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AUSTRALIA/OCEANIA PAGE
AUSTRALIA PAGE
AUSTRALIA: 
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Timeline
(1606) Capt. Willem Janszoon, in Duke of York's ship, the Duyfken, explored western coast of Cape York Peninsula - first European to land in Australia; Portuguese explorer, Pedro Fernandez de Quiros, claimed Australia for Spain, named it "La Australia del Espiritu Santo" the Austrian Land of the Holy Spirit); Louis Vaez de Torres sailed through Torres Strait
(1616) Dutch Captain Dirk Hartog made second landing by a European on western coast
(1642) Dutch explorer, Abel Tasman, made journey to Australia, discovered there were four coasts
(1696) Flemish explorer, Willem de Vlamingh, charted southwestern coast of Australia; made landfall at present day Perth
(1770) James Cook of England charted eastern coast, claimed it for British Crown
(1788) First Fleet from England arrived; first penal colony founded at Sydney by Arthur Phillip; English settlement founded at Norfolk Island
(1803) Matthew Flinders circumnavigated continent
(1804) Castle Hill Rebellion (Irish Rebellion) occurred, Irish convicts rebelled against British colonial authority, marshall law declared for over a week, dozens killed
(1808) Rum Rebellion: NSW Corps arrested, deposed Capt. William Bligh, governor of convict colony
(1824) Penal colony founded at Moreton Bay (present day Brisbane)
(1825) Tasmania seceded from New South Wales
(1829) Colony of Western Australia established at Perth by Capt. James Stirling; all of Australia claimed as British territory
(1836) South Australia established, Adelaide chosen as capital
(1842) Copper discovered in South Australia
(1845) The ship, Cataraqui, carrying emigrants from England, wrecked in Bass Strait; 406 died
(1850) Western Australia became penal colony
(1851) Victoria seceded from New South Wales; Victorian gold rush began; Forest Creek Monster Meeting held by miners to demand political representation, reasonable taxation
(1853) Bendigo Petition circulated by miners to demand political representation, reasonable taxation, over 23,000 signatures gathered
(1856) Australia first country to introduce secret ballot for elections
(1859) Australian football rules finalized, Melbourne Football Club formed; Queensland separated from New South Wales
(1863) Northern Territory annexed by South Australia
(1867) Gold discovered in Queensland
(1875) SS Gothenburg struck Old Reef during storm, sunk, 102 died
(1877) Australia, England played inaugural cricket test match in Melbourne
(1879) First congress of trade unions held
(1883) Silver discovered at Broken Hill
(1887) Australian cricket team established
(1889) Railroad network linking Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney completed
(1891) National Australian Convention met, agreed to adopt name "The Commonwealth of Australia" and to draft a constitution; severe depression hits
(1898) Final constitution draft passed in Australia
(1900) Parliament of the United Kingdom passed Australian constitution
(1901) Australia became federation (States of: New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia); first parliament met in Melbourne
(1902) Franchise Act gave women right to vote in federal elections; excluded Aboriginal people
(1906) Australia took control of New Guinea
(1908) Canberra chosen for national capital
(1914 - 1918) World War I; Australia committed hundreds of thousands of troops to British war effort
(1915) Gallipoli campaign in Turkey caused many Australian casualties
(1920) Qantas Airline founded
(1921) Edith Cowan first woman elected to parliament
(1932) Sydney Harbor Bridge opened
(1939 - 1945) World War II
(1939) Australia followed Britain in declaring war on Nazi Germany; Victoria devastated by bushfires, 4,942,000 acres burned, 71 people died, 3,700 buildings destroyed
(1940) Howard Florey led team of scientists in development of penicillin
(1941) U.S. declared war on Japan; Australia allowed U.S. to base Pacific command on its territory
(1942 - 1943) Japanese planes bombed nearly 100 sites in Australia
(1942) Daylight savings introduced
(1944) Subsidized medicine provided to all Australians through introduction of Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme
(1945) Australia one of the founding members of United Nations
