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Immigration
During 1951 and 1952, the Australian government signed agreements to accept Dutch, Italian, Austrian, Belgian, Greek, Spanish and West German immigrants. Some Australians used the offensive term 'wog' to describe non-British immigrants. The term 'wog' is an ethnic slur used to denote immigrants of predominately Middle Eastern and eastern or southern European origin -
Olympic Games
In 1956, Australia hosted its first Olympic Games in Melbourne. -
the beatles
This was the era of extraordinary popularity for the US singing star Elvis Presley and the British band the Beatles, which toured Australia in 1964. The youth generation evolved as a strong market to determine the direction of popular culture. -
satelite tv
In the late 1960s, Australian television was connected to the international satellite system. Along with the rest of the world, Australians could now watch world events televised live, such as the first moon landing in 1969 -
Vietnam War
In May 1970, more than 150,000 people participated in a moratorium march organised by Dr Jim Cairns (1914–2003) to protest against Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War (1962–72). These were the largest street demonstrations in Australia's history. Popular opinion had turned against the war, and nightly television reports showed graphic footage of the realities of the conflict -
Gough Whitlam
On 2 December 1972, Gough Whitlam (1916–) led the Australian Labor Party (ALP) to election victory for the first time in 23 years. In the first days of government, Whitlam abolished conscription, ended all military involvement in Indochina, and requested the Arbitration Court reopen its inquiry into equal pay for women -
bionic ear
In 1982, a bionic ear, developed at the University of Melbourne, was successfully implanted for the first time -
Australia
- In April 1984, Advance Australia Fair was proclaimed as Australia's national anthem and green and gold became Australia's official national colours.
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Dame Roma Mitchell
In February 1991, Dame Roma Mitchell became governor of South Australia. She was the first woman to hold vice-regal office anywhere in Australia. A keen advocate of women's rights, she was the first woman to be made a Queen's Counsel, the first to be made a Justice of a Supreme Court (1965) and first to be a chancellor of an Australian University -
Afghanistan and Iraq Wars
In 2001, as a result of the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the USA, the Liberal-National Party coalition government declared Australia would join the US-led coalition forces in an invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq. In October, Australia provided 1,550 troops to Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom, a conflict that ousted the Taliban government -
Global Financial Crisis
In 2008, the Global Financial Crisis triggered an international recession, more severe than anything experienced since the Great Depression. Australia, now a key trading partner of China and India, seemed to avoid the worst of the economic fallout. -
black saturday
The Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria were the result of extreme temperatures and weather conditions on 7 February 2009. The eighth-deadliest bushfire ever recorded spread across inaccessible forest, killing 173 people and injuring 414.
