Early colonial society bore the stamp of the British military to a marked degree. Indeed, the first colony of New South Wales owed its foundation in large part to strategic considerations. With the opening of the colonies to free settlement from around the 1820s, the military stamp of early Australian life diminished, but the British naval and military presence continued to be an important one until the final removal of the garrison in 1870. Although the military duties of the British regiments were always low-scale, the military played an important role in virtually all areas of colonial life.

The argument that Australia was founded as a dumping ground for the scum of the Georgian prison system has long been recognised as too simple an explanation. With increasing sophistication, historians have come to recognise the importance of international trade rivalries in 18th-century British policy, and the emerging importance of global sea power. The decision to colonise New South Wales cannot be isolated from the strategic imperatives of the world's first truly global struggle, the Seven Years' War (1757–63). This is not to suggest that the ‘convict dumping’ explanation has been overturned entirely, but to it have been added what might be characterised as ‘trade’ and ‘navalist’ interpretations of Australia's origins.