Australia Historical background

The first Europeans to see Australia in the early seventeenth century were the Duch. They found no opportunities to settle or to trade. Explorer William Janzs reported that Australia was "...for the greater part desert, with wild, cruel black savages".

English explorer James Cook discovered Australia 160 years later, in 1770. He landed in Botany Bay, south of present day Sydney, named that place New South Wales and claimed this part of land for the King of England.

Australia's national day, on 26 January marks the date in 1788 when Captain Arthur Philip commanded eleven ships to Australia, sailed into Sydney Cove. About 750 of the 1000 people on the ships were convicts. The first settlers were greeted by the Aborigines, the first inhabitants of Australia. There were an estimated 300,000 Aborigines living in Australia at that time.

At first, relations between colonists and Aborigines were good, but not for long. Tribes were driven away from their lands, hunted and killed. In Tasmania they were wiped out completely. As recently as 1960s, Christian missionaries were forcibly removing children and taking them to schools on mission stations.

Great Britain claimed all the Australia in 1827. In 1851 gold was discovered about 300 km west of Sydney. People rushed to the gold fields to find their fortunes. This attracted robbers called bushrangers. Ned Kelly was a famous bushranger. He was a very clever outlaw.

In 1901 Australia became a nation within the British Empire under Queen Victoria's rule. It was called the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia had a very limited constitution. Great Britain continued to make decisions regarding all of Australia's foreign affairs.

In 1931 Australia gained independence from Great Britain.

Vocabulary to claim предъявлять права to earn зарабатывать на что-либо convict каторжник,

prison тюрьма осужденный

unemployment безработица estimated приблизительно

crime преступность to rush бросаться,

to punish наказывать устремляться

labourer чернорабочий fortune удача

solution решение within внутри, в пределах

(проблемы) crowded переполненный

sentence приговор to regard рассматривать

foreign affairs внешняя политика (проблему)

eventually в конце концов to gain обрести

Commonwealth содружество, settler поселенец

федерация

Exercises

I. Answer the following questions. Give as full answers as you can:

1. Who were the first Europeans to see Australia?

2. What was William Janzs opinion of Australia?

3. When did James Cook come to Australia?

4. Where did James Cook land?

5. Why was Australia chosen as a dumping ground?

6. Why there were a lot of criminals in Great Britain?

7. Were there the Aborigines in Australia?

8. How did colonists treat the Aborigines?

9. What happened, when gold was discovered in Australia?

10. When did Australia gain independence?

II. Translate the following sentences into English:

1. Первыми европейцами, побывавшими в Австралии, были голландцы.

2. Джеймс Кук открыл Австралию на 160 лет позже голландцев.

3. Америка использовалась как свалка для британских отбросов общества.

4. Австралия казалась прекрасным местом для новых исправительных колоний.

5. Племена сгонялись со своих земель, преследовались, истреблялись.

6. В Тасмании они были полностью истреблены.

7. Люди бросились на поиски удачи.

8. Австралия была нацией в составе Британской империи.

9. В 1931 году Австралия добилась независимости от Великобритании.

10. Великобритания объявила всю Австралию своей собственностью в 1827 году.