Anglo-Australians

First Settlements and Colonization

The British settlement of Australia began thanks to the British military admiral Arthur Philip. He was the first European colonizer of the Australian continent, and it was he who founded the settlement, now known as the city of Sydney.

In many English colonies, a system of governors-owners was established, which were appointed by trade documents by English joint-stock companies and had to found and manage settlements.

England was the successor of the Dutch colonization of "New Holland", renamed the state of Australia in 1774. On August 18, 1786, the British government decided to send British convicts to the Gulf of Botany, the responsibility for organizing and choosing the leadership fell on the then Minister of the Interior, Lord Sydney and his assistant Evan Nipin. Soon after, preparations for ships, convicts, guards and provisions began. At that time, 1300 people were required to build 5 large ships, so the selected convicts, including women from the county prisons, were sent to the ship Dunkirk in Plymouth and New Jail in Southwark. According to optimistic forecasts, the sailing was supposed to happen in October, but there were serious delays. In mid-April 1787, the publication “St. James Chronicle "reported that" it may seem strange, but we are reliably aware that the transport for sending to the Gulf of Botanical has not yet been launched. " An estimated 200,000 British emigrated to Australia in 1776. It was thanks to the British that the influx of immigrants during the nineteenth century was strong and steady. The first wave of active influx of the British began in the late 1850s. Immigration steadily increased due to the turbulent situation in the United Kingdom until 1862, then it slowed down and slowly declined for about a decade. Most of the emigrants were small farmers and rental farmers from destitute rural counties in the south and west of England and urban workers who fled from oppression and social and industrial change in the late 1820s and early 1840s. While some English immigrants were plunged into dreams of creating a model of utopian society in Australia, others were attracted by the temptation of new lands, textile mills, railways, and mining. Therefore, many English settlers left Australia for the United States in the 1850s during the California Gold Rush.

British immigration after the 1850s

After Australia ceased to be used as a correctional colony, British immigration continued and a significant increase came instead of a decrease. In the late 1860s, the annual British immigration reached 60,000 people and continued to grow until 1872 (75,000 people a year). The final and most powerful wave of immigration began in 1879 and continued until 1893. During this period, the annual immigration of the British totals more than 80,000 people, reaching a peak in 1882 and 1888. The construction of Australian transcontinental railways, the settlement of vast plains, and industrialization attracted experienced and professional expats from England. But also, the significantly cheaper passage on the boat made it possible for ordinary city workers to come to Australia, and unskilled and middle-skilled workers, miners, builders, made up the majority of these new English immigrants. Until most of them moved to Australia, many artisans were temporary, returning to England after one or two seasons of work. Groups of English immigrants came to Australia as missionaries of the Salvation Army to work with activists from the Evangelical and Mormon Church. The economic downturn of 1893 sharply reduced English immigration, and it remained low for much of the twentieth century. The decline in immigration was replaced by a boom during World War II, when more than 100,000 British people (18% of which were Eurasian immigrants) came from England. This group included a large contingent of front-line wives, who came from 1945 to 1948. During these years, there were four female emigrants for every emigrant man. Many English Indians and Burmese began to come to the country after gaining independence from the United Kingdom in 1947 and 1948 respectively. British immigration rose to 150,000 and exceeded 170,000 in the 1960s, just as English and European settlers of English descent left Singapore and Malaysia and left for Australia after Singapore and Malaysia gained independence from Britain in 1963. While the differences were strong, it is not surprising that English immigrants faced little difficulty assimilating to Australian life. Australian dissatisfaction with British government policies was rarely carried over to English settlers who arrived in the first decade of the 19th century. The first South African settlers of English descent came to Australia in 1994, when Nelson Mandela was elected the first black South African president. After the return of Hong Kong sovereignty by Great Britain to the people of the Republic of China in 1997, many British and Eurasianists of English descent left for Australia. Throughout Australia's history, English immigrants and their descendants have played a significant role in the government and every aspect of Australian life. As long as the Anglo-Australians remain the second largest nationality according to the 1990 census, they are represented at all levels of national and local government so that on any list of Australian senators, supreme judges, governors, members of the legislature, they would constitute a multitude, if not an absolute majority. The United Kingdom continues to be the main source of permanent immigrants in Australia.

English Prime Ministers

Many of Australia's prime ministers have English roots. In particular, the first prime ministers were predominantly of English descent.

1. Edmund Barton, 1st Prime Minister 1901–1903 (British parents)
2. Alfred Dikin, 2nd Prime Minister 1903-1904, 1905-1908, 1909-1910 (British parents)
3. Sir Joseph Cook, 6th Prime Minister 1913-1914 (born in England)
4. Earl Christmas Grafton Page, 11th Prime Minister 1939 (father from England)
5. Harold Edward Holt, 17th Prime Minister 1966-1967
6. Sir John Gray Gorton 19th Prime Minister 1968-1971 (English father)
7. Edward Hough Whitlam 21st Prime Minister 1972-1975 (English origin)
8. Robert James Lee Hawke 23rd Prime Minister 1983-1991 (English origin)
9. John Winston Howard 25th Prime Minister 1996-2007
10. Kevin Rudd, 26th Prime Minister 2007–2010 (his ancestors were convict Thomas Rudd from London and Mary Cable from Essex in England)