Category Story of Nations

          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.

Picture Credit : Google