Australian history timeline

A Timeline of Australian History

Year	Details
50,000 BC	The first 10000 inhabitants are thought to have arrived in Australia.
42,000 BC	Aboriginal engravings dating back to this time have been found in South Australia.
35,000 BC	Aborigines are thought to have reached the southernmost part of the continent—what is now Tasmania.
1606 (March)	The Dutch ship Duyfken, under Captain Willem Janszoon, explores the western coast of Cape York Peninsula. The first recorded landfall by a European on Australian soil.
1606 (August)	Portuguese seaman Luis Vaez de Torres sails through the Torres Strait, between Australia and New Guinea, along the latter's southern coast. He may well have sighted the northernmost extremity of Australia, although this is not recorded. Torres reported 'shoals', some of which may have been the northernmost atolls of the Great Barrier Reef. The name 'Coste Dangereuse', for the tropical Queensland coast, appears on French charts.
1616	Dutch captain Dirk Hartog in the Eendracht makes the second recorded landfall by a European, at Dirk Hartog Island on the western coast of Australia. Leaves behind the Hartog plate.
1623	Dutch captain Jan Carstensz navigates the Gulf of Carpentaria aboard the Pera and Arnhem. The Arnhem crosses the Gulf to reach and name Groote Eylandt.
1642	Dutch explorer Abel Tasman explores the west coast of Tasmania, lands on its east coast and names the island Anthoonij van Diemenslandt.
1688	English explorer William Dampier explores the west coast of Australia.
1696	Flemish explorer Willem de Vlamingh charts the south-western coast of Australia, making landfall at Rottnest Island and the site of the present-day city of Perth.
1770	English Lieutenant James Cook's expedition in HM Bark Endeavour charts the eastern coast.
1788	The First Fleet from England under Arthur Phillip arrives in Australia and founds first European settlement and penal colony at Sydney Cove (Sydney). New South Wales, according to Arthur Phillip's amended Commission dated 25 April 1787, includes "all the islands adjacent in the Pacific Ocean" and running westward to the 135th meridian. These islands included the current islands of New Zealand, which was administered as part of New South Wales.
1788	An English settlement is founded at Norfolk Island.
1792	Two French ships, La Recherche and L'Espérance, anchor in what was named Recherche Bay, near the southernmost point of Tasmania at a time when England and France were vying to be the first to discover and colonise Australia.
1804	A settlement is founded at Risdon on the Derwent River in Australia by Lieutenant Bowen.
1804	Castle Hill convict rebellion also known as the second Battle of Vinegar Hill
1804	The settlement is moved to Sullivan's Cove in Van Diemen's Land (now Hobart in Tasmania) by Colonel David Collins.
1806	Matthew Flinders completes the first circumnavigation of the continent.
1808	The Rum Rebellion
1813	Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth cross the Blue Mountains.
1817	John Oxley charts the Lachlan River.
1817	Australia's first bank the Bank of New South Wales opens in Macquarie Place, Sydney. (Became Westpac in 1982)
1818	Oxley charts the Macquarie River.
1824	A penal colony is founded at Moreton Bay, now the city of Brisbane.
1824	Bathurst and Melville Islands are annexed.
1825	New South Wales western border is extended to 129° E. Van Diemen's Land is proclaimed.
1828	Charles Sturt charts the Darling River.
1829	The whole of Australia is claimed as British territory. The settlement of Perth is founded. Swan River Colony is declared by Charles Fremantle for Britain.
1830	Sturt arrives at Goolwa, having charted the Murray River.
1831	Sydney Herald (later to become The Sydney Morning Herald) first published.
1832	Swan River Colony has its name changed to Western Australia.
1833	The penal settlement of Port Arthur is founded in Van Dieman's Land.
1835	John Batman and John Pascoe Fawkner establish a settlement at Port Phillip, now the city of Melbourne.
1836	Province of South Australia proclaimed with its western border at 132° E.
1840	New Zealand is proclaimed and is no longer under New South Wales.
1845	Copper is discovered at Burra in South Australia.
1850	Western Australia becomes a penal colony.
1850	Australia's first university, the University of Sydney, is founded.
1851	Victoria separates from New South Wales.
1851	The Victorian gold rush starts when gold is found at Summerhill Creek and Ballarat.
1851	Forest Creek Monster Meeting of miners at Chewton near Castlemaine
1853	Bendigo Petition and Red Ribbon Rebellion at Bendigo
1854	The Eureka Stockade
1855	The transportation of convicts to Norfolk Island ceases.
1856	Van Diemen's Land name changed to Tasmania.
1857	Victorian Committee reported that a 'federal union' would be in the interests of all the growing colonies. However, there was not enough interest in or enthusiasm for taking positive steps towards bringing the colonies together.
