What did the British use the colony of Australia for?

What did the British use the colony of Australia for?

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.

Why did the British originally colonize Australia and New Zealand?

Britain began colonizing Australia in 1789 with convicts to relieve their overcrowded prisons. After their sentences were served, freed prisoners became settlers.

What did the British Empire gain from New Zealand?

Britain granted the colonists self-rule in 1852. The country prospered from sheep farming and from the discovery of gold in 1862. In 1893, New Zealand became the first country to give women the vote. In 1907, it became a Dominion, a fully independent nation within the British Empire.

What did Britain get from Australia?

In time, Australia did reveal its natural resources, such as gold, sapphires, opals, coal and iron (much later discoveries included uranium and natural gas). These made the early colonies much more valuable than simply a place to dump exiles from the home country.

What did the British bring to Australia food?

The First Fleet arrived in Sydney in 1788 with basic food supplies, including flour, sugar, butter, rice, pork and beef, expecting to grow food when they arrived.

When did Britain colonize New Zealand?

Whalers, missionaries, and traders followed, and in 1840 Britain formally annexed the islands and established New Zealand’s first permanent European settlement at Wellington.

Why were British settlers were attracted to New Zealand?

Britain was motivated by the desire to forestall the New Zealand Company and other European powers (France established a very small settlement at Akaroa in the South Island later in 1840), to facilitate settlement by British subjects and, possibly, to end the lawlessness of European (predominantly British and American) …

Why was New Zealand important to the British Empire?

New Zealand played a small but useful part in the British Empire’s war effort, and its essential war aim was achieved with the defeat of Germany and its allies in late 1918. The war had a major impact on constitutional arrangements within the British Empire, and it affected New Zealand’s international status.

How did the British affect New Zealand?

In 1642, Dutch navigator Abel Tasman became the first European to discover the South Pacific island group that later became known as New Zealand. Whalers, missionaries, and traders followed, and in 1840 Britain formally annexed the islands and established New Zealand’s first permanent European settlement at Wellington.

How did Britain influence New Zealand?

The English were therefore the most influential group in New Zealand. Their influence was magnified by other factors. They were often particularly well represented in the 19th century among the élite of the colony, and therefore had power. Among MPs in office between 1854 and 1890, they constituted almost half.

Why did the British want Australia?

Thousands of other British settlers also migrated to Australia. They were attracted by the easily available land (which led to conflict with the aborigines). They could make a living raising sheep or by catching seals and whales. In 1826 settlers began colonising Western Australia.

How did Britain treat Australia?

Australia was a harsh and unfamiliar environment, with its hot climate and weird animals. Then there was the brutal discipline of the convict colonies. The evidence suggests that Van Diemen’s Land was run more harshly than New South Wales.

When did Australia and New Zealand become colonies?

South Australia was colonised from England in 1834; its capital, Adelaide, took its name from William’s queen. In 1839 New Zealand was annexed, completing the list of the Australasian colonies, since the settlement of Queensland and of Western Australia had been commenced in the previous decade.

When was South Australia colonised by the British?

As yet it was an offshoot at New South Wales and was administered by. officials under the New South Wales government. South Australia was colonised from England in 1834; its capital, Adelaide, took its name from William’s queen.

When did the British stop sending convicts to New South Wales?

In the settlements begun later than 1829 there were no convicts; and transportation to New South Wales ceased in 1840, to Queensland in 1849, and to Tasmania in 1853. The Canadian troubles in fact awakened the British Government to the wisdom of giving the great Australasian settlements the status of free self-governing colonies.

When did the colonisation of New South Wales end?

The convict settlements with which the colonisation had originated had now become a serious drawback. In the settlements begun later than 1829 there were no convicts; and transportation to New South Wales ceased in 1840, to Queensland in 1849, and to Tasmania in 1853.