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In 1791, coal was first discovered by Europeans in Australia at the mouth of the Hunter River in New South Wales by escaping convict William Bryant
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The second discovery of coal was on the south coast of New South Wales by William Clarke. This was an important resource for assisiting industrialisation to occur in the colony.
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The first coalmine in Australia was established in 1801 near the mouth of the Hunter River.
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In 1804, the Goveneor King set up a permanant settlement at the mouth of the Hunter River, naming it New Castle. It became the centre for development of Australia's coal trade.
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In 1813, the first steam engine was shipped to the colony of New South Wales. The steam engine was installed in John Dickson's flourmill in Darling Harbour.
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In 1815, Simeon Lord established a mill in Sydney.
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In 1816, Simoen Lorn entered into an agreement with Govenor Macquarie to mill, dye and dress cloth from the Female Factory at Paramatta.
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By 1831, there were six steam engines in Australia, This includes the one at the Australian Agricultural Company's New Castle coalmine.
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The Sophia Jane was the first paddle steamer to reguarly operate in Australian waters. It was built in England and arrived in Sydney in 1831.
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While the Sophia Jane was having its paddles fitted in readiness for its maiden voyage, another steamer, the Surpise, made its first voyage from Sydney to Paramatta on 1st June 1831. It became the first stream-powered vessel in Australia.
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Another textile factory was established in 1832, in Blackwattle Bay, in Sydney. It manufactured the the "finest as well as the coarsest clothes".
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By 1840, there were 26 steam engines in flourmills and ten in other industries.
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This foundry, thought to be the first foundry established in Australia, produced both iron and brass castings along with stoves, gratings, railings and architectural building columns and many steam-engine parts.
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The first attempt at establishing iron and steel smelting in Australia was made in 1848 near Mittagong, NSW. The smelting plant was not economical and closed by 1877.
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In 1849, in New South Wales, the Sydney Railway Company built the first railway track in New South Wales from Sydney to Paramatta.
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The gold rushes in New South Wales and Victoria not only bought wealth, but an increase in population in 1851.
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By 1852, steamships were running services between ports including Sydney, Newcastle, Melbourne, Moreton Bay, Adelaide and Tasmania.
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In Victoria, the first railway line to open in Australia was between Melbourne's Flinders Street Station and Port Melbourne, now called Sandridge, on the 12 of September 1854.
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In Melbourne in 1856, Scott Clow and Prebble opened the first cast-iron foundry.
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The first railway line, carrying steam-powered trains, opened on the 21st of April 1856 between Adelaide and Port Adelaide/
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Treadle and steam driving machines were in use in Melbourne clothing factories in 1859, less than a decade after the development of the equipment in the United States.
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Enoch Hughes estabished a rolling mill in Melbourne in 1860 and later was to play a major role in establishing a iron and steel works in Lithgow, NSW.
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By 1861, Ballarat had 10 foundries in total. Eight for minining equipment and two for repairing and producing farm equipment.
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The first railway line opened in Tasmania in 1868, between the northen towns of Launceston and Deloraine.
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In January in 1868, the first ever cloth woven in Victoria was produced by the Victoria Woollen and Cloth Manufacturing Company. However, there is a possibility that it could have been made at Pentridge Prision a few years earlier.
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The first railway in Western Australia was a private railway from Lockville to Yoganup in 1871.
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Another attemp was made in 1873 in Victoria, with the formation of the Victoria Iron Company- later to become the Lal Lal Iron Mining Co. Ltd. in 1874.
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In 1873, the Waverley Wollen Mill was established in Distillery Creek. near Launceston. It won the prize of £1000 offered by the Tasmanian colonial Government for the first woollen goods manufactured from locally produced wool.
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The First railaway in Queensland ran from Ipswich inland to Grandchester. The system was then further extended to the darling downs before being connected with Brisbane, in 1875.
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In 1879, the first government railway opened between Geraldton and Northampton.
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In 1883, the Broken Hill Mining Company was established by 7 men from the Mt Gipps sheep station.
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Charles Rasp belived he discovered tin on the "Broken Hill" in the Barrier Ranges in Western New South Wales in 1883.
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In 1885, Australia was to have its first major mining and steel production company with the establishment of the Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited (BHP).
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The Broken Hill Mining Company was incorporated into the Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited (BHP) in 1885.
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On the 1st of October, 1889, the first railway in the Northen Territory opened between Darwin and Pine Creek.
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In 1890, smelting commenced at Port Pirie, South Australia.
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In 1891, lead was first exported to China by BHP.
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Towards the end of the 19th century, a severe recession in Australia slowed industrialisation.
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In 1899, leases were obtained over Iron Knob and Iron Baron Iron-ore deposits in South Australia.
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In 1900, BHP commences at Iron-Ore Mining at Iron Knob.
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In 1914, the first railway in the Australian Capitol Territory opened between Queanbeyan and Canberra.
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BHP began the Steelworks operation on the second of june 1915 in Newcastle, New South Wales.