View source for Timeline of Australian history

{{Short description|none}}
{{Use Australian English|date=February 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}

This is a '''timeline of Australian history''', comprising important legal and territorial changes and political events in [[Australia]] and its predecessor states. To read about the background to these events, see [[history of Australia]].

{{Dynamic list}}
{{Horizontal TOC|nonum=yes}}

== Pre-written history ==

{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!Date
!Event
|-
|{{Circa|48,000–63,000 BC}}
|{{Centre|–}}
|The ancestors of [[Aboriginal Australians]] began arriving from south-east Asia 50,000 to 65,000 years ago, during the [[Last Glacial Period|last glacial period]].<ref name="ClarksonJacobs2017">{{Cite journal |last1=Clarkson |first1=Chris |last2=Jacobs |first2=Zenobia |last3=Marwick |first3=Ben |last4=Fullagar |first4=Richard |last5=Wallis |first5=Lynley |last6=Smith |first6=Mike |last7=Roberts |first7=Richard G. |last8=Hayes |first8=Elspeth |last9=Lowe |first9=Kelsey |last10=Carah |first10=Xavier |last11=Florin |first11=S. Anna |last12=McNeil |first12=Jessica |last13=Cox |first13=Delyth |last14=Arnold |first14=Lee J. |last15=Hua |first15=Quan |year=2017 |title=Human occupation of northern Australia by 65,000 years ago |journal=Nature |volume=547 |issue=7663 |pages=306–310 |bibcode=2017Natur.547..306C |doi=10.1038/nature22968 |issn=0028-0836 |pmid=28726833 |s2cid=205257212 |hdl-access=free |last16=Huntley |first16=Jillian |last17=Brand |first17=Helen E. A. |last18=Manne |first18=Tiina |last19=Fairbairn |first19=Andrew |last20=Shulmeister |first20=James |last21=Lyle |first21=Lindsey |last22=Salinas |first22=Makiah |last23=Page |first23=Mara |last24=Connell |first24=Kate |last25=Park |first25=Gayoung |last26=Norman |first26=Kasih |last27=Murphy |first27=Tessa |last28=Pardoe |first28=Colin |hdl=2440/107043}}</ref><ref name=":32">{{Cite journal |last1=Williams |first1=Martin A. J. |last2=Spooner |first2=Nigel A. |last3=McDonnell |first3=Kathryn |last4=O'Connell |first4=James F. |date=January 2021 |title=Identifying disturbance in archaeological sites in tropical northern Australia: Implications for previously proposed 65,000-year continental occupation date |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/gea.21822 |journal=Geoarchaeology |language=en |volume=36 |issue=1 |pages=92–108 |doi=10.1002/gea.21822 |bibcode=2021Gearc..36...92W |issn=0883-6353 |s2cid=225321249}}</ref> Arriving by sea, they settled the continent and had formed approximately 250 distinct language groups by the time of European settlement, maintaining some of the longest known continuing [[Aboriginal Art|artistic]] and [[The Dreaming|religious traditions]] in the world.<ref name="ReferenceB">[The Story of Australia's People, Volume 1: The Rise and Fall of Ancient Australia, Penguin Books Australia Ltd., Vic., 2015 {{ISBN|978-0-6700-7871-4}}</ref>
|-
|{{Circa|2000 BC}}
|{{Centre|–}}
|The [[Torres Strait Islanders|Torres Strait Islander]] people first settled [[Torres Strait Islands]] around 4000 years ago.<ref>The Story of Australia's People, Volume 1: The Rise and Fall of Ancient Australia, Penguin Books Australia Ltd., Vic., 2015 {{ISBN|978-0-6700-7871-4}}, p.87</ref> Culturally and linguistically distinct from [[Mainland Australia|mainland]] Aboriginal peoples, they were seafarers and obtained their livelihood from seasonal horticulture and the resources of their reefs and seas.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Viegas |first=Jennifer |date=3 July 2008 |title=Early Aussie Tattoos Match Rock Art |url=http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/07/03/australia-tattoos-art.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080710014604/http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/07/03/australia-tattoos-art.html |archive-date=10 July 2008 |access-date=30 March 2010 |publisher=Discovery News}}</ref>
|-
|{{Centre|–}}
|{{Centre|–}}
|In 1944, nine coins were found on [[Marchinbar Island]], the largest [[island]] in the [[Wessel Islands]] of the [[Northern Territory of Australia]]. While four coins were identified as Dutch [[Duit|duits]] dating from 1690 to the 1780s, five with Arabic inscriptions were identified as being from the [[Kilwa Sultanate]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=McIntosh |first=Ian S. |year=2012 |title=Life and Death on the Wessel Islands: The Case of Australia's Mysterious African Coin Cache |url=http://www.pastmasters.net/uploads/2/6/7/5/26751978/australian_folklore_paper_im.pdf |journal=Australian Folklore |volume=27 |pages=9–26}}</ref> The coins are now held by the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Australia.<ref>{{cite web |author=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences |title=Coin, Kilwa Sultanate (East Africa), Falus, copper alloy, Sulaiman ibn al-Hasan (c. AD 1294–1308). |url=https://ma.as/305390 |access-date=4 September 2020 |publisher=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, Australia}}</ref> In 2018 another coin, also thought to be from Kilwa, was found on a beach on [[Elcho Island]], another of the [[Wessel Islands]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Stevenson |first=Kylie |date=11 May 2019 |title='It could change everything': coin found off northern Australia may be from pre-1400 Africa |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/may/12/it-could-change-everything-coin-found-off-northern-australia-may-be-from-pre-1400-africa |access-date=11 May 2019 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
|}

== 16th century ==
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%"
|-
! style="width:6%" | Year || style="width:10%" | Date || Event
|-
| [[1521]] || || Several writers have argued that [[Theory of the Portuguese discovery of Australia|Portuguese expeditions visited Australia]] at this time.<ref>McIntyre, K.G. (1977) ''The Secret Discovery of Australia, Portuguese ventures 200 years before Cook''
, Menindie {{ISBN|0-285-62303-6}}</ref><ref>Trickett, P (2007). ''Beyond Capricorn. How Portuguese adventurers discovered and mapped Australia and New Zealand 250 years before Captain Cook''. East Street Publications. Adelaide. {{ISBN|978-0-9751145-9-9}}</ref> However, historians generally disagree and the evidence remains contentious.<ref>Richardson, W.A.R. (2006). ''Was Australia charted before 1606? The Jave La Grande inscriptions''. Canberra, National Library of Australia, P.96, {{ISBN|0-642-27642-0}}</ref><ref>Pearson, M. ''Great Southern Land; The Maritime Exploration of Terra Australis.'' Australian Government Department of Environment and Heritage, 2005. {{ISBN|0-642-55185-5}}</ref> (to 1522)
|}

== 17th century ==

{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
|-
! style="width:6%" | Year || style="width:10%" | Date || Event
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1606]] || February/March || The [[Dutch East India Company]] (VOC) ship ''[[Duyfken]]'', under Captain [[Willem Janszoon]], explored the western coast of [[Cape York Peninsula]], near what is now [[Weipa]]. This was the first recorded landfall by a European on Australian soil.
