British settlement started 18 years later, in 1788, with the arrival of Captain Arthur Phillip and his First Fleet and the establishment of a penal colony. Free settlers followed and gradually spread through the whole continent. ... Consequently, on that date, Australia as a whole officially joined the British Empire.
British settlement started 18 years later, in 1788, with the arrival of Captain Arthur Phillip and his First Fleet and the establishment of a penal colony. Free settlers followed and gradually spread through the whole continent. Consequently, on that date, Australia as a whole officially joined the British Empire.
