Blog 4/ Timelines

Out of the many things America and Australia have in common, one of the main things is that they were both invaded by Britain.  America was invaded when the British attempted to gain control over the thirteen colonies in the 1600s.  The people of the colonies didn’t start their own revolution until the late 1700s.  About the same time, Britain was also trying to claim Australia and control over the aboriginals that inhabited the area. (Wikipedia.com)

In 1848-1849, gold was discovered in California and Nevada.  Almost instantly, people all over America dropped everything, deserted their homes/jobs, and traveled all the way to California/Nevada to search for gold and make their fortune.  In the 1850s, gold was discovered in Australia.  In 1861, gold was also discovered in New Zealand by a man named Edward Hargraves.  He found the gold in Bathurst, a town in New South Wales.  Following the same pattern as the people in America, the people in Australia/New Zealand did the same thing and rushed over to search for gold. (cultureandcreation.gov.au)

When Britain was controlling the six colonies in Australia, their royalty only had a ceremonial role.  The colonies themselves had a democratic government.  New Zealand had a self-governing community under the British rule.  Britain had much more control over the American colonies.  The made laws, acts, and collected taxes.  There was an outrage and eventually, the American Revolution started.  America won and got independence from England in 1776.  New Zealand didn’t get independence England until 1947. (U.S History Book)

Aboriginals were not given the right to vote until 1962.  They were also not allowed to claim the lands on which they grew up on.  The Aboriginal Land Rights Act was passed in 1976 to allow them their rights to lay claim on their lands. The aboriginals didn’t get a formal apology until 2008.   This is similar to the time period that women were not allowed to vote, but that was changed when the 19^th amendment was passed.(history-nz1)