MATURITKA

← Angličtina

Story of Australia

history

18

upper intermediate

Bridge 06 − 2008/2009

The story of Australia:

Change

C

onstan

and

Throughout the whole last year, Bridge focused on Australia, its nature and culture. One thing that wasn’t covered in depth was Australian history. So let’s have a closer look at it now. In the May-June issue, you can then look forward to learning more about Australian literature.

Australia is an ancient land as well as a relatively young country. Aboriginals have inhabited the continent for about 40,000 years, though the country as most recognise it today started to take shape a little over 200 years ago. Since then, waves of immigrants from Britain, Europe and Asia have continued to shape Australian society.

When Europeans settled in Australia, there were about 300,000 – 750,000 Aboriginals living on the continent. Now they make up about 2.6% of Australia’s population.

ABoriginAl country

lives of the convicts were still brutal. living conditions were poor and corporal punishment was a common fact of life.

Aboriginal people arrived via a ‘landbridge’ from Asia during the Ice Age when the sea levels were much lower. generally, they lived a hunter‑gatherer lifestyle. However, it would be wrong to think that Australian Aboriginals were a single culture. they were and remain a diverse people, with many languages, social systems, artistic styles, traditional stories and spiritual beliefs. Because of the oral nature of these societies, we have few records of their long history.

set up by the British in 1788. it was intended to be a penal settlement – prisoners from England, known as convicts, were sent to Australia as punishment.

population emmigrated to Australia during this period. People also came from north America and china. Such an influx of people changed the situation in Australia. the people demanded certain rights, including a free press , trial by jury and greater representation . it was during this time that the Australian political institutions started to take shape. moreover, many adults at that time were actually Australian born. to them, Australia was ‘the mother country’. this growing national consciousness was reflected in the growing demands for a federation and even a republic.

growtH of tHE coloniES

life in the early colony was harsh. Unlike the Aboriginal people, who had an intimate understanding of the Australian natural world, the British arrived with their old views in a new land. they wanted to plant European crops and even wanted to follow the European natural cycle. unfortunately, the seasons in Australia are reversed . Plus, Australia receives much less rainfall than Europe. the first settlers almost died of starvation . over time and through trial and error the settlers found the crops, like wheat , and animals, like sheep, which could prosper. But the

Slowly more colonies were established. transportation of convicts began to slow down and stopped entirely by the 1860s as more free settlers, who had come to Australia attracted by very cheap land, opposed the practice . in 1835, melbourne was established not as a prison but as a village. By the 1880s, this ‘village’ grew to become the second largest city in the whole British Empire.

PEnAl SEttlEmEnt

the lives of Aboriginal people changed dramatically with the arrival of Europeans. the Dutch are considered to be the first Europeans to make contact with Australia. However, they didn’t establish any colonies. the first European colony was

the growth of melbourne, along with other cities, was spurred by the gold rush of the second half of the nineteenth century. up to 2% of the British

the Aboriginal reaction to the new colonies was understandably hostile . the two groups were in competition

19

Bridge 06 − 2008/2009

for resources and land. many Australian cities were established in places where Aboriginal communities were densest because there was enough water. Clashes were common, with casualties on both sides, more of them among Aboriginals. Even more devastating than guns were the diseases unintentionally brought by the settlers. many Aboriginal people died of diseases such as small pox , chicken pox , the flu and measles . in 1901, when Australian federation was declared, the Aboriginal population was 10% of what it had been at the time of the first European settlement.

firSt HAlf of tHE 20tH cEntury

federated Australia remained a part of the British Empire and for much of the first half of the twentieth century kept very strong ties with Britain. it had a discriminatory immigration policy called the white Australia Policy, which limited the number of non‑Europeans, especially non‑British, who could enter. these restrictions were not officially lifted until 1973. Australia also maintained very close foreign policy relations with Britain. in 1914, it entered the first world war as a member

In 1915, Australian and New Zealand soldiers (figting in WWI on the side of the Allies) set out to Gallipoli, Turkey, to capture Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, an ally of Germany. The fighting dragged on unsuccessfully for months and thousands of soldiers died. The heavy casualties are commemorated and the soldiers are honoured on ANZAC Day (April 25) every year.

of the British Empire. Australians also fought in the Second world war. when Japan entered into the war, battles were fought in nearby Papua new guinea and some of Australia’s northern cities were bombed.

there, assisting them with travel and finding them work. this was the second great influx of immigrants. they changed the population into a much more mixed one; other languages were starting to be spoken in Australia and this diversity has become a permanent part of the Australian society. in fact, 43% of Australians today were the immigrants from this period.

