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Main article: History of Australia before 1901
Australia has been inhabited for at least 50,000 years, since the remote ancestors of the current Australian Aboriginal people arrived from Southeast Asia. The land was not discovered by Europeans until the 17th century. It was claimed for Britain in 1770, and first colonised in 1788 as a penal colony. Five other colonies, some penal and some free, were founded in the early 19th century.Main article: History of Australia since 1901
In 1901, Australia adopted a federal constitution and became a self-governing dominion of the British EmpireThe British Empire in the early decades of the 20th century, held sway over a population of 400 500 million people (roughly a quarter of the world's population), and covered nearly 30 million square kilometres, (roughly two-fifths of the world's land area. Australian troops took part in both world wars. Since World War Two Australia has been transformed by a massive immigrationImmigration is the act of moving to or settling in another country or region, temporarily or permanently. An immigrant is usually someone who intends to reside permanently, and not a casual visitor or traveler. Immigration means "in-migration" into a coun programme. Australia remains a constitutional monarchyA constitutional monarchy is a form of government established under a constitutional system which acknowledges a hereditary or elected monarch as head of state. Modern constitutional monarchies usually implement the concept of trias politica, and have the with Queen Elizabeth IIGolden Jubilee in 2002, wearing her Canadian orders) Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary), styled HM The Queen (born April 21, 1926) is the Queen regnant and Head of State of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland an as head of state: a referendum to establish a republicThe 1999 Australian republic referendum was a two question referendum held on 6 November 1999. The first question asked whether Australia should adopt a model of a minimal change republic, a model which had previously been decided at a Constitutional Conv was defeated in 1999For the album by Prince, see 1999 (album 1999 is a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar), and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the UN. Events Kosovo War Former child star Gary Coleman files for bankruptcy Y2K prep.