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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Australia
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Member of the *Commonwealth, with *dominion status from 1901. Various explorers in the 17C (most notably the Dutchman Abel *Tasman) made brief contact with the west and south coasts of the Australian continent, but it was not until the first voyage of Captain *Cook in 1769–71 that the more hospitable eastern coast was visited by Europeans. Joseph *Banks, one of Cook's party, strongly recommended it for the settlement of convicts (they had previously been sent to America).
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As a result the *'First Fleet' of 11 vessels sailed from England in 1787 under the command of Arthur Phillip. It carried about 730 convicts, including some 160 women, accompanied by 250 or so passengers. The ships arrived in 1788 at the appointed destination of Botany Bay, named for the profusion of flowers that Banks had found there. Phillip considered the location unsuitable and moved 8km/5m north to Port Jackson, which became the nucleus of the city of Sydney.
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The harsh nature of much of central Australia meant that settlements were developed round the coast, particularly to the south and east. Hobart, on the island of Tasmania, was established in 1804, to be followed by Brisbane (1824), Perth (1829), Melbourne (1835) and Adelaide (1836). Darwin, in the extreme north, was not settled until 1872. By the late 19C the continent consisted of six separate colonies (New South Wales, Tasmania, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia), which combined to form, from 1 January 1901, a single independent country, the Commonwealth of Australia.
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