Table of contents for All About History History of Australia - 3rd. Edition in All About History

It’s tough to condense the history of any nation into a book of any size. That’s particularly true of Australia, with its vast landscape, rich Aboriginal cultures, dramatic entrance into the European imagination, rip-roaring tales of a pioneer past, and relentless push for progress. In just a few centuries, Australia has gone from a largely self-contained hinterland to playing a key role on the world stage, in both wartime and peace. That journey hasn’t been free from setbacks, missteps and the occasional trek down the wrong path, but it has also been one of grit, determination and success, characterised by the boldness, strength and adaptability of the Aussie national spirit. From challenging the British Empire for control over its own destiny (while maintaining friendly relations) to defending itself and its…

On 20 August 1770, the flag of Great Britain was hoisted over the silver sands to flutter in the breeze. Three volleys were fired by the landing party, and then answered by the Bark Endeavour, moored in the bay. James Cook and his crew had been at sea for 724 days and it had been 141 days since they had left New Zealand behind. Less than 100-strong, a tiny ship in a vast ocean, they had mapped the coastline, before tacking west to Van Diemen’s Land, then north in search of the eastern coast of Terra Australis Incognita – the unknown land of the south – promised in his sealed orders. Ostensibly in the Pacific to witness the rare transit of Venus across the sun, their’s was a swashbuckling secret…

Almost as soon as Lieutenant James Cook landed in what would become Australia, there was conflict. Attempting a landing in Botany Bay, Cook and his crew encountered “several of the Natives and a few hutts; Men, Women, and Children on the South Shore abreast of the Ship, to which place I went in the Boats in hopes of speaking with them.” These peaceful intentions would soon be shattered. First contact It was 29 April 1770 when James Cook entered what he called Stingray Bay, due to the number of stingrays in the water, but better known to us as Botany Bay. He took several boats from his ship to land near the village he had spotted. The meeting did not go as planned. “As we approached the Shore they all…

For Australia, the early 1900s weren’t just the start of a new decade and a new century – they were the start of independence. On 1 January 1901, Australia became independent from the United Kingdom after a decade of political turmoil. Finally, the federation of colonies were self-governing as a British dominion. But the process of becoming a successful player on the world stage was only just beginning. The country was almost starting from scratch. Roads, railways and ports were built to connect settlements and colonies, and each colony’s capital got its own – incredibly expensive – ornate classical parliament house. Exports rose in wheat, fruits, meat and sugar, and there was a surge of national pride… and nationalism. This nationalism leached into politics, and the Immigration Restriction Act of…

The war may have started on the other side of the world, but that didn’t stop Australians from wanting to get involved in the First World War. Nearly half a million Australian men enlisted to join the Entente Powers. More than 60,000 of them would lose their lives, and a further 156,000 were wounded, gassed or taken as prisoners of war. Indigenous Aboriginal Australians also signed up – around 1,000 of them, in fact, out of a population of about 93,000. Aside from patriotism and loyalty to the Federation, another strong incentive was money. Aboriginal soldiers were paid the same as their white counterparts, and they were usually treated as equals. However, it is worth noting that towards the end of the war, many were rejected when they tried to…

The Battle of Beersheba on 31 October 1917, with its dramatic mounted charge of two Australian light horse regiments, has become a tool for national self-congratulation and myth-making in its centenary year. Australians should be rightfully proud of this momentous charge, but also cautious of media claims that their countrymen’s role at Beersheba turned the tide of the Palestine campaign and that it was the last great cavalry charge in history. Both of these are somewhat outlandish claims but are nothing new – we heard similar for the anniversary of the Australian attack at Fromelles in 2016, airbrushing the British contribution completely, and earlier in 2015 during the Gallipoli centenary commemorations. For historians, factual interpretation of any battle is key to its understanding. It is important to educate through historical…

