Kingston Jones

  • 1606

    The dutch sailed to Australia
  • 1770

    Captain James Cook sailed around Australia and named the area New South Wales
  • 1787

    The First Fleet ships left England with convicts to establish a prison colony
  • Period: to

    1788-1832

    New South Wales was now a prison colony consisting of convicts, marines, and the marines' families
  • Period: to

    1833-1850s

    Port Arthur was for the hardest convicted British and Irish criminals
  • 1868

    The British stopped transporting prisoners to Australia
  • Period: to

    1901-1927

    The Commonwealth of Australia was established and Melbourne was the capital until Canberra was completed in 1927
  • 1967

    federal government began to pass legislation to help the Aborigines
  • 1986

    All ties with the British Empire were severed
  • 1999

    55% of voters rejected the idea of becoming an independent republic