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11 ships which sailed from Great Britain on 13 May 1787 with about 1,487 people, including 778 convicts to establish the first European colony in Australia
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Transportation of Convicts
The first convicts arrived at Risdon Cove with the settling party led by John Bowen in 1803. The first shipload of convicts to come directly from England arrived on the Indefatigable in 1812. -
The Rum Rebellion
The Rum Rebellion of 1808 was the only successful armed takeover of government in Australia's history. -
First bank in Australia
Australia's first bank, the Bank of New South Wales, opens in Macquarie Place, Sydney (it became Westpac in 1982). -
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Free Land Grants
Between 1820 and 1831 free land grants were given to settlers coming to Tasmania with letters of recommendation from the Secretary of State in London. -
Perth is settled
The whole of Australia is claimed as British territory. The settlement of Perth is founded. -
Transportation of convicts to New South Wales ends
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Almost 25,000 immigrants arrive in South Australia
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Copper is discovered at Kapunda in South Australia
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Prisons in Britain had become very overcrowded and prisoners began to be transported to Port Jackson, NSW
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9,720 convicts are transported to Western Australia
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Free settlers from Europe came to Australia who bought land and started trading companies
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Gold Rush Era
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Van diemen's land name changed to Tasmania
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Sydney and Melbourne linked by electrical telegraph
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Chinese Immigration
Some Chinese had arrived in Tasmania before 1870 but not in great numbers. From 1870 the Chinese population of Tasmania rose rapidly. -
Ned Kelly is hung
Ned Kelly was hanged on the 11th of November 1880 at the Melbourne Gaol. -
The non-indigenous population of Australia reaches 2.3 million
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White Australia
All Australian colonies passed acts in the 1880s to restrict who was able to enter and remain as settlers. Tasmania took longer to do this, but finally introduced a tax of ten pounds on all Chinese immigrants in 1887. -
Silver is discovered at Broken Hill
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Gold is discovered in Western Australia