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First European sighting
The first recorded European sighting of the Australian mainland is attributed to the Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon in 1606. The Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines and named the island continent "New Holland" during the 17th century but they didn’t occupy the island. -
James Cook renamed the land "New England"
It wasn’t until 1770 when Captain James Cook came and started using and exploring the land that he renamed it ‘New England´. -
Pisoners were sent from Britain to Australia
After 18 years,in 1788 prisoners were sent to Australia from Britain to be used as a convict colony. Because there were so many prisoners, the land from the coast to the Blue Mountains was not enough and they needed to search for more land to fit them. This was when they first started to explore the other side of the Blue Mountains. -
Godfields were discovered in Victoria and New South Wales
Between 1851 and 1852, goldfields were discovered in Victoria and New South Wales. This discovery attracted thousands of people that came to Australia to try their luck at finding gold. -
Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia was started
In 1901, the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia was started. The parliament was established as a federation of six states and two territories. Canberra was chosen as the capital of Australia as they could not decide between Sydney and Melbourne.
