History before the 20th century.
The earliest inhabitants of Australia-Australian aborigines-have the longest continuous cultural history in the world, and its origin can be traced back to the last ice age. Although many aspects of Australia's prehistory are blurred by mystery and controversy, it is generally believed that the first humans crossed the ocean from Indonesia to Australia about 70,000 years ago.
/kloc-In the 6th century, Europeans began to explore Australia. First Portuguese navigator, then Dutch explorer and brave English pirate william dampier. 1770, Captain james cook sailed along the whole east coast and stopped at Botanical Garden Bay on the way; Soon, he announced that the continent belonged to Britain and named it New South Wales.
1779, joseph banks (a naturalist on Cook's ship) suggested that Britain send prisoners to New South Wales to solve the problem of overcrowding in British prisons. 1787, the first fleet set sail for Botany Bay, consisting of 1 1 ships, carrying 750 male and female prisoners. 1788 65438+1October 26th, the fleet arrived at Botany Port, but soon went north to Sydney Bay with better land and water conditions. In the eyes of newcomers, New South Wales is a hot and desolate place of terror, and the threat of hunger has enveloped the colony for many years. In order to resist the harsh natural conditions and oppressive government, these new Australians have created a brand-new culture, which has also become the basis of the legend of' hardworking Australians'.
In the next few decades, free pioneers began to be attracted to Australia, but it was not until the discovery of gold mines in the 1950s in 19 that the colony was changed forever. The influx of immigrants and the discovery of several large gold mines stimulated economic growth and changed the social structure of the colonies. As new pioneers occupied the land for farming or mining, the indigenous people were brutally expelled from their tribal lands.
By the end of19th century, many people tended to idealize the' jungle land' (that is, all places far away from the city) and the jungle people. The very popular Announcement magazine is a large forum for this kind of "jungle nationalism". This magazine is full of humor and feelings about daily life. The most famous writers are legendary jungle writers henry lawson and Baigneaux Peterson.
History of the 20th century
190 1 year 1 month 1, six independent colonies in Australia formed a federation, and Australia became a country. In the Boer War and World War I, the Australian army fought side by side with the British army. As the two pillars of Australia's economy, the economic depression caused by the plunge in wool and wheat prices has dealt a heavy blow to the country. 193 1 year, almost one-third of employed workers are unemployed, and poverty is all over the country. But by 1933, the Australian economy began to recover. When World War II broke out, Australian troops fought against British troops in Europe. However, in the end, the United States defeated the advancing Japanese air force in the Coral Sea naval battle and helped protect Australia.
After World War II, European immigrants poured in. Since then, they have made great contributions to Australia, making the country's culture full of vitality and broadening its horizons. The post-war era is a prosperous period for Australia, and the demand for its raw materials is very strong. Australia followed the United States in the Korean War, and 1965 joined the army to support the United States in the Vietnam War. However, its participation in the war did not receive absolute domestic support. From 65438 to 0964, Australia began to implement the conscription system (compulsory military service system), which made many young men in Australia feel very distressed.
From 65438 to 0972, under the leadership of Gough Whitlam, the Australian Labor Party became the ruling party, and the civil strife caused by the conscription system was one of the contributing factors. Whitlam government withdrew Australian troops from Vietnam, abolished military service system, abolished tuition fees for higher education, established a free universal medical system and supported indigenous land rights.
However, the government was constrained by a hostile House of Lords and was accused of mismanagement. On June1975165438+1October1Sunday, the Australian governor (the representative of the British monarch in Australia) dissolved the parliament in an unprecedented way and established an interim government led by Malcolm Fraser, leader of the opposition Liberal Party. In the next election, the alliance of the conservative Liberal Party and the National Party won. It was not until 1983 that the Labour Party won the election and returned to power under the leadership of former trade union leader bob hawke.
Modern history and Australia today
After the recession and high unemployment rate in the early 1990s, voters finally lost their trust in the Labour government. 1996 At the beginning of 1996, under the leadership of Australian Prime Minister john howard, the Conservative Coalition defeated Labor Party leader paul keating and won the general election. Australia's parliamentary system is a two-tier parliamentary government system based on Westminster system. There are three levels of government in this country: federal government, state government and local government. The Federal Parliament consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The party with the most seats in the House of Representatives forms the government. For more information, please visit www.australia.gov.au/govt-in-aust..
In the late 1990s, the issue of * * * harmony-replacing the Queen of England with the Australian President as the head of state-dominated Australian politics. More and more people, especially young people in Australia, feel that the constitutional connection with Britain is no longer meaningful, and the only way out is to declare Australia a republic. However, the referendum held in 1999 resulted in maintaining the status quo.
In the past half century, the less recognized classes in Australian culture and history have begun to gain wider recognition, especially through art, literature and movies. Therefore, the symbolic "hard-working person" has become inappropriate. Immigrants bring their own stories, cultures and myths and integrate them with the culture of Australian colonies. Finally, I admit that the Australian aborigines are the most fundamental to the true definition of Australian culture today.
The' Australian Dream' of owning a house began in the prosperous 1950s and continues to this day, which led to the large-scale suburbanization of Australian towns, especially in Sydney and Melbourne. Today, Australian architecture has no real distinctive style, and overseas trends often dominate large-scale projects. In many cases, the most striking "modern" buildings are actually reconstructed Victorian or other buildings. However, there are exceptions. The most famous ones are the conference center in Darling Harbour, Sydney, the Melbourne Museum and the cultural center in Lu Lu Catachuta National Park in central Australia. The design of the center consulted the traditional owners of the park. Melbourne Federation Square Complex stands in the center of the city with its distinctive geometric shape and becomes a representative of challenging modern architecture.
Today, Australia's economy is running well, the Australian dollar is relatively high, the trade volume with China has increased substantially, and the profits of local enterprises have reached a new high. At the same time, the inflation rate and unemployment rate remain low. However, on the negative side, the country's trade deficit has increased to A $20 billion, and the average household debt has soared, making many real estate prices in the city center more and more unbearable.