Outpost of Empire

The reasons for sending 11 ships full of convicts, Army and Navy officers and supplies to settle an uncharted land are as divisive as they are numerous. Arguments over the development of Australia and the reasons for settlement go straight to the core of the national identity. Many people see themselves not as the descendants of convicts, but of hard working people who came to this land to make a better life. And yet, Australia cannot escape the fact that the First Fleet was made up as a facility to transport convicts away from Britain.
People over the years have tried to forward opinions on the reasons for settlement, and one of the most notable is Geoffrey Blainey.
Blainey argued in his book ‘The Tyranny of Distance’ that the concept of Australia as purely a dumping ground for convicts is too simplistic. He argues that the distances are too far for the dumping of convicts to be the only reason for settlement, when there were un-inhabited places much closer to Britain that could be used (he uses the example of islands in the West Indies and Bermuda, as well as Nova Scotia in Canada). The cost of transporting to Botany Bay, the lack of return cargo, and loss of the two Navy ships off the active roster at a time of Naval tension were also arguments Blainey used to forward his position that there would have to have been more practical and material reasons for the settlement of Australia, given the vastness of the distance involved in the undertaking.
These material benefits include the resources of flax and tall timber from Norfolk Island for ships masts and sailcloth, and practical benefits Blainey argued would also have been given great consideration, particularly in relation to British access to the eastern end of the Dutch East Indies and the lucrative trade routes. The arguments that Botany Bay could be used as a stop off point for trade, resupply and as a defensive outpost in the Far East are also relevant here, as well as the continued creation of new markets for British goods.
This twofold argument of removing unwanted people, and the material and practical imperial gains caused much controversy in Australia, as it challenged the traditional beliefs of the nation. Up until 1966 when Blainey published his book, mainstream Australian history had revolved around a convict nation, attempting to redeem itself in the eyes of a parent country and culture. The added dimension of Australia as a source of material gain, seen through the prism of such a vast distance has caused much controversy.  The debate has recently distilled down to an argument over whether the notion of ‘distance’ has been the only defining factor in Australia’s development or whether it acts in tandem with other factors.
Either way, Blainey’s analysis is one of the most defining pieces of Australian historical literature, and one which has many merits.

Source: Gare & Ritter, Making Australian History (Perspectives on the past since 1788), CENGAGE Learning, 1st Edition

This is a digital reproduction of Cathy Dunn's "Australia's First Fleet". It highlights the genuine Outpost of Empire!
The raising of the Union Jack on Australian soil would have been very ceremonial, and fitting with the traditions of the British Empire, and yet the surrounds are so remote and unknown (highlighted by the fact they've yet to move off the beach of Sydney Cove)
(http://www.elec-intro.com/first-fleet-1788)