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First Fleet
The First Fleet is the name given to the 11 ships that left Great Britain on 13 May 1787 to found the penal colony that became the first European settlement in Australia. The fleet consisted of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports, carrying more than 1,000 convicts, marines and seamen, and a vast quantity of stores. The majority of the people on the First Fleet were British, but there were also African, American and French convicts on board. -
Disease and Devastation - Aboriginals
Disease struck a fatal and extensive blow to the Aboriginal people, who until that point had been isolated for thousands of years from the diseases that had raged through Europe and Asia. They had no resistance to the deadly viruses carried by the sailors and convicts such as smallpox, syphilis and influenza. In less than a year, over half the indigenous population living in the Sydney Basin had died from smallpox. The region, once alive with a vibrant mix of Aboriginal clans, now fell silent. -
Matthew Flinders Circumnavigated Australia
1801 - 1803 Matthew Flinders circumnavigated Australia. Mathew Flinders was a very successful navigator and cartographer in his age. He was asked by the British government to completely map the coastline of Australia. At the time, Western Australia was called New Holland and Matthew Flinders was the one that suggested the name of Australia -
Victoria Becomes a Colony
Victoria was separated from New South wales and become its own colony, with the richest goldfields in Australia located in Victoria at the time. Victoria is now bordered by South Australia and New South Wales. Victoria is also seen as a garden state. -
Gold Rush Settlement
As a result of Gold Rush settlement in 1854, immigrants from all over the world, e.g. Chinese, Europeans came to Australia for gold. New skills, techniques, ways of life, food, languages and celebrations were brought into Australia, which made this country very multi-cultured and unique. -
The Australian Women's Suffrage
The Australian Women's Suffrage Society was formed in 1889. It aims to obtain the same right for women as man. They argued for rights to own properties, equal justice, etc. In 1894, South Australian women were the first to grant the right to vote, followed by Western Australian women in 1899. -
The Great Strike
The Great Strike in 1891 was one of Australia’s biggest industrial disputes. Workers at the Logan Downs Shearing Station in Queensland believed that their paying rates and conditions weren’t acceptable. This made many people see the limitation of industrial action. -
Australia Becomes an Independant Nation
Australia became an independent nation on 1 January 1901 when the British Parliament passed legislation allowing the six Australian colonies to govern in their own right as part of the Commonwealth of Australia. The Commonwealth of Australia was established as a constitutional monarchy. -
Australian Flag Was Flown for the First Time
On the 3rd of September 1901, the original design of Australia’s Flag was first flown in Melbourne, and this was then proclaimed as the National Flag Day. The design was chosen from a worldwide competition held after Australia’s federation. Even though the designs have changed a bit over the times, but it was very significant. -
Australia Act
All legal ties with the British Empire were severed
