Evaluate the role played by Britain in shaping modern Australian Essay

Evaluate the role played by Britain in shaping modern Australian society and political culture. Does the term 'Austral Briton' still hold any relevance - Essay Example A good and profound example is the Head of State who is the current Queen of England. The other is the Union Jack symbol in the Australian flag. Many Australians as at the WWII either descended from Britain or were actually having direct ancestral links to Britain2. This paper will therefore discuss the role played by Britain in shaping modern Australian society and political culture while shedding light on whether the term ‘Austral Briton’ still holds any relevance. Before the 1st World War Australian inhabitants especially the ones born there or had their ancestry trailing from Britain or Ireland were being termed as ‘Aussie’ colloquially. This was rather a term that denoted ability to survive through hard times and later was more defining as it distinguished those born in Australia and immigrants3. This latter distinction was coined during and after the 2nd World War. The nation was originally a British penal colony from 18th century and more precisely from 17884. The continent had been seen to be one that is full of hardships by Joseph Banks who went further to suggest that convicts should be taken there from Britain. It is in 1788 that the first batch of convicts docked at Botany Bay5. This first fleet comprised of marines, men and women convicts. The following years saw an increased movement to Australia as more convicts were being shipped and being taken further inland. The women population among the convicts was just 20 perc ent. This disparity between men and women convicts went a long way to shape the current mateship ideology. This transportation of convicts to Australia however came to an end officially in 1850. More and more people started to stream in from various nationalities but the biggest number was from Britain making them dominate the demographics of Australia6. Australia was a region of the earth where democracy did not exist as a formal system of ruling masses up until the colonisation by the British. Most