Melbourne, Victoria & Tasmania

Australia's Melbourne, Victoria & Tasmania

HUNTER PUBLISHING, INC.

30 Mayfield Ave

Edison, NJ 08818-7816

tel. 800-255-0343 / fax 732-417-1744

www.hunterpublishing.com

E-mail comments@hunterpublishing.com

IN CANADA:

Ulysses Travel Publications

4176 Saint-Denis, Montréal, Québec

Canada H2W 2M5

tel. 514-843-9882 ext. 2232 / fax 514-843-9448

IN THE UNITED KINGDOM:

Windsor Books International

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Berkshire, RG10 9XQ England

tel. 01189-346-367 / fax 01189-346-368

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This guide focuses on recreational activities. As all such activities contain elements of risk, the publisher, author, affiliated individuals and companies disclaim any responsibility for any injury, harm, or illness that may occur to anyone through, or by use of, the information in this book. Every effort was made to insure the accuracy of information in this book, but the publisher and author do not assume, and hereby disclaim, any liability for loss or damage caused by errors, omissions, misleading information or potential travel problems caused by this guide, even if such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident or any other cause.

Contents

All About Australia

The Dreamtime

The Explorers

The Criminals

The Settlers

The Gold-Seekers

The Vintners

The Adventurers

The Rebels

The Citizens

The Soldiers

The Australians

Six States, Two Territories, & Many Islands

Surrounding Properties

The Government

The Land

A Moving Puzzle

A Vast & Barren Core

Refreshing Waterways

Farmland Bounty & Natural Riches

Australian Flora: Unique & Unexpected

The Forests & Fields

The Deserts

Australian Wildlife: Weird & Wonderful

Brilliant Bird Life

Bugs, Grubs, & Spiders

Turtles, Snakes, & Crocs

Other Water Creatures

National Parks & Protected Areas

The Australians

The People

Crazy for Sports

Australian Arts

Poets & Writers

Visual Arts

On the Stage & Big Screen

Theater

Movies

Australian Music

The Australian Palate

Distinctly Aussie Cuisine

Down the Hatch

Getting Here & Getting Around

Getting to Australia

By Air

From North America

From Europe

From Africa

From Asia

Connections with China

Connections with India

Connections with Indonesia

Connections with Malaysia & Singapore

To Antarctica

By Sea

Cruise Ships

Getting Around Australia

By Air

Major Airlines

Regional Airlines

Charter Airlines

By Sea

Cruise Ships

By Train

By Road

Buses

Driving

Basic Road Rules

Car Seats for Children

Major Preparations

Car Rentals

Other Helpful National Resources

Motorcycles

Biking

Travel Information

General Information

Addresses & Phone Numbers

Banking

Businesses, Shops, & Attractions

Climate

Credit Cards

Currency & Exchange

Customs

Disabled Travelers

Health & Safety

Internet

Language & Manners

Lodging

Major Hotels, Motels, & Resorts

Apartment Rentals

Home Exchanges

Bed-&-Breakfasts & Guesthouses

Hostels & Budget Accommodations

Camping

Mail & Postal Services

News

Shopping

Taxes

The Tourist Refund Scheme

The Mysterious VAT

Telephones

Cellphone Rentals

Time Zones

Tipping

Visa Requirements

Embassies & Consulates in Australia

Voltage

Whom to Contact

Australian Tourism Authorities

State Tourism Boards

City Information

Websites

Melbourne & Victoria

A Brief History

Melbourne's Beginnings

Growth & Gold

Challenges & Changes

Victoria Today

The Land

Flora

Fauna

What to See & Do

Traveling in Victoria

Getting Here

By Air

Airlines

Airports

By Sea

Cruise Ships

Ferries

By Rail

By Road

Driving

Buses

Getting Around

By Air

National Airlines

State & Local Airlines

Airports

By Water

Cruise ships

Ferries

Melbourne

The South Coast

Phillip Island

On the Ground

Melbourne

By Rail

Trains - Around Melbourne

The Murray River

Light Rail

Trams

Outside of Melbourne

By Road - Driving

Around Melbourne

Major Sights - The South

The Northeast

The Northwest

Contacts

Taxis

Melbourne

The Southwest

The North

Buses

National and State-wide Buses

Local Buses

Victoria's Top Destinations

Biking

Information Sources

Local Tourism Boards and Travel Offices

The Southeast

The Southwest

The Northeast

The Northwest

The Murray River

Websites

National Parks and Natural Areas

Cultural Information

Melbourne

The Southeast

The Southwest

Phillip Island

The Northeast

The Northwest

Other Helpful Local Resources

Banks & Moneychangers

