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Captain James Cook charts the east coast in his ship HM Endeavour. Cook claims it as a British possession and names eastern Australia "New South Wales".
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South Australia established, with Adelaide as its capital.
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Australia becomes the first country to introduce the secret ballot - or 'Australian ballot' - for elections.
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Canberra is founded and designated as the capital.
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The Great Depression following the Wall Street Crash hits Australia hard. Recovery is uneven, and the Labor government is defeated in the election in 1931.
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Australia begins a scheme for immigration from Europe. Over the next 30 years, more than two million people arrive, about one-third of them from Britain, and hundreds of thousands from Italy, Greece and Germany.
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Olympic Games held in Melbourne.
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Bob Hawke becomes prime minister after his Labor Party secures a landslide victory.
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Australia celebrates 100 years since its inauguration as the Commonwealth of Australia.
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Australia mourns as 88 of its citizens are killed in a night club bombing in Bali, Indonesia, which some call Australia's September 11. The attacks - which killed 202 people in total - are blamed on al-Qaeda-linked Islamists.
