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History of New England
The History of New England began when humans first migrated to the Australian continent from the north, at least 50,000 years ago. This period is referred to as the prehistory of New England. The written history of New England began when European explorers first sighted the country in 1770, with settlement commencing in 1821. New England's history has been divided into three periods before and after federation of the Australian colonies in 1901, and after independence of New England in 2006.
Colonial Period
Pre-History - Since the last Ice Age some 10,000 years ago, the region was home to the Anaiwan, Bundjalung, Cumbangirra, Gumbaingirri, Kamiloroi, Thanghatti and Yukambal peoples (amongst others). Most Aborigines were hunter-gatherers with a complex oral culture and spiritual values based upon reverence for the land and a belief in the Dreamtime.
In 1770, Captain James Cook
sailed past the New England coast, on his way up the eastern seaboard of the continent. On 22 August 1770, he claimed the entire eastern two-thirds of Australia for Great Britain, having failed to conclude a treaty with the native population and declaring the land to be terra nullis. There is little recorded evidence that Cook's expedition set ashore in New England, although he identified many of the natural features of the land that are recognisable today.
Colonial Times - The first European to explore the region was John Oxley, the Yorkshire born Surveyor-General of New South Wales. Oxley led three major expeditions, the second of which in 1818 took him across the Liverpool Plains and down into the Hastings Valley and named the area after the Governor. Indeed, Port Macquarie was the first area of modern New England to be settled, in 1821, when it was established as a penal settlement. Settlements were established at Armidale in 1839, Grafton in 1840 and Coffs Harbour in 1841, but for many years the size of these settlements remained small.
The discovery of gold and gemstones in 1860's, coupled with the arrival of the railways in the 1880's on the tablelands led to steady population growth in the region. Township status was proclaimed to Armidale (1849), Grafton (1851) Tenterfield (1851), Glen Innes (1852) Inverell (1859), Coffs Harbour (1861), Kempsey (1885) and Port Macquarie (1887). Armidale and Grafton were subsequently proclaimed cities with the establishment of cathedrals in 1869 and 1885 respectively.
Australian Period
Proudly Australian - New England was the scene of Tenterfield Oration in 1886, when Sir Henry Parkes agitated for a federation of the British colonies. After ten years of debate, conventions and referenda, New England joined the Commonwealth of Australia as part of New South Wales.
During and after the First Word War, agitation began for the separation of New England from New South Wales. A number of plans were drawn up, including proposals in 1915, 1920 and 1923. In 1924 New State MP's held the balance of power in NSW, and forced the formation of a Royal Commission, the findings of which were not acted upon. Further agitation led to a second state Royal Commission in 1935. The Commission drew up boundaries for a state of New England, which was not voted on until 1967 where the question was defeated 198,812 to 169,103 with a strong geographical difference in the results of the vote.
The upshot of the debate was the success local MP's and community leaders had in establishing infrastructure in the region. The Armidale Teachers College was established in 1928 and the New England University College was opened in 1938. Roads and railways were also built, but only insofar as allowing faster links to Sydney. The region did not get the transportation links in needed to be independent of Sydney. The most spectacular construction was the Grafton Bridge, (pictured above right) which was opened in 1932. The New England University College gained full autonomy as the New England National University in 1954.
The Second Word War broke out in 1939, and again the people of region answered the call and enlisted. Unlike the First World War, the threat to Australia became real after Japan's entry into the conflict in 1941. Bridges were guarded and towns blacked out in an attempt to defend the region against an invasion. Local militias built tank traps and other defences in an attempt to slow any advance that might be launched. Luckily, no invasion was attempted, and the region remained relatively peaceful throughout the war.
Interest in a new state for the area was revived after the war with the formation of the New State Movement in 1948. The movement advocated the adoption of the Nicholas boundaries from 1935, a move that was criticised as including only the best parcels of land land leaving the arid western regions to NSW to look after. A referendum was finally held in 1967, but the question was defeated 198,812 to 169,103 with a strong geographical difference in the results of the vote.
Winds of Change - With the downtown in the world economy after 1973, the New England region began to show signs of economic decay. But while the traditional centres of the region like Armidale, Grafton and Inverell all struggled, coastal centres enjoyed a boom of development and growth. Port Macquarie and Coffs Harbour both went from being small fishing ports to major resort and tourist centres, outstripping the inland centres and taking away services from these towns.
The success of others bred resentment in those towns and communities that had once enjoyed better times. This disenfranchised bloc initially supported the extreme popularism of the One Nation Party, but after the collapse in support for the party after 1998, they turned to the idea of the New Australia Party, which grew to become a radical group that advocated the removal of overseas interests from Australia and the radical reform of the Australian political system. In shadow of the terrorist attacks on the United States and the subsequent wars fought by the US and Australia, the movement was isolated and then banned outright by the government.
Independence
Civil War - The movement took up arms in late 2005, and was joined by others in February to form the United Militia of New England. The militia, a combination of left and right wing leaning people, was lead by farmer Michael Williams. They established a base at Kingstown to the west of Armidale and on the 19 February 2006, the declared New England to be independent of Australia. The militia was quickly involved in a violent struggle for control of the region, which when joined by other militias, had seized control of Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie and Tamworth. The early years of the civil war consisted of sporadic battles carried out in remote and rugged bushland. The tables turned in 2008 when the militias turned on the towns and began to occupy them against little or no Australian resistance.
