A Short History of Australia

A Short History of Australia

THE DREAM TIME – ABORIGINAL INHABITANTS

The earliest definitely human remains found in Australia are those of Mungo Man LM3 and Mungo Lady, which have been dated to around 50,000 years BP.[2]Recent archaeological evidence from the analysis of charcoal and artifacts revealing human use suggests a date as early as 65,000 B.P. [3][4] Luminescence dating has suggested habitation in Arnhem Land as far back as 60,000 years BP.[5] Genetic research has inferred a date of habitation as early as 80,000 years BP. Other estimates have ranged up to 100,000 years [6] and 125,000 years ago.[7]

Although there are a number of commonalities between indigenous Aboriginal Australians, there is also a great diversity among different Indigenous communities and societies in Australia, each with its own mixture of cultures, customs and languages. In present-day Australia these groups are further divided into local communities.[8] At the time of initial European settlement, over 250 languages were spoken; it is currently estimated that 120 to 145 of these remain in use, but only 13 of these are not considered endangered.[9][10] Aboriginal people today mostly speak English, with Aboriginal phrases and words being added to create Australian Aboriginal English (which also has a tangible influence of Indigenous languages in the phonology and grammatical structure). The population of Indigenous Australians at the time of permanent European settlement is contentious and has been estimated at between 318,000[11] and 1,000,000[12] with the distribution being similar to that of the current Australian population, the majority living in the south-east, centred along the Murray River.[13] A population collapse following European settlement, and a smallpox epidemic spreading three years after the arrival of Europeans may have caused a massive and early depopulation.[14][15]

1616  Dirk Hartog discovered the West Coast of Australia.  Australia was then named “NEW HOLLAND”.

1642  Abel Tasman discovers Tasmania and New Zealand.

1768  Captain James Cook leaves England to discover new land in the ship “ENDEAVOUR”.

1770  Captain James Cook discovers New South Wales.

1772  Captain James Cook returns to Australia in the ship “RESOLUTION”.

1779  Joseph Banks suggests that Australia become a penal colony (prison).

1786  England decides to establish a colony in New South Wales.

1789  Creation of the town of Sydney in New South Wales.

1802  Discovery of Port Phillip Bay, later to become Melbourne.

1806  William Bligh becomes Governor of New South Wales.

1808  Mutiny in New South Wales, Bligh deposed as Governor.

1829  The whole of Australia claimed as a British Territory.

1837  Melbourne named in the same year that Queen Victoria became Queen of England.

1844  Convicts shipped to Port Phillip (Melbourne).

1846  Gary’s 3 times Great Grandfather William Patton comes to Australia.

1851  Victoria becomes a separate colony from New South Wales in the same year that Gold is discovered in Ballarat.

1854  The Eureka Stockade, workers stop work for better money and conditions.

The Eureka Stockade

The Eureka Flag

1861  Burke and Wills explore the interior of Australia.

 

1880  Police capture Ned Kelly and the Kelly Gang at Glenrowan in Victoria.

The Ned Kelly Gang

1883  Discovery of Silver at Broken Hill.

1892  Discovery of Gold in Coolgardie, Western Australia.

1901  Australia declared a country.  “EDMUND BARTON” becomes Australia’s first Prime Minister.

1914 – 1918   The First World War, called “THE GREAT WAR”.

1915 The Battle of Gallipoli, the birth of the ANZAC legend

Battle of Gallipoli

Gallipoli is a peninsula which is located in northwest coast of Turkey between Gulf of Saros and Dardanelles. This battle took place in the year 1915 and it was fought during World War I (1914-1918). In the Battle of Gallipoli troops were landed by the British using Australia and New Zealand Army Crops.

 

1918  End of the First World War.

 

1939 – 1940  The Second World War.

 

1942  The Japanese Army bomb Darwin.

1944  End of the Second World War.

25 December, 1974 – Cyclone Tracy destroys Darwin

 

THE AUSTRALIAN FLAG

The Australian Flag, the symbol of our Nation.

The Australian Flag not only identifies us, albeit the similarities with the New Zealand Flag, which is not coincidental, the Australian Flag design was inspired by a New Zealander, it also instills in us a sense of pride.