Melbourne

The Southeast

The Southwest

The Great Ocean Road

Phillip Island

The North

Emergencies

Melbourne

Employment

Around Melbourne

The Northwest

Internet

Mail

Melbourne

The Southeast

Phillip Island

The Southwest

The Northeast

The Northwest

Telephones

Adventures in Victoria

National Parks and Natural Areas

Great Beaches

Melbourne: Gateway to the South Coast

In the Air

Ballooning

Helicopter Flights

Scenic Flights

On Foot

Bushwalking

Melbourne

Around Melbourne

Organ Pipes National Park

Hanging Rock Reserve

Wildlife Watching

Around Melbourne

Open Range Zoo

The Yarra Valley

Healesville Sanctuary

Ecotourism Walks

On Camel & Horseback

The Yarra Valley

Bunyip State Park

On Rails

Great Rail Journeys

Around Melbourne - Belgrave

On Wheels

Bicycling

Around Melbourne

Rail Trails

Contacts

Four-Wheel-Drive Excursions

Melbourne

On the Water

Boating & Sailing

Melbourne - The Yarra River

Albert Park

Canoeing & Kayaking

Melbourne - The Yarra River

Swimming

Melbourne - Beaches

Pools

Surfing

Scuba Diving

Around Melbourne - Melbourne Aquarium

Port Phillip Bay

On Snow

Skiing

Around Melbourne - Lake Mountain

Cultural Excursions

Wine Regions

The Yarra Valley

The South

In the Air

Helicopter Tours

The Southwest - The Great Ocean Road

Scenic Flights

The Southeast - Phillip Island

The Great Ocean Road

Skydiving

The Southwest - The Great Ocean Road

On Foot

Bushwalking

The Southeast - The South Coast - Croajingolong National Park

Mitchell River National Park

Mornington Peninsula National Park

Tarra-Bulga National Park

Wilsons Promontory National Park

The Mountains

Errinundra National Park

The Southwest

Stevensons Falls

Triplet Falls

Along the Great Ocean Road

Angahook-Lorne State Park

Other Trails Around Lorne

Melba Gully State Park

Mt. Eccles National Park

Waterfall Walks

Around Apollo Bay - Carisbrook Falls

Marriners Falls

Around the Otways - Beauchamp Falls

Around Warrnambool - Hopkins Falls

Beach Walking

The Southeast - Ninety Mile Beach

Cape Conran Coastal Park

The Southwest

Around Anglesea

Around Apollo Bay - Otway National Park

Around Geelong

Around Nelson - Discovery Bay Coastal Park

Bridgewater Lakes

Around Port Campbell - Discovery Walk

Port Campbell National Park

Around Portland - The Great South West Walk

Cape Nelson State Park

Around Torquay - Surf Coast Walk

Koorie Cultural Walk

Around Warrnambool

The Mahogany Ship

Phillip Island

Mountain Climbing

The Southwest - Global Geopark

Mt. Richmond National Park

Rock Climbing & Abseiling

The Southeast - Around Buchan

The Southwest - Brisbane Ranges National Park

Gariwerd National Park

Fossicking

Spelunking

The Southeast - Buchan Caves Reserve

Labertouche Caves

The Southwest - Along the Great Ocean Road - Cape Otway National Park

Princess Margaret Rose Caves

Wildlife Watching

The Southeast - The Lakes National Park

Around Sorrento

Raymond Island

Gabo Island

The Southwest

Around Port Fairy - Griffiths Island

Lady Julia Percy Island

Around Warrnambool

Phillip Island

Phillip Island Nature Park

Koala Conservation Centre

Phillip Island Wildlife Park

Point Grant/Seal Rocks

San Remo Fisherman's Co-Op

Churchill Island

On Camel & Horseback

The Southeast

The Mornington Peninsula

The Southwest

Warrnambool

The Great Ocean Road

By Rail

Great Rail Journeys

The Southwest - Along the Great Ocean Road - Portland

On Wheels

Bicycling

The Southeast

Around Orbost

The Southwest - The Great Ocean Road

Scenic Drives

The Southwest - Great Southern Route

Dry Stone Walls Trail

Volcanoes Discovery Trail

Shipwreck Trail

Two-States Tour

Waterfalls & Forests Tour

Along the Great Ocean Road

Tours

Motorcycle Excursions

The Southeast - Phillip Island

On the Water

Boating & Sailing 

The Southeast - Gippsland

The Southwest - Around Camperdown - Crater Lakes

Floating Islands Lagoon

Lake Bookar

Lake Corangamite

Lower Glenelg National Park

Along the Great Ocean Road - Apollo Bay

Around Port Campbell

Port Fairy

Portland

Phillip Island

Canoeing & Kayaking

The Southeast

Mitchell River National Park

The Southwest - Lower Glenelg National Park

Whitewater Rafting

The Southeast - Baw Baw National Park

Sandboarding

The Southwest - Along the Great Ocean Road - Discovery Bay Coastal Park

Scuba Diving & Snorkeling

The Southeast - The Mornington Peninsula

The Southwest - Along the Great Ocean Road - Around Nelson - Piccaninnie Ponds Conservation Park