|-
| August || Spanish seaman [[Luís Vaz de Torres]] sailed through the [[Torres Strait]], between Australia and [[New Guinea]], along the latter's southern coast. Torres reported 'shoals', some of which may have been the northernmost atolls of the Great Barrier Reef.
|-
| [[1616]] || 25 October || Dutch captain [[Dirk Hartog]] in the ''[[Eendracht (1615 ship)|Eendracht]]'' made the second recorded landfall by a European, at [[Dirk Hartog Island]] on the western coast of Australia. He left a commemorative plate, the [[Hartog Plate]].
|-
| [[1618]] || July || [[Dutch East India Company|VOC]] ship ''[[Mauritius (1618 ship)|Mauritius]]'' under command of [[Supercargo]] [[Willem Janszoon]], landed near [[North West Cape]], near the modern town of [[Exmouth, Western Australia|Exmouth]], and named ''Willem's River'', later renamed [[Ashburton River (Western Australia)|Ashburton River]].
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1622]] || 1 May || The English ship ''[[Tryall]]'' sighted [[Point Cloates]] on the west coast of Australia.<ref name=Lee/>
|-
| 25 May || The ''Tryall'' was wrecked on [[Tryal Rocks]], northwest of the [[Montebello Islands]], crew spent seven days ashore before sailing a longboat to [[Banten (town)|Bantam]] in Java  – this was the first recorded shipwreck in Australian waters and first extended stay in Australia by Europeans.<ref name=Lee>{{cite journal |author-link=Ida Lee |first=Ida |last=Lee |title=The First Sighting of Australia by the English |journal=[[The Geographical Journal]] |publisher=[[Royal Geographical Society]] |date=April 1934 |volume=83 |issue=4 |pages=317–321 |doi=10.2307/1786489 |jstor=1786489 |bibcode=1934GeogJ..83..317L |url=http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0609031h.html |access-date=16 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150210092042/http://www.gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0609031h.html |archive-date=10 February 2015 |url-status=live  }}; reprinted in the ''Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society'', Vol. XX., Part V., pp. 274–276</ref>
|-
| [[1623]] || || Dutch captain [[Jan Carstenszoon|Jan Carstensz]] navigated the [[Gulf of Carpentaria]] aboard the ''[[Pera (ship)|Pera]]'' and ''[[Arnhem (ship)|Arnhem]]''. The ''Arnhem'' crossed the Gulf to reach and name [[Groote Eylandt]].
|-
| [[1623]] || || [[First white child in Australia]] was Born. Seebaer van Nieuwelant (born 27 July 1623), son of Willemtgen and Willem Janszoon, was born south of Dirk Hartog Island, in present-day Western Australia. 
|-
| [[1629]] || 4 June || [[Dutch East India Company|VOC]] ship ''[[Batavia (1628 ship)|Batavia]]'' wrecked on [[Houtman Abrolhos]], off [[Geraldton]]. Mutiny ensued and at least 110 men, women and children were murdered. First European structure in Australia – [[Wiebbe Hayes Stone Fort]] on [[West Wallabi Island]].
|-
| [[1642]] || || Dutch explorer [[Abel Tasman]] explored the west coast of [[Tasmania]], landed on its east coast and named the island [[Van Diemen's Land|Anthoonij van Diemenslandt]].
|-
| [[1656]] || 28 April || In 1656 the Vergulde Draeck struck a submerged coral reef midway between what are now the coastal towns of Seabird and Ledge Point, Western Australia. On board were 193 crew, eight boxes of silver coins worth 78,600 guilders and trade goods to the value of 106,400 guilders. Of the 193 crew, 118 are believed to have perished. The initial 75 survivors, including the ship's captain Pieter Albertszoon, and the under steersman, made it to shore. They had with them the ship's boat, a schuyt, along with a small amount of provisions and stores washed on shore. A number of rescue attempts was conducted by the Dutch East India Company once the loss was reported. 
|-
| [[1681]] || || English navigator [[John Daniel (ship's captain)|John Daniel]] on the ''New London'' charted the west coast of Australia, including [[Rottnest Island]] and the [[Wallabi Group]] of the [[Houtman Abrolhos]].
|-
| [[1688]] || || English explorer [[William Dampier]] explored the west coast of Australia.
|-
| [[1696]] || || Dutch explorer [[Willem de Vlamingh]] charted the southwestern coast of Australia, making a landfall at [[Rottnest Island]] and the site of the present-day city of [[Perth]].
|}

== 18th century ==
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
|-
! style="width:6%" | Year || style="width:10%" | Date || Event
|-
|[[Makassan contact with Australia|Since middle of 18th century]]
|{{Centre|–}}
|[[Makassar people]] from the region of [[Sulawesi]] in  [[Indonesia]] began visiting the coast of [[Northern Australia]] sometime around the middle of the 18th century, first in the [[Kimberley (Western Australia)|Kimberley region]], and some decades later in [[Arnhem Land]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Macknight |first=Charles Campbell |year=2011 |title=The view from Marege': Australian knowledge of Makassar and the impact of the trepangindustry across two centuries |journal=[[Aboriginal History]] |volume=35 |pages=134 |doi=10.22459/AH.35.2011.06 |jstor=24046930 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Russell |first=Denise |date=2004-03-22 |title=Aboriginal-Makassan interactions in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in northern Australia and contemporary sea rights claims |url=http://lryb.aiatsis.gov.au/PDFs/aasj04.1_%20makassan.pdf |journal=Australian Aboriginal Studies |publisher=Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies |volume=2004 |issue=1 |pages=3–17 |issn=0729-4352 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306230858/http://lryb.aiatsis.gov.au/PDFs/aasj04.1_%20makassan.pdf |archive-date=6 March 2019 |access-date=21 April 2019}}</ref><ref name="Country">{{cite web |author=T. Vigilante |display-authors=etal |year=2013 |title=Biodiversity values on selected Kimberley Islands, Australia |url=http://museum.wa.gov.au/sites/default/files/WAM_Supp81_Internals%20pp145-181.pdf |access-date=2 August 2021 |publisher=[[Western Australian Museum]]}}</ref>
|-
| [[1770]] || || English Lieutenant [[James Cook]]'s expedition in {{HMS|Endeavour}} charted the eastern coast, and claimed it for the [[British Crown]]. Australia was dubbed "[[terra nullius]]"<ref>{{cite book|author1=E. Lauterpacht|author2=C. J. Greenwood|title=International Law Reports|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kk-HXMzeZHUC|year=1991|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-949009-97-5|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Kk–HXMzeZHUC&pg=PA211 211]|access-date=9 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160108203656/https://books.google.com/books?id=Kk-HXMzeZHUC|archive-date=8 January 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> i.e., according to the European legal precepts of the era, it was unclaimed by any sovereign nation.