(1948 - 1975) Two million new immigrants arrived - most from continental Europe
(1950) Australia sent troops to Korean War
(1951) Australia signed ANZUS treaty with U.S., New Zealand
(1952) First nuclear test conducted off coast of Western Australia by United Kingdom
(1956) Melbourne hosted Summer Olympics
(1962) Indigenous Australians received right to vote in all states (except Queensland); Australia entered Vietnam War
(1963) Full citizen rights granted to Indigenous Australians
(1964) HMAS Melbourne rammed HMAS Voyager which sunk, 82 died
(1965) Indigenous Australians gained right to vote in Queensland
(1966) Australian currency changed to decimal system, replaced Australian pound with Dollar
(1967) Bushfires devastated Hobart and south-eastern Tasmania, 62 people killed; series of underworld killings took place in Sydney
(1970) Over 200,000 people participated in demonstrations against Vietnam War
(1971) Neville Bonner became first Aboriginal to become member of Australian Parliament; Springbok rugby team of South Africa toured Australia, anti-apartheid protests held all over country, state of emergency declared in Queensland
(1972) Commonwealth Arbitration Commission ruled women to receive equal pay for equal work
(1974) Cyclone Tracy struck Darwin, 71 killed, more than 70 percent of buildings destroyed
(1975) Australia introduced new immigration laws, restricted number of unskilled workers allowed in the country; government plagued by resignations, blocking of budget by parliament; governor-general, Sir John Kerr, dismissed the government
(1983) Australia won America's Cup; Ash Wednesday fires in Victoria, South Australia killed 75
(1986) Australia Act made Australia law independent of British parliament and legal system; car bomb set off at police headquarters in Melbourne
(1988) Brisbane hosted World Expo
(1989) Newcastle earthquake killed 13
(1990) Royal Australian Navy deployed in preparation for First Gulf War; Carmen Lawrence first female premier of Australian state
(1991) Coode Island chemical storage facility exploded in Melbourne, toxic cloud hung over city
(1992) Citizenship Act amended, removed swearing oath of allegiance to British Crown; Native Title Act established granting of Aboriginal land rights
(1996) All Australian states, territories, passed uniform gun laws following Port Arthur massacre
(1997) Two lodges at Thredbo Alpine Village collapsed, killed 18
(1998) Australian Stock Exchange was demutualized, floated as a public company, world's first stock exchange to be listed as exchange
(1999) Both houses of parliament passed motion recognizing, regretting past treatment of indigenous Australians; Australian soldiers deployed to East Timor for peacekeeping
(2000) Summer Olympics held in Sydney
(2001) Churches rebuked Prime Minister John Howard for not acknowledging suffering of thousands of Aborigines under past assimilation policy
(2002) Air agencies, rights groups, UN criticized policy of holding asylum seekers in detention camps while awaiting visas; desert camp in South Australia had riots, hunger strikes, escapes; bombs in Bali nightclub killed 88 Australians
(2003) Australia sent troops to Iraq; bushfires ravaged Canberra, more than 500 homes destroyed; Senate passed no-confidence vote against Prime Minister John Howard over handling of Iraq crisis, first no-vote of confidence in serving leader
(2004) Bomb exploded outside Australia Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia killed nine; death of Aboriginal teenager set off race riots in Sydney; government announced a multi-million dollar cruise missile program
(2005) 16 people charged with planning terrorist attacked in Melbourne and Sydney; race riots held in Cronulla, suburb of Sydney
(2006) Australian troops deployed to East Timor to help stabilize country; Australia, East Timor sign agreement to divide billions of dollars in expected revenues from oil, gas deposits in Timor Sea
(2007) Landside victory for Opposition Labor Party and Kevin Rudd; Australian forces brought home from East Timor; Sydney hosted APEC summit meeting
(2008) Government apologizes to indigenous population for past wrongs committed; policy of holding asylum seekers in detention until visas are cleared was abandoned; Quentin Bryce Australia's first woman governor-general
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