Economy

Most of the rich farmland and good ports are in the east and particularly the southeast, except for the area around Perth in Western Australia. Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Adelaide are the leading industrial and commercial cities. There was considerable industrial development in the last two decades of the 20^th century. While the Australian economy fell into a severe recession¹⁵ in the late 1980s, it experienced an extended period of growth beginning in the 1990s. It then suffered somewhat from the Asian economic slump of the 1990s and from the “Big Dry” drought of the early 21^st century.

Australia is highly industrialized, and manufactured goods account for most of the gross domestic product¹⁶. Its chief industries include mining, food processing, and the manufacture of industrial and transportation equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, machinery, and motor vehicles. Australia has valuable mineral resources, including coal, iron, copper, tin, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, mineral sands, lead, zinc, natural gas, and petroleum; the country is an important producer of opals and diamonds.

The country is self-sufficient in food, and the raising of sheep and cattle and the production of grain have long been staple occupations. Tropical and subtropical produce – citrus fruits, sugarcane, and tropical fruits – are also important, and there are numerous vineyards and dairy and tobacco farms.

Australia maintains a favorable balance of trade. Its chief export commodities are metals, minerals, coal, wool, beef, mutton, cereals, and manufactured products. The leading imports are machinery, transportation and telecommunications equipment, computers and office machines, crude oil, and petroleum products. Australia’s economic ties with Asia and the Pacific Rim have become increasingly important, with Japan, China, and the United States being its main trading partners.

Government

The executive power of the commonwealth is vested¹⁷ in a governor-general (representing the British sovereign) and a cabinet, presided over by the prime minister, which represents the party or coalition holding a majority in the lower house of parliament. The parliament consists of two houses, the Senate, whose 76 members are elected to six- or three-year terms, depending on whether they represent a state or territory, and the House of Representatives, whose 150 members are elected to three-year terms. British intervention in Australian affairs was formally abolished in 1986. From its early years the federal government has been noted for its liberal legislation, such as woman suffrage¹⁸ (1902), old-age pensions (1909), and maternity allowances¹⁹ (1912). There are four main political parties: Liberal, Labor, National, and Democratic.

Early history. Colonization.

The groups comprising the aborigines are thought to have migrated from Southeast Asia. Skeletal remains indicate that aborigines arrived in Australia more than 40,000 years ago, and some evidence suggests that they were active there about 100,000 years ago. The aborigines spread throughout Australia and remained isolated from outside influences until the arrival of the Europeans. Dutchman Willem Janszoon is the first European confirmed to have seen (1606) and landed in Australia. Other Dutch navigators later visited the continent, and the Dutch named it New Holland. In 1688 the Englishman William Dampier landed at King Sound on the northwest coast. Little interest was aroused, however, until the fertile east coast was observed when Captain James Cook reached Botany Bay in 1770 and sailed N to Cape York, claiming the coast for Great Britain (he named the coast New South Wales).

In 1788 the first British settlement was made a penal colony²⁰ on the shores of Port Jackson, where Sydney now stands. By 1829 the whole continent was a British dependency. Van Diemen’s Land, now known as Tasmania, was settled in 1803 and became a separate colony in 1825. The United Kingdom formally claimed the western part of Western Australia (the Swan River Colony) in 1828.

Separate colonies were carved from parts of New South Wales: South Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851, and Queensland in 1859. The Northern Territory was founded in 1911 when it was excised from South Australia. South Australia was founded as a “free province” – it was never a penal colony. Victoria and Western Australia were also founded “free”, but later accepted transported convicts²¹. Australia was long used as a dumping ground for criminals, bankrupts, and other undesirables from the British Isles. A campaign by the settlers of New South Wales led to the end of convict transportation to that colony; the last convict ship arrived in 1848.

Sheep raising was introduced early, and before the middle of the 19^th century wheat was being exported in large quantities to England. A gold strike²² in Victoria in 1851 brought a rush to that region. Other strikes were made later in the century in Western Australia. With minerals, sheep, and grain forming the base of the economy, Australia developed rapidly. By the mid-19^th century systematic, permanent colonization had completely replaced the old penal settlements.