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Australian History

By laykin.pollard

  • 1770

    1770
    Captain James Cook charts the east coast in his ship HM Endeavor. Cook claims it as a British possession and names eastern Australia "New South Wales".

  • 1788

    1788
    British Navy captain Arthur Phillip founds a penal settlement at Sydney. He had arrived with a fleet of 11 vessels, carrying nearly 800 convicts. The Aboriginal population at the time is thought to number several hundred thousand.

  • 1901

    1901
    The country is unified. The Commonwealth of Australia comes into being on 1st January.

  • 1911

    1911
    Canberra is founded and designated as the capital.

  • 1914

    1914
    Outbreak of World War I. Australia commits hundreds of thousands of troops to the British war effort.