Growth of Australia and New
Zealand
Chapter 14 Section 2
The First Migrations
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Two major migrations of people in Australia
The first occurred 40,000 years ago
The second over 200 years ago
The Aborigines were nomadic hunters and gatherers
They lived in small groups and spoke almost 250
languages
Aborigines recorded history through oral tradition
and held a deep religious bond with nature.
Migration of New Zealand
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The Maoris are seafaring people from southeast Asia
who arrived about 800 years ago
They used 100 ft. long canoes to navigate the ocean
The Maoris were farmers and lived in villages unlike
the Aborigines
A Marae was their ceremonial gathering place and
was usually decorated with woodcarvings.
The First European Settlers
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1769 – Captain James Cook landed in New
Zealand, the following year he claimed
Australia for Great Britain.
Britain used Australia as a penal colony, a
place where they could send people who
committed crimes.
1787 – the first convicts arrived which was
called the First Fleet
Condemned to Transportation
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The First Fleet consisted of 776 men, women, and
children
More than 160,000 would following ranging from
crimes such as murder to petty theft
Most prisoners died in the hold of the ships during
the 8 month voyage.
The convicts were forced into laborious chain gangs
Upon completion of their sentence most became
settlers on the eastern coastal rim.
Impact of European Settlement
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Most settlers herded merino sheep and sold their
wool.
1851 – Australian gold rush led to thousands of new
settlers
People began to settle the west coast along the city
of Perth.
The settlers brought the English language over along
with ideas of government and customs
Impact on the Aborigines and Maoris
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The Aborigines easily lost to the English
because they used stone age weapons.
Most died from smallpox and measles
Today only 200,000 Aborigines exist which is
about 1% of the Australian population.
Wars in New Zealand between settlers and
Maoris also led to a dramatic reduction in
their population
Political Development
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Australia and New Zealand had gained
independence by the early 1900s
Both countries are part of the British Commonwealth
of Nations
Australia and New Zealand borrowed government
ideas from the US and England
They have a Prime Minister and Parliament but refer
to their bicameral houses as the Senate and House
of Representatives
Australia and New Zealand invented the secret ballot
and were the first nations to grant women suffrage
Economic Development
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Australia is a leader in the production of
wool, coal, and iron ore
Both nations have a high standard of living
Australia faces the problem of overgrazing
Water is scarce and causes frequent
shortages
Mining has caused pollution, loss of
resources, and the destruction of Aborigines
homes
Regional and Global Issues
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Australia and New Zealand fought along the British in
WWI and WWII
During the cold war they sided with the United States.
Australia has fought against the communists in Korea
and in Vietnam
Today, their biggest trading partner is Japan
Despite discrimination many Southeastern Asian
immigrants (Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong,
Philippines, Indonesia) are settling Australia
New Zealand has adopted a nuclear free zone which has
caused friction with the US; no US warship with nuclear
weapons may dock at a New Zealand port