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European Exploration: Dutch
First Europeans to sail to Australia were the Dutch -
Captain James Cook
Captain James Cook sailed around Australia -
The "First Fleet"
British ships took convicts to establish a prison -
Penal Colony
New South Wales was officially a penal (prison) colony consisting mainly of marine guards and convicts. -
Prisoners settle in Australia
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Port Arthur, Tasmania
The convicts who have were secondary offenders re-offended their arivals in Australia -
British Transported Prisoners
In 1868 British transported prisoners to Australia -
Commonwealth
The commonwealth was established in Australia -
Melbourne
Melbourne served as the national capital until Canberra was complete. -
Aborigines
Federal governments began to pass laws to help the Aborigines -
Australia Act
All legal ties with the British Empire were served -
Voters
In 1999 55% of voters rejected the idea of becoming an independent republic -
Australia Today
Today, Australia is a parliamentary democracy with Queen Elizabeth II