Queenscliff

Surfing & Swimming

The Southeast - The Mornington Peninsula

Ninety Mile Beach

Wilsons Promontory National Park

The Southwest - Around Anglesea

Around Apollo Bay

Around Geelong

Around Lorne

Around Nelson - Discovery Bay Coastal Park

Port Campbell

Port Fairy

Around Portland

Cape Nelson National Park

Around Queenscliff

Torquay

Warrnambool

Childers Coves

Phillip Island

On Snow

The Southeast

Baw Baw National Park

Cultural Excursions

The Southwest

Around Apollo Bay

Camperdown

Around Geelong - Point Lonsdale

Barwon River Trail

Port Campbell & Port Fairy

Queenscliff

Churchill Island

The North

In the Air

The Northwest

Bendigo

Paragliding

The Northeast

Skydiving & Hang Gliding

The Northeast - Corowa

Mt. Buffalo National Park

On Foot

Bushwalking

The Northeast - Alpine National Park

Cathedral Range State Park

Mt. Buffalo National Park

The Northwest - Gariwerd National Park

Little Desert National Park

Along the Murray River - Around Mildura - Hattah-Kulkyne National Park

Murray-Sunset National Park

Mountain Climbing

The Northeast - Mt. Bogong

Rock Climbing & Abseiling

The Northeast - Around Mt. Buffalo National Park

Mt. Arapiles

The Wabonga Plateau

Fossicking

The Northeast - Alpine National Park

Wildlife Watching

The Northwest - Around Ballarat - Ballarat Wildlife Park

Around Castlemaine - Dingo Farm Australia

On Horseback

The Northeast

Alpine National Park

The Northwest

Around Daylesford

On Rails

Great Rail Journeys

The Northwest - Ballarat

Along the Murray River - Echuca

On Wheels

Bicycling

The Northeast - Rail Trails

The Northwest

Mountain Biking

The Northeast

Falls Creek

Mt. Buller

Along the Murray River - Rutherglen

Wangaratta - Murray to Mountains Rail Trail

Driving Tours

Four-Wheel-Drive Excursions - The Northeast - Alpine National Park

The Northwest

Scenic Drives

The Northeast - Great Alpine Road

The Northwest - Hattah-Kulkyne National Park

Murray-Sunset National Park

The Murray River - Rutherglen

The Murray & Wine Trail

Motorcycle Adventures

The Northeast - Alpine National Park

On the Water

Boating & Sailing

Along the Murray River - Echuca

Kayaking & Canoeing

Along the Murray River - Around Echuca - Barmah State Park and Forest

Whitewater Rafting & River Sledding

The Northeast - Alpine National Park

Around Omeo - The Mitta Mitta River

Around Whitfield - The King River

The Northwest - Around Khancoban - The Murray River

On Snow

Skiing

Alpine Skiing - The Northeast - Mt. Buffalo

Mt. Buller

Mt. Hotham

Falls Creek

Mt. Stirling

Snowboarding

The Northeast - Mt. Hotham

Cultural Excursions

The Northeast

Wine Country

Beechworth

Rutherglen

The Northwest

Gariwerd National Park

The Goldfields

Ballarat

Sovereign Hill

Eureka Stockade

Bendigo

Golden Dragon Museum

Bendigo Talking Tram

Spa Country

Along the Murray River

Echuca

Mildura

Swan Hill

Sightseeing

Melbourne

Melbourne's Great Neighborhoods

Melbourne's Main Attractions

The Melbourne Zoo

The Melbourne Aquarium

The Royal Botanic Gardens

Fitzroy Gardens

Queen Victoria Market

Luna Park

Melbourne Cricket Ground

Melbourne Park

The Southeast

The Southwest

Geelong

Queenscliff

Apollo Bay

Port Campbell

Warrnambool

Port Fairy

Portland

The North

Where to Stay

In & Around Melbourne

Hotels, Motels, & Resorts

Melbourne

Around Melbourne

Pubs & Roadhouses

Farmstays & Stations

Around Melbourne

Bed-and-Breakfasts & Guesthouses

Melbourne

Around Melbourne

Brighton

Port Melbourne

St Kilda

The Yarra Valley

