-
New Holland
New Holland is the Orignal European name for Australia. The name was first created for Australia in 1644 by the Dutch seafarer Abel Tasman -
James Cook's Fleet Arrives In Australia
January 26 - Captain Arthur Phillip, commanding the First Fleet, sails into Port Jackson, establishes the first colonial settlement at Sydney Cove. -
Colonisation Of Tasmania
The British colonisation of Tasmania took place between 1803 and 1830. Tasmania was a British colony from 1856 until 1901, at which time it joined five other colonies to form the Commonwealth of Australia. -
John Batman Lands At Future Site Of Melbourne
John Batman sails up Tasmania to Australia and through the Yarra River where he then lands at what the future site of Melbourne will be. Although every Melburnian has their own theory to who founded Melbourne First -
Gold Rush Begins
The first gold rush in Australia began in May 1851 after Edward Hargraves said he found Gold near Orange, at a site named Ophir. He went to the Californian goldfields and had learned new gold digging techniques such as panning and cradling. -
Shipment Of Convicts Stop
The last convict ship, the Hougoumont, left Britain in 1867 and arrived in Western Australia on 10 January 1868. In all, about 164,000 convicts were transported to the Australian coast between 1788 and 1868 on board 806 ships. -
Australia proclaimed a Commonwealth
The first Governor-General of Australia, the Right Honorable John Adrian Louis Hope, proclaimed Australia a Commonwealth -
Canberra Becomes Capital
After Federation in 1901, a site for the capital was sought, and Canberra was chosen. The Australian Capital Territory was declared on 1 January 1911 and a international competition was held to design the new capital city of Australia which resulted in Canberra being chosen! -
Australia Slumps Into Depression
The Great Depression lasted from 1929 to 1932. It was a very hard time for the people of Australia. For many people this period began before the market crash in prices and lasted until the Second World War 1939–1945 -
Australia Takes Part Of WW2
Almost a million Australians served in the Second World War. They fought against Germany and Italy in Europe, the Mediterranean and North Africa, even Japan in south-east Asia and other parts of the Pacific. So just about everyewhere -
Indigenous Rights Referendum
In 1967 Australians had the choice to vote in favour of dramatic changes to the Australian Constitution to improve the services available to Indigenous Australians.
The changes fixed the rules that lead to discrimination against aboriginals. -
"Sorry" speech by Kevin Rudd
Aboriginal people around Australia were extremely moved and in tears after Kevin Rudd, had finally and formally apologized to the Stolen Generations. The first speech of its kind in Australia