|-
| rowspan="1" style="vertical;"| [[1787]] || 13 May || The [[First Fleet]] of 11 ships, led by [[Governor of New South Wales|Governor]] [[Arthur Phillip]], departed from Great Britain for Australia to begin European colonisation.<ref>{{Cite web|title = The First Fleet|url = http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/discover_collections/history_nation/terra_australis/firstfleet.html|website = State Library of New South Wales|access-date = 2 November 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130426030841/http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/discover_collections/history_nation/terra_australis/firstfleet.html|archive-date = 26 April 2013|url-status = live|df = dmy-all}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="35" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1788 in Australia|1788]] || 3 January || Captain Arthur Phillip of the (First Fleet), having decided to sail ahead of the rest of the fleet to prepare for the new settlement, sighted the coast of [[Van Diemen's Land]].
|-
| 18 January || At 2:15 pm, the brig {{HMS|Supply|1759|6}} anchored on the northern side of [[Botany Bay]]. He began exploring the surrounding countryside and made contact with the [[Aboriginal Australians]].
|-
| 19 January || In the morning, the transports ''[[Alexander (1783 ship)|Alexander]]'', ''[[Friendship (1784 ship)|Friendship]]'' and ''[[Scarborough (1782 ship)|Scarborough]]'' arrived at Botany Bay, watched by a large number of Indigenous Australians who gathered on [[Point Solander]].
|-
| 20 January || The remaining seven ships of the [[First Fleet]], led by {{HMS|Sirius|1786|6}}, anchored in Botany Bay.
|-
| 21 January || Deciding that [[Botany Bay]] was unsuitable for settlement, Captain Arthur Phillip set out with a party in three open boats to seek out another site. He later reported to [[Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney|Lord Sydney]], British [[Home Secretary|Secretary of State]]; "We got into [[Port Jackson]] early in the Afternoon, and had the satisfaction of finding the finest harbour in the world, in which a thousand Sail of the line may ride in the most perfect security." He selected a cove with a stream and named it [[Sydney Cove]].
|-
| 24 January || The French ships {{ship|French ship|Boussole|1782|2}} and {{ship|French ship|Astrolabe|1781|2}} commanded by [[Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse]] appeared off [[Botany Bay]].
|-
| 25 January || Captain Phillip sailed out of Botany Bay aboard the ''Supply'' and reached Sydney Cove in the evening.
|-
| 26 January || Early in the morning, Captain Phillip took a party ashore at Sydney Cove, raised the British colours and formally proclaimed British sovereignty over [[New South Wales]]. This day is now celebrated as [[Australia Day]]. In a ceremony at sunset Phillip and the officers drank to the health of the king and the royal family, and success to the new colony. In the meantime, [[Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse|La Perouse]] entered Botany Bay as the remaining British ships prepared to leave. 
|-
| 27 January || Convicts disembarked at Sydney Cove and helped clear the ground.
|-
| 28 January || 17 Wives of marines and 14 children disembarked from ''[[Prince of Wales (1786 ship)|Prince of Wales]]''. They were the first women and children to land. The first of the livestock was brought ashore.
|-
| 3 February || Rev. [[Richard Johnson (chaplain)|Richard Johnson]] held the colony's first religious service ‘on the grass’.
|-
| 6 February || The women convicts came ashore. There was a violent thunderstorm.
|-
| 7 February || The whole party assembled on the west side of Sydney Cove, where the deputy judge-advocate [[David Collins (lieutenant governor)|David Collins]] read the King's commission establishing Phillip's governorship over the colony and the [[letters patent]] establishing civil and criminal courts. Phillip addressed the convicts, wishing them ‘reformation, happiness, and prosperity, in this new country'.
|-
| 11 February || At the first criminal court, Samuel Barnsley was sentenced to 150 lashes for assault and Thomas Hill to confinement in irons on a small rocky island at the head of the cove for stealing bread.
|-
| 14 February || Lt. [[Philip Gidley King]] sailed with a party of 23 including 15 convicts, in ''Supply'' to found a settlement on [[Norfolk Island]], where native flax was to be harvested and others grown.
|-
| 17 February || Rev. Johnson celebrated [[Eucharist|Holy Communion]] for the first time in the colony, according to the rites of the [[Church of England]] (see [[Book of Common Prayer (1662)]]). The Communion took place in the tent of Lt. [[Ralph Clark]]. Lt. [[Henry Lidgbird Ball|Henry Ball]], commander of the ''Supply'' on its way to Norfolk Island, discovered [[Lord Howe Island|an island]] that he named after [[Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe|Admiral Lord Howe]].
|-
| 27 February || Thomas Barratt was hanged for stealing in stores, the first execution.
|-
| 29 February || James Freeman was pardoned for stealing flour, on the condition that he become public executioner.
|-
| 2 March || Phillip set out to explore [[Broken Bay]]. On this trip he visited and named [[Pittwater]].
|-
| 6 March || Lt. King took possession of Norfolk Island. British settlement founded.
|-
| 10 March || The two French ships left Botany Bay, and were later wrecked near [[Nendo Island|Santa Cruz]] ([[Solomon Islands]]).
|-
| March || Phillip issued the first government conservation order: that no trees should be cut down within 50 feet (15 metres) of the stream that ran into [[Sydney Cove]].
|-
| 26 April || An exploring party led by Phillip sighted and named the [[Blue Mountains (New South Wales)|Blue Mountains]].
|-
| 6 May || Following an outbreak of [[scurvy]], {{HMS|Supply|1759|6}} sailed for [[Lord Howe Island]] to catch turtles to supplement the settlement's meat supply. Having failed to catch any, it returned on 25 May.
|-
| 21 May ||  Aboriginal peoples killed a convict and seriously injured another.
