Shortcut: Empire to Independence - Australia and New Zealand

England started exploring the world in the 1600s. By 1900, Great Britain had the biggest empire in the world.

 

Australia

Captain James Cook came to Australia in 1770. It looked like a good place to make a colony for prisoners, as British jails were full. British prisoners and guards were the first white Australians.

 

Aboriginal people

It was hard to live in the wild Australian land called “the bush”. The British used local Aboriginal people as guides to find food and water. There were about 750,000 Aboriginals in Australia. They did not think land could be owned. So they ignored the fences around British sheep farms.

The British felt threatened, so they hunted and shot Aboriginal people. They also forced Aboriginal children to live with whites. Aboriginal people were not treated as equals. After 1983 they could vote and own land.

 

Immigration

Australia got self-rule in 1901. For a long time, only British whites could immigrate. After WWII immigrants from Europe, Asia and Africa came as well. This made Australia multi-cultural.

 

Modern Australia

Today Australia is a modern industrial country. It is a popular place for foreign students to study. Australia has many natural disasters like flooding, droughts and earthquakes. Therefore, climate change is a challenge.

Australia and New Zealand

 

New Zealand

Maori settlers

New Zealand is a young country. Maori people settled there in the 1200s. British whalers arrived about six hundred years later. The whalers and Maori shared their cultures. The Maori believed everyone owned the land together.

 

British settlers

When the British started taking land to make sheep farms, terrible wars broke out. During the 1800s half the Maori population was killed. At the same time, the British population grew from 2,000 to 250,000.

 

Multicultural New Zealand

New Zealand got self-rule in 1907. It had a very British-influenced culture until WWII. Refugees from Europe and Asia made New Zealand multicultural. Pride in Maori culture also grew gradually. All New Zealanders are called kiwis, after the national bird.

 

Happy New Zealand

New Zealand is a wealthy country. It spends more money on education than any other country. It is also progressive. Kiwi women were first in the world to get the vote.