European Australians
Historically, European immigrants had great influence over Australian culture and society, which results in the perception of Australia as a European-derived country.
[8][9] The majority of European Australians are of British Isles – English, Irish, Scottish, or Welsh – ancestral origin.
Other significant ancestries include Italian, German, Greek, Dutch, European New Zealanders, Polish, Maltese, and Scandinavian.
The first ship and crew to chart the Australian coast and meet with Aboriginal people was the Duyfken captained by Dutchman, Willem Janszoon.
[citation needed] In 1770, Englishman Lieutenant James Cook charted the Australian east coast in his ship HM Barque Endeavour.
[citation needed] This period of European exploration is reflected in the names of landmarks such as the Torres Strait, Arnhem Land, Dampier Sound, Tasmania, the Furneaux Islands, Cape Frecinyet and La Perouse.
[12] The British Crown Colony of New South Wales started with the establishment of a settlement at Sydney Cove by Captain Arthur Phillip on 26 January 1788.
These land masses included the current islands of New Zealand, which was administered as part of New South Wales until it became a separate colony in 1841.
In 1826, a British military camp was established in Western Australia at King George Sound, to discourage French colonisation.
In 1829, the Swan River Colony and its capital of Perth were founded on the west coast proper and also assumed control of King George Sound.
This progressively forced them into smaller areas and reduced their numbers as the majority died of newly introduced diseases and lack of resources.
[25] After narrowly preventing a Japanese invasion [citation needed] and suffering attacks on Australian soil for the first time, it was seen that the country must "populate or perish".
A booming Australian economy stood in sharp contrast to war-ravaged Europe, and newly arrived migrants found employment in government-assisted programs such as the Snowy Mountains Scheme.
Manufacturing industry, previously playing a minor part in an economy dominated by primary production, greatly expanded.
[citation needed] In 1987, the vast majority of European Australians were descendants either of Anglo-Irish-Scots who arrived after 1850, or of Greeks, Italians, Hungarians, South Slavs, Poles and Germans who emigrated after 1945.
[29] The following table shows the proportion of Australian residents nominating European race or ancestry at various points in history.
The following table shows the numbers of Australians claiming various European ancestries at selected national census historical intervals.
[citation needed] The lineage of most of the national founders was British such as: During the late 19th century, he was the strongest proponent for a federation of Australian territories.
The Australian gold rushes from the 1850s brought wealth as well as new social tensions to Australia, including the miners' Eureka Stockade rebellion.
[citation needed] The earliest form of Australian English was first spoken by the children of the colonists born into the colony of New South Wales.
The Australian-born children in the new colony were exposed to a wide range of dialects from all over the British Isles, in particular from Ireland and South East England.
[citation needed] Another area of cultural influence are Australian Patriotic songs: The Sydney Opera House was formally opened on 20 October 1973, by Queen Elizabeth II.
The government of New South Wales, led by the premier, Joseph Cahill, authorised work to begin in 1958 with Utzon directing construction.
The government's decision to build Utzon's design is often overshadowed by circumstances that followed, including cost and scheduling overruns as well as the architect's ultimate resignation.