|-
| 30 May || The bodies of two [[rushcutters]], William Okey and Samuel Davis, were found pierced with spears and beaten, evidently on reprisal for stealing a canoe belonging to Aboriginals. The next day Phillip led a party to apprehend the murderers, but he was unable to identify them.
|-
| June || Owing to the neglect of the convict who was supposed to look after them, two bulls and four cows strayed from the settlement and were lost.
|-
| 5 July || In a despatch to the under-secretary of state, [[Evan Nepean]], Phillip recorded the rations for marines and male convicts. For seven days each received 7 pounds of bread or in lieu thereof 7 pounds of flour, 7 pounds of beef or in lieu thereof pork, 3 pins of pease, 6 ounces of butter, 1 pound of flour or in lieu thereof 12 pounds of rice. The women received two-thirds of this amount and the children generally had one-third although some received as much as the women.
|-
| 20 August || Lt. [[William Bligh]] in [[HMS Bounty|HMS ''Bounty'']], en route to [[Tahiti]], anchored at [[Adventure Bay, Tasmania|Adventure Bay]], [[Van Diemen's Land]]. The party planted apple trees, fruit stones and various vegetables before departing on 4 September.
|-
| 28 September || Phillip decided to send {{HMS|Sirius|1786|6}} to [[Cape Town]] for urgently needed food supplies.
|-
| September || The last remaining cow was killed.
|-
| 2 November || A party of marines from the [[New South Wales Marine Corps]] and 10 convicts left to establish a farming settlement at [[Rose Hill, New South Wales|Rose Hill]] (Later called [[Parramatta]]).
|-
| 19 November || The last two ships of the [[First Fleet]], {{ship||Golden Grove|1782 ship|2}} and ''[[Fishburn (1780 ship)|Fishburn]]'', sailed for England with despatches and reports.
|-
| 11 December || Phillip set out to explore [[Botany Bay]], where he examined the Cook's, George's and Woronora Rivers.
|-
| 31 December ||Because the Aboriginal Australians could not be coaxed into the settlement, one named [[Arabanoo]] was captured and held in confinement. Phillip hoped to learn his language and so to promote good relations between Aboriginal Australians and Europeans.
|-
| [[1790 in Australia|1790]] || 3–28 June || 5 of 6 ships of the beleaguered [[Second Fleet (Australia)|Second Fleet]] arrived. The colony was gripped by a food crisis.
|-
| [[1791 in Australia|1791]] || 9 July || The first ship of the [[Third Fleet (Australia)|Third Fleet]] arrived at Sydney Cove.
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1792 in Australia|1792]] || {{Centre|–}}|| Two French ships, {{ship|French ship|Recherche|1787|2}} and {{ship|French ship|Espérance|1781|2}}, anchor at [[Recherche Bay]], near the southernmost point of [[Tasmania]].
|-
| {{Centre|–}}|| Governor Philip returned to England, accompanied by [[Bennelong]], who became the first Australian-born person to sail to Europe.
|-
| [[1797 in Australia|1797]] || {{Centre|–}}|| ''[[Sydney Cove (1796 ship)|Sydney Cove]]'' was wrecked and some survivors travelled from [[Bass Strait]] to Port Jackson, enabling the rescue of others. This also furthered knowledge of the geography of Australia.
|-
| [[1798 in Australia|1798]] || {{Centre|–}}|| [[George Bass]] and [[Matthew Flinders]] sailed from Sydney and circumnavigated Tasmania, thus proving it to be an island. (to 1799)
|}

== 19th century ==
{| class="wikitable" 
|-
! style="width:6%" | Year || style="width:10%" | Date || 
|-
| [[1803 in Australia|1803]] || || [[Matthew Flinders]] completed the first [[circumnavigation]] of the continent 
|-
| rowspan="3" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1804 in Australia|1804]] || || A settlement was founded at [[Risdon, Tasmania|Risdon]] on the [[River Derwent (Tasmania)|Derwent River]] in Van Diemen's Land
|-
| 4–5 March || [[Castle Hill convict rebellion]], also known as the second Battle of Vinegar Hill, occurred in New South Wales.
|-
| 20 February || The Risdon settlement was moved to Sullivan's Cove (now [[Hobart]]) by Colonel [[David Collins (lieutenant governor)|David Collins]].
|-
| [[1808 in Australia|1808]] || || The [[Rum Rebellion]]
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1813 in Australia|1813]] || || [[Gregory Blaxland|Blaxland]], [[William Lawson (explorer)|Lawson]] and [[William Wentworth|Wentworth]] [[1813 crossing of the Blue Mountains|crossed]] the [[Blue Mountains (New South Wales)|Blue Mountains]].
|-
| || Matthew Flinders referred to New South Wales by the name "Australia".
|-
| rowspan="3" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1817 in Australia|1817]] || || [[John Oxley]] charts the [[Lachlan River]]
|-
| || Australia's first bank, the [[Bank of New South Wales]], opened in Macquarie Place, Sydney. (The bank became [[Westpac]] in 1982).
|-
| || Governor [[Lachlan Macquarie]] petitioned the British Admiralty to use the name "Australia" instead of "New Holland"
|-
| [[1818 in Australia|1818]] || || Oxley charted the [[Macquarie River]].
|-
| rowspan="4" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1824 in Australia|1824]] || || A penal colony was founded at [[Moreton Bay]], now the city of [[Brisbane]].
|-
| || [[Bathurst Island (Northern Territory)|Bathurst]] and [[Melville Island (Australia)|Melville Islands]] were annexed.
|-
| || Permission was granted to change the name of the continent from "New Holland" to "Australia"
|-
| || The [[Hume and Hovell expedition]] travelled overland to Port Phillip Bay and encountered the [[Murray River]] 
|-
| [[1825 in Australia|1825]] || || The [[New South Wales]] western border was extended to 129° E. [[Van Diemen's Land]] was proclaimed.
|-
| [[1826 in Australia|1826]] || 26 December || New South Wales established first settlement in [[Western Australia]] at [[King George Sound]] as a convict-supported military garrison, named Frederick Town but renamed [[Albany, Western Australia|Albany]] in 1832
|-
| [[1827 in Australia|1827]] || 21 January|| The whole of Australia was claimed as British territory when [[Major Edmund Lockyer]] formally annexed the western portion in a ceremony at King George Sound.<ref name=srnsw/><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page481825 |title=Hoisted the Flag – Claim for Major Lockyer |work=[[The Argus (Australia)|The Argus]] |location=Melbourne |date=12 January 1931 |page=6 |access-date=14 May 2014 }}</ref>
|-
| [[1829 in Australia|1829]] |||| [[Charles Sturt]] charted the [[Darling River]].
|-
| ||2 May || [[Charles Fremantle|Captain Charles Fremantle]] took possession of the western side of Australia for the [[British crown]].
|-
| || 12 August || The settlement of [[Perth]] was founded.
|-
| [[1830 in Australia|1830]] || || Sturt arrived at [[Goolwa, South Australia|Goolwa]], having charted the Murray River.
|-
| || 7 October || [[Black War#Black Line, October–November 1830|The Black Line]], a huge six-week military offensive, is launched, using moving cordons to drive all [[Aboriginal Tasmanians]] from the colony's settled districts to the [[Tasman Peninsula]]. 