Alongside stunning national parks, deadly wildlife and fantastic surf, Australia is also home to more than 25 million people. Most of them cling to the coastlines in built-up cities like Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. The seven million or so that are left are dotted around 7.7 million square kilometres of rural or remote land, far from services and amenities offered by urban life. In an area famous for its blazing deserts, deadly critters and lack of company, it may not be that surprising that people living in rural and remote parts of Australia have higher rates of hospitalisation, injury and deaths. At one time, people suffering from serious illnesses or injuries had to travel hundreds of kilometres across uninhabited land by horse, cart or even camel to seek medical attention.…

In Australian history, Kokoda ranks only behind Gallipoli in terms of cultural importance and its impact on the Anzac (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) myth. The name is invoked in much the same manner as the battle at Anzac Cove as a kind of short-hand for a uniquely Australian version of the fabled ‘Blitz spirit’, a signifier of Aussie mateship against extreme adversary. Despite this, the name of the campaign remains a bone of contention. Historians still argue Kokoda Trail versus Kokoda Track; the former has gained the upper hand in modern usage, while the latter was more commonly used by the Diggers themselves and in battalion records. According to the Australian War Memorial, keepers of Australian military history, both are equally correct. In the popular imagination, the campaign…

3 RAR had landed in South Korea at Pusan in September 1950 as part of the 27th British Commonwealth Infantry Brigade. The brigade was serving in a UN force to restore peace on the Korean Peninsula, and 3 RAR immediately began participating in the northern advance to the Yalu River. The battalion spent much of the winter of 1950-51 fighting in harsh, hilly terrain against the Chinese and North Koreans in battles at Yongju, Kujin and Chongju. By the spring of 1951 the Chinese had withdrawn to the 38th Parallel but were actually luring the UN into a vulnerable position in order to launch a major counterattack. This came on 22 April 1951 when the Chinese began their ‘Spring Offensive’ and defeated the South Korean Sixth Division. The Chinese objective…

Australia has a reputation for a lot of things: rugby, creepy crawlies and barbecues, to name just a few. But the country is often overlooked when it comes to its contribution to 20th- and 21st-century arts and culture. However, its history within those realms is still a rich one, even if it’s not widely known. Shortly before the turn of the 20th century, a small group of painters created one of Australia’s most important art movements. Heavily influenced by French impressionism, it offered a fresh look at Australia’s landscapes. The movement quickly became known as the Heidelberg School, coined by art critic Sidney Dickinson and named after Heidelberg on the rural outskirts of Melbourne, where the first ‘artist camps’ – groups of artists painting en plein air, or ‘in the…

Archie Roach 1956-present Archie Roach is an award-winning musician and singer, songwriter and guitarist. His 1990 album Charcoal Lane won him two ARIA awards (Australian Record Industry Association) and was one of Rolling Stone magazine’s Top 50 albums in 1992. His most famous song, Took The Children Away, draws on his own experience of the Stolen Generation, when Aboriginal Australian children were forcibly taken from their families. The song received a Human Rights Achievement Award, which was the first in its history to be awarded to a songwriter. ONE OF NAMATJIRA’S PAINTINGS WAS SENT TO LONDON AND GIFTED TO PRINCESS ELIZABETH Albert Namatjira 1902-59 Albert Namatjira was a successful artist and a celebrity in his lifetime. He became fascinated by Western art after seeing an exhibition by European artists including…

There wasn’t much in the way of mercy for a common criminal in 18th-century Britain. You could be branded or whipped for a relatively minor offence and for repeat offenders, the hangman’s noose awaited. The infrastructure of the criminal justice system was as outdated as the punishments it dished out, a relic of medieval times and unable to keep up with the burgeoning population and an exponential crime rate. A rudimentary police force was still over a century away, so with some help from the night’s watch, victims of crime were expected to obtain an arrest warrant, gather a mob and then apprehend the criminal themselves. Once the accused was handed over to the authorities they were expected to pay the cost of prosecution, which was often beyond the means…

