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Indigenous Australian
The indigenous Australians had healthy, traditional lifestyles without outside interference. The first recorded sighting of Australia was in 1606. People shared their food and knowledge, worked together; they lived sustainably in harmony with the environment. They followed and respected their elders.
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History Timeline
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The First Voyage
The voyage was ran by the famous explorer Lieutenant James Cook. In April 1770, they became the first Europeans to reach the east coast of Australia. The expedition continued along the Australian coastline. After nearly three years, Cook came back with 56 of the original 94 men that had started the voyage. In conclusion they decided Australia was owned by no one. This showed great disrespect towards the indigenous. -
Captain Cook Lands
Captain Cook on the ship ‘Endeavour’ lands at Botany Bay on the 29th April. They encountered aboriginals for the first time and all the aboriginals wanted were for the European’s to be gone. Cook reports that Australia is an uninhabited place. -
The Convicts
in the 1770’s and 80’s, towns all over Britain were filled with thousands of poor, that resigned to thieving for a way to feed themselves and family. As a result prisons were soon overflowing. They saw Australia as country that had cowardly natives and soil and climate for farming. In 1786 the government had decided to establish a penal colony in botany bay, NSW. -
Smallpox Kills Aboriginals
Almost half of the Aboriginal population around the Sydney area die from smallpox that had spread from the European settlers. It is said that only three people were left in the Cadigal tribe (one of the tribes in the area) in 1791. SOCIAL -
Flinders Circumnavigates Australia
After circumnavigating the coastline of Australia, Matthew Flinders fights that the continent should be called Australia. It is derived from the original Latin term, ‘Terra Australis Incognita’, which means ‘the unknown great southern land’. -
Myall Creek Massacre
IN 1838 A group of white men travelled to Myall Creek, rounded up 28 aboriginals, killed them and burned their bodies. 11 of the men were trialed but quickly acquitted. The jury was not willing to find a white man guilty of killing an indigenous. Before release 7 of the men were put to trial for the murder of a child and were sentenced to hang. The white communities were outraged as they saw aboriginals as nothing better than animals. -
The Gold Rush
. This made a huge change to the economic and social actions of the nation and started what is now referred to as the ‘gold rush’. The frenzy spread from NSW to Victoria, bringing thousands of immigrants along with it. The economy was peaking and in just two years the population had grown from 77,000 to 540,000! -
Bushranger
The gold rush had another side affect ; the beginning of bushrangers. The amount of gold being transported through the bush was to much of a temptation for some men. Their knowledge of the bush helped to make robberies easier and made them extremely hard to catch. Some often stole from the poor and were extremely violent. This time in history birthed many influential Australian identities, one in particular being Ned Kelly. -
Victoria Acclimation Society Created
The Victoria Acclimation Society is created to introduce species like rabbits, foxes, starlings and blackberry bushes to make the English born to feel more at home in the new strange world. This turned out to be a big mistake for the Australia environment. -
First Melbourne Cup
The first Melbourne Cup was run with seventeen horses entering. The winner was a Sydney horse called Archer. The first prize was a hand beaten gold watch and 170 pounds in cash. Over 4,000 people watched the race. Archer went on to win the cup the following year. -
Ned Kelly
Ned Kelly was born in Victoria in 1855, to a family of 7 children. The Kelly family blamed the police for the death of their father in 1866. After that Ned and his younger brother Dan had many run-ins with the police and were falsely charged a number of times. They formed a gang with the two brothers, Steve hart and Joe Byrne, they were known as the ‘Kelly gang’. They were declared outlaws after the murder of 3 policemen. The Kelly gang robbed the bank at Euroa in 1878 then a bank in Jerilderie -
The Ashes Is Born
Australia finally defeats England in a cricket match on their own soil for the first time. An English magazine published that English cricket is dead and the body shall be cremated and its ashes sent to Australia. This was the birth of the Ashes. -
Boer War Begins
The Boer War develops in South Africa and Australia sends troops to fight on half of the British. 12,000 Australian soldiers serve and about 600 of them die. Half of the deaths are from diseases and the other half from action. -
The Australian Flag
The Australian flag was born after the federation of the Australian States into the Commonwealth of Australian on 1 January, 1901. The flag was chosen after a public competition, holding over 3,000 designs. Even though it was selected in 1901 and published until 1903, it wasn’t the definite Australian flag or given royal assent until 1954. -
Australia Become A Federation
On the first of January, Australia finally becomes a Federation, joining all the states together to become one country. This created two new federal houses of parliament. The House of Representatives and the Senate. At first, Aborigines, Asians and women, except in South Australia couldn’t vote. -
The Federal Election Was Held
In March 1901 the first federal election was held and resulted in a slim majority for the Protectionist Party over the Free Trade Party with the Australian Labor Party (ALP) polling third. Labor declared it would offer support to the party, with Alfred Deakin as Attorney General. -
The Planning Of The Sydney Harbour Bridge
In 1912 J.J.C. Bradfield was appointed 'Chief Engineer of Sydney Harbour Bridge’ and he started his work on the project, which lasted many years, earned him the legacy as the "father" of the bridge. -
Mawson Explores Antarctica
Sir Douglas Mawson and his team arrive at Antarctica on the first Australasian Antarctic Expedition. His aim was to map and explore the area closest to Australia. Both of his partners die on the journey. Mawson was later knighted in 1914. -
Canberra Design Competion Won
A Chicago architect and his wife win the Federal Capital Design Competition for the rights to design the new capital city of Australia, Canberra. It was a very detailed plan, which many politicians did not agree with. -
The ANZACs Were Formed
Most Australians met the war enthusiastically. People rushed to battle for their country, believing the war was a honourable adventure and would end in about 6 weeks. By December 1914 the first 20,000 soldiers of the Australian Imperial Force were in Egypt training. With 10,000 other New Zealanders they were re-organised into the ‘Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (the ANZACs). -
The ANZACs were Formed
Most Australians met the war enthusiastically. People rushed to battle for their country, believing the war was a honourable adventure and would end in about 6 weeks. By December 1914 the first 20,000 soldiers of the Australian Imperial Force were in Egypt training. With 10,000 other New Zealanders they were re-organised into the ‘Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (the ANZACs). -
The ANZACs FIght At Gallipoli
The ANZACs took off for Turkey on 25th of April. From the very beginning the plan went wrong. On the first night 2,300 Australians died. In the battles, the ANZACs showed great courage and pride but their deaths did not win any advantage over the enemy. The war lasted until December.
