Australia-From Prison to Paradise

Happy Australia Day!

Yeah, the Land Down Under is downing a few Foster’s today—in celebration of the sovereign nation that was founded on this day in 1788-----as a penal colony.

The prisons in Great Britain were becoming overcrowded by the mid 1780’s—and the bright idea was to basically ship off some of these hardened criminals halfway across the globe.

Captain Arthur Phillip apparently drew the short straw—and led this band of misfits onto Australian soil---known then as the colony of New South Wales.

Of the party of 1,000 that landed, 700 were convicts. The voyage itself lasted eight months, claiming the lives of 30 men.

The first years were close to a disaster. The combination of poor soil, an unfamiliar climate and workers who were largely ignorant of farming, the colony was constantly close to starvation for several years.

Captain Phillip returned to England in 1792—and the colony became prosperous by the turn of the 19th century. A sense of patriotism emerged from these roughnecks—and by 1818, “Australia Day” became an official holiday as the population—criminals or the offspring of criminals----began to commemorate the 26th as their founding day!

Check out the short video below—complete with breathtaking scenes from around Australia:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6leHGHCKeSg


“Australia Day” may be celebrated by the British descendants who call the island/continent nation home, but it is also mourned by the Aborigines—the native population, who, like the American Indian, slowly were deprived of their land and culture as white colonization spread across the continent.

If you’d like my blog in your weekday box, just drop me a line-it’s free! Tim.moore@citcomm.com

G’Day!