1. Impact of English Colonization
on Australia:
Language & Religion
Unit 10 Notes

2. Language of Australia
Direct result of British colonization &
expansion
Australia was the final continent
discovered by Europeans
Aborigines had inhabited the country for
centuries

4. Language
1768: Captain James Cook left England
and explored & mapped parts of
eastern Australia
– Claimed the land for England & named it
New South Wales
England did not immediately colonize
it…

6. Language
1788: England sent a crew to Australia to
begin building prisons
Earlier, England had been shipping prisoners
to American colonies--no longer a choice
after the American Revolution
1788-1823: New South Wales was a penal
(prison) colony housing convicts and marines

8. Language
1823: British government established
Australia’s first Parliament that created
criminal and civil courts
By 1868: more than 170,000 convicts
had arrived in Australia from England
– The language of the prisoners was
English…

9. Language
French government became interested
in Australia’s west coast
To keep French out, English settlers
built new villages and cities as far out
as possible
– This spread English language to western
Australia

10. Language
More British immigrants entered
Australia during the gold rush of the
mid-1800s
Thousands of Chinese immigrants
arrived as well
– Chinese didn’t become an important
language because the English-speakers
were too plentiful

12. Language
When Australia gained its independence from
Great Britain, the government wanted to
make sure it wouldn’t get too many
immigrants
It allowed people from England & US to enter
the country, but made rules to stop
immigrants from Africa & Asia
– Encouraged more English speakers to move to
Australia

13. Language
Today, more than 20% of Australians
were born in another country
– Half of Australia came from non-English
speaking countries
Because of Australia’s history, English
is still the official language & it’s the
most common language spoken

14. Religion
1788: Europeans introduced Christianity to
Australia
– Irish convicts were Catholic, while most others
were Methodist or Anglican
1800s: European settlers brought their
traditional churches to Australia--Church of
England (now Anglican Church), Methodist,
Catholic, Presbyterian, Congregationalist, &
Baptist

15. Religion
Today, most Australians are Christians
– Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican
Church claim the most members
Muslims, Buddhists, Jews, & Hindus
combined make up less than 5% of the
population