Australia is a former British colony with a very specific original function - hard labor and a link to the most notorious criminals, the death penalty that was replaced by the expulsion on the Pacific expanse of New South Wales. That is the name given the newly opened territory of the great English explorer Captain James Cook. 100 million years ago Australia was part of one continents of the Earth - Gondwanaland. Canberra was originally the capital of Australia. About fifty million years ago, the way its fragments dispersed. Australia split from Antarctica and moved toward the equator. By the way, this movement continues today with an average rate of 8 centimeters per year. As in Australia was not found the remains of ancient people, the researchers concluded that the man entered here from Asia about 50,000 years ago. Over time, formed the indigenous population of Australia called Aborigines. In the XVII and XVIII centuries, the Europeans are taking a targeted search for Australia, which as a result was success. Such sailors as Abel Tasman, Willem Janz, James Cook, William Dempir, and many others will forever be heroes for the Australians stories of their homeland. History of this country has gone in two with a small century it is a mere trifle, compared with Italy or England. This has formed the Australians anxious attitude to the past and the few historic monuments that they have. Australia long remained a country of convicts. Volunteered to go to Australia until the middle of the XIX century was a bit wanting. But when in 1851 in the Blue Mountains gold was discovered in Australia have rushed thousands of adventurers from around the world. For twenty years its population has quadrupled. New cities arose near the fields one by one. Flora and fauna suffered greatly from the people in those days. However, the beginning of XX century deposits were worked out and people began to move to other places. But the Australians with their usual careful attitude to history is not allowed to sink into oblivion individual lifestyle, formed in towns and cities miners. 110 km north of Melbourne, in Ballarat city has arisen on the site of rich gold fields, the government created the largest on the continent, the museum - Sovereign Hill. Everything here is up to the last detail, is exactly what it was a century ago.