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James Cook discovers Australia and continued to charter along the eastern coast.
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Captain Arthur Phillip and his crew arrive at Botany Bay, where it was discovered that there was no locally fresh water available. When the rest of the fleet arrived the following day, they travelled north to Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour)
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George Howe publishes the first issue of The Sydney Gazette and The New South Wales Advertiser, Australias's first newspaper.
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Gregory Blaxland, William Lawson and William Charles Wentworth reach Mount Blaxland, marking the end of the first successful expedition across the Blue Mountains.
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Name change from ' New Holland ' to ' Australia ', recommended by Matthew Flinders in 1804, received official sanction by the United Kingdom.
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The whole of Australia was claimed as British territory.
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Batman's Treaty is created between John Batman and Wurundjeri elders to secure the land around Port Phillip Bay for the establishment of Melbourne. The treaty was later declared void by the Governor of New South Wales, Richard Bourke.
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28 December - South Australia and Adelaide are founded.
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The 50th anniversary of the colony of New South Wales was celebrated with a regatta on Sydney Harbour and other festivities.
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Edward Hargraves finds gold near Bathurst, starting the first of many Australian gold rushes.
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The name Tasmania officially adopted to replace Van Diemen's Land which was felt to have too many convict connotations.
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A Victorian branch of the Royal Australian Mint opens in Melbourne.
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The Sydney Town Hall is officially opened.
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The Constitution of Australia comes into force, as the federation of Australia is complete. John Adrian Louis Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun, is appointed as the first Governor-General, and Edmund Barton as the first Prime Minister.
