The Colonization of Australia
On January 26, 1788, Captain Arthur Phillip guides a fleet of 11 British ships carrying convicts to
the colony of New South Wales, effectively founding Australia. After overcoming a period of
hardship, the fledgling colony began to celebrate the anniversary of this date with great
fanfare.
Australia, once known as New South Wales, was originally planned as a penal colony. In
October 1786, the British government appointed Arthur Phillip captain of the HMS Sirius, and
commissioned him to establish an agricultural work camp there for British convicts. With little
idea of what he could expect from the mysterious and distant land, Phillip had great difficulty
assembling the fleet that was to make the journey. His requests for more experienced farmers
to assist the penal colony were repeatedly denied, and he was both poorly funded and
outfitted. Nonetheless, accompanied by a small contingent of Marines and other officers, Phillip
led his 1,000-strong party, of whom more than 700 were convicts, around Africa to the eastern
side of Australia. In all, the voyage lasted eight months, claiming the deaths of some 30 men.
The first years of settlement were nearly disastrous. Cursed with poor soil, an unfamiliar
climate and workers who were ignorant of farming, Phillip had great difficulty keeping the men
alive. The colony was on the verge of outright starvation for several years, and the marines sent
to keep order were not up to the task. Phillip, who proved to be a tough but fair-minded leader,
persevered by appointing convicts to positions of responsibility and oversight. Floggings and
hangings were commonplace, but so was egalitarianism. As Phillip said before leaving England:
"In a new country there will be no slavery and hence no slaves."
Though Phillip returned to England in 1792, the colony became prosperous by the turn of the
19th century. Feeling a new sense of patriotism, the men began to rally around January 26 as
their founding day. Historian Manning Clarke noted that in 1808 the men observed the
"anniversary of the foundation of the colony" with "drinking and merriment."
Finally, in 1818, January 26 became an official holiday, marking the 30th anniversary of British
settlement in Australia. And, as Australia became a sovereign nation, it became the national
holiday known as Australia Day. Today, Australia Day serves both as a day of celebration for the
founding of the white British settlement, and as a day of mourning for the Aborigines who were
slowly dispossessed of their land as white colonization spread across the continent.
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What country colonized Australia? What year did this occur?
What kind of colony was Australia/New South Wales planned as?
What is a penal colony?
Who was the leader of this colony?
Was the colony a success at first?
What is the name of the people who were indigenous to the continent?