By late 2009 the militias had gained control of almost all the towns in the region. Only Armidale remained under Australian control until 8 June 2010 when it fell to a surprise attack. The subsequent counter-attack, known as the Second Battle of Armidale led to the deaths of 2,000 people when Australian army helicopters attacked the central city in the late afternoon as the bulk of the townspeople were commuting home. Most of the central business area was severely damaged, and with it went the last vestiges of loyalty the people of the city had maintained as Australians. Despite this, the Australians stepped up their attacks against the militias, but continued to lose ground, with the fall of Grafton occurring on August 3 2010.
Transitional Government - A ceasefire called by the New Zealand and British governments in 2011 managed to halt fighting long enough to get both parties to the table and thrash out an agreement. After three attempts, the New Zealanders succeeded in facilitating the Treaty of Wellington, which was signed on the 22 October 2011. It called for referenda in all shires north of the Murrurundi Range on the question of New England's independence. Those in the south and west opted to remain inside the Commonwealth with assurances of a massive infrastructure development and the creation of regional councils in New South Wales. Most of the northern shires opted to become independent, and so formed a transitional government, which became the Kingdom of New England on 1 October 2012.
New England claimed all of the former Local Government Areas of Walcha and Manilla and part of the old Parry Shire that fell inside the Macdonald River watershed, but the Australians maintained an occupation of this area after independence. Promises were made to redress the border issue through the Australasian Council, but nothing of a satisfactory nature could be achieved. The Treaty of Wellington had placed a Line of Control along the Macdonald River, which expired on the 1 October 2017.
New Found Nation - The new nation now had to find it's way in the world. In the first ten years, it encouraged migration of skilled workers out of the large and overcrowded cities of Australia and invited them to build a new nation. Many people, particularly those with centrist and leftist leanings made their way to New England, and within the decade, the national population had doubled. New England forged diplomatic relations with New Zealand and the European Union in an attempt to shore up support in the event of a possible Australian attack. New England was also admitted to the United Nations in 2014, despite Australian attempts to prevent it.
Toil and Trouble - Relations with Australia remained strained, and a cold war lasted throughout the 2010's and 2020's. Towards the end of the 2020's Australia became more belligerent under the leadership of the Conservative leader Tony Charlton. Charlton made it clear from his election as leader that he could not tolerate New England's existance any further, and matters quickly spiralled out of control. Charlton's remarks became so aggressive that Australia's High Commissioner to New England, Jane Kenny, was thrown out of the country in June 2032.
Five Day War - The election of an inpatient and take no prisoners National Party government under John Tudor in March 2032 set matters on a rapid spiral to open conflict. The subsequent Five Day War in July 2032 was an overwhelming victory for New England as Charlton was forced from office by the sheer size of the rout. Between 2032 and 2034, New England occupied a significant chuck of New South Wales and Queensland, and the military administered these areas as occupied territories.
Engagement to Europe - The war however, made New England and the United States bitter foes. The New Englanders had severely damaged the American psyche and destroyed the US/Australian South-West Pacific Fleet. To protect itself, New England swiftly embraced the European Union on an extraordinarily high level. The Crown was tied to the Euro as part of the ERM IV in late 2032 and the free trade and military agreement, known as the Treaty of Aachen was signed in early 2033. The treaty committed New England as the centre of European interests in the south-west Pacific and in turn the European Union promised to defend New England against the US and Australia. European companies were encouraged at home and abroad to invest in New England and also to consider Armidale as the head office of their south-west Pacific operations, to which many obliged. In early 2036, the King died of cancer and the succession passed to his eldest son becoming King James I.
With her international affairs now in order, New England set about a period of internal fine-tuning. The Social Democratic Labour Party led by Bill Howlett was elected in 2040. There were several reforms to the counties with the abolition of two counties and an increase in power to Greater Armidale council. The SDLP pushed it's hard-nosed environmental policies by taxing oil at a massive 100% and began to change society from the ground up, with EU goods getting preferential treatment and the old adage of 'bigger is better' being taxed out existence. The continuation of reforms began by the Tudor National Party government were also continued as land planning controls became the strictest in the OECD. Howlett's changes proved unpopular, and the SDLP was decimated in the 2044 elections, with the National Party under Jim Gordon forming government in coalition with Democratic Conservatives and the Democratic Alliance .
Recent Times - King Michael's successor James died of a stroke in late 2045, and he was succeeded by his younger brother Edgar, who became King James II. The popularity the monarchy, which had always been high, was tested when Prince Alexander, the Duke of Duval and the heir to the throne, was outed as gay in the Australian media in late 2046. But the New England public had long since moved on from such concerns and rallied behind the prince. With the support of the King and his government, as well as the people, the prince married Simon Chamberlain in 2050. In the eyes of many social commentators, the transition of New England from a backward Australian orphan to a sophisticated defender of European values was well on the way. Indeed, the New England on the 2050's is only distantly related to the nation of farmers and rebels of forty years ago, and almost unrecognisable to the region of New South Wales that had suffered a stunted development in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
History of New England
Chronology: Pre-History · Colonial Times · Proudly Australian · Winds of Change
Independence · Civil War · Transitional Government · New Found Nation
Toil and Trouble · Five Day War · Engagement To Europe · Recent Times
Other Topics: Military History · New State Movement