Budget Accommodations & Hostels

School Dorms

The South

Apartments, Hotels, Motels & Resorts

The Southeast

Phillip Island

The Southwest

Warrnambool

Pubs & Roadhouses

The Southeast

Phillip Island

The Southwest

The Great Ocean Road

Farmstays & Stations

The Southeast

The Mornington Peninsula - Around Red Hill

Around Ferndale

The Southwest

Around Apollo Bay

Around Geelong

Phillip Island

Bed-and-Breakfasts & Cottages

The Southeast

The Mornington Peninsula

Gippsland

Around Olinda

Around Woodend

Along the Coast - Croajingolong National Park

Phillip Island

Bed-and-Breakfasts & Guesthouses

The Southwest

Lorne

Port Fairy

Around Portland

Warrnambool

Budget Accommodations & Hostels

The Southeast

The Mornington Peninsula - Sorrento

The South Coast - Wilsons Promontory National Park

High Country - Around Snowy River National Park

Phillip Island

The Southwest

Queenscliff

The Great Ocean Road

Anglesea

Apollo Bay

Lorne

Port Campbell

Port Fairy

Portland

Torquay

Warrnambool

The North

Hotels, Motels, & Resorts

The Northeast

The Northwest

The Goldfields - Bendigo

Spa Country - Hepburn Springs

The Far Northwest

Along the Murray River - Echuca

Mildura

Swan Hill

Houseboats

The Northwest

Along the Murray River

Pubs & Roadhouses

The Northeast

Along the Hume Highway

Around Wangaratta

The Northwest

Along the Calder Highway

Along the Maroondah Highway

Along the McIvor Highway - Around Bendigo

Along the Murray Valley Highway

Along the Western Highway - Around Ballarat

Along the Murray River - Echuca

Mildura

Swan Hill

Lodges & Cabins

The Northeast

Mt. Buffalo

Farmstays & Stations

The Northeast

Along the Coast - Around Numurkah

Gippsland

High Country

The Northwest

The Goldfields - Around Ballarat

Around Bendigo

Around Kyneton

The Grampians - Around Cavendish

Bed-and-Breakfasts & Guesthouses

The Northeast

The Great Alpine Road - Around Falls Creek

Along the Murray River - Around Rutherglen

The Northwest

The Goldfields - Ballarat

Around Bendigo

Spa Country

The Grampians

The Far Northwest - Horsham

The Murray River - Echuca

Mildura

Swan Hill

Budget Accommodations & Hostels

The Northeast

The Mountains - Bright

Buchan

Falls Creek

Mallacoota

Around Mansfield

Along the Murray River - Rutherglen

Around Buxton

The Northwest

The Goldfields - Ballarat

Bendigo

Castlemaine

Spa Country - Around Hepburn Springs

The Grampians - Around Halls Gap

The Far Northwest - Around Nhil

Along the Murray River - Echuca

Mildura

Swan Hill

Camping

The Southeast

Around the National Parks - Cape Conran National Park

Croajingolong National Park

Errinundra National Park

Tarra-Bulga National Park

Wilsons Promontory National Park

The Southwest

Along the Coast - The National Parks - Angahook-Lorne State Park

Lower Glenelg National Park

Mount Eccles National Park

Otway National Park

Port Campbell National Park

Around the Towns

The Northeast

The Northwest

Where to Eat

Around Melbourne

Throughout Victoria

Entertainment & Events

Melbourne

By Day

Around Melbourne

The Arts

Books

Performing Arts

Theaters

Family Fun

Festivals

Sports

Tickets

Tours

By Night

Gambling

Movies

Nightclubs

Shows

Special Events Around Victoria

The Southeast

The National Parks

The Southwest

Phillip Island

The Northeast

The Mountains

The Northwest

Ballarat

Spa Country

Hepburn Springs

Shopping

Around Melbourne

Malls & Markets

Throughout Victoria

Tasmania

A Brief History

The Land

Flora & Fauna

What to See & Do

Top Tasmanian Adventure Areas:

