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nationalities2011-12-29 12:32 am
advances) wrote in nationalities2011-12-29 12:32 am
Entry tags:
AUSTRALIA: history
Australia was not first discovered by the British; other European explorers had wandered the land, such as the Dutch, when they waited to late to turn north to Batavia and found themselves on the coast of what is now Western Australia. The country held no interest for them, and they departed. Over time, however, the legendary terra australis caught the imagination of the Order of Great Britain, who arranged for an operative to investigate.
Through the telepathy of the then operative Oxford suggestions were planted to lead Captain James Cook to the Great South Land – specifically to the beautiful Botany Bay.
From 1788, Sydney was a branch operative for the Order of Great Britain – a British national, sent over after the founding of Australia's first city. Their role was strictly limited, more an informant position than anything else. Their power was teleportation, allowing them to travel across Australia's considerable distances and monitor going on in the penal colony and ensure that information was relayed back to London in a timely fashion.
Over time, Sydney would receive more colleagues, but they came slowly. At first, all were British nationals, sharing the duty of collecting and relaying information. Sydney was something of an unofficial leader to this group. While there were not many of them, eventually there would be a city – or town, if they had not yet been granted city status (a matter of some debate to win this right, given some protest in Great Britain) – from each state. The capitals were all represented as they joined; Hobart in 1804, Perth in 1829, Adelaide in 1836, Brisbane in 1842, Melbourne in 1847, Darwin (then called Palmerston) in 1869.
At first, only those born in Britain were able to become members of the Order branch in Australia, but over the nineteenth century, the mood began to change about what was acceptable – there were those in the Australian Branch who felt that those born in Australia should have the right to serve the Order there, especially given the sometimes Harsh conditions. It was a matter of conflict, but eventually London relented; it made sense to utilise those most familiar with the country and there was an overly high turnover of some operatives wanting to retain to Britain because they simply didn't care for the more severe conditions and rather isolated nature of the Order in Australia, as compared to Great Britain. Still, one thing was held firm; Australia would not have their own precog (as held by Westminster) or power-granter (St.David's).
Things remained in something of a stalemate until the 1850s, when the gold rush bought floods of immigrants into Australia, particular concentrated in Victoria – the first Melbourne was rather pleased. However, the battle at Eureka lead to some serious re-evaluations, with the members of the Australian branch unprepared for the battle that would break out. It increased the call for the precognative agent for the branch, but given the value of Westminster and the additional control it would give the branch, the request was refused. Perhaps it was at this point that the first thoughts of Federation and independence began to find their way into the minds of the Order, even if the thought was too dangerous to voice.
Melbourne and Sydney became the real power players of the Australian branch, bound together by rivalry and camaraderie. Their combined abilities of teleportation and the super soldier meant that when things got out of control, they could enter a situation and bring things back into hand. The fact that they spent so much time together meant, however, that they had a lot of time to talk about the situation of things. The gold rushes and battle at Eureka fuelled their discussions, along with the public thirst for a representative government in Australia. In 1855, Australia received the right to limited self-government, coinciding with the year that the Australian branch was allowed a “representative” team of operatives.
Gold rushes would also follow in Queensland and Western Australia. The increase in population was followed by an increase of the number of new operatives assigned, and so it was in the 1860s through 1890s that there was gradually a turnover from an Order of mostly British operatives to those born and bred in the fledgling country.
The push for Federation got a stronger voice, until in 1899 when things began to move much faster. It was a complicated time: accusations of treasons, from some, although in this the members of Australia's branch stood strongly together, despite the countless matters they bickered over. They were not many, but they stood together stubbornly, much to the displeasure of some of Great Britain's operatives (although Westminster didn't seem very surprised). In 1900 the states voted to form a Commonwealth, receiving Royal Assent from Queen Victoria, and Australia was declared a Federation in 1901.
The problem then, of course, was who was to be in charge. The two fiercest contenders were Melbourne and Sydney, with the rivalry typical of their positions rather eclipsing the camaraderie aspect. Finally, a new position was suggested to appease them both, which neither of them was especially pleased with, but at least the other one wasn't getting it over them. The position of Canberra was created, rather strangely, before the city actually came into being in 1908. In order to prevent further difficulty between Melbourne and Sydney, the positions of precognition and power-granting were granted to others in the big reshuffle, while they kept their posts of teleportation and super soldier.
