-
Captain Cook lands in Botany Bay
Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Explorer, Cartographer and Navigator. He is well known in Australia for being the first European to achieve contact with the eastern coastline of Australia. In 1770 Cook arrived by boat in Botany Bay, Sydney. -
The First Fleet Arrives
Between 1778 and 1850, 806 ships of convicts were shipped to Australia from England. The first 11 of these ships are now known as “The First Fleet”. The fleet consisted of three store ships, six convict ships, two men o-war ships with a total of 756 convicts. -
Matthew Flinders Circumnavigates Australia
Matthew Flinders was a navigator that sailed around the coast of Australia and was the first of many navigators to map the “unknown land”. The unknown land’s chart was complete in 1803 by Governor King, however, it was not published because Flinders had not named most of the land marks and inlets. The land marks that were named are Mt. Lofty, Cape Catastrophe, Memory Cove and Kangaroo island. -
The First Australian Bank
Australia’s first bank was established in 1817, as the Bank of New South Wales, under a charter of an incorporation provided by Governor Lachlan Macquarie. -
New Holland became Australia
In 1817, the Governor of New South Wales, Lachlan Macquarie recommended that New Holland should change it’s name to Australia. However, it was not until 1824 that New Holland was officially changed to Australia. Australia was the name that Matthew Flinders used to call NSW. -
Sydney Morning Herald
Sydney Morning Herald is a daily newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. It’s the first and continuous published newspaper in Australia. It is published 6 days a week. SMH used to be credited for being high-standard, but in recent years, the quality of journalism has declined. The first issue of the Sydney Herald Sun was 4 pages long. -
Melbourne was Founded
Melbourne was founded in the reign of King William IV, on 30th of August 1835. No one can claim that they founded Melbourne. However, many important people that contributed to the founding of Melbourne are; John Batman, John Fawkner, John Lancey, William Buckley and Charles Grimes. -
The City of Adelaide was Established
Adelaide, the capital of South Australia was established on the 28th of December, 1836. It was established by a group of people that found a gum tree, which is now located in Glenelg (near the beach). If this gum tree wasn’t located, then SA wouldn’t be the state we know today. -
The First Australian University was Founded
The University of Sydney Act was signed on the 1st of October 1850. William Charles Wentworth, a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council, was an important founder of the university. He believed that establishing a university was essential to educate other people to become the leaders of the colony. -
Period: to
The Gold Rush
In 1851 the Great Australian Gold Rush started when prospector Edward Hammond Hargraves claimed to have discovered a “grain of gold” in a waterhole near Bathurst, New South Wales. Hargraves named the town where he found the gold “Ophir”, reported his discovery to the authorities and was appointed a “Commissioner of Land”. During the Gold Rush period thousands of people rushed to Australia in search of gold. The Gold Rush ended in 1861. -
Victoria Separates From New South Wales
The British Act separating Victoria and New South Wales, giving Victoria a name, and it's own Constitution, wasn’t signed until 5th of August 1850 by Queen Victoria. It then was enabled to pass the legislation by the New South Wales Legislation Council on the 1st of July 1851 and is the formal establishment of Victoria. -
Van Diemen's Land changed to Tasmania
The Dutch explorer, Abel Tasman, was the first European to discover Tasmania, but named it Anthoonij van Diemenslandt in the name of Anthony van Diemen. In 1803, Van Diemen’s Land became a penal colony of the British. In 1824, Van Diemen’s Land became a colony with its own rights. In 1856, Van Diemen’s Land achieved self-government with its own government and was named Tasmania in honour of Abel Tasman. -
The Stolen Generation
In 1869 the Children of Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander descents were taken away from their parents by State Government or private agencies. They were taken to supposedly make Australia more “pure”. It is estimated that about 100,000 Indigenous Children were taken from their families. -
First European Uluru Sighting
On the 19th of July 1873, Uluru was sighted by surveyor William Gosse, who named it Ayers Rock, after Chief Secretary of SA, Sir Henry Ayers. The name was later changed to Uluru, out of respect for the Aboriginal People of Australia. -
Hanging of Edward (Ned) Kelly
Edward (Ned) Kelly was Australia’s own Robin Hood. He was a ranger of the Australian Outback, sentenced to jail many times. On June 27th 1880, the Kelly gang attacked Glenrowan, they forced the railway workers to rip up the line and cut all the telegraph wires. Many hostages were taken during the day. By the end of the day a massive fight had occurred. Resulting in three of the gang members killed, and the capture of Ned Kelly. -
Queen Victoria Proclaims the Commonwealth of Australia
-
Australia becomes a Federation
On the 1st of January 1901 the British parliament passed legislation allowing the 6 Australian States to govern in their own right as part of the Commonwealth of Australia; Making Australia an independent country. -
First Federal Flag Designed
In 1901 the Federal Government of Australia held a competition to design the new flag of Australia. The prize was 200 pounds. Overall 32,823 people submitted designs. The winner wasn’t actually picked by the government, it was sent to the King of England to decide which flag he would like for Australia. -
Bank of NSW Changes Name
In 1982 the Bank of NSW changed name to Westpac Banking Corporation. Westpac helped to shape all banking in Australia.
