Colonial Period

The first English navigator to arrive in Australia was William Dampier，who landed on the northwest coast of Australia in 1688.The English did not do much exploration of Australia until 1770 when James Cook landed on the eastern coast.He claimed the land for the King of England and named it New South Wales.Two years later，French navigators explored the west coast of Australia and claimed it for the King of France.The English began to colonize Australia in the 1780s with the goal of establishing a penal colony for British convicts，as well as to compete with the French.

The British government had long been sending its criminal convicts to the American colonies.After the 13 colonies in America declared independence，the British government decided to send convicts to Australia instead.The first large group of English people arrived in Australia in January 1788.This group included more than 700 convicts and around 700 free people，including seamen，soldiers，military officers and government officials.They landed at Botany Bay，in present⁃day Sydney，but they soon moved to Sydney Cove and founded the first settlement there because of its excellent harbor.Sydney later became the capital of the British colony of New South Wales.

To prevent France from occupying any part of the continent，Britain annexed all of Australia by 1829.Convicts were the main labor force in the first settlements，but it soon became clear that the colony would not make much progress if it depended on forced convict labor.As a result，the government began to attract free settlers to Australia by promising them land grants.Soon，enterprising people began to emigrate to Australia in large numbers.They obtained large areas of free land，on which convicts were assigned to work for them.Once the convicts had served their penal terms，they would be released and could become free settlers，known as emancipists.They were given land and some supplies to get started as farmers.

In 1823，the British government passed the New South Wales Act，which created a legislative council for the colony.At first，all the members of the council were appointed，but part of the membership later became elected.All settlers were allowed to vote in the election so long as they owned property worth 200 pounds.The council had general financial power over the colonial administration，but the government in London kept tight control over land policy and major expenses.This roused violent colonial opposition.In 1850，the British Parliament passed the Australian Colonial Government Act，which allowed the colonial legislatures to frame constitutions for themselves subject to consent by the British government.

By 1860，there were six colonies in Australia.The southern island of Van Diemen’s Land was separated from New South Wales in 1825 and changed its name to Tasmania in 1855 after the British government stopped sending convicts there.West Australia was established as a free colony in 1829，and land was given to settlers free of charge according to how much they invested in their new home there.South Australia was established in 1834 by the government as an experiment to solve the problem of surplus capital and labor in England and to raise revenue for the colonial government.Land in South Australia was sold to investors rather than given to the settlers free of charge，and the proceeds from land sales were used to ship free laborers to the colony.The colony of Victoria began with squatter settlements in the 1830s，and gained official status in 1850.In 1859，Queensland was separated from New South Wales and became the sixth colony.

Wool was the most important product in all of the colonies because the weather and the terrain were ideal for raising sheep.By 1850，Australia was supplying more than half of the wool England needed.Wheat was also produced in some colonies.Gold was found in Victoria and New South Wales in 1851 and soon became the most important export product.Gold mining attracted large numbers of new immigrants;in ten years，Victoria’s population grew from 80，000 to 500，000.The number of free settlers in other colonies also increased quickly，which helped to spur demands for self⁃government.

By the end of the 1850s，five of the six colonies in Australia—New South Wales，Victoria，South Australia，Tasmania and Queensland—had gained self⁃government.West Australia followed in 1890.The colonies each established bicameral legislatures with a Legislative Assembly and a Legislative Council.All adult men had the right to vote for members of the Legislative Assemblies，while voters for the Legislative Councils were subject to property requirements.