PoSt-wAr ProSPErity

Despite these attacks, Australia was relatively unscarred compared to many other countries. for this reason, it was an attractive place for families to relocate after the war. the Australian government encouraged people to settle

the post‑war period was also a time when the rights of Aboriginals improved. By 1965, they were granted full voting rights . But Aboriginals also

demanded the recognition of past ownership . this wish was finally achieved when the famous mabo case in 1992 officially acknowledged the continuous ownership of Aboriginal land.

the Australian republican movement didn’t completely disappear. in november 1999, republicans hoped to sever all ties with Britain when a referendum was held to change the constitution to introduce a parliamentary appointed president. But the republicans lost in all states and the British monarch remained the official head of state.

AuStrAliA toDAy

At the turn of the millennium, Australia was increasingly more prosperous but conservative. unemployment was low and living standards were high, but the open cosmopolitan nature of Australia seemed in decline . many Australians wanted a more restrictive immigration policy and felt that they had moved away too much from their British roots.

then in 2007, Australia made another turn and elected a prime minister who is among other things fluent in mandarin chinese. Perhaps all this goes to show is that the one constant in Australian history is change. Ryan Scott (Australia)

Vocabulary

to take shape - utvářet se via [“vaI@] - přes Ice Age - doba ledová diverse [daI”v@;s, “daIv@;s] - rozmanitý artistic [A;“tIstIk] - umělecký few records of - velice málo dokladů o penal settlement [“pi;n(@)l

“sEt(@)lm(@)nt] - trestanecké osídlení to set up - založit unlike [Vn”laIk] - na rozdíl od intimate understanding [“IntIm@t]

settler [“sEtl@] - osadník

starvation [stA;“veIS(@)n] - vyhladovění through trial and error [“traI@l] - metodou

corporal punishment [“kO;p(@)r(@)l]

entirely [In”taI@li] - úplně opposed the practice [@“p@Uzd] - byli proti takovému počínání to spur [sp@;] - podnítit gold rush - zlatá horečka influx [“InflVks] - příval, příliv free press - svoboda tisku trial by jury [“traI@l “dZU@ri] - soudní procesy před porotou

small pox - neštovice chicken pox - plané neštovice measles [“mi;z(@)lz] - spalničky ties [taIz] - vazby

restriction [rI”strIkS(@)n] - omezení unscarred [Vn”skA;d] - nepoznamenaný compared to [k@m”pE;d] - ve srovnání s

různorodost

greater representation

full voting rights - plné volební právo recognition of past ownership

national consciousness [“kQnS@snIs]

[rEk@g”nIS(@)n “@Un@SIp] - uznání bývalého vlastnictví continuous [k@n”tInjU@s] - nepřetržitý

federation [fEd@“reIS(@)n] - federace understandably hostile [“hQstaIl]

Glossary

landbridge - a strip of land which allows animals or people to cross and colonise new lands

hunter-gatherer lifestyle - they hunted for animals and gathered plants and berries to eat

oral nature - stories and culture were passed down from generation to generation in a spoken way, without being written down

mother country - the country where you were born

lanGuaGe point

The verb “to lift” usually means to move something from a lower to a higher position. ( Please, help me lift this armchair, it is heavy. She lifted her eyes from the book she was reading. ) But it can also mean to end a rule or law. ( These restrictions were not officially lifted until 1973. )

Zdroj: MATURITA HADR/ANJ/Témata/Témata/Australia/Story of Australia/19_story_of_australia.pdf