List of Australian Cities
Through the telepathy of the then operative Oxford suggestions were planted to lead Captain James Cook to the Great South Land – specifically to the beautiful Botany Bay.
From 1788, Sydney was a branch operative for the Order of Great Britain – a British national, sent over after the founding of Australia's first city. Their role was strictly limited, more an informant position than anything else. Their power was teleportation, allowing them to travel across Australia's considerable distances and monitor going on in the penal colony and ensure that information was relayed back to London in a timely fashion.
Over time, Sydney would receive more colleagues, but they came slowly. At first, all were British nationals, sharing the duty of collecting and relaying information. Sydney was something of an unofficial leader to this group. While there were not many of them, eventually there would be a city – or town, if they had not yet been granted city status (a matter of some debate to win this right, given some protest in Great Britain) – from each state. The capitals were all represented as they joined; Hobart in 1804, Perth in 1829, Adelaide in 1836, Brisbane in 1842, Melbourne in 1847, Darwin (then called Palmerston) in 1869.
At first, only those born in Britain were able to become members of the Order branch in Australia, but over the nineteenth century, the mood began to change about what was acceptable – there were those in the Australian Branch who felt that those born in Australia should have the right to serve the Order there, especially given the sometimes Harsh conditions. It was a matter of conflict, but eventually London relented; it made sense to utilise those most familiar with the country and there was an overly high turnover of some operatives wanting to retain to Britain because they simply didn't care for the more severe conditions and rather isolated nature of the Order in Australia, as compared to Great Britain. Still, one thing was held firm; Australia would not have their own precog (as held by Westminster) or power-granter (St.David's).
Things remained in something of a stalemate until the 1850s, when the gold rush bought floods of immigrants into Australia, particular concentrated in Victoria – the first Melbourne was rather pleased. However, the battle at Eureka lead to some serious re-evaluations, with the members of the Australian branch unprepared for the battle that would break out. It increased the call for the precognative agent for the branch, but given the value of Westminster and the additional control it would give the branch, the request was refused. Perhaps it was at this point that the first thoughts of Federation and independence began to find their way into the minds of the Order, even if the thought was too dangerous to voice.
Melbourne and Sydney became the real power players of the Australian branch, bound together by rivalry and camaraderie. Their combined abilities of teleportation and the super soldier meant that when things got out of control, they could enter a situation and bring things back into hand. The fact that they spent so much time together meant, however, that they had a lot of time to talk about the situation of things. The gold rushes and battle at Eureka fuelled their discussions, along with the public thirst for a representative government in Australia. In 1855, Australia received the right to limited self-government, coinciding with the year that the Australian branch was allowed a “representative” team of operatives.
Gold rushes would also follow in Queensland and Western Australia. The increase in population was followed by an increase of the number of new operatives assigned, and so it was in the 1860s through 1890s that there was gradually a turnover from an Order of mostly British operatives to those born and bred in the fledgling country.
The push for Federation got a stronger voice, until in 1899 when things began to move much faster. It was a complicated time: accusations of treasons, from some, although in this the members of Australia's branch stood strongly together, despite the countless matters they bickered over. They were not many, but they stood together stubbornly, much to the displeasure of some of Great Britain's operatives (although Westminster didn't seem very surprised). In 1900 the states voted to form a Commonwealth, receiving Royal Assent from Queen Victoria, and Australia was declared a Federation in 1901.
The problem then, of course, was who was to be in charge. The two fiercest contenders were Melbourne and Sydney, with the rivalry typical of their positions rather eclipsing the camaraderie aspect. Finally, a new position was suggested to appease them both, which neither of them was especially pleased with, but at least the other one wasn't getting it over them. The position of Canberra was created, rather strangely, before the city actually came into being in 1908. In order to prevent further difficulty between Melbourne and Sydney, the positions of precognition and power-granting were granted to others in the big reshuffle, while they kept their posts of teleportation and super soldier.