GETTING HERE

By Air

By Sea

GETTING AROUND

By Air

State & Local Airlines

By Bicycle

By Boat

By Bus

By Car

TOURING

ADVENTURES IN TASMANIA

The South

National Parks and Natural Areas:

In the Air

Flightseeing Excursions

On Foot

Bushwalking

Beach and Coast walking

Cave Exploring

Mountain Climbing

Rock Climbing & Abseiling

Wildlife Watching

The Southeast - Tasmanian Seamounts Marine Reserve

The Southwest - Macquarie Island Marine Reserve

The Northwest - Around King Island - Bass Strait Sponge Beds Conservation Assessment Region

On Camel & Horseback

On Wheels

Bicycling

Driving Tours

On the Water

Fishing

Kayaking

Rafting

Sailing & Speedboats

Scuba Diving

Surfing

Swimming

On Snow

Skiing

Snowshoeing

Cultural Excursions & Sightseeing

Hobart

Views & Wildlife

City Tours

Around Hobart

Bruny Island

Eaglehawk Neck

Franklin

Huonville

Port Arthur

The North

Launceston

Where to Stay

Hotels & Resorts

Hobart

Apartments

Hobart

Houseboats

Lodges

Farmstays, Homesteads, & Stations

Around Oatlands

The Northwest

Bed-and-Breakfasts & Guesthouses

Hobart

The East

Bruny Island

Marion Bay

Hostels & Budget Accommodations

Camping

Where to Eat

Hobart

Fine Dining

Casual Restaurants

Launceston

Fine Dining

Casual Restaurants

Activities & Entertainment

By Day

Hobart

The Arts

Breweries

Family Fun

Hobart

Launceston

Sports

Devonport

Hobart

Launceston

Vineyard Explorations

By Night

Clubs, Pubs, & Wine Bars

Hobart

Launceston

Devonport

All About Australia

The Dreamtime

Imagine a world covered in ice sheets more than a kilometer thick, with the endless forests and fields between them covering a landscape that today is deep underwater. A dry, flat valley connects the Australia mainland with New Guinea to the northeast, and just 45 miles/72 km of sea - rather than some 299 miles/483 km, as it is now - separates the continent's northwestern edge from the southeast coast of Asia. Inland, cool greenery covers what will in eons be the stark red Outback desert, and the very heart of the country is pocketed with vast lakes and wetlands surrounded with lush, windswept fields. This was Australia 60,000 years ago, in the time of the first Aborigines.

What brought these first dark-skinned, wiry-haired, bony-limbed humans to the continent is a mystery, but the abundance of food kept waves of humans migrating south. The original settlers first camped along the islands and north coasts near Darwin, then worked their way down the east coast near Sydney over the next 15,000 years. Slowly, tribes moved farther down the continent, finally reaching the south coast near Melbourne about 40,000 years ago, and even Tasmania by around 28,000 BC.

The new cultures thrived on this freshly-carved continent, living nomadic lives that took little from the land and flourished in both tropical and desert environments. Tribes were adept at the arts, painting hundreds of images along sheltered rock overhangs and in shallow caves, where the earliest, simple scenes of families and hunters gradually expanded to include kangaroos, thylacines, boomerangs, spears, and even the surrounding foliage. More than 500 Aboriginal groups existed throughout Australia, most with their own language or dialect. Each culture's traditions and events were preserved through songs, stories, and finely-honed rock etchings and paintings. The tribes also appointed themselves caretakers of the earth around them, their art and rituals recording specific characteristics of the land and creatures under their domain.

And to survive in what was quickly becoming one of the world's harshest environments, the Aborigines created an innovative array of tools for hunting and building. The most unusual was the boomerang, a flat, curving piece of wood thrown outward to knock out game. Smaller weapons were flung at small prey such as birds. They returned to the hunter in a full circle if he missed. Bigger, heavier boomerangs, which were often carved and painted with intricate designs, were used to stun larger prey like kangaroos. The tribes also used axes, javelins, and woomeras, long attachments that extended the range of their spears. Nets were woven to trap wallabies, wombats, and smaller game. Dingos were domesticated and taught to chase down kangaroos, or to search for such burrowing game as wombats.