One of the best examples is at the Olympic Games.  If an athlete wins a medal, in particular a gold medal, then suddenly the flag becomes very important.  People feel really proud when the national flag gets hoisted during the gold medal ceremony.

 

That’s when we remember that the flag really is a symbol of our country.  It’s something that belongs to us all and represents who we are. In this podcast, I would like to tell you a little about the Australian National Flag.

 

The Australian National Flag – the Blue Ensign

Our national flag is called the Blue Ensign.  The background of the flag is blue and that is why it’s called the Blue Ensign.  Besides the blue background, there are three parts to the flag.  The first part is the Union Jack which is in the upper left quarter of the flag.  The Union Jack is actually the national flag of the United Kingdom.   It is there because of the important role which the United Kingdom played in the history of European settlement in Australia.  The second part of the flag is in the lower left quarter and is a large white seven-pointed star known as the Commonwealth Star. The seven points on this star remind us of the 6 states of Australia plus the Territories which together make up the Federation or Commonwealth of Australia.  The third part of the flag is the right-hand side which contains a representation of the Southern Cross constellation.  A constellation is a group of stars in the night sky.  This particular group of stars can only be seen when you are in the southern hemisphere.  It is made up of five stars in the shape of a cross – hence the name Southern Cross.  I can remember being shown the Southern Cross in the night sky when I was young.  Once you have seen it, it really stands out.  It seems appropriate that our flag should include the Southern Cross, given our location in the southern hemisphere.  On the Blue Ensign, the Southern Cross is shown with four seven-pointed white stars and one smaller five-pointed star.

There is also another version of the national flag, but with a red background. This is called the Red Ensign and is used at sea by ships and boats from Australia.  The Royal Australian Navy also uses a White Ensign, which has a white background.  However the Blue Ensign is probably the one you will see more often.

 

Australia’s White Ensign Flag

The flag’s design came from a competition which was organized in 1901 by the new federal government.  This was the year that Australia became a nation.   Incredibly, there were around 32,000 entries in this competition.  That seems a lot, even today, but back in 1901 it was massive, since the total population of Australia at that time was only around 3.6 million people.  That means that around 1% of the population entered the competition – not a bad effort!  There were 5 joint winners, all of whom had come up with the same idea.  The prize was 200 pounds, which back then was the equivalent of around a year’s salary.  As there were 5 winners, each one received 40 pounds, still a handsome sum. The winning design was revealed on the 3rd of September 1901 by Australia’s first Prime Minister, Edmund Barton.

The flag received a mixed reception, as some Australians at the time felt it gave too much emphasis to the Union Jack in the top left quarter.  It received approval from the King, King Edward VII at the time, in the United Kingdom, on the 20th of February 1903.  It’s important to remember that back then, and also today, the head of our government is actually the British monarch.   Incredibly, there was no law passed by the Australian parliament at the time to make it official that this was our national flag.  As a result, the Union Jack continued to be flown in Australia in many situations.  At that time in our history, many Australians still saw themselves as British and were quite happy to see the Union Jack, although this was changing.  The Red Ensign was meant to be used on Australian ships and the Blue Ensign was for government use only.  From 1903, the new flag started to be used.  For example, in 1904 the new flag was used by the Australian Olympic Team at the Olympic Games in St Louis, USA.  Mind you, the Australian team at those Olympics consisted of only l person.  The new flag was used officially by the Australian Army from 1908 and by the Australian Navy from 1911.  In 1941, during the Second World War, the then Prime Minister, Robert Menzies, issued a press statement that all Australians should fly the Blue Ensign with pride.  That was how it became no longer just a government flag, but a people’s flag too.  Prior to that, there had been some confusion amongst Australians about which flag should be used – the Blue Ensign, the Red Ensign or the Union Jack.

On December the 2nd, 1953, the Australian parliament finally passed a law to indicate that the Blue Ensign was Australia’s official national flag, with the Red Ensign to be officially used only by Australian ships at sea.