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1831 in Australia|1831]] || 7 March|| Administration of King George Sound passes to Swan River Colony, convicts returned to New South Wales.<ref name=srnsw>{{cite web |url=http://search.records.nsw.gov.au/agencies/2517;jsessionid=A40C0DC3DCADFDD2F844802E811AA62B |title=King George's Sound Settlement |work=State Records |publisher=[[State Records Authority of New South Wales]] |access-date=14 May 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517120618/http://search.records.nsw.gov.au/agencies/2517%3Bjsessionid%3DA40C0DC3DCADFDD2F844802E811AA62B |archive-date=17 May 2014  }}</ref>
|-
| 18 April|| ''The Sydney Herald'' (later to become ''[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]'') was first published.
|-
| [[1832 in Australia|1832]] || || [[Swan River Colony]] had its name changed to Western Australia.
|-
| [[1833 in Australia|1833]] || || The penal settlement of [[Port Arthur, Tasmania|Port Arthur]] was founded in Van Diemen's Land.
|-
| [[1834 in Australia|1834]] || || The [[Tolpuddle Martyrs]] are transported to Sydney and Hobart.
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1835 in Australia|1835]] || 30 August || [[John Batman]] and [[John Pascoe Fawkner]] established a settlement at [[Port Phillip]], now the city of Melbourne.
|-
| || [[William Wentworth]] established [[Australian Patriotic Association]], Australia's first political party, to demand democracy for New South Wales.
|-
| [[1836 in Australia|1836]] || 28 December || Province of South Australia [[Proclamation|proclaimed]] with its western border at 132° E.
|-
| [[1838 in Australia|1838]] || || First [[Prussia|Prussian]] settlers arrived in South Australia; the largest group of non-British migrants in Australia at the time.
|-
| [[1839 in Australia|1839]] || || [[Paul Edmund Strzelecki]] became the first European to ascend and name Australia's highest peak, [[Mount Kosciuszko]].
|-
| || 9 September ||[[HMS Beagle|HMS ''Beagle'']] sailed into Darwin Harbour during its surveying of the area. [[John Clements Wickham]] named the area ''Port Darwin'' in honour of their former shipmate [[Charles Darwin]]. The settlement became the town of [[Palmerston, Northern Territory|Palmerston]] in 1869 and was renamed Darwin in 1911.
|-
| [[1840 in Australia|1840]] || || Australia's first municipal authority, the [[City of Adelaide]], was established, followed by [[Sydney City Council]].
|-
| [[1841 in Australia|1841]] || 1 July || New Zealand was proclaimed as a [[Colony of New Zealand|separate colony]], no longer part of New South Wales.
|-
| [[1842 in Australia|1842]] || || Copper was discovered at [[Kapunda]] in South Australia.
|-
| [[1843 in Australia|1843]] || || Australia's first parliamentary elections was held for the [[New South Wales Legislative Council]] (though voting rights are restricted to males of certain wealth or property).
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1845 in Australia|1845]] || 4 August || The ship ''[[Cataraqui (ship)|Cataraqui]]'' was wrecked off [[King Island (Tasmania)|King Island]] in [[Bass Strait]]. It is Australia's worst civil maritime disaster, with 406 lives lost.
|-
| || Copper was discovered at [[Burra, South Australia|Burra]] in South Australia.
|-
| [[1849 in Australia|1849]] || 1 June || Western Australia became a penal colony.
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1850 in Australia|1850]] || || ''Australian Colonies Government Act'' [1850] granted representative constitutions to New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. These colonies set about writing constitutions which produced democratically progressive parliaments.
|-
| 1 October || Australia's first university, the [[University of Sydney]], was founded.
|-
| rowspan="3" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1851 in Australia|1851]] || 1 July || [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] separated from New South Wales.
|-
| || The [[Victorian gold rush]] started when gold was found at Summerhill Creek and [[Ballarat]].
|-
| 15 December || [[Forest Creek Monster Meeting]] of miners at Chewton near [[Castlemaine, Victoria|Castlemaine]]
|-
| [[1852 in Australia|1852]] || || [[Francis Cadell (explorer)|Francis Cadell]], in preparation for the launch of his steamer service, explored the [[Murray River]] in a canvas boat, travelling {{convert|1300|miles}} downstream from [[Swan Hill]].<ref>{{Cite news| newspaper = South Australian Register | title = PRESENT CONDITION AND PROSPECTS OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA. | date = 14 September 1852 | page = 1S | access-date = 4 November 2010 | url = http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13308357 }}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1853 in Australia|1853]] || || First [[paddle steamer]]s on [[Murray River]] on the spring flood. From [[South Australia]], the ''Lady Augusta'' captained by [[Francis Cadell (explorer)|Francis Cadell]], reached [[Swan Hill]] while ''Mary Ann'' captained by [[William Randell]], made it as far as [[Moama]] (near [[Echuca]]).<ref>{{Cite news|newspaper = The Sydney Morning Herald | title = Navigation of the Murray | page = 2 | url = http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12950034 | date = 1 November 1853 | access-date = 4 November 2010}}</ref>
|-
| || [[Bendigo Petition]] and [[Red Ribbon Rebellion]] at [[Bendigo]]
|-
| [[1854 in Australia|1854]] || 3 December || The [[Eureka Stockade]]
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1855 in Australia|1855]] || || The transportation of convicts to [[Norfolk Island]] ceased.
|-
| || All men over 21 years of age obtained the right to vote in South Australia.
|-
| [[1856 in Australia|1856]] || 1 January || [[Van Diemen's Land]] name changed to [[Tasmania]].
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1857 in Australia|1857]] || || Victorian Committee reported that a 'federal union' would be in the interests of all the growing colonies. However, there was not enough interest in or enthusiasm for taking positive steps towards bringing the colonies together.
|-
| || Victorian men achieved the right to vote.
