In 1768, an expedition of British scientists (sail) …..with Captain Cook to the southern hemisphere . Nobody (know) ………..anything about what (be) ……. To become Australia. This enigmatic continent (explore/not ) ………before. Captain Cook (make) …….a landfall at Botany Bay in 1770. Seventeen years (pass) ………..and nothing (happen ) …………… Then , the British government (decide) …………..to turn the unexplored continent into a jail ! Thousands of convicts (ship) ………….to Australia. Most (come) ………….from the London working classes and (have) …………..a strong cockney accent . A few years later , London (get rid ) ………..of a certain number of dishonest women , by (send) ………..them to Australia too ! In 1851, gold (discover) ………………thus encouraging a lot of English adventurers to emigrate. Today many Australians of English descent (speak) with what (sound) ……..like a cockney accent , and the big thing today is to able to boast convict ancestry ! But Australia (become) …………..very cosmopolitan recently .