother Britain" and aim for independence, which it achieved with the federation of the states in 1901.

The goldrushes helped bring improvements in transportation. The famous "Cobb and Co Coaches" ran successfully for half a century, thanks to the goldrush. Train lines were built, linking the major centres, and roadways were improved.

Arguably the most positive effect of the gold rush was in the development of democracy. The Eureka Stockade was the 1854 miners' uprising on the goldfields of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, protesting certain conditions on the Australian goldfields and the fact that delegations for miners' rights had met with inaction from the Victorian government. On 29 November 1854, the miners burned their licences (another source of extreme discontent) in a mass display of resistance against the laws which controlled the miners. On December 1, the miners began to construct a wooden barricade, a stockade from which they planned to defend themselves against licence arrests or other incursions by the authorities. At 3:00am on Sunday, 3 December 1854, 276 police and military personnel and several civilians stormed the stockade. It remains unclear which side fired first, but in the ensuing battle, 22 diggers and 5 troopers died.

Although the rebellion itself failed in its objective, it gained the attention of the Government. A Commission of Enquiry was conducted and changes were implemented. These included abolition of monthly gold licences, replaced by an affordable annual miner's licence. The numbers of troopers were reduced significantly, and Legislative Council was expanded to allow representation to the major goldfields. Peter Lalor and another representative, John Basson Humffray, were elected for Ballarat. Later, Lalor was elected Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Victoria. For these reasons, the Eureka Stockade is regarded by many as the birthplace of Australian Democracy.

• 
• 1 answer

"Toil" means "work", which a connotation that the work is physically tiring.

"With wealth for toil" suggests that work is well-paid or well-rewarded, suggesting that opportunities are available.

• 
• 1 answer

The First Fleet was important, or rather significant, because it brought the first permanent European settlers to Australia. The ships of the First Fleet brought the original convict settlers, together with the officers, marines and their families. These people established the first colony in Australia.

• 
• 3 answers

• 
• 1 answer

Rabbits were brought to Australia on the First Fleet but, for whatever reason, they did not breed prolifically or cause any problems for the first few years of the colony's settlement. There is absence of any evidence that they were either eaten or hunted for sport in the Sydney area. Rabbits were popular as pets and for sport around Sydney in the 1840s, but again, there is no evidence that their population proliferated. It is believed that the carnivorous marsupials of the mainland, such as quolls, were able to keep rabbit numbers down.

Rabbits were also introduced into the Tasmanian colony where, by 1827, they were noted to be in their thousands.

A farmer named Thomas Austin who had a property in Winchelsea, Victoria, was responsible for introducing rabbits into Australia, leading to their current plague proportions. Austin was a member of the Acclimatisation Society, a group which believed in introducing exotic species into new locations around the world. In October 1859, Austin imported 21 European rabbits for hunting, releasing them on Christmas Day that year. Within a short period of time, it became evident that Victoria provided the ideal climate for the rabbits to breed and become a national pest. Rabbits have since spread throughout Australia.

• 
• 1 answer

The H.M.S. Sirius, flagship of the First Fleet, weighed 540 tons. The Sirius had a length of 30 metres, a breadth of 10 metres, depth was 4 metres and the height of her mainmast above the deck was 32 metres.

• 
• 1 answer

When the original German immigrants came to Australia in the 1830s, they faced the sense of loss and displacement any cultural group would feel when they have been forced from their homeland by persecution. In the case of the first Germans, they were forced to flee from the religious persecution of King Friedrich Wilhelm III. Mixed in with the displacement and loss of their homeland was an intense relief that they were now free to worship in the way of their choice. They were (and are) a stalwart, hard-working and adaptable group, quickly establishing their farms and crops. There was no discrimination where these first Germans chose to settle. On the contrary, they had the support of wealthy Scottish businessman and chairman of the South Australian Company, George Fife Angas.

More problems were faced later during the first and second world wars. Not just German immigrants, but members of long-established German families faced persecution as a result of the distrust felt towards Germany for its part in both world wars. Germans were rounded up and placed in civilian internment camps within Australia, simply for having a German name.

