Australia comes of age

Australian character traits of fierce independence and little heed for authority were evident from the early days of settlement when member of the New South Wales Corps staged the rum Rebellion and landowner John Macarthur fought a duel and was sent to England under arrest. Transplantation of convicts eventually ended and the British government was persuaded in 1823 to give the colonies self-government. through the turbulent times of Depression in the 1890's, a strong Labour movement was formed and on 1 January 1901, six colonies united to form the Commonwealth of Australia. As a young, independent nation, Australia committed troops to World War I and again in World War II, Australians fought in Europe and the Pacific. After 1945, Australia embarked on an ambitious migration program; hundreds of thousand of new settlers arrived to make their home in a new land. These 'new' Australians have created a new society, a pluralistic, cosmopolitan nation that has finally come of age.