What year was Australia founded?

bpykh

The Commonwealth of Australia came about in January 1, 1901. May 12 01, 4:18 PM

Brainy Blonde

Australia started out as a British penal colony in 1788. The number of colonies eventually became six. Those six colonies became a Federation in 1901. May 12 01, 5:26 PM

Trophygirl

The continent of Australia has been inhabited for over 40,000 years by indigenous Australians. After sporadic visits by fishermen from the north and by European explorers and merchants starting in the 17th century, the eastern half of the continent was claimed by the British in 1770 and officially settled as the penal colony of New South Wales on 26 January 1788. As the population grew and new areas were explored, another five largely self-governing Crown Colonies were successively established over the course of the 19th century. http://www.canadiancontent.net/profiles/Australia.html [Added reference link - McG] Mar 07 06, 6:54 PM

wendypj

This is a site run by the Australian government which acknowledges that the indiginous people have lived here since 60,000 BC and that other people have visited the island prior to it being claimed by James Cook. He wasn't the first to discover Australia, he was just the first to be so arrogant as to 'take ownership' of it on behalf of the British Empire which is why that tends to be the official date of Australia's founding. No comments please - I am British myself - I am just not a fan of people who think they can take something from someone else that they haven't worked for or earned. http://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/timeline.asp Jan 22 07, 9:16 PM