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1858 in Australia|1858]] || || Sydney and Melbourne linked by [[Telegraphy|electric telegraph]].
|-
| || New South Wales men achieved the right to vote.
|-
| rowspan="3" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1859 in Australia|1859]] || 6 August || {{SS|Admella}} wrecked off south-east coast of South Australia with the loss of 89 lives.
|-
| || [[Australian rules football]] codified, [[Melbourne Football Club]] founded
|-
| 6 June || [[Queensland]] [[Separation of Queensland|separated from New South Wales]] with its western border at 141° E.
|- 1858: Approximately 40 000 Chinese Miners were living and working on the Victorian goldfields
| [[1860 in Australia|1860]] || || [[John McDouall Stuart]] reached the centre of the continent. The South Australian border changed from 132° E to 129° E.
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1861 in Australia|1861]] || || The ill-fated [[Burke and Wills expedition]] occurred.
|-
| || [[Skiing in Australia]] introduced by Norwegians in the [[Snowy Mountains]] goldrush town of [[Kiandra, New South Wales|Kiandra]].
|-
| [[1862 in Australia|1862]] || || Stuart reached [[Darwin, Northern Territory|Port Darwin]], founding a settlement there. Queensland's western border was moved to 139° E.
|-
| [[1863 in Australia|1863]] || || South Australia took control of the [[Northern Territory]] which was previously part of the colony of New South Wales.
|-
| [[1864 in Australia|1864]] || || [[Great Fire of Brisbane]]
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1867 in Australia|1867]] || || Gold was discovered at [[Gympie]], Queensland.
|-
| || [[Saint Mary MacKillop]] founded [[Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart]].
|-
| [[1868 in Australia|1868]] || || The [[Convictism in Western Australia|transportation of convicts]] to Western Australia ceased.
|-
| [[1869 in Australia|1869]] || || Children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent are removed from their families by Australian and State government agencies. This practice lasted 100 years and is known as the [[Stolen Generation]].
|-
| [[1872 in Australia|1872]] || 22 August || The [[Australian Overland Telegraph Line|Overland Telegraph Line]] linking [[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]] and [[Adelaide]] opened.
|-
| [[1873 in Australia|1873]] || || [[Uluru]] was first sighted by Europeans, and named Ayers Rock.
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1875 in Australia|1875]] || 24 February || {{SS|Gothenburg}} strikes Old Reef off [[Bowen, Queensland|Bowen, North Queensland]] and sank with the loss of approximately 102 lives.
|-
| September || [[Adelaide Steamship Company]] was formed.
|-
| [[1878 in Australia|1878]] || || First horse-drawn trams in Australia commenced operations in [[Adelaide]].
|-
| [[1877 in Australia|1877]] || 15–19 March || The first internationally recognised game of Test Cricket is played between Australia and England at the [[Melbourne Cricket Ground]] (MCG).
|-
| [[1879 in Australia|1879]] || || The first congress of trade unions was held.
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1880 in Australia|1880]] || 11 November || The [[bushranger]] [[Ned Kelly]] was hanged.
|-
| || Parliamentarians in Victoria became the first in Australia to be paid for their work.
|-
| [[1882 in Australia|1882]] || || First water-borne sewerage service in Australia commenced operations in [[Adelaide]].
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1883 in Australia|1883]] || || The opening of the Sydney–Melbourne railway.
|-
| || Silver was discovered at [[Broken Hill, New South Wales|Broken Hill]]
|-
| rowspan="3" style="vertical-align:top;"|
|-
| || The first direct Inter-colonial passenger trains began running between [[Adelaide]] and Melbourne.
|-
| || Gold was discovered at [[Southern Cross, Western Australia]].
|-
| [[1888 in Australia|1888]] || || [[Louisa Lawson]] established ''[[The Dawn (feminist magazine)|The Dawn]]: A Journal for Australian Women''.
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1889 in Australia|1889]] || || The completion of the railway network between [[Adelaide]], [[Brisbane]], Melbourne and Sydney.
|-
| 24 October || [[Henry Parkes|Sir Henry Parkes]] delivered the [[Tenterfield Oration]].
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1890 in Australia|1890]] || || The Australian Federation Conference called a constitutional convention.
|-
| 26 April || [[Banjo Paterson]] published "[[The Man from Snowy River (poem)|The Man from Snowy River]]"
|-
| rowspan="4" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1891 in Australia|1891]] || || A National Australasian Convention met and agreed on adopting the name "the Commonwealth of Australia," also drafting a [[Constitution of Australia|constitution]].
|-
| || The first attempt at a federal constitution was drafted.
|-
| || The Convention adopts the constitution, although it had no legal status
|-
| || A severe depression hit Australia
|-
| [[1893 in Australia|1893]] || || The [[Corowa Conference]] (the "people's convention") called on the colonial parliaments to pass enabling acts, allowing the election of delegates to a new constitutional convention aimed at drafting a proposal and putting it to a referendum in each colony.
|-
| [[1894 in Australia|1894]] || || South Australia became the first Australian colony, and the second place in the world, to grant [[Women's suffrage in Australia|women the right to vote]], as well the first Parliament in the world to allow women to stand for office with the ''[[Constitutional Amendment (Adult Suffrage) Act 1894]]''.
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1895 in Australia|1895]] || || The premiers, except for those of Queensland and Western Australia, agreed to implement the Corowa proposals.
|-
| || "[[Waltzing Matilda]]" was first sung in public, in [[Winton, Queensland]]
|-
| [[1896 in Australia|1896]] || || The [[Bathurst Conference]] (the second "people's convention") met to discuss the 1891 draft constitution.
|-
| [[1897 in Australia|1897]] || || In two sessions, the Second National Australasian Convention met (with representatives from all colonies except Queensland present). They agreed to adopt a constitution based on 1891 draft, and then revised and amended it later that year. [[Catherine Helen Spence]] became the first female political candidate for political office, standing for election as a representative for South Australia.
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1898 in Australia|1898]] || || The Convention agreed on a final draft to be put to the people.
|-
| || After much public debate, the Victorian, South Australian and Tasmanian referendums were successful; the New South Wales referendum narrowly failed. Later New South Wales voted "yes" in a second referendum.
|-
| rowspan="6" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1899 in Australia|1899]] || || The decision was made to site the [[Canberra|national capital]] in New South Wales, but not within 100 miles of Sydney.
|-
|22 September || Queensland's offer of troops for the [[Second Boer War]] is accepted by the Imperial Government.
|-
|4 November|| The [[New South Wales Lancers]] arrived in Cape Town from London to begin Australia's participation in the Second Boer War.
|-
|6 November|| The Australian contingent to the Boer War departs Albany on the ''[[SS Medic (1898)|Medic]]''.
|-
| 1–7 December || The [[Australian Labor Party]] held office for a few days in Queensland, becoming the first trade union party to do so anywhere in the world.
|-
|22 December || Western Australia enacted full [[women's suffrage]].