Everyone participated in finding bounty on the earth. Women gathered bush raisins and bush tomatoes (fruits and berries from desert plants). Seeds were stone-ground into flour, mixed with moisture into a pasty dough, and cooked over the fire. Water was found at billabongs, by tapping into underground streams, and by cutting into the hollow roots of moisture-rich shrubs and trees. Certain types of frogs, which lived deep underground in drought times, were eaten for the moisture stored in their bodies. Small, sharp sticks were whittled to dig plump white, protein-rich witchetty grubs from the earth, while longer sticks helped reach into termite and ant mounds, or dig up deep-set plants with edible roots. The land was regularly burned to create new pastures, where fresh plants would grow and grazing animals could be easily hunted.

The Explorers

To outsiders, the Australian continent was sheer enigma during these eras, and most of those in the burgeoning cities of Europe and Asia had neither care nor curiosity about its existence. Known only as Terra Australis Incognita, or The Unknown Southern Land, Australia conjured up images of clear, sparkling seas and white, sandy coasts, with snowy mountains and alpine valleys in between. In the 1400s, Portuguese traders made their way along Australia's north and east coasts; their sketches, known as the Dieppe Maps, were crude but accurate clues to the vast continent. In 1606, William Jansz cast off from Java toward the Cape York Peninsula in the Duyfken, and christened the land New Holland. A year later, the Spanish explorer Torres - as in the Torres Strait between Australia and New Guinea - made his way down the Great Barrier Reef.

The Dutch continued to make headway toward mapping the continent, as Dirk Hartog's Eendracht cruised into Shark Bay in 1616, and Francois Pelseart's Batavia cruised toward the western coast in 1629. Abel Tasman wandered along the south coast and Tasmania in 1642, calling his discovery Van Diemen's Land after the governor of the Dutch East Indies (today's Indonesia). The remote, foreboding spot was turned into a harshly-managed penal colony, and it was 202 years before the island was rechristened in Tasman's namesake to shake off its stigma of death and despair.

In 1688 and 1699, the British arrived on Australia's west coast when pirate William Dampier traversed the shoreline between Carnarvon and Broome on his way north to Indonesia. A scientific expedition in the Pacific Ocean, mounted in 1768 by the British, finally led foreign explorers to actually get a foothold on the Australian continent. Manning the Endeavor was 40-year-old Captain James Cook, who was in charge of an intrepid group of naturalists, scientists, artists, and astronomers employed to record everything they found on their journey. Somehow, even after Dampier's adventure, England had so far missed out on the fact that Terra Australis was no longer a myth. Hence, the crew's mission was to first find the continent, and then to actually dock the boat, get out, and explore for all they were worth.

The team first landed in New Zealand, then made it to the far southeastern tip of Australia, which Cook dubbed Point Hicks. The crew couldn't find a safe landing spot, however, so they headed north along the coast for nine more days until they came to a sheltered spot they named Botany Bay. After a respite to log accounts of the area's strange flora and fauna, the men again headed northwest, this time skimming along the coast parallel to the Great Barrier Reef. The sharp shelves snagged the ship in northern Queensland, however, and the crew was waylaid for six weeks where the settlement of Cooktown now stands. When they finally cast off, the next leg of their journey rounded the northeastern tip of Cape York. Cook anchored off a bit of land he rather greedily dubbed Possession Island, then stuck the Union Jack flag into the ground and claimed the entire territory of Australia for England.

Ignoring the fact that other people might already live on this strange continent, English royalty judged the land to be terra nullius (no one's land), and immediately gathered Australia into their growing flock of colonial countries. Cook's landing points were quickly named, and most still stick today, including Botany Bay near Sydney, the Indian Head bluffs on Fraser Island, Magnetic Island off Townsville, and Cape Tribulation. Cook also bestowed the entire continent with the new name New South Wales, after his homeland. Little more needed to be done to complete his major coup of convincing the world that the Australian continent belonged to the British, and the British alone.

And Cook's adventures didn't end yet, as he continued to explore the east coast of Australia and the Great Barrier Reef. Back at home, though, his descriptions of the lush, remote continent had an unexpected effect; rather than sparking visions of a huge resort playground for European rulers, they were instead stirring up thoughts of a convenient criminal outpost. In England, it was an era of war, chaos, and poverty, when - despite there being some 200 offenses legally punishable by death - convicts were overflowing the prisons and bands of thugs were often left to take over the streets. Cook's journey to isolated Norfolk Island in 1774 inspired further ideas for another out-of-the-way penal colony. It didn't take long to gather some of England's worst criminals for an eight-month voyage down under, where they could do little to damage England's shining reputation and growing Asian domain.

