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History of Australia: A Captivating Guide to Australian History, Starting from the Aborigines Through the Dutch East India Company, James Cook, and World War II to the Present
Did you know that Australia was once thought of as an undesirable place to live?
Long before Australia started to be considered one of the best places in the world to live, it was thought to be completely unlivable. In the 15th century, the European race to claim land began. Despite the fact that Australia was a large landmass, no nation believed it was worth colonizing. The land was claimed by the Netherlands. However, little exploration happened there.
Many countries actually believed it to be uninhabitable. However, the Aboriginal populations had already been thriving on the land for millennia. This allowed the Australian Aborigines the opportunity to truly develop their unique and complex cultures and systems. Nearly one hundred years after the Dutch-named the landmass New Holland, James Cook, a British captain, charted the eastern coast. He suggested it should be revisited.
Interest in Australia was timed perfectly with the independence of the United States, which forced England to search out new territories to create penal colonies since their own prisons were overrun. For decades, Australia’s European inhabitants were mostly convicts. Eventually, these convicts would be emancipated, and other Europeans headed to the country. Australia was explored, and fertile land was discovered.
From this point on, colonization sped up exponentially. Mass immigration took place, as did conflicts with the Aboriginal populations. Since Australia was so isolated from England, it developed its own unique culture, as all colonies do, and it gradually pushed toward independence.
In this book, you will learn Australia’s first people came fromThe diet, lifestyles, and beliefs of Australia’s AboriginesHow the first European contact with the Aboriginals actually wentThe exciting discoveries of the British voyages to AustraliaHow well did the Aborigines and the European settlers get along?All the political, social, and judiciary developments in the settlementsThe Australian gold rushes and how they impacted the region and beyondAustralia’s development into a unique nation, one separate from EnglandHow big of a role did Australia play during World War I and World War II?What is Australia up to today?
Scroll up and click the “add to cart” button to learn more about this interesting and diverse continent!
Long before Australia started to be considered one of the best places in the world to live, it was thought to be completely unlivable. In the 15th century, the European race to claim land began. Despite the fact that Australia was a large landmass, no nation believed it was worth colonizing. The land was claimed by the Netherlands. However, little exploration happened there.
Many countries actually believed it to be uninhabitable. However, the Aboriginal populations had already been thriving on the land for millennia. This allowed the Australian Aborigines the opportunity to truly develop their unique and complex cultures and systems. Nearly one hundred years after the Dutch-named the landmass New Holland, James Cook, a British captain, charted the eastern coast. He suggested it should be revisited.
Interest in Australia was timed perfectly with the independence of the United States, which forced England to search out new territories to create penal colonies since their own prisons were overrun. For decades, Australia’s European inhabitants were mostly convicts. Eventually, these convicts would be emancipated, and other Europeans headed to the country. Australia was explored, and fertile land was discovered.
From this point on, colonization sped up exponentially. Mass immigration took place, as did conflicts with the Aboriginal populations. Since Australia was so isolated from England, it developed its own unique culture, as all colonies do, and it gradually pushed toward independence.
In this book, you will learn Australia’s first people came fromThe diet, lifestyles, and beliefs of Australia’s AboriginesHow the first European contact with the Aboriginals actually wentThe exciting discoveries of the British voyages to AustraliaHow well did the Aborigines and the European settlers get along?All the political, social, and judiciary developments in the settlementsThe Australian gold rushes and how they impacted the region and beyondAustralia’s development into a unique nation, one separate from EnglandHow big of a role did Australia play during World War I and World War II?What is Australia up to today?
Scroll up and click the “add to cart” button to learn more about this interesting and diverse continent!
130 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 1, 2022
171 people are currently reading
137 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
September 18, 2024
4,5 zvaigznes.
Ja kādu interesē vēsture, tad audio grāmatu formātā apkopotie lekciju cikli no "Captivating History" noteikti ir uzmanības vērti. Neatceros, kurš pēc skaita šis man ir, bet neviens nav licis vilties.
Šis ir tāds normāls pārskats, kurā apskatīti galvenie punkti Austrālijas vēsturē - sākot ar versijām par pirmiedzīvotāju ienākšanu un beidzot ar mūsdienām. Attiecīgi neviens jautājums netiek skatīts padziļināti, vienkārši tiek gūts priekšstats par visu kopumā.
Ja kādu interesē vēsture, tad audio grāmatu formātā apkopotie lekciju cikli no "Captivating History" noteikti ir uzmanības vērti. Neatceros, kurš pēc skaita šis man ir, bet neviens nav licis vilties.
Šis ir tāds normāls pārskats, kurā apskatīti galvenie punkti Austrālijas vēsturē - sākot ar versijām par pirmiedzīvotāju ienākšanu un beidzot ar mūsdienām. Attiecīgi neviens jautājums netiek skatīts padziļināti, vienkārši tiek gūts priekšstats par visu kopumā.
June 7, 2025
A fine overview for a plane-read. Basic timeline of events. I think the efforts to include indigenous histories are well-intentioned, but it’s predominantly *colonial narrative* with *Aboriginal subheading* appended. Reckon the deadline must have got a bit squeaky, the total skim of post ww2 to the present was funny.
January 18, 2023
Great and informal background on Australian development
I’ve always wanted to learn more about Australia and I don’t remember learning much about it in school growing up.
This was a great and thorough walkthrough of Australia’s history. Some of the beginning was obviously not too different from America. The land was inhabited by indigenous people for thousands of years before European invasion. One of the first explorers, Tasman, had a hard time finding the main island and reported back that it would be too harsh of terrain to migrate to, and people already lived there.
What I didn’t know was that the US Declaration of Independence caused England to decide to push for Australia to become a penal colony for their overflow of convicts. Much of the initial European development was built with Irish convicts, many of which never free or paid.