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1900 in Australia|1900]] || || Several delegates visited London to resist proposed changes to the agreed-upon constitution.
|-
| || The constitution was passed by the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]] as a schedule to the [[Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act]], and was given royal assent
|}

== 20th century ==
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
|-
! style="width:6%" | Year || style="width:10%" | Date || Event
|-
| rowspan="4" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1901 in Australia|1901]] || 1 January || Australia becomes a federation. [[Edmund Barton]] becomes the 1st [[Prime Minister of Australia]]; [[John Hope, 1st Marquess of Linlithgow|the 7th Earl of Hopetoun]] becomes [[Governor-General of Australia|Governor-General]].
Black death strikes Australia, just over 100 people killed in Sydney .
|-
| || The first parliament met in [[Parliament House, Melbourne]]
|-
| || The [[Immigration Restriction Act 1901|Immigration Restriction Act]] was introduced forming the basis of the [[White Australia policy]]
|-
| || The [[Flag of Australia|Australian National Flag]] was flown for the first time
|-
| rowspan="3" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1902 in Australia|1902]] || || The ''[[Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902|Franchise Act]]'' guarantees women the right to vote in federal elections (by this stage, most states had already done this). However, it excludes most non-European ethnic groups, including [[indigenous Australians|Aboriginal]] people, unless already registered to vote on State roles.
|-
| || King [[Edward VII]] approved the design of the [[Australian flag]].
|-
| 27 February || [[Breaker Morant]] is executed for having shot Boers who had surrendered
|-
| rowspan="3" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1903 in Australia|1903]] || 25 August || The [[High Court of Australia]] is established with [[Samuel Griffith]] as the first [[Chief Justice of Australia|Chief Justice]].
|-
| || The ''Defence Act'' gives the federal government full control over the [[Australian Army]]
|-
| 16 December || ''[[1903 Australian federal election]]'': [[Alfred Deakin]] is elected as the 2nd [[Prime Minister of Australia]].
|-
| rowspan="4" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1904 in Australia|1904]] || || A site at [[Dalgety, New South Wales]] chosen for the new national capital
|-
| || [[Chris Watson]] forms the first federal [[Australian Labor Party|Labor]] (minority) government
|- 
| 27 April || Deakin resign and [[Chris Watson]] assumes office as the 3rd [[Prime Minister of Australia]].
|-
| 18 August || [[George Reid]] became the 4th [[Prime Minister of Australia]].
|-
| rowspan="1" style="vertical;"| [[1905 in Australia|1905]] || 5 July || [[Alfred Deakin]] return to the position of prime minister.
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1906 in Australia|1906]] || || Australia takes control of south-eastern [[Territory of Papua|New Guinea]]
|-
| 12 December || ''[[1906 Australian federal election]]'': [[Alfred Deakin]] was reelected.
|-
| rowspan="3" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1908 in Australia|1908]] || || [[Dorothea Mackellar]] publishes ''[[My Country]]''
|-
| || The Dalgety proposal for the national capital is revoked, and [[Canberra]] is chosen instead.
|-
| 27 August || Birth of [[Donald Bradman]] in Cootamundra, New South Wales.
|-
| || 13 November || [[Andrew Fisher]] became 5th [[Prime Minister of Australia]].
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1909 in Australia|1909]] || || The first powered aeroplane flight in Australia is made.
|-
| 2 June || [[Alfred Deakin]] become prime minister.
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1910 in Australia|1910]] || || Andrew Fisher forms the first federal majority Labor government.
|-
| 29 April || [[Andrew Fisher]] become prime minister.
|-
| rowspan="4" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1911 in Australia|1911]] || || The [[Royal Australian Navy]] is founded
|-
| || The [[Northern Territory]] comes under Commonwealth control, being split off from South Australia
|-
| || The first national census is conducted.
|-
| || [[Australian Capital Territory]] proclaimed.
|-
| rowspan="3" style="vertical-align:top;" | [[1912 in Australia|1912]] || July || Australia sends women to the [[1912 Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]] for the first time
|-
| 22 October || The [[Central Flying School RAAF]] in founded which was the foundation for the present force, the [[Royal Australian Air Force]]
|-
|23 May
|[[Walter Burley Griffin]] and [[Marion Mahony Griffin]] win the design competition for the new city of [[Canberra]]
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1913 in Australia|1913]] ||20 February || The foundation stone for the city of Canberra is put in place
|-
| 20 March || Canberra is officially named as the Capital of Australia.
|-
| || 31 May || ''[[1913 Australian federal election]]'': [[Joseph Cook]] elected as the 6th [[Prime Minister of Australia]].
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1914 in Australia|1914]] || || [[Military history of Australia during World War I|Australian soldiers are sent to the First World War]]. This was first time Australians had fought under the Australian flag, as opposed to that of Britain's.
|-
| 17 September || [[Andrew Fisher]] become prime minister.
|-
| rowspan="4" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1915 in Australia|1915]] || 25 April || Australian soldiers land at [[ANZAC Cove]] on the [[Gallipoli]] Peninsula in Turkey.
|-
| || [[Jervis Bay Territory]] comprising 6,677 hectares surrendered and becomes part of the Australia Capital Territory.
|-
| || [[Surfing]] is first introduced to Australia
|-
| 27 October || [[Billy Hughes]] became the 7th [[Prime Minister of Australia]].
|-
| rowspan="4" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1916 in Australia|1916]] || || Hotels are forced to close at 6 p.m., leading to the beginning of the "[[six o'clock swill]]"
|-
| || Australia suffers heavy casualties in the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]] [[Battle of the Somme]]
|-
| || The Returned Sailors’ and Soldiers’ Imperial League of Australia, the forerunner to the [[Returned and Services League of Australia]] is founded
|-
| || The Labor government under Billy Hughes splits over [[conscription]]. First referendum on conscription is rejected
|-
| rowspan="3" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1917 in Australia|1917]] || || Second referendum on conscription is rejected. Transcontinental railway linking [[Adelaide]] to [[Perth]] is completed.
|-
| 5 May || ''[[1917 Australian federal election]]'': [[Billy Hughes]] reelected as prime minister.
|-
| 31 October || ''[[Battle of Beersheba (1917)|Battle of Beersheba]]'': [[Australian 4th Light Horse Brigade]] launches last cavalry charge in modern warfare to capture [[Beersheba]] from the Ottoman Turks.
|-
| rowspan="3" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1918 in Australia|1918]] || || ''[[Battle of Amiens (1918)|Battle of Amiens]]'': Australian troops spearhead 8 August offensive against [[Hindenburg Line]]: the "black day of the German Army". On 12 August, Australian commander General Sir [[John Monash]] is knighted in the field of battle by [[King George V]]
|-
| 11 November || First World War ends – 60,000 Australians dead.
|-
| 17 December || The [[Darwin Rebellion]] takes place, with 1,000 demonstrators demanding the resignation of the [[Administrator of the Northern Territory]], [[John A. Gilruth]].
