Australia: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 00:09, 16 August 2005

Revision as of 00:12, 16 August 2005

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{{see details|History of Australia}}

[[Image:Endeavour replica in Cooktown harbour.jpg|240px|right|thumb|Lieutenant [[James Cook]] charted the East coast of Australia on the HM Bark ''Endeavour'' claiming the land for Britain in [[1770]]. This replica was built in [[Fremantle, Western Australia]] in 1988 for Australia's bicentenary.]]

The date of the first human habitation of Australia is estimated to be between 42,000 and 48,000 years ago.{{mn|Gillespie2002|1}} The first Australians were the ancestors of the current [[Australian Aborigine]]s, and arrived via land bridges and short sea-crossings from present-day [[Southeast Asia|south-east Asia]]. Most of these people were [[hunter-gatherer]]s, with a complex oral culture and spiritual values based on reverence for the land and a belief in the [[Dreamtime (mythology)|Dreamtime]]. The Torres Strait Islanders, ethnically [[Melanesia]]n, inhabited the [[Torres Strait Islands]] and parts of far-north [[Queensland]]; they hadpossess distinct cultural practices and practised subsistence agriculture.

The first undisputed recorded European sighting of the Australian continent was made by the Dutch navigator [[Willem Jansz]], who sighted the coast of [[Cape York Peninsula]] in 1606. During the 17th century, the Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines of what they called [[New Holland (Australia)|New Holland]], but made no attempt at settlement. In 1770, [[James Cook]] sailed along the east coast of Australia, which he named [[New South Wales]] and claimed for Britain. His discoveries provided impetus for the establishment of a [[penal colony]] there following the loss of the American colonies.