The History
Place names such as Meekatharra, Innamincka, Oodnadatta, and Wagga Wagga dot the Australian map. These colorful names were used by the aborigines, nomadic people who have inhabited Australia for at least forty thousand years. An important part of the aborigines’ culture is the idea of the Dreamtime. Aborigines believe that the first beings on earth lived during the Dreamtime. According to aboriginal legends, these first inhabitants were spirits who created natural wonders such as fire, rain, and land formations. The Dreamtime spirits told tales that guided daily life, from fishing and hunting to finding shelter. From these stories, the aborigines learned how to live in Australia’s environment, which was very dry and sometimes harsh. Modern Australian history dates to January 1788, when Europeans first landed just north of Botany Bay—later named Sydney Harbor. At that time, Britain imprisoned many people for fairly minor crimes, such as being unable to pay debts. As a result, British prisons were badly overcrowded. To solve the problem, the British government created a colony in Australia. About seven hundred prisoners and two hundred British soldiers—some with wives and children—established the first European settlement in what became the city of Sydney.

These colonists survived with basic supplies and food staples from Britain, supplemented by the food they found around them—fish, wild fruits, and nuts. But living conditions were harsh.The Australian climate was hot and dry compared to the cool, rainy British Isles. The Irish potato famine, a crop failure that began in 1845 and during which thousands of Irish people starved to death or fled Ireland, prompted a flood of Irish immigration to Australia. In 1851, when gold was discovered in southern Australia, thousands more
immigrants from various nations headed to the island. Many prospectors who did not find gold stayed in Australia, bought plots of land, and became farmers. After World War II (1939–1945), large numbers of Italians, Greeks, and other Europeans moved down under. Later, many families from Southeast Asia arrived to work and live in Australia.

Because of Australia’s historic ties to Britain, Australian culture shares similarities with British culture. Many Aussies have a special affection for Britain. But this connection with Britain meant that, for a long time,
Australians did not have a national identity of their own. They bought goods and borrowed customs from other countries, chiefly Britain and the United States. Over the years, however, Aussies have gradually developed a sense of national pride in their unique island home.

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