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Australia History and Culture

Australia History and Culture

Captain Cook stumbled onto Australian shores in 1770 to find an Aboriginal way of life that went back some 40,000 years. By 1868, Britain had sent more than 160,000 convicts to Australia.

Experiencing the culture of Australia's indigenous population is one of the great highlights of a visit. Many tensions still exist between mainstream Australia and its Aboriginal people. The first European settlers treated the Aboriginal population with appalling brutality, which gave way to racist and cruel policies from subsequent administrations. However, the slow march towards reconciliation was given a boost in 2008 when Prime Minister Kevin Rudd issued a formal apology to the indigenous population for the suffering of the past.

In November 2007 elections, after almost 12 years of conservative rule, the public voted out the Liberal Party coalition and gave the Australian Labor Party (ALP) a decisive win. This has meant some significant changes in the direction of the country. Prime Minister Rudd swiftly set about signing the Kyoto Protocol, investing more in alternate energy sources.

The Labor government's stimulus package and strong trading links with China have resulted in Australia riding out the 2008/2009 global financial crisis relatively unscathed. The government withdrew its troops from Iraq in early 2008, yet retains 1,500 troops in the Uruzgan province of Afghanistan.

27% Roman Catholic, 21% Protestant and smaller minorities of all other major religions.

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