When war broke out between the British and the two Dutch South African republics in 1899, nations from around the British Empire offered up troops; Australia was no different. In total, Australia sent around 16,000 soldiers (although numbers vary). Six Australians would be awarded the Victoria Cross. The first Australian troops were raised in 1899, drawing on the militia men from around the territories. Soon, bushmen contingents were raised, and after the creation of the independent Australian state, the federal government created the Australian Commonwealth Horse contingents. The colonial troops were an asset to the British throughout the war. Prized for their sharp shooting and riding ability, they were well suited to the open plains that were turned into bloody battlefields. British High Command and the media commended the Australian…

When we talk about World War I, the focus seems predominantly on the battles of attrition fought between the British and German forces. We hear so much about the individual stories that it’s easy to forget the roles that troops of other nationalities took on in the fighting. One such individual whose story stands out is Australian Henry Dalziel. Born in the small mining community of Irvinebank, Queensland on 18 February 1893, Dalziel lived the life of a miner from a young age. He and his brother Victor were just children when they were credited with the discovery of a profitable abundance of tin samples – leading to the establishment of a mine that remained in operation until the 1960s. Prior to the completion of his education, he worked as…

From 1901, Australia was independent… sort of. It was now a dominion of the British Empire – the country enjoyed some independence and was now self-governing, but it still wasn’t its own country. That would come about 40 years later. In 1931, the first seeds of true Australian independence were sown. The Statute of Westminster saw Canada (although Newfoundland wouldn’t follow until 1949), South Africa and the Irish Free State (soon to be the Republic of Ireland) becoming legally independent. They were now their own nations, albeit still under the rule of the British monarchy. At first, Australia was hesitant. The main opponent was John Latham, who served as leader of the opposition from 1929-31, but his main issue wasn’t with the overarching idea. His problem was the Statute itself;…

Daniel Keighran The first member of the RAR to be awarded the VC 1983-Corporal Although Mark Donaldson and Benjamin Roberts-Smith are both former RAR personnel who have subsequently won the Victoria Cross, Daniel Keighran is the first VC recipient to receive the award while serving in the regiment. Keighran joined the Australian Army on 5 December 2000 and was posted to 6 RAR after his initial training. Between 2001-06 Keighran was deployed to Malaysia, Timor-Leste and Iraq, before eventually serving in Afghanistan between 2007-10. It was during his second Afghanistan deployment that Keighran (by then a corporal) was awarded the Victoria Cross. On 24 August 2010 Keighran was part of a combined Afghan-Australian fighting patrol that engaged a numerically superior force of Taliban insurgents, in an encounter that later became…

The human history of Australia goes back at least 65,000 years. While anthropologists may disagree on the finer points of exactly when and how the first humans arrived, what is certain is that those first peoples quickly learned how to live in harmony with an elemental landscape that was sometimes bountiful, and sometimes harsh and unforgiving. That landscape and its unique flora and fauna left an indelible mark on the Indigenous peoples’ myths, legends and oral histories. The Dreaming In the beginning there was darkness – an impenetrable abyss devoid of even the rumour of life. But then, 65,000 years ago, something stirred from within the blackness: the spirit of life was emerging, and inside its mind a beautiful, swirling dream was taking hold, one that would never end. An…

It was 1869 when the first opal was supposedly found in Australia. Listowel Downs in rural Central Western Queensland would unknowingly kickstart Australia’s takeover of an industry that had been dominated by Eastern Europe. The Australian opal industry didn’t boom straightaway. The Boulder Opal and Lightning Ridge fields in Queensland didn’t attract much attention until the 1880s, and it wasn’t until the latter half of the decade that Australian opals made an entrance onto the world stage. This was thanks to the work of Tullie Wollaston. After visiting the opal fields, he headed to London to meet dealers, only to find that they were suspicious of the Australian stone – because of its superior quality. Nonetheless he persisted, and it paid off. Soon, Lalique, Cartier, Tiffany and more were sourcing…

AT A GLANCE The ‘White Australia Policy’ is the name given to the various immigration laws initiated by the Australian government that favoured European applicants. Fuelled by racist ideas, they were designed to exclude non white applicants, particularly Asians, from entering the country for fear that they would take jobs from unskilled white labourers. 01 It started with a gold rush During the gold rushes of the late 1800s, many non white migrants arrived in Australia, and soon began competing with white business owners. This caused tensions, particularly as they were willing to work for lower wages, which led to each colony establishing its own migration policies, sometimes excluding anyone of non-British descent. 02 Entry tests were made to be impossible The 1901 Immigration Restriction Act gave immigration officers the…

