I’ve been reading up about Australia and Sydney in particular. A short history lesson from yours truly:
The first fleet that came to Australia from England in 1787, settling in Sydney Harbour, was made up of 11 boats, each no bigger than the passenger ferries that shuttle between Circular Quay and Manly in present day.
On the 11 boats were 1,480 people, which included 759 convicts. The convicts from England were given a choice: either sentenced to death of sent to Australia for seven years. A total of 168,000 convicts were sent to Australia.
Gold was discovered in Victoria in 1852 causing thousands of immigrants to head to the country. Eight years later (1860) more than one million non-Aboriginal people were living in Australia.
During WWII, the Japanese dropped more bombs were dropped on Darwin than on Pearl Harbor. The difference was Darwin had been evacuated of women and children in preparation for the attack, and about 200 people were killed.
And some Aussie fun facts:
Australia is home to 45 different kinds of kangaroos!
Australia is the same size as the 48 contiguous US states.