The Criminals

Eleven more British ships glided into Australian waters in 1788, bringing tools, goods, and detailed plans for a new settlement at Port Jackson, near where the cosmopolitan world city of Sydney stands today. Cook's original landing point at Botany Bay had lacked water, fertile soil, and adequate moorage for the thousands of passengers expected to disembark here, so a British government team had scouted out the better port six miles/10 km farther northeast. More significantly, the ships also brought the first 759 convicts from England's jam-packed prisons, who were closely watched by 206 guards. The ships that followed brought hundreds more criminals, effectively jettisoning about one-fifth of England's worst outlaws.

Captain Arthur Phillip, the fleet's commander, governed the new Port Jackson colony from 1788 through 1792, during which time more than 160,000 adult and child convicts were sent to the outpost. Irish rebels joined the masses starting in the early 1800s, staging an unsuccessful uprising at a government farm on Castle Hill, on the colony's outskirts. Outside the prison walls, Sydney was a flourishing town of timber homes, wide wharves, and neat brown docks set along rocky shores and backed by mountainous temperate forests. Over the following century, more penal colonies were set up all around the continent's edges, with settlements established at Moreton Bay, near modern-day Brisbane, in 1824; at Albany, Western Australia, in 1827; and at Port Arthur, Tasmania, in 1830.

The Settlers

Besides the authorities, guards, their families, Asian migrants, and the local Aboriginal tribes, there were few others to fill the country but convicts. Prisoners with good behavior received conditional pardons, which meant they were free but couldn't leave the colony. Those who were granted full pardons were free to pick up and settle down anywhere they liked, and most headed straight for the cities. Others, however, preferred to continue their rogue lives, and headed out to seek their fortunes in the unknown Outback. Many prison colonies were also abandoned and turned into proper settlements soon after they were established, providing secure dwelling places for convicts who were starting new lives.

When the English arrived in Australia, there were already 250,000 to 750,000 Aborigines dwelling in 500 to 650 small groups all over the continent, much like the Native Americans before the British arrived on the east coast of America. Each group had its own language, social customs, and laws, as well as a separate but overlapping territory with neighboring tribes. These generally congenial people still lived in small groups and depended on their natural resources to survive, respecting the ways of outsiders they met and observing strict tribal laws that nurtured and replenished the land. However, during the next century, the British quickly took over these Aboriginal regions, expelling the clans out to the most barren terrain or into slavery on farmlands and plantations.

After 1813, when Gregory Blaxland, William Wentworth, and William Lawson finally blazed a trail through the formidable Great Dividing Range, the fertile central riverlands were opened for settlement. So great was the region's farming potential that by 1831 the British government was pushing even its poorest citizens into migration. New towns quickly built up along the best bends and estuaries, with Melbourne established in 1835 and Adelaide planned a year later. The Murray River, Australia's largest and longest waterway, soon became the major crop and wool transport lane in the south.

The Gold-Seekers

In May of 1851, the world changed. Gold was discovered near Bathurst, New South Wales, inciting a flood of hopeful diggers from Sydney to try their luck in the mines.

The lure of riches also attracted many poor Chinese immigrants, who were despised by the locals as competition for what little gold there was.

As workers in Melbourne began disappearing to try their luck in the New South Wales goldfields, the city government offered a reward for anyone who struck gold within 180 miles/300 km of their own settlement. It took just a week for a prospector to turn up gold along the Yarra River, and by September huge lodes had turned up at Clunes and Ballarat, in central Victoria. Over the next decade the population of Victoria rose more than eightfold, from 77,000 to 540,000, while the country as a whole swelled from 400,000 to a million-plus residents.

Much of the gold was tapped out by the 1890s, however, and the sparkling new Outback gold towns quickly dwindled into dusty, delapidated villages. Those who didn't strike gold tried their luck at farming, planting the country's early fruit orchards and berry fields. Today Australia is still a key producer of apples, avocados, bananas, and pineapples, and the country's berries are among the world's best. Surprisingly, in the Mediterranean-like climate of the upper south coast, you'll also find olive groves, tangerine orchards, and asparagus fields.