Australia’s National Flag – the Red Ensign

The inclusion of the Union Jack on our flag continues to create some controversy amongst certain people today.  The argument is that today’s Australia has people from just about every country on earth, not just from the United Kingdom.  My own view is that we should have a flag which represents who we are today, not who we were 100 years ago.  Notwithstanding that, I don’t think our flag will be changed any time soon.  Perhaps if Australia ever becomes a republic, that will be the time to think about a new flag.

Another flag is also often seen in Australia.  That is the Aboriginal flag.  It was designed by an aboriginal Australian, Harold Thomas, in 1971.  He designed it to represent the Aboriginal people in Australia.  It has a bright gold circle in the centre, with the background being split into two halves.  The top half is black and the bottom half is red.  The gold circle represents the sun, the giver of life.  The black background represents the Aboriginal people.  The red background represents the earth, the red ochre colouring used in Aboriginal ceremonies and the relationship of the Aboriginal people with the land.  It’s an officially recognized flag but is not the national flag of Australia.  It is flown in many places including some government buildings, along with our national flag. I like to see this flag flying with our national flag, as to me, it shows that Australians understand and respect the important place which the first Australians have in our history, culture and in society today.

The symbolic meaning of the flag colours (as stated by Harold Thomas) is: Black – represents the Aboriginal people of Australia. Yellow circle – represents the Sun, the giver of life and protector. Red – represents the red earth, the red ochre used in ceremonies and Aboriginal peoples’ spiritual relation to the land.

 

The Anzac Day Tradition

What is Anzac Day?

Anzac Day, 25 April, is one of Australia’s most important national occasions. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War.

What does ANZAC stand for?

ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The soldiers in those forces quickly became known as Anzacs, and the pride they took in that name endures to this day.

Why is this day special to Australians?

When war broke out in 1914 Australia had been a federated nation for only 13 years, and its government was eager to establish a reputation among the nations of the world. When Britain declared war in August 1914 Australia was automatically placed on the side of the Commonwealth. In 1915 Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of the expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula in order to open the Dardanelles to the allied navies. The ultimate objective was to capture Constantinople (now Istanbul), the capital of the Ottoman Empire, an ally of Germany.

A view looking aft of lifeboat carrying unidentified men of the Australian 1st Divisional Signal Company as they are towed towards Anzac Cove on the day of the landing.

The Australian and New Zealand forces landed on Gallipoli on 25 April, meeting fierce resistance from the Ottoman Turkish defenders. What had been planned as a bold stroke to knock Turkey out of the war quickly became a stalemate, and the campaign dragged on for eight months. At the end of 1915 the allied forces were evacuated from the peninsula, with both sides having suffered heavy casualties and endured great hardships. More than 8,000 Australian soldiers had died in the campaign. Gallipoli had a profound impact on Australians at home, and 25 April soon became the day on which Australians remembered the sacrifice of those who died in the war.

Although the Gallipoli campaign failed in its military objectives, the actions of Australian and New Zealand forces during the campaign left a powerful legacy. What became known as the “Anzac legend” became an important part of the identity of both nations, shaping the ways in which they viewed both their past and their future.

Early commemorations

In 1916 the first Anzac Day commemorations were held on 25 April. The day was marked by a wide variety of ceremonies and services across Australia, a march through London, and a sports day in the Australian camp in Egypt. In London more than 2,000 Australian and New Zealand troops marched through the streets; a London newspaper headline dubbed them “the knights of Gallipoli”. Marches were held all over Australia; in the Sydney march convoys of cars carried soldiers wounded on Gallipoli and their nurses. For the remaining years of the war Anzac Day was used as an occasion for patriotic rallies and recruiting campaigns, and parades of serving members of the AIF were held in most cities.

25 April 1916: Australian and New Zealand troops marching down Whitehall London to Westminster Abbey.

During the 1920s Anzac Day became established as a national day of commemoration for the more than 60,000 Australians who had died during the war. In 1927, for the first time, every state observed some form of public holiday on Anzac Day. By the mid-1930s all the rituals we now associate with the day – dawn vigils, marches, memorial services, reunions, two-up games – were firmly established as part of Anzac Day culture.

