Category Story of Nations

          New Zealand is a country spread across the Pacific Ocean, near Australia. It is made up of two large islands- North and South islands.

          The history of New Zealand cannot be told without mentioning the British interventions. Abel Tasman, a Dutch explorer was the first European to discover the island. With the arrival of Captain James Cook, Britishers founded Wellington in the North Island. New Zealand became a British colony in 1840. Maoris were the original inhabitants of the island. William Hobson, New Zealand’s first governor made an agreement with 500 Maori chiefs to establish British sovereignty over the country. This landmark document is known as the Treaty of Waitangi. This treaty helped the British to establish their government.

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          Like many other British colonies, Australia too experienced the ill effects of racism. The British settlers wanted to establish White supremacy over the country.

          Moreover, traders from Asian countries, especially China were posing a threat to the British trade. To counter it, the government came up with the White Australia Policy in 1901. The policy banned all non-White immigrants.

          The White Australia Policy was in the rule books till the 1960s. It was ultimately banned in 1966 and the country invited immigrants from all parts of the world. It also opened its gates to the refugees of the Vietnam War! People all over the world now move in to Australia for quality education and employment. And it has people of all races; 26 percent of its population is immigrants!

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          Australia is unique in many ways. The country has pink lakes like Lake Hillier. It has more than ten thousand beaches. There are more kangaroos than people in the country. The Great Barrier Reef, the largest living structure in the world is in Australia. It also shares a legacy with many other countries in the world- Australia too was once a British colony!

          Australia was inhabited by the Aboriginals alone till the British settlers came. In the 1700s, criminals of Britain were given two options- either to die or to live in the difficult bushes of the newfound continent. As many as 700 convicts were sent to Australia in the beginning, who struggled hard to survive the harsh climate, the difficult land and of course, the Aboriginals. More convicts were transported and Australia became an established penal colony of the British. By the 1800s, there were many such penal colonies.

          The 1850s witnessed a historical discovery! Gold was discovered in Victoria which created a boom. The Victorian gold rush was so massive that the government had to resort to issuing miners’ licenses to regulate the crowd.

          The British expanded their colonies all over the world in search of natural resources and wealth. Australia was no exception.

          The British came to Australia and the Pacific islands to exploit the mineral wealth of these countries. Nauru was mined for phosphate while some other islands had nickel and bauxite. Many islands were fertile and were utilized for plantations, especially sugarcane.

          Many English convicts were sent to some of these islands including Australia and New Zealand as punishment for their crimes. To survive, these people had to struggle with the harsh weather, difficult terrains and the natives.

         The continent of Australia now consists of fourteen countries spread across the Pacific Ocean. Australia, New Zealand and thousands of tiny islands are collectively known as Oceania. Today, many of these islands are bustling tourist destinations.

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