The Vintners

Something else was going on around this time as well, the beginnings of a massive and important industry which today is a defining character of Australia. The first grape vines were planted by the original First Fleet immigrants, although it wasn't until 1822 that the country's first wine export was sent by a Sydney-area vineyard owner to London. His label won second place in an international wine competition the following year, and Australia's wine industry was born. John and Elizabeth Macarthur opened the country's first commercial vineyard on their Sydney farm in 1827. During the next decade, a swathe of small vineyards were planted in the Hunter Valley, some 120 miles/200 km northeast of Sydney, and the trend spread through Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, and even Tasmania in the mid-1800s. Today there are more than 1,000 wineries throughout Australia, and more than 50,000 private vintners. Some 20,000 wine-industry workers live in the country.

The Adventurers

By the mid-1800s, the east coast was settled, the Great Dividing Range was crossed, the southeastern deserts were pitted with mine holes, and the continent's fringes were dotted with quickly-growing towns. With no permanent roads and few rivers, the common methods of travel were by horseback and camel. In fact, camel caravans were the key transport method of moving goods and supplies between the growing cities and goldfields. Throughout the 19th century, lines of 40 pack animals carried up to 1,100 lbs/500 kg each of water, food, clothing, and tools across the desert, including to workers who were building the Trans-Australian Railroad between Port Augusta and Perth.

By the end of the 18th century, once settlers had a foothold on the east coast, the British felt it was time to open up the rest of the country. In 1813, explorers Gregory Blaxland, William Wentworth, and William Lawson headed northwest of Sydney to cut a pass through the Blue Mountains. William Hovell and Hamilton Hume headed in the opposite direction, trailblazing a route southwest of Sydney between Goulburn and Albury in 1824. Between 1828 and 1830 Charles Sturt took the latter group's efforts 10 times farther, trekking all the way west from Port Jackson to the mouth of the Murray River near Adelaide.

In 1844 Sturt resumed his expeditions by heading north from Adelaide and past Cooper Creek to the center of the Australian continent. The Sturt Highway, which runs east of Adelaide, follows the famed explorer's original route. A decade later, Paul Edmund de Strzelecki made his way on a parallel path to that of Hovell and Hume to climb 7,129-foot/2,228-m Mt. Kosciuszko, the highest point on mainland Australia. Incongruously, it's the lowland Strzelecki desert at the northeast corner of South Australia that instead bears his name.

Edward Eyre took a different direction from Adelaide, exploring the lands west along the continent's southern edge and the Great Australian Bight in 1839 until he reached the site of modern-day Albany in 1841. Highway 1, the main route along the south coasts of South and Western Australia, is now called the Eyre Highway, and South Australia's Lake Eyre, the largest freshwater lake in the country, is another reminder of Eyre's explorations.

In 1844, Ludwig Leichardt took off along the opposite edge of the continent, opening a route that headed northwest from Brisbane up through the Cape York Peninsula and along the Gulf of Carpenteria to Palmerston (later renamed Darwin). Four years later, he mounted an expedition through the center of the continent and was never heard from again.

Augustus Gregory made his way backwards along Leichardt's northern route in 1855. Departing from near Palmerston, he ventured through a loop around the Victoria River, where Gregory National Park stands today. He then headed southeast along the Gulf of Carpenteria, toward the east coast and through the Great Dividing Range to Rockhampton. In 1858, his brother Francis joined him in cutting an inland route from the mountains near Longreach to Cooper Creek, at the border of Queensland and South Australia.

Not to be outdone by stories of the fantastic explorations in the eastern half of the country, in 1860 the South Australian government offered a reward to the person, or team, who could blaze a bridge across the central deserts between the north and south coasts. The first to take on the dare was John McDouall Stuart, a hardy Scotsman who set out from Adelaide that year. By April 1860, he had made it 120 miles/200 km due north of Alice Springs, the country's geographical center. However, by then he was too ill to go on.

In August, Robert O'Hara Burke and George Landells began a mission from Melbourne, accompanied by 18 men, 28 horses, 24 camels, and 21 tons of food, firewood, and supplies. Landells dropped out of the expedition in Mindee, New South Wales, while the rest of the troop headed to a base camp at the same Cooper Creek of Gregory's explorations two years before. Three months had passed already, and Burke was in a hurry to win the prize, so he appointed William John Wills as his new second-in-command, gathered enough provisions for three months, and headed farther north by camel with just Wills, John King, and Charles Grey. The rest of the group was to wait at Cooper Creek until they returned. Unfortunately, the infamous Wet set in, trapping their camels in the muddy, flooded deserts. Still, the men continued alone. The group finally reached the Gulf of Carpenteria, tucked between the Cape York and Arnhemland