When the Second Boer War was declared on 11 October 1899, governments of colonies from around the British Empire offered to send troops to contribute to the British war effort. This included the governments of the six colonies of Australia (the country would not be confederated into a Commonwealth until 1 January 1901). Among the troops sent were the 1st Tasmanian Imperial Bushmen Contingent, a unit whose members would be awarded two Victoria Crosses. Most of the troops the colonies of Australia contributed were mounted units, formed before departure. This was despite a decree requesting infantry contingents as being of most service and cavalry of the least. Australians also enlisted in British units or South African colonial units and recruitment for British units, such as the Scottish Horse, was undertaken…

The Australian Light Horse formed at the outbreak of World War I as part of the Australian Imperial Force destined to fight in Europe. The majority of the Light Horsemen came from the vast, hot and arid rural regions in Australia. Horsemanship, and often marksmanship, was learned from childhood and was for many an essential skill for their daily lives and work. Two of the country’s official historians, Charles Bean and Henry Gullett, enthused about the Light Horsemen, one describing them as, “the romantic, quixotic, adventurous flotsam that eddied on the surface of the Australian people”. The other noted that nearly all were of British descent and were “the children of the most restless, adventurous and virile individuals of that stock”. Even allowing for the tendency of nations to romanticise…

On 1 September 1939, World War II broke out. On 3 September, the voice of Australia’s prime minister, Robert Gordon Menzies, rang out on every national and commercial radio station across the country: Australia would be joining the Allies. In total, almost 1 million Australians would serve in the Mediterranean, North Africa, Japan and the wider Pacific. The Royal Australian Navy took part in operations against fascist Italy, while some pilots took part in the Battle of Britain. Every unmarried man over the age of 21 had to complete three months of mandatory military training in the Citizen Military Forces; this force was tasked with defending Australia and its territories while the 2nd Australian Imperial Force, made of volunteers, was sent abroad. It was the entrance of Japan into the…

The Great Depression of the 1930s had hit Australia hard, and World War II followed hot on its heels. Although the war came with a high casualty count and the constant threat of invasion from Japan, it also boosted Australian industry, increasing GDP massively – by the end of 1943 it was triple what it had been in 1918. With men fighting on both the Kokoda Trail and in theatres of war further from home, more women entered the workforce, but even they weren’t enough to keep production levels high. By the time the war ended, with the loss of more than 30,000 men and a further 65,000 injured, Australia found itself, for the first time in its unified history, in need of workers from outside. Australia had come together…

For the United States, the Vietnam War was a humiliating disaster that broke its military aura of invincibility and cost many lives. It is often assumed that the USA fought alone to support South Vietnam against North Vietnamese forces, but the Americans actually received significant military support from regional allies, including Australia and New Zealand. The Australian contribution was significant, and between 1962-73 almost 60,000 members of its armed forces served in Vietnam, which included ground troops as well as air and naval personnel. 521 Australians were killed and over 3,000 more were wounded during the war. In many ways Australia’s Vietnam experience was a reflective microcosm of the USA’s: domestic opposition was huge and there were hostile protests, bitter politics and strong resistance to draft conscription. Since WWII, Australia…

When it comes to the rights of a country’s indigenous inhabitants, it’s always an uphill battle. Whether it’s Canada, the United States or Australia, white, European settlers have always entered a territory and subdued the people that already lived there. In Australia, it’s the Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders who have been left fighting for equality in their native land. It wasn’t until a referendum in 1967 that they were included in Australia’s census – before that, they hadn’t been calculated among the Australian or Commonwealth citizenry. As a result, the federal government couldn’t legislate for them. In fact, animals like cats and dogs were included in the census before Australia’s native peoples. But being counted as Australian citizens was far from the end of the fight for Indigenous…