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Australia’s isolation as an island continent has done much to shape—and inhibit—its culture. The Aboriginal peoples developed their accommodation with the environment over a period of at least 40,000 years, during which time they had little contact with the outside world. When Britain settled New South Wales as a penal colony in 1788, it did so partly because of the continent’s remoteness. Australia’s convict heritage ensured that European perceptions of the environment were often influenced by the sense of exile and alienation. Yet, the distance from Britain—and the isolation it imposed—strengthened rather than weakened ties with it. The ambivalence of ...(100 of 51163 words)