Australia History By jacobjoseph54332 Dec 24, 1788 England coloinized Australia. Dec 24, 1850 The gold rush Dec 24, 1901 The states unify into one big country. Dec 24, 1914 World War 1 occurs, and Australia give troops for UK's cause. Dec 24, 1929 The Great Depression occured. Dec 24, 1939 Australia follows Uk and declares war on the Nazi. Dec 24, 1956 Olympic Games held in Melbourne Dec 24, 1991 Paul Keating becomes prime minister. Dec 24, 2000 Australia hosts the Olympic Games in Sydney. Dec 24, 2005 Racially-motivated violence, involving thousands of youths, hits Sydney.