1858	Sydney and Melbourne linked by Electric Telegraph.
1858	Australian football rules codified, Melbourne Football Club founded
1859	Queensland separates from New South Wales with its western border at 141° E.
1860	John McDouall Stuart reaches the centre of the continent. South Australian border changed from 132° E to 129° E.
1861	The ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition occurs.
1862	Stuart reaches Port Darwin, founding a settlement there. Queensland's western border is moved to 139° E.
1863	South Australia takes control of the Northern Territory which was part of the colony of New South Wales.
1867	The transportation of convicts to Western Australia ceases.
1867	Gold is discovered at Gympie, Queensland.
1872	Overland Telegraph Line linking Darwin and Adelaide opens.
1873	Uluru is first sighted by Europeans, and named Ayers Rock.
1879	The first congress of trade unions is held.
1880	The bushranger Ned Kelly is hung.
1880	Parliamentarians in Victoria become the first in Australia to be paid for their work.
1883	The opening of the Sydney-Melbourne railway
1883	Silver is discovered at Broken Hill
1887	An Australian cricket team is established, defeating Britain in the first Ashes series.
1889	The completion of the railway network between Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.
1889	Sir Henry Parkes delivers the Tenterfield Oration.
1890	The Australian Federation Conference calls a constitutional convention.
1891	A National Australasian Convention meets, agrees on adopting the name "the Commonwealth of Australia" and drafting a constitution.
1891	The first attempt at a federal constitution is drafted.
1891	The Convention adopts the constitution, although it has no legal status
1891	A severe depression hits Australia
1892	Gold is discovered at Coolgardie, Western Australia.
1893	The Corowa Conference (the "people's convention") calls on the colonial parliaments to pass enabling acts, allowing the election of delegates to a new constitutional convention aimed at drafting a proposal and putting it to a referendum in each colony.
1895	The premiers, except for those of Queensland and Western Australia, agree to implement the Corowa proposals.
1895	Waltzing Matilda is first sung in public, in Winton, Queensland
1895	Banjo Paterson publishes The Man from Snowy River
1896	The Bathurst Conference (the second "people's convention") meets to discuss the 1891 draft constitution
1897	In two sessions, the Second National Australasian Convention meets (with representatives from all colonies except Queensland present). They agree to adopt a constitution based on the 1891 draft, and then revise and amend it later that year.
1898	The Convention agrees on a final draft to be put to the people.
1898	After much public debate, the Victorian, South Australian and Tasmanian referendums are successful; the New South Wales referendum narrowly fails. Later New South Wales votes "yes" in a second referendum, and Queensland and Western Australia also vote to join.
1899	The decision is made to site the national capital in New South Wales, but not within 100 miles of Sydney.
1899	The Australian Labor Party holds office for a few days in Queensland, becoming the first trade union party to do so anywhere in the world.
1900	Several delegates visit London to resist proposed changes to the agreed-upon constitution.
1900	The constitution is passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom as a schedule to the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act, and is given royal assent
1901	Australia becomes a federation on January 1. Edmund Barton becomes Prime Minister; Lord Hopetoun becomes Governor-General
1901	The first parliament meets in Parliament House, Melbourne
1902	The Franchise Act guarantees women the right to vote in federal elections (by this stage, most states had already done this). However, it excludes most non-European ethnic groups, including Aboriginal people.
1902	Breaker Morant is executed for having shot Boers who had surrendered
1903	The High Court of Australia is established with Samuel Griffith as the first Chief Justice.
1903	The Defence Act gives the federal government full control over the Australian Army
1903	Alfred Deakin elected Prime Minister
1904	A site at Dalgety, New South Wales chosen for the new national capital
1904	Chris Watson forms the first federal Labor (minority) government
1906	Australia takes control of south-eastern New Guinea
1908	Dorothea Mackellar publishes My Country
1908	The Dalgety proposal for the national capital is revoked, and Canberra is chosen instead
1909	The first powered airplane flight in Australia is made.
1910	Andrew Fisher forms the first federal majority Labor government.
1911	The Royal Australian Navy is founded
1911	The Northern Territory comes under Commonwealth control, being split off from South Australia
1911	The first national census is conducted.
1911	Australian Capital Territory proclaimed.
1912	Australia sends women to the Olympic Games for the first time
1912	Walter Burley Griffin wins a design competition for the new city of Canberra
1913	The foundation stone for the city of Canberra is put in place
1914	Australian soldiers are sent to the First World War. This was first time Australians had fought under the Australian flag.
1915	Australian soldiers land at Anzac Cove on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey
1915	Jervis Bay Territory comprising 6,677 hectares surrendered and becomes part of the Australia Capital Territory.
1915	Surfing is first introduced to Australia
1916	Hotels are forced to close at 6 p.m., leading to the beginning of the "six o'clock swill"
1916	The Returned Sailors’ and Soldiers’ Imperial League of Australia, the forerunner to the Returned and Services League is founded
1916	The Labor government under Billy Hughes splits over conscription. First referendum on conscription is rejected
1917	Second referendum on conscription is rejected
1918	First World War ends
1920	The airline Qantas is founded
1921	Edith Cowan becomes the first woman elected to an Australian parliament
1922	The Smith Family charity is founded in Sydney
1923	Vegemite is first produced
1926	The first Miss Australia contest is held
1927	The tenth parliament is formally opened in Canberra, finalising the move to the new capital
1928	Bert Hinkler makes the first successful flight from Britain to Australia, and Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first flight from the United States to Australia
1929	Western Australia celebrates its centenary
1929	Labor returns to office under James Scullin. The Great Depression hits Australia.
1930	Don Bradman scores a record 452 not out in one cricket innings
1930	Phar Lap wins his first Melbourne Cup
1931	Sir Douglas Mawson charts 4,000 miles of Antarctic coastline and claims 42% of the icy mass for Australia
1932	The Sydney Harbour Bridge opens
1932	the Labor government falls and Joseph Lyons becomes Prime Minister
1933	Western Australia votes at a referendum to secede from the Commonwealth, but the vote is ignored by both the Commonwealth and British governments
1936	The last Thylacine dies
1937	The radio series Dad and Dave begins
1938	Sydney hosts the Empire Games, the forerunner to the Commonwealth Games
1939	Australia enters the Second World War
1939	The first flight is made by an Australian-made warplane, the Wirraway
1939	Victoria is devastated by the Black Friday bushfires
1939	Lyons dies in office and is succeeded by Robert Menzies
1940	A team of scientists, under Howard Florey, develops penicillin
1941	Labor comes to power under John Curtin
1942-1943	Japanese planes make almost 100 attacks against sites in the Northern Territory, Western Australia and Queensland.
1942	National daylight saving is introduced as a war time measure.
1942	The UK Statute of Westminster is formally adopted by Australia. The Statute formally grants Australia (along with New Zealand, South Africa, and the Irish Free State) the right to pass laws that conflict with UK laws.
1943	Australia wins its first Oscar, with cinematographer Damien Parer being honoured for his coverage of the war
1944	The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme is introduced, providing subsidised medicine to all Australians
1945	Australia becomes a founding member of the United Nations
1945	The Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race is held for the first time
1945	Curtin dies in office and is succeeded by Ben Chifley
1946	Minister for Immigration Arthur Calwell introduces the major post-war immigration scheme
1946	An Australian, Norman Makin, is voted in as the first President of the United Nations Security Council.
1948	Australian Minister for External Affairs, Dr. H. V. Evatt is elected President of the United Nations General Assembly.
1948	Australia becomes a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
1949	Construction of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme begins
1949	Indigenous Australians who are eligible to vote in State Elections in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania are also given the right to vote in Federal Elections.
1949	The Nationality and Citizenship Act is passed. Rather than being identified as subjects of Britain, the Act established Australian citizenship for people who met eligibility requirements.
1949	Menzies returns to power as leader of the new Liberal Party
1950	Australian troops are sent to the Korean War, as well as to fight a communist insurgency in Malaya
1951	Australia signs the ANZUS treaty with the United States and New Zealand
1951	Voters reject a referendum to change the Constitution to allow the Menzies Government to ban the Communist Party
1952	First nuclear test conducted in Australian territory by the United Kingdom off the coast of Western Australia.
1954	Elizabeth II and Prince Philip make a royal visit; the Soviet diplomat Vladimir Petrov defects, leading to the Petrov Affair and another split in the Labor Party
1955	Hotels in New South Wales no longer have to close at 6 p.m., ending the "six o'clock swill"
1956	Melbourne holds the Summer Olympics
1959	The Sidney Myer Music Bowl is opened; Australia becomes a signatory to the International Antarctic Treaty. The Snowy Mountains Hydro scheme construction workforce peaks at 7,300.
1962	Indigenous Australians gain the right to vote in all states except Queensland; Australia enters the Vietnam War
1964	The Beatles tour Australia; 82 sailors die when HMAS Voyager sinks after being rammed by HMAS Melbourne; the editors of OZ magazine are charged with obscenity; PM Robert Menzies announces the reintroduction of compulsory military service for men 18-25
1965	Indigenous Australians gain right to vote in state of Queensland
1966	The ban on the employment of married women in the Commonwealth Public Service is lifted. Menzies retires as Australia's longest-serving Prime Minister and is succeeded by Harold Holt Decimal Currency introduced.
1967	Large areas of Hobart and south-eastern Tasmania are devastated by bushfires on 7 February that kill 62 people. Prime Minister Holt drowns and is succeeded by John Gorton. Aboriginal Australians gain the right to citizenship after a referendum to allow the federal government to legislate for them is supported by over 90% of the population. Sydney is rocked by a series of brutal underworld killings; talkback radio is introduced.British comedian Tony Hancock commits suicide in Sydney. Gough Whitlam becomes leader of the Labor Party
1968	Australia signs the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. Aboriginal boxing champion Lionel Rose defeats Masahiko "Fighting" Harada in Japan to become the world bantamweight champion. Australia's first liver transplant operation is performed in Sydney.
1969	French conceptual artist Christo 'wraps' Little Bay in Sydney. Renowned author-artists Norman Lindsay and May Gibbs die. The Australian production of the rock musical Hair premieres in Sydney. Top pop groups The Easybeats and The Twilights break up. Tim Burstall directs 2000 Weeks. The first all-Australian feature released since Charles Chauvel's Jedda in 1958.
1970	More than 200,000 people participate in the largest demonstrations in Australian history, against the Vietnam War
1971	Neville Bonner becomes the first Aboriginal to become an Australian Member of Parliament; John Gorton resigns and is succeeded by William McMahon
1971	The 1971 Springbok tour sparks protest all throughout Australia. Premier of Queensland Joh Bjelke-Petersen declares a state of emergency in QLD in response to escalating protest.
1972	The Commonwealth Arbitration Commission rules that women doing the same job as men have the right to be paid the same wage.
1972	The first Labor government since 1949 is elected under the leadership of Gough Whitlam
1972	Australia recognises the People's Republic of China
1973	The Sydney Opera House is opened
1973	The federal voting age is dropped from 21 to 18
1973	Unionists save the historic "The Rocks" area of Sydney from demolition by introducing "Green Bans"
1973	Patrick White becomes the first Australian to win the Nobel Prize for Literature
1974	Darwin is devastated by Cyclone Tracy. The Snowy Mountain Hydro scheme is completed. More than 100,000 people worked on the project in the period of construction from 1949 to 1974.
1975	A constitutional crisis occurs when Malcolm Fraser's opposition blocks supply, bringing the nation to a standstill until Governor-General John Kerr dismisses Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. Fraser wins elections and becomes Prime Minister
1975	The Privy Council (Appeals from the High Court) Act removes the right to appeal High Court decisions to the British Privy Council. Appeals to the Privy Council direct from State Supreme Courts remain until 1988.
1975	South Australia becomes the first state in Australia to legalise homosexuality between consenting adults in private.
1976	The Australian Capital Territory legalises homosexuality between consenting adults in private.
1977	Advance Australia Fair becomes Australia's official national anthem
1978	The First Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras kicks off in Sydney - People were arrested.
1979	Australian women win the right to maternity leave
1979	Kakadu National Park and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park are both proclaimed.
1981	Victoria legalises homosexuality between consenting adults in private and also is the first State in Australia to have a uniform age of consent for everyone in Australia.
1982	Commonwealth Games held in Brisbane. New South Wales Bbecomes the first state in Australia to outlaw discrimination in the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 on the basis of actual or perceived homosexuality.
1983	Australia wins the America's Cup; Bob Hawke defeats Fraser and leads Labor back to government
1984	New South Wales and the Northern Territory legalises homosexuality between consenting adults {over 18 only} in private.
1985	The government grants the freehold title of a large area of land in central Australia, including prominent landmarks Uluru and Kata Tjuta, to the Mutitjulu people, who in turn give them a 99-year lease
1986	The Australia Act removes the right of appeal from State courts to the British Privy Council, making the High Court the final court of appeal in Australia. The Act also removes all remaining rights of the UK parliament to pass law for Australia. Anita Cobby Murder in Sydney. Russell Street Bombing in Melbourne.
1987	Hoddle Street Massacre kills 7 victims and injures 19, Queen Street Massacre kills 8 victims and injures 5.
1988	Australia celebrates its bicentenary, with large celebrations and major funding for capital works projects The new Parliament House opens.
1989	Western Australia legalises homosexuality between consenting adults {over 21 only} in private. Newcastle Earthquake kills 13 people. ACT gains Self-Government. Fast Forward debuts on T.V
1991	Queensland legalises homosexuality between consenting adults in private and also maintains a Sodomy Law for people under 18.
1991	Prime Minister Bob Hawke is replaced by Paul Keating
1991	Seven people die in the Strathfield massacre
1991	Prominent heart surgeon Victor Chang is gunned down
1991	The Coode Island chemical storage facility in Melbourne explodes, leaving a toxic cloud hanging over the city for days
1992	New South Wales Premier Nick Greiner resigns after a corruption inquiry finds against him
1992	The High Court delivers the Mabo Decision, which rules that indigenous native title does exist. This effectively extinguishes the concept of terra nullius.
1993	Keating defeats John Hewson in an election that had been widely described as being "unwinnable" for him; the Australian Greens stand candidates for the first time and Norfolk Island decriminalizes homosexuality [citation needed]
1994	All sexualities are legal between two adults consenting in Private - because of the Human Rights (Sexual Conduct) Act 1994. [1]
1995	The Northern Territory legalises voluntary euthanasia, but it is overruled by the federal government when Liberal MP Kevin Andrews proposes the Euthanasia Laws Bill 1996
1996	The High Court hands down the Wik Decision, which holds that indigenous native title can survive the granting of pastoral leases.
1996	Liberal John Howard becomes Prime Minister, defeating Paul Keating after a record 13 years of Labor government
1996	All Australian states and territories agree to introduce uniform gun laws following the deaths of 35 people in the Port Arthur massacre
1997	Expelled Liberal MP Pauline Hanson forms the One Nation Party
1997	On the 1 May 1997 Tasmania finally legalises homosexuality between consenting adults in private after a nine-year battle, the last Australian state to do so, also maintaining a law so there is 'constituting no defence' for any person who practices anal sex with another person under 17 (12 with a two year gap and 15 with a three year gap).
1997	Eighteen people die when the Bimbadene and Carinya Lodges collapse at Thredbo Alpine Village at 11.30 p.m. on 30 July
1998	A major strike results when Patrick Stevedores attempt to introduce non-union labour to reduce the influence of the Maritime Union of Australia
1998	The Australian Stock Exchange is demutualized and floated as a public company, becoming the world’s first stock exchange to be listed on an exchange.
1999	Both houses of the federal parliament pass a motion signifying both recognition of and regret at past treatment of indigenous Australians.
1999	A referendum on changing to a republic is unsuccessful
1999	Australian soldiers are deployed to East Timor as part of the INTERFET peacekeeping force
2000	Sydney holds the Summer Olympics.
2001	John Howard is re-elected after the Tampa affair and Children overboard affair occur as part of a crackdown on illegal immigration
2001	Western Australia now has a Uniform Age Of Consent at 16 for Everyone.
2002	On 12 October 2002 bombs explode in a Bali nightclub and bar killing 202 people, including 88 Australians.
2003	Australian military deployed to participate in the Iraq War.
2003	The Northern Territory now has a uniform Age Of Consent set at 16 for everyone.
2003	New South Wales becomes the last State to have a Uniform Age of Consent at 16 for Everyone.
2004	A bomb explodes outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia.
2004	The John Howard led conservative Liberal and National Party coalition wins its fourth term in office after defeating the Mark Latham lead Australian Labor Party at the federal election.
2005	Sixteen people are charged with planning terrorist attacks in Sydney and Melbourne
2005	Sydney beachside suburb of Cronulla sees racially charged riots.
2006	The Commonwealth Games are held in Melbourne.
2006	Australian Forces are again deployed to East Timor to help stabilize the country.
2007	Australian Forces are brought home from East Timor.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Timeline of Australian History"