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60,000 BCE
The settlement of aboriginal people in Australia
Around 60,000 years ago, the first people settled Australia and Guinea. -
1000 BCE
The voyages of the Polynesians
Polynesians often went on long-distance ocean trips. -
James Cook's arrival in Australia and New Zealand
In the late 1770s, British explorer James Cook claimed Australia and New Zealand for Great Britain. -
British settlement of Australia
Many early settlers were convicted criminals who had exiled to Australia. -
Treaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi is a treaty first signed on 6 February 1840 by representatives of the British Crown and various Māori chiefs from the North Island of New Zealand. -
Gold discovered in Australia
In 1851, colonists discovered gold, and the British population soared. -
Aboriginal Protection Act
In 1869, it controlled Aboriginal people's regulation of residence, employment and marriage. -
Control of the Pacific Islands by the France, Britain, Japan and the United States
The Micronesian islands served as a strategic midpoint between the United States and Japan. -
Australia became an independent country
Australia became an independent nation on 1 January 1901 when the British Parliament passed legislation . -
Samoan independence
In Western Samoa, the nonviolent Mau movement worked for independence, which Samoa won in 1962.
