Australia
With the loss of its American colonies in 1783, the British Government sent a fleet of ships, the "First Fleet", under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip, to establish a new penal colony in New South Wales. A camp was set up and the flag raised at Sydney Cove, Port Jackson, on 26 January 1788, a date which became Australia's national day, Australia Day. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land, now known as Tasmania, in 1803, and it became a separate colony in 1825. The United Kingdom formally claimed the western part of Western Australia (the Swan River Colony) in 1828. Separate colonies were carved from parts of New South Wales: South Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851, and Queensland in 1859. The Northern Territory was founded in 1911 when it was excised from South Australia. South Australia was founded as a "free province"—it was never a penal colony. Victoria and Western Australia were also founded "free", but later accepted transported convicts. A campaign by the settlers of New South Wales led to the end of convict transportation to that colony; the last convict ship arrived in 1848.
HMS Australia (1886)
"Australia", named for the Australian continent, was laid down on 21 April 1885 by Robert Napier and Sons at their shipyard in Govan, Glasgow. The ship was launched on 25 November 1886, and completed on 11 December 1888. Shortly after commissioning, she was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet and remained there until 1893 when she participated in the Columbian Review held in New York City that year to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of the New World. Upon her return home, "Australia" became the coast guard ship for Southampton Water for the next decade. Captain Charles Henry Adair was briefly in command from November 1899 to January 1900. Captain George Neville was appointed in command on 20 January 1900, and in September the following year she visited Germany and Denmark, when she escorted the royal yacht carrying King Edward VII from Hamburg to Elsinore. She took part in the fleet review held at Spithead on 16 August 1902 for the coronation of King Edward VII. The ship was placed in reserve at Chatham Dockyard in 1903 before being sold for scrap on 4 April 1905.