During World War I, many Germans were held at internment camps around Australia. There was fear that seemingly innocent German immigrants could be spying for the German government. This paranoia extended to some German-speaking peoples whose families had been in Australia since the 1840s. German clubs were closed, businesses were shut down, many Lutheran schools were closed (all of the Lutheran schools in SA were closed), and the leaders of the community, including Lutheran pastors, were interned. (Six of the Qld pastors who were interned were British naturalised subjects, and two of them had actually been born in Australia). The Germans were often ferried for long distances by rail, during which they were subjected to harsh treatment, including unnecessary handcuffing and general abuse. Their luggage was searched, or just stolen and/or destroyed.

Some Germans avoided internment by anglicising their names.

In all, during World War I, 6,890 Germans were interned. Of these, 4,500 were Australian residents before the war began. Others were sailors from German navy ships or merchant ships who were arrested while in Australian ports when the war broke out, while others still were merely visitors.

Again, in World War II, many German civilians and soldiers were sent to internment camps and Prisoner-Of-War camps in Australia.

• 
• 1 answer

When in Canberra, the Prime Minister of Australia lives in a residence separate from Parliament House. It's called the Lodge. The Prime Minister resides in this residence while Parliament is in session, but they often have their own house within their own electorate.

• 
• 1 answer

The convicts of the First Fleet were very quickly set to work clearing trees, tilling the soil and getting the first crops started. The convicts were very hard to motivate, being reluctant to work in the Australian heat and humidity, and with tools that constantly broke, but they were expected to work hard.

They were also set construction projects, as there were no roads, bridges or buildings. Some convicts were assigned as servants or tradespeople to the free settlers who also came.

• 
• 1 answer

• 
• 1 answer

• 
• 1 answer

The First Fleet left Rio De Janeiro on 3 September 1787.

• 
• 1 answer

Captain Arthur Phillip (also known variously as Admiral and/or Governor) was born in London, England on 11 October 1738.

• 
• 1 answer

Frank Gardiner became a bushranger after serving time for horse stealing in 1850. After he was sentenced to five years in Pentridge Gaol, he escaped and took up bushranging in the district around Goulburn, New South Wales.

• 
• 1 answer

• 
• 1 answer

Australia

He was born north of Melbourne in Beveridge, Victoria.

He died in melbourne.

• 
• 1 answer

• 
• 1 answer

Aborigines look like you and me when they are walking around town, then when it is time for a special celebration of some kind for the Aborigines, they get all painted up and in their special outfits for their corroborees.

Most modern Aborigines do not participate in corroborees and ceremonial dances, as most do not live a traditional lifestyle. Modern Aborigines are characterised by their dark skin, eyes and hair, and a tendency to have a broader nose. However, as there are varying degrees of aboriginal descent, so these features can vary considerably.

• 
• 1 answer

Different areas of Australia were settled at different times, and each of these was called a colony. Each colony was governed by a Governor, who acted under orders from England, although a certain amount of discretionary freedom was permitted in law-making. Colonies developed first at Sydney, followed by Newcastle (still part of New South Wales), then further in the south at Van Diemen's Land (Hobart, in Tasmania), north in Brisbane (Moreton Bay), in the west at Perth, and finally south at Melbourne and Adelaide. Each of these colonies was gradually awarded "state" status, particularly as boundaries were drawn up and the eastern states separated from New South Wales, the original colony. On 1 January 1901, they federated as one nation under a Federal Government.

• 
• 1 answer

Dutch and Portuguese sailors were the first Europeans to discover Australia, but they showed absolutely no interest in the continent. The first Englishman to visit Australia was William Dampier. In 1688, his ship the 'Cygnet' was beached on the northwest coast of Australia. Dampier was unimpressed by the dry, barren landscape, the lack of water and what he described as the "miserablest people in the world" - the native population. His negative reports led to the delay of England's colonisation of what is now Australia. It was not until 1770 that Captain James Cook reported positively on the green, fertile countryside of New South Wales, and England sought to colonise the previously unknown continent. Australia was originally used as penal colony where criminals from England and other parts of today's United Kingdom were sent. Many people who live in Australia today are descendants of English people, although they by no means make up the majority. Australia is still an active member of the Commonwealth, which is bessentially made up of nations that have been colonised by Britain.

• 
• 1 answer

Bushrangers survived on the goldfields and elsewhere by various means. Some of them stole provisions owned by the settlers in outlying areas of the goldfields, helping themselves freely to salted meats, potatoes, onions, flour and so on. They also stole from store owners in the towns.

Others hunted wild rabbits and native animals.