Later, Anzac Day also served to commemorate the lives of Australians who died in the Second World War, and in subsequent years the meaning of the day has been further broadened to include those who lost their lives in all the military and peacekeeping operations in which Australia has been involved.

Anzac Day was first commemorated at the Memorial in 1942. At the time, government orders prohibited large public gatherings in case of a Japanese air attack, so it was a small occasion with neither a march nor a memorial service. Since then, Anzac Day has been commemorated at the Memorial every year.

William Dargie, Anzac Day Ceremony, Australian War Memorial, 1971

What does it mean today?

Australians recognise 25 April as a day of national remembrance, which takes two forms. Commemorative services are held across the nation at dawn – the time of the original landing, while later in the day, former servicemen and servicewomen meet to take part in marches through the country’s major cities and in many smaller centres. Commemorative ceremonies are more formal, and are held at war memorials around the country. In these ways, Anzac Day is a time at which Australians reflect on the many different meanings of war.

Anzac Day march, 2011

Crowds line the route of the Anzac Day National Ceremony march, 25 April 2011

The Dawn Service

It is often suggested that the Dawn Service observed on Anzac Day has its origins in a military routine still followed by the Australian Army. The half-light of dawn was one of the times favoured for launching an attack. Soldiers in defensive positions were woken in the dark before dawn, so by the time first light crept across the battlefield they were awake, alert, and manning their weapons; this is still known as the “stand-to”. As dusk is equally favourable for battle, the stand-to was repeated at sunset.

After the First World War, returned soldiers sought the comradeship they had felt in those quiet, peaceful moments before dawn. A dawn vigil became the basis for commemoration in several places after the war. It is difficult to say when the first dawn services were held, as many were instigated by veterans, clergymen, and civilians from all over the country. A dawn requiem mass was held at Albany as early as 1918, and a wreathlaying and commemoration took place at dawn in Toowoomba the following year. In 1927 a group of returned men returning at dawn from an Anzac Day function held the night before came upon an elderly woman laying flowers at the as yet unfinished Sydney Cenotaph. Joining her in this private remembrance, the men later resolved to institute a dawn service the following year. Some 150 people gathered at the Cenotaph in 1928 for a wreathlaying and two minutes’ silence. This is generally regarded as the beginning of organised dawn services. Over the years the ceremonies have developed into their modern forms and have seen an increased association with the dawn landings of 25 April 1915.

Dawn service crowds

The Dawn Service is an increasingly popular element of Anzac Day commemorations

The National Ceremony

At the Australian War Memorial the National Ceremony begins with the traditional order of service, including the veteran’s march, Commemorative Address, laying of wreaths, hymns, the sounding of the Last Post, and observance of one minute’s silence, and the national anthems of New Zealand and Australia.

 

AUSTRALIA DAY

On Australia Day we come together as a nation to celebrate what’s great about Australia and being Australian. It’s the day to reflect on what we have achieved and what we can be proud of in our great nation. It’s the day for us to re-commit to making Australia an even better place for the future.

Australia Day, 26 January, is the anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet of 11 convict ships from Great Britain, and the raising of the Union Jack at Sydney Cove by its commander Captain Arthur Phillip, in 1788. As such, it is a day that many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people see as a day of sorrow and mourning.

Though 26 January marks this specific event, today Australia Day celebrations reflect contemporary Australia: our diverse society and landscape, our remarkable achievements and our bright future. It also is an opportunity to reflect on our nation’s history, and to consider how we can make Australia an even better place in future.

On Australia Day, more than half of the nation’s population of 24 million attend either an organised community event, or get together with family and friends with the intention of celebrating our national day. Many more spend the public holiday relaxing with family and friends.

Yet Australia Day is much more than barbeques and fireworks. It is more than another public holiday. It is more than the pride and excitement of new citizens who call themselves Australian for the first time on 26 January after being conferred citizenship.

At its core, Australia Day is a day driven by communities, and the celebrations held in each town, suburb or city – unified by the celebration of what’s great about Australia and being Australian – are the foundation of its ongoing success.

 

 

Sources: –

http://slowenglish.info/?p=2167

https://www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/anzac-day/traditions