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Happy Australia Day!
Topic Started: Jan 25 2011, 02:33 PM (99 Views)
Dinkum Tanglepike
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Chief of the Pantry
So what is Australia Day?

On this day in 1788 a small fleet of 11 ships crawled into Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) and dropped anchor. The dazed poms then rowed ashore and promptly got drunk (well you would to after nearly a year at sea!) and there was much "fraternisation" with the female convicts (again sea voyagers tend to do this) And so the Colony of New South Wales was born!!
Now a few interesting facts to broaden your understanding.

The intention was to set up a colony useing penal labour (convicts) None of the convicts on the first fleet were murderers, rapists or hardened criminals. They were petty thieves, poachers and miscreants, later the hardened criminals were sent.
The convicts on the first Fleet had some sort of skill (fishermen, a blacksmith, carpenters) so the British didnt just dump a whole heap of convicts here and told to get on with it. There was a plan involved that the colony was going to survive....it just had a very hard time doing so.
The official currency of the colony was Rum. Nowadays our currencys are backed by gold back then it was backed by Rum.
When the first fleet left England in 1787, There were know babys or children recorded. When the First Fleet arrived in Port Jackson, 11 births had been recorded....someone was haveing a good cruise.
None of the female convicts sent over on the First Fleet were prostitutes......but to survive and get what they wanted they learned very quickly....
A month after arriveing a French ship arrived and was amazed to see the British here. After some polite words they sailed off. The French were also interested in New Holland (as Australia was known at that time) and were surveying bits of the coastline themselves....so we could have ended up as a French Colony.....*shudders*

Our country was not founded on war, a clamour for religious freedom or even brought off the natives (the British being British just waltzed on in and took over) we were a penal colony, but WHAT a penal colony! Fantastic beaches, wonderful climate, no Frenchmen knocking on your border asking for a cup of frogs legs, and a very very very long way away from miserable, damp, soggy England.
So Today we light up the BBQ, have a few beers and thank the gods that we are lucky to live in such a wonderful country where a Fair Go is everyones basic right, when things get tough you knuckle down and stand by your mates, and that it could be alot worse, we could be living in America.......
:P
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kio
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Harlindon woodsman
and we've been enjoying the Australian Open for days! Go Clijisters!
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Dinkum Tanglepike
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Chief of the Pantry
bless you.....*passes a handky*
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