Why did most of Australia's major cities develop where they did?

Answer 1

This is just a selection of the capital cities and their origins, not the many large regional cities. Sydney, capital of NSW, grew from the first settlement at Port Jackson which provided a safe, deep harbour, suitable timber for use in building the new colony, sufficient fresh water and better soil than the previously recommended botany Bay. Melbourne, capital of Victoria, was founded by John Batman, born in Parramatta, Sydney in 1801. As a native born Australian, Batman was interested in opening up new pastureland and promoting the growth of the colonies. He applied for land in the Westernport Bay area of southern Australia, now Victoria, but was not granted any. In May 1835, he led a syndicate calling themselves the 'Port Phillip Association' to explore Port Phillip Bay, looking for suitable sites for a settlement. On 6 June 1835, he signed a 'treaty' with the Aborigines, giving him free access to almost 250,000 hectares of land. In August that year, Governor Bourke declared Batman's treaties invalid, and issued a proclamation warning off him and his syndicate as trespassers on crown land. Despite the attempts at government intervention, the foundling settlement of Melbourne remained, and flourished. (source: today.wmit.net - January 21) Incidentally, an earlier settlement on the Mornington Peninsula, commissioned by the British Government and initiated by Lieutenant-Governor David Collins, did not succeed, due to lack of fresh water, timber and the treacherousness of the passage into Port Phillip Bay. Hobart was established out of Lieutenant-Governor David Collins's unsuccessful venture. Hearing of better land and timber in Van Diemen's Land, Collins moved most of the settlement across Bass Strait, and established Hobart on the Derwent River early in 1804. The city actually began as a penal colony at Risdon Cove on the Derwent River in 1803 to offset British concerns over the presence of French explorers. A year later it was moved to its current location at Sullivan's Cove. The colony of the Moreton Bay District (Queensland) was founded in 1824 when explorer John Oxley arrived at Redcliffe with a crew and 29 convicts, specifically with the purpose of seeking a new site for convict settlement. He had earlier been altered to the presence of the Brisbane River, missed by both Captain Cook and Matthew Flinders, by ticket-of-leave convicts and timber-getters, Parsons, Pamphlett and Thompson. The settlement was established at Humpybong, but abandoned less than a year later when the main settlement was moved 30km away, to the Brisbane River. This became the city of Brisbane. The city of Perth, capital of Western Australia, grew up around the Swan River, and was therefore originally known as the Swan River Colony. Dutch captain Willem de Vlamingh named the Swan River in 1697 because of the black swans he saw in abundance there. The city itself started out as a free colony in 1829 with the arrival of around 100 pioneer men, women and children when the British Government was keen to lay claim to the greatw estern half of the continent before wither the Dutch or the french showed any real interest. The colony of Western Australia was proclaimed on 8 June 1829. (source: today.wmit.net - June 8) Adelaide, capital of South Australia, was founded as an entirely free settlement - the only colony in Australia with this distinction. Geographically, it needed to be within the unsettled area of the western half, but within easy transport distance of the other cities. Adelaide was strategically near the mouth of the Murray River, so paddlesteamers could be used to transport goods up to the settled areas of Victoria and NSW. Ship transport from South Australia to the other colonies was also fairly easy, as was overland transport. Darwin, capital city of the Northern Territory, was also settled to present the French or Dutch claiming the top end. Various settlements were established and abandoned, although Ludwig Leichhardt's epic exploration (1844-5) from the Darling Downs to Port Essington in the north generated renewed interest in the area. Finally, a settlement was established in the harbour where Darwin now stands. The harbour had been discovered back in 1839, but not settled. However, since half-a-dozen other settlements had failed, it was worth a try. It, too, might have been abandoned were it not for the discovery of gold at Pine Creek, about 200km south.

Answer 2

Because they were coastal, or nearly so - early on, shipping was Australia's only connection with the rest of the world.