How old is Australia in years?

How old is Australia in years?

It was not until January 1, 1901, that this idea was realised and the Commonwealth of Australia came into being. As such a nation, created through law, Australia is 117 years old.

When was Australia first discovered?

1606
While Indigenous Australians have inhabited the continent for tens of thousands of years, and traded with nearby islanders, the first documented landing on Australia by a European was in 1606. The Dutch explorer Willem Janszoon landed on the western side of Cape York Peninsula and charted about 300 km of coastline.

How long has Australia had humans?

Human Remains The oldest human fossil remains found in Australia date to around 40,000 years ago – 20,000 years after the earliest archaeological evidence of human occupation. Nothing is known about the physical appearance of the first humans that entered the continent over 60,000 years ago.

What was Australia called in 1788?

After the Dutch era Cook first named the land New Wales, but revised it to New South Wales. With the establishment of a settlement at Sydney in 1788, the British solidified its claim to the eastern part of Australia, now officially called New South Wales.

Is Australia older than New Zealand?

Australia and New Zealand had quite separate indigenous histories, settled at different times by very different peoples – Australia from Indonesia or New Guinea around 50,000 years ago, New Zealand from islands in the tropical Pacific around 1250–1300 CE.

What date did Australia get invaded?

January 26, 1788
January 26, 1788, is the day Captain Arthur Phillip landed on Australian soil with the First Fleet of British ships. He raised the British flag at Sydney Cove to claim New South Wales as a British Colony. This day marks the beginning of a long and brutal colonisation of people and land.

Was Australia or New Zealand discovered first?

Who inhabited Australia first?

Aboriginal peoples
People have lived in Australia for over 65,000 years. The first people who arrived in Australia were the Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander people’s. They lived in all parts of Australia. They lived by hunting, fishing and gathering.

When was Australia first inhabited?

48,000 years ago
The minimum widely accepted time frame for the arrival of humans in Australia is placed at least 48,000 years ago. Many sites dating from this time period have been excavated. In Arnhem Land Madjedbebe (formerly known as Malakunanja II) rock shelter has been dated to around 65,000 years old.

Why are Australia and New Zealand not one country?

Both countries share a British colonial heritage as antipodean Dominions and settler colonies, and both are part of the wider Anglosphere. New Zealand sent representatives to the constitutional conventions which led to the uniting of the six Australian colonies but opted not to join.

What happened on 26th January?

Captain Arthur Phillip took formal possession of the colony of New South Wales on 26 January 1788 and raised the British flag for the first time in Sydney Cove. By 1935, January 26 was known as Australia Day in all states except New South Wales where the name ‘Anniversary Day’ prevailed.

How many people lived in Australia before the British colonized?

A cumulative population of 1.6 billion people has been estimated to have lived in Australia over 65,000 years prior to British colonisation. The regions of heaviest Aboriginal population were the same temperate coastal regions that are currently the most heavily populated, the Murray River valley in particular.

How long have Aboriginals been in Australia?

So, how long have Aboriginals have been in Australia? In conclusion, Aboriginals have been settling in the country for about 60,000 to 70,000 years to date.

Who was the first European to land in Australia?

The first known landing in Australia by Europeans was by Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon in 1606. Later that year, Spanish explorer Luís Vaz de Torres sailed through, and navigated, Torres Strait islands. Twenty-nine other Dutch navigators explored the western and southern coasts in the 17th century,…

When was the Commonwealth of Australia founded?

Federation to 1945: The Commonwealth of Australia was established on January 1, 1901. After approval of a draft constitution by Australian voters, the British Parliament had passed legislation in 1900 to enable the commonwealth to come into existence.