AUSTRALIA 350 AUSTRALIA commerce of the various states, see the titles of these states. History. — It is doubtful when Aus- tralia was first discovered by Europeans. Between 1531 and 1542 the Portuguese published the existence of a land which they called Great Java, and which corre- sponded to Australia, and probably the first discovery of the country was made by them early in the 16th century. The first authenticated discovery is said to have been made in 1601, by a Portuguese named Manoel Godinho de Eredia. In 1606, Torres, a Spaniard, passed through the strait that now bears his name, be- tween New Guinea and Australia. Be- tween this period and 1628, a large por- tion of the coast line of Australia had been surveyed by various Dutch navi- gatoi's. In 1664 the continent was named New Holland by the Dutch Government. In 1688 Dampier coasted along part of Australia, and about 1700 explored a part of the W. and N. W. coasts. In 1770 Cook carefully surveyed the E. coast, named a number of localities, and took possession of the country for Great Britain. He was followed by Bligh in 1789, who carried on a series of observa- tions on the N. E. coast, adding largely to the knowledge already obtained of this new world. Colonists had now ar- rived on the soil, and a penal settlement was formed (1788) at Port Jackson. In this way was laid the foundation of the future colony of New South Wales. The Moreton Bay district (Queensland) was settled in 1825; in 1835 the Port Philip district. In 1851 the latter district was erected into a separate colony under the name of Victoria. Previous to this time the colonies both cf Western Australia and of South Australia had been founded —the former in 1829, the latter in 1836. The latest of the colonies is Queensland, which only took an independent existence in 1859. The discovery of gold in abund- ance took place in 1851, and caused an immense excitement and great influx of immigrants. The population was then only about 350,000, and was slowly in- creasing; but the discovery of the precious metal started the country on that career of prosperity which has since been almost uninterrupted. Convicts were long sent to Australia from the mother country, but transportation to New South Wales practically ceased in 1840, and the last convict vessel to West Australia arrived in 1868. Australia in the World War. — The declaration of war on the part of Eng- land against Germany reached Australia by cable early in the day on Aug. 5, 1914. Parliament was not in session, but the spirit of the people rose at once to the great occasion and the Prime Minister, Hughes, offered the government at home an immediate draft of 20,000 men. At the first call a much greater number re- sponded and nation-wide training was begun. Before any troops were ready for embarkation the national spirit had stimulated the enrollment of a further contingent of 10,000 men. The first em- barkation for Europe by way of Egypt and the Suez Canal the following end of November had already been preceded by naval operations against the enemy in southwestern waters. With the co-operation of the New Zealand troops, the first contingent of which was formed about the same time as that of Australia, the German wire- less chain in the Pacific had been de- stroyed and Germany deprived of all her holdings in that part of the world. In the latter part of August German Samoa was taken, and by the end of September New Pommern (New Britain). During the formation of the first contingent in Australia national patriotism rose to a fever pitch, a spirit which was after- ward splendidly reflected in the perform- ance of her sons in the trench and field. Much of their fighting was to be done in connection with the New Zealanders, the combined forces being known under the popular name of Anzacs, i. e., Australia- New Zealand Army Corps. The nation stood behind its troops. From the day of the announcement of war contribu- tions came pouring in. Several million dollars were at once donated, besides large contributions of horses and gen- eral supplies by rich Australians — of whom there is a large contingent. A most remarkable feature of the national situation was that the enthusiasm of the hour so carried away a large number of German residents in the country that they at once became naturalized and pledged their support to their adopted country. A change of ministry in the month following the outbreak of war did not in any way affect the general sit- uation. The Laborites, who succeeded the Liberals, continued the forwarding of war preparations with equal enthusiasm, although the two parties continued to oppose one another in Parliament with unabated vigor. Following the first contingent, more than 20,000 men which the nation sent to Europe in November (1914), a second expeditionary force of 25,000 was em- barked a month later. Meantime a third force of 20,000 men had been called for, and was being rapidly recruited. A popu- lar call for all able-bodied men to enlist for the firing-line and for all others to join rifle clubs was being responded to
