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Captain Cook's Landing
Commissioned by King George III and leaded by Lieutenant James Cook, a junior naval officer with good skills in cartography and mathematics. In September 1769 the expedition reached New Zealand, being the second Europeans to visit there. Cook and his crew spent the following six months charting the New Zealand coast, before resuming their voyage westward across open sea. In 1770 they became the first Europeans to reach the east coast of Australia and then proceeding to Botany Bay. -
First Melbourne Cup
On 7 November 1861, about 4000 people gathered at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne to watch a horse race that would become one of Australia’s most important sporting events. Fifty-seven horses were slated to take part in the race, though only seventeen actually started. Sydney horse, Archer, trained by Etienne de Mestre, was the winner by a staggering six lengths. -
Canberra as a Capital
The New South Wales Government commissioned a report suggesting possible locations for the seat of Government for the new Commonwealth of Australia. The report suggested three places: Bombala, Yass-Canberra, and Orange which made it to a short list. The decision for the Yass-Canberra option was made in 1908 by the Commonwealth Parliament and shortly afterwards the Commonwealth surveyor, Charles Scrivener, was dispatched to choose a site because it was beautiful and had great views. -
World War One
Australia’s involvement in the First World War began when Britain and Germany went to war on 4 August 1914, and both Prime Minister Joseph Cook and Opposition Leader Andrew Fisher, who were in the midst of an election campaign, pledged full support for Britain. The outbreak of war was greeted in Australia, as in many other places, with great enthusiasm. -
World War Two
The primary combatants were the Axis nations (Nazi Germany, Italy, Japan and their smaller allies) and the Allied nations, led by Britain (and Commonwealth nations), the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States of America. World War 2 lasted for 6 years with Allies having over 60 million dead an Axis having over 12 million dead -
The gold rush
During the Australian gold rushes, significant numbers of workers relocated to areas in which gold had been discovered. After prospector Edward Hargraves claimed to have discovered payable gold near an Orange at a sight he called Ophire. He had been to the Californian goldfields and had learned new gold prospecting techniques such as panning and cradling. Before the end of the year, the gold rush had spread to many other parts of the state where gold had been found. -
Mabo ends 'Terra Nullius'
On June 3rd 1992, six months after Eddie "Koiki" Mabo's tragic death, the High Court upheld his claim that Murray Islanders held native title to land in the Torres Strait.
