Complex sentence: Three great strikes convulsed the continent of Australia in this period: the 1890 maritime strike; the 1891 shearers'strike; the 1892 Broken Hill miners' strike; and the 1894 shearers' strike.
Split into simpler sentences: Three great strikes convulsed the continent of Australia in this period. There were also the 1892 Broken Hill miners'strike and the 1894 shearers' strike.