ocr: The first settlers arrive d in. Australia almost 100,000 years ago. Their modern descendants, the Aborigines, today make up less than 1% of the population. European settlement began in 1788 and was dominated by British and Irish immigrants - some of whom were convicts - until the gold rushes ofthe 1850s. Immigrants of other nationalities - including many Chinese - arrived d to prospect: for gold, then settled: in the cities, especially Melbourne and: Sydney. When the new: federal government was installed: in 1901, one of its first acts was to prevent further Chinese immigration. The act set: f ...