There’s a lot of difficult history through wars and the gold rush, but things began to hugely improve culturally in the 1980s.
This is worth the read if you’ve also been curious about Australia!
I’ve always wanted to learn more about Australia and I don’t remember learning much about it in school growing up.
This was a great and thorough walkthrough of Australia’s history. Some of the beginning was obviously not too different from America. The land was inhabited by indigenous people for thousands of years before European invasion. One of the first explorers, Tasman, had a hard time finding the main island and reported back that it would be too harsh of terrain to migrate to, and people already lived there.
What I didn’t know was that the US Declaration of Independence caused England to decide to push for Australia to become a penal colony for their overflow of convicts. Much of the initial European development was built with Irish convicts, many of which never free or paid.
There’s a lot of difficult history through wars and the gold rush, but things began to hugely improve culturally in the 1980s.
This is worth the read if you’ve also been curious about Australia!
April 10, 2022
This book was a great review of things our family learned while traveling to the Outback years ago. This story tells of the impressive travels of James Cook and other explorers. In addition, this book reveals how Tasmania got its name. Most fascinating, however, was the earliest history of Australia (or 'New Holland,' an earlier name). Because most modern Australians live along the coastlines, there is much open terrain that scientists can study for clues about the past. Those excavations will yield much about this landmass because little of it has been explored extensively.
Americans tend to forget that Britain used the Americas as a penal colony, a place to send unwanted prisoners. After the Revolutionary War, it was no longer available, and Great Britain sent the prisoners from their overflowing jails to New South Wales. The tragedy is that Great Britain sent convicts so far for tiny infractions, like stealing bread to avoid starvation.
After reading about all the explorers and settlement planners, it is easy to understand how places and water bodies got their names. This book shared one interesting fact after another, like, it wasn't until 1948 that Australians were considered Australian citizens and not British citizens. Another fascinating factoid: Non-white male and female citizens did not get the vote until 1962.
This book is well worth the reader's time. It is a concise history of a fascinating place.
Americans tend to forget that Britain used the Americas as a penal colony, a place to send unwanted prisoners. After the Revolutionary War, it was no longer available, and Great Britain sent the prisoners from their overflowing jails to New South Wales. The tragedy is that Great Britain sent convicts so far for tiny infractions, like stealing bread to avoid starvation.
After reading about all the explorers and settlement planners, it is easy to understand how places and water bodies got their names. This book shared one interesting fact after another, like, it wasn't until 1948 that Australians were considered Australian citizens and not British citizens. Another fascinating factoid: Non-white male and female citizens did not get the vote until 1962.
This book is well worth the reader's time. It is a concise history of a fascinating place.
April 13, 2023
Interesting but not always acccurate
It seemed reasonable until the post war period. The wrong person was credited with being prime minister. The years 1950 to 1970 were largely missed out, as if nothing had really happened - the mass migration which shaped so much of Australia wasn't mentioned. If I didn't already know the political parties I would have been confused.
It's as if the author realised by WWII (or earlier) that a deadline had to be reached, so as to skim over the remainder.
It seemed reasonable until the post war period. The wrong person was credited with being prime minister. The years 1950 to 1970 were largely missed out, as if nothing had really happened - the mass migration which shaped so much of Australia wasn't mentioned. If I didn't already know the political parties I would have been confused.
It's as if the author realised by WWII (or earlier) that a deadline had to be reached, so as to skim over the remainder.
August 21, 2025
I liked this book; it was informative. I wanted something that wasn't swayed to colonial or Aboriginal people, something neutral, but maybe that is hard to come by, especially as most of history has been hidden in favour of the colonials. I wanted something with bigger sections on the social impact on the Aboriginal people and populations. However, it is an easy read, and the first half about the ice age and the first advances towards inhabiting Australia is interesting.
April 27, 2022
Very interesting. 4*
I enjoy history and have several of the series already. I have friends in Australia and thought it was high time I learned a bit about their history. I am glad I did, as this is an easy-to-read, enjoyable, informative read that I am happy to recommend.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I enjoy history and have several of the series already. I have friends in Australia and thought it was high time I learned a bit about their history. I am glad I did, as this is an easy-to-read, enjoyable, informative read that I am happy to recommend.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
November 29, 2023
Well written very concise history of the land of OZ.
I liked the writing as it covered a plethora of subjects, providing enough information to adequately explain the subject matter, but not to be overwhelming. In other words providing me with an opportunity to further research portions I am most interested in.
I liked the writing as it covered a plethora of subjects, providing enough information to adequately explain the subject matter, but not to be overwhelming. In other words providing me with an opportunity to further research portions I am most interested in.
January 31, 2025
Great introduction to Australia
Loved the timeline approach to explaining Australia's colonization and cultural roots. As in all colonies, the toll on original inhabitants was extreme. Those who want to know more about this nation, would benefit from both this book and exploring some of the references, provided.
Loved the timeline approach to explaining Australia's colonization and cultural roots. As in all colonies, the toll on original inhabitants was extreme. Those who want to know more about this nation, would benefit from both this book and exploring some of the references, provided.
December 27, 2023
History of Australia
Great overview of the country of Australia and the original people, the Aborigines, who had their system of government. I would recommend this book for others to read!
Great overview of the country of Australia and the original people, the Aborigines, who had their system of government. I would recommend this book for others to read!
September 17, 2023
Quite basic and gets a little woke towards the end.
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March 12, 2024fínt yfirlit - auðveld aflestrar
March 3, 2025
Read like a textbook. Which is, perhaps, the intent. It is a bit convoluted in presentation at times, but offers a reasonable overview. Thanks.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews