This is a timeline of Australian history.
- c. 68,000 BC-40,000 BC: Aboriginal tribes thought to have arrived in Australia.
1600s
- 1606 (March): The Duke of York's 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 (May) Australia is named by Quirós who believed he had found the southern continent, and named it La Austrialia del Espiritu Santo (The Austrian Land of the Holy Spirit).
- 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 coasts of Australia.
- 1696: Flemish explorer Willem de Vlamingh charts the southwestern coast of Australia, making landfall at Rottnest Island and the site of the present-day city of Perth.
1700s
- 1770: English Lieutenant James Cook's expedition in HM Bark Endeavour charts the eastern coast, and claims it for the British Crown. Australia dubbed "terra nullius" because there was no trace of inhabitants.
- 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 racing around the globe to be the first to discover and colonise Australia.
- 1797: Sydney Cove wrecked and some survivors travelled from Bass Strait to Port Jackson allowing for the rescue of others but also furthering knowledge of the geography of Australia
1800s
- 1803: Matthew Flinders completes the first circumnavigation of the continent.
- 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.
- 1808: The Rum Rebellion
- 1813: Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth cross the Blue Mountains.
- 1813: Matthew Flinders calls New South Wales (Australia's old name) Australia
- 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.
- 1841: New Zealand is proclaimed and is no longer under New South Wales.
- 1842: Copper is discovered at Kapunda in South Australia.
- 1845: The ship Cataraqui is wrecked off King Island in Bass Strait. It is Australia's worst civil maritime disaster with 406 lives lost.
- 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.
- 1859: SS Admella wrecked off south-east coast of South Australia with the loss of 89 lives.
- 1859: 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: Gold is discovered at Gympie, Queensland.
- 1868: The transportation of convicts to Western Australia ceases.
- 1872: Overland Telegraph Line linking Darwin and Adelaide opens.
- 1873: Uluru is first sighted by Europeans, and named Ayers Rock.
- 1875: SS Gothenburg strikes Old Reef off North Queensland and sinks with the loss of approximately 102 lives.
- 1879: The first congress of trade unions is held.
- 1880: The bushranger Ned Kelly is hanged.
- 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.
1900s
1910s
- 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, as opposed to that of Britain's.
- 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 of Australia 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
1920s
1930s
1940s
- 1940 - A team of scientists, under Howard Florey, develops penicillin
- 1941 - Labor comes to power under John Curtin
- 1942-43 - Japanese planes make almost 100 attacks against sites in the Northern Territory, Western Australia and Queensland. (See also: Japanese air attacks on Australia, 1942-43)
- 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
1950s
1960s
- 1962 - Indigenous Australians gain the right to vote in all states except Queensland; Australia enters the Vietnam War
- 1963 - Indigenous Australians are given full rights as citizens.
- 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.
- 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;
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
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