The History of Computers in Australia

History of Computers

Period: Jan 1, 1949 to Jul 17, 2012

Australia's First Computer

Jul 17, 1949

CSIR Mk 1 was Australia's first computer, named after the CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research) which later became CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation).In 1949 the CSIR Mk1 ran its first programs, consisting of a variety of testing routines. The computer was deemed a success by the department, and in turn commissioned for work by outside organisations. The inventors at the Radiophysics Laboratory in Sydney also used the computer for their own lab

Australian Release of the IBM 701

Jul 17, 1952

The IBM 701, known as the Defense Calculator while in development, was announced to the public on April 29, 1952, and was IBM’s first commercial scientific computer.

CSIR Mk1 recommissioned as CSIRAC

Jul 17, 1956

CSIRAC (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Automatic Computer) was previously known as the CSIR Mk 1. Australia's first computer which was recommisioned in 1956 at the University of Melbourne where it stayed until 1964.

Australian Census Data is now processed Electronically

Jul 17, 1966

Previous to 1966, the census data for the Australian population was counted by hand. It came as a revolution when it was able to be processed through electronic means.

Australian Release of the Apple II

Jul 17, 1977

The Apple II was the first upgrade from the basic Apple I model. It was one of the first to feature a colour display and had a total of 4KB of RAM. It was known to be compact for its time and was very popular.

Australia connects to the Internet

Jul 17, 1981

The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network was the first internet network to use “packet switching”, a method which is still dominant today. It was opened for commercial interest and public use.

Australian Release of IBM PC

Jul 17, 1983

IBM released their first PC, or Personal Computer, which displayed the first usage of the IBM PC hardware platform, revolutionising the computer world.

First Online Bulletin Board System

Jul 17, 1984

BBS’s were an important part of computer development as they allowed users to connect with each other, share information and files, read news and bulletins, and interact. This led to the development of Online Gaming and communication today.

AARNet Formed

Jul 17, 1989

The Australian Academic and Research Network offered new internet services, in particular to those completing research and development in study.

Australia's first ISP

Jul 17, 1989

Pegasus Networks was established in 1989 and acted as Australia’s very first ISP for public use. It acted as a gateway to emerging online networks.

AMIGA 3000 Released

Jul 17, 1990

The AMIGA 3000 featured improved processing speed, improved graphics rendering, and a 32 Bit operating system known as UNIX.

Intel Launches Pentium Commercially

Jul 17, 1993

The Pentium was the fifth generation of computer cores developed by INTEL but the first to be publicly produced.

Australian Domain Name Admin

Jul 17, 1999

auDA was a domain name administrator which originally ran as a for-profit organisation, later changing. It organised the domain name registry in australia.