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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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British Navy captain Arthur Phillip founds a penal settlement at Sydney. He had arrived with a fleet of 11 vessels, carrying nearly 800 convicts. The Aboriginal population at the time is thought to number several hundred thousand.
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Colony of Western Australia established at Perth by Captain James Stirling. The colony was called Swan River Colony.
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South Australia established, with Adelaide as its capital. The Adelaide plains were inhabited by the Kaurna tribe before European settlement, their territory extending from what is now Cape Jervis to Port Broughton.
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Gold is found at several locations leading to gold rushes throughout the decade. The population increases three-fold in 10 years to pass the million mark. An influx of Chinese leads to restrictions on their entry. Aborigines are treated very badly and their numbers collapse.
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Australia becomes the first country to introduce the secret ballot - or 'Australian ballot' - for elections. The secret ballot is a voting method in which a voter's choices in an election or a referendum are anonymous, forestalling attempts to influence the voter by intimidation and potential vote buying. The system is one means of achieving the goal of political privacy.
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Australia and England play the first-ever cricket Test match in Melbourne. Test matches in the period 1877 to 1883 were organised somewhat differently from international cricket matches today. The teams were rarely representative, and the boat trip between Australia and England, which usually lasted about 48 days, was one that many cricketers (especially amateurs) were unable or unwilling to undertake. As such, the home teams enjoyed a great advantage.
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The country is unified. The Commonwealth of Australia comes into being on 1st January.
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Outbreak of World War I. Australia commits hundreds of thousands of troops to the British war effort. Their participation - alongside New Zealanders - in the Gallipoli campaign in Turkey in 1915 leads to heavy casualties. The Gallipoli landings help cement a sense of identity in the young nation.
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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 follows Britain's lead and declares war on Nazi Germany. Australia had anticipated Britain’s declaration of war against the Germans as early as August 1939. Heavy artillery units were mobilised and outlying military centres such as Port Moresby, received supplies of weapons and ammunition in case such a declaration stimulated further Japanese aggression.
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The US declares war on Japan. Australia turns to the US for help in its defence after the Japanese take Singapore. Australia allows the US to base its supreme command for the Pacific war on its territory.
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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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National referendum on changes to constitution is passed. Section which excluded Aboriginal people from official census is removed. Another change enables federal government to pass laws on Aboriginal issues.
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Australia introduces new immigration laws, restricting the number of unskilled workers allowed into the country.
The government of Gough Whitlam is plagued by resignations and the blocking of its budget by the upper house of the parliament. In an unprecedented move, the governor-general, Sir John Kerr, dismisses the government. A caretaker administration under Malcolm Fraser is installed. -
The Australia Act makes Australian law fully independent of the British parliament and legal system. There is no longer any provision for Australian courts to mount final appeals to the Privy Council in London.
