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Period: to
Australia
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Castle Hill Rebellion
The rebellion was an attempt by a group of Irish convicts to overthrow British rule in New South Wales and return to Ireland where they could continue to fight for an Irish republic. -
First bank in Australia
As a penal settlement, the colony of New South Wales was intended to be economically self-sufficient but as the colony developed, it became apparent that formal financial institutions were needed to promote growth.In April 1817 Australia’s first bank, the Bank of New South Wales, opened in Sydney. -
Founding of Brisbane
Moreton Bay Penal Settlement was established as a place of exile and punishment for re-offending convicts. The first Europeans to discover the Brisbane River and select the site for the town of Brisbane is credited to several people, including three ex-convicts. -
Quintus Servinton
Quintus Servinton: A Tale Founded upon Incidents of Real Occurrence, the first novel written and published in Australia, was printed in Hobart in 1830–1831. A morality tale and story of convict life, the experiences of the novel’s central character closely resembled the life of its author, Henry Savery, who was transported to Van Diemen’s Land for forgery in 1825. -
NSW Native Police
In 1848 the New South Wales Government set up a Native Police force, consisting of Aboriginal troopers under European officers. They operated mainly in what is now southern Queensland, quelling Aboriginal resistance to European settlement. -
Secret ballot introduced
Demands for electoral reform were a major political issue in Australia from the 1840s and increased in intensity with the arrival of large numbers of men during the 1850s gold rush. Reform became a reality in 1856 with the passing into law of universal male suffrage in South Australia and the secret ballot in Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia. -
First royal visit
On 31 October 1867 Prince Alfred, second eldest son of Queen Victoria, landed in Adelaide. The Prince was the first member of the British royal family to visit Australia and attracted huge crowds wherever he went. The tour was marred by rioting, farce, tragedy and Australia’s first political assassination attempt. Irishman Henry James O’Farrell shot and wounded the Prince at a Sydney picnic in 1868. -
Free education introduced
After more than a decade of effort, the Victorian Government wrested control of the colonial school system from religious denominations, and passed the Education Act 1872. The legislation made Victoria the first Australian colony (and one of the first jurisdictions in the world) to offer free, secular and compulsory education to its children. -
Gallipoli landing
On 25 April 1915 Australian soldiers landed at what is now called Anzac Cove on the Gallipoli Peninsula. For the vast majority of the 16,000 Australians and New Zealanders who landed on that day, it was their first experience of combat. By that evening, 2,000 of them had been killed or wounded. -
Polio vaccine introduced in Australia
Polio was among the most frightening diseases to affect Australians during the 20th century. The incurable and unpredictable viral disease mostly targeted children and could cause permanent paralysis, even death. It sometimes reached epidemic proportions across the world.