A Historical Guide to Australia
Australia is one of those countries’ that is really welcoming not only to migration but also to tourism. It’s no surprise that in 2010 Australia attracted 5.9 million international visitors to its borders. That’s a 5% increase on 2009.
The contributing factors for the boom in Australian tourism is not just the sights, sounds and culture available in Australia, but the rich history which promotes integration and acceptance of travellers from other nations.
This isn’t a new development, but something that’s instilled firmly in Australian heritage and culture.
History of Australia
Australia originally wasn’t inhabited and it wasn’t until 40,000 years ago that human inhabitation began, courtesy of migrants from other islands in South-East Asia. This means that even the most indigenous of Australians are themselves descendents of migrants and it’s this nature that sowed the seeds for a nation receptive and welcoming to tourists.
The first European to land on Australian soil was Dutch traveller, Willem Janszoon in 1606 and called the land ‘New Holland’.
British Colonisation
It was over 80 years later that British travellers and explorers began to land, firstly William Dampier in 1688 and James Cook in 1770, with the latter being the first to map the coast of Australia and establishing what we still call ‘New South Wales’.
With an indigenous population estimated to be around 750,000 in an area of 2.9 million square miles, that’s 3.9 square miles per person. With such a generous amount of land available for all, Australia was brandished terra nullius, which means that land belonging to no-one.
Australia was colonised on January 26th 1788, which is now known as Australia Day. The British settlers began to develop the country, bringing law, order, structure, trade with other nations and also brought the Monarchy with them.
World War I and II
It was this association with Britain that led Australia to become involved in their first real military conflict, where they fought with the Allied forces against the Germans in WWI.
During WWII, Australia and New Zealand were under attack from the Japan and this led Australia to build a relationship with America. This eventually led to the ANZUS treaty, which formally recognises Australia and New Zealand as military allies of the USA.
Post-War independence
In 1931 the British Statute of Westminster formally ended most constitutional links between Britain and Australia. In 1986, the Australia Act severed the remaining legal ties between the commonwealth and Australia. Meaning that Australia would have its own legal system, completely independent to anything happening in Britain.
The 1999 Australian referendum concluded with the majority of Australians wishing to remain a part of the commonwealth and not become a republic. It is this wish to be connected with the rest of the world that also led to the 1972 Whitlam Government revising legislation so that they could focus on pacific relations.
Efforts were also made to increase ties with Asia as Australia’s International Football team (The FFA) opted to be placed within the Asian Football Confederation instead of the Oceanic Football Confederation. This promotes Australia to all the nations within Asia, including of course, Japan.
The 2000 Sydney Olympics showed the world how welcoming Australia is and has contributed to Australia being one of the top destinations for tourists the world over.
So naturally, anyone looking for a country that’s rich in history and also receptive to tourism would naturally look towards Australia as a prime location.
Australia is a rare country, and one that has migration and tourism in its blood.
Holders of Qantas frequent flyer cards are entitled to many great benefits in Australia, as they can collect frequent flyer points throughout their journey. To find the best Qantas credit card, you can make a comparison at the official Amex AU website.