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical;"| [[1919 in Australia|1919]] || || Prime Minister [[Billy Hughes]] signs [[Treaty of Versailles]]: the first signing of an international treaty by Australia. Australia obtains [[League of Nations]] mandate over [[German New Guinea]].
|-
| 13 December ||''[[1919 Australian federal election]]'': [[Billy Hughes]] reelected as prime minister.
|-
| [[1920 in Australia|1920]] || || The airline [[Qantas]] is founded
|-
| [[1921 in Australia|1921]] || 12 March || [[Edith Cowan]] becomes the first woman [[1921 Western Australian state election|elected]] to an Australian parliament
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical;"| [[1922 in Australia|1922]] || || [[The Smith Family (charity)|The Smith Family]] charity is founded in Sydney
|-
| 2 September || Death of [[Henry Lawson]] aged 55.
|-
| || 16 December || ''[[1922 Australian federal election]]'': [[Billy Hughes]] reelected as prime minister.
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical;"| [[1923 in Australia|1923]] || || [[Vegemite]] is first produced
|-
| 9 February || [[Stanley Bruce]] became 8th [[Prime Minister of Australia]].
|-
| || 28 July || Construction begins on the [[Sydney Harbour Bridge]].
|-
| rowspan="1" style="vertical;"| [[1925 in Australia|1925]] || 16 December || ''[[1925 Australian federal election]]'': [[Stanley Bruce]] reelected as prime minister.
|-
| [[1926 in Australia|1926]] || || The first [[Miss Australia]] contest is held
|-
| [[1927 in Australia|1927]] || 9 May || The tenth parliament is formally opened in [[Canberra]], finalising the move to the new capital.
|-
| || 13 June || [[Slim Dusty]] (David Kirkpatrick), Country Music Singer and Musician is Born in Kempsey, New South Wales.
|-
| [[1928 in Australia|1928]] || || [[Bert Hinkler]] makes the first successful flight from [[UK|Britain]] to Australia, and [[Charles Kingsford Smith]] makes the first flight from the United States to Australia. The [[Shrine of Remembrance]] is built.
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1929 in Australia|1929]] || || Western Australia celebrates its [[Centenary of Western Australia|centenary]]
|-
| || Labor returns to office under [[James Scullin]]. The [[Great Depression in Australia|Great Depression hits Australia]].
|-
| rowspan="3" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1930 in Australia|1930]] || 6 January || [[New South Wales cricket team|New South Wales]] batsman [[Donald Bradman|Don Bradman]] scores a world record [[first-class cricket|first-class]] individual innings of 452 not out in a [[Sheffield Shield]] match against [[Queensland cricket team|Queensland]]
|-
| 11 July || In the Third Test at Leeds against England, [[Don Bradman]] scored a Hundred before Tea, a Hundred before lunch, and a Hundred by the end of the day's play, 309 in Total. He went on to make 334. Altogether in his 52 Test career, Bradman scored 29 Hundreds, 12 Double Hundreds and 2 Triple Hundreds. This is therefore the fastest Triple Hundred in Test History.
|-
| | 27 September || [[Sydney–Brisbane railway]] opens connecting New South Wales with Queensland by rail
|-
| || 4 November || [[Phar Lap]] wins his only [[Melbourne Cup]]
|-
| [[1931 in Australia|1931]] || || [[Douglas Mawson|Sir Douglas Mawson]] charts 4,000 miles of [[Antarctica|Antarctic]] coastline and claims 42% of the icy mass [[Australian Antarctic Territory|for Australia]]
|-
| || 23 February || Death of Dame [[Nellie Melba]] aged 69.
|-
| [[1932 in Australia|1932]] || 19 January || Construction on the [[Sydney Harbour Bridge]] is completed.
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1932 in Australia|1932]] || 19 March || The [[Sydney Harbour Bridge]] opens.
|-
| || The Labor government falls and [[Joseph Lyons]] becomes prime minister.
|-
| [[1933 in Australia|1933]] || 8 April || Western Australia votes at a [[1933 Western Australian secession referendum|rerefendum]] to [[Secessionism in Western Australia|secede from the Commonwealth]], but the vote is ignored by both the Commonwealth and British governments.
|-
| [[1935 in Australia|1935]] || 8 November || Sir [[Charles Kingsford Smith]] disappears. He was 38.
|-
| [[1936 in Australia|1936]] || || The last [[thylacine]] dies.
|-
| [[1937 in Australia|1937]] || || The radio series ''[[Dad and Dave]]'' begins.
|-
| [[1938 in Australia|1938]] || 5–12 February || Sydney hosts the [[1938 British Empire Games|Empire Games]], the forerunner to the [[Commonwealth Games]].
|-
| rowspan="4" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1939 in Australia|1939]] || 13 January || Victoria is devastated by the [[Black Friday (1939)|Black Friday bushfires]].
|-
| 7 April || Prime Minister [[Joseph Lyons]] dies in office and is replaced by [[Robert Menzies]] and the first [[Menzies Government (1939–1941)|Menzies Government]].
|-
| September || Australia enters the [[Military history of Australia during World War II|Second World War]] following the German [[Invasion of Poland]]. The [[2nd Australian Imperial Force]] is raised.<ref>[http://www.awm.gov.au/units/unit_13201.asp 2nd Australian Imperial Force | Australian War Memorial] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110322013559/https://www.awm.gov.au/units/unit_13201.asp |date=22 March 2011 }}. Awm.gov.au. Retrieved on 22 May 2012.</ref>
|-
| || The first flight is made by an Australian-made warplane, the [[Wirraway]].
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1940 in Australia|1940]] || || A team of scientists, under [[Howard Florey]], develops [[penicillin]]
|-
| || Fascist Italy enters war, [[Royal Australian Navy]] engages [[Regia Marina|Italian Navy]] in the early stages of the [[Battle of the Mediterranean]].
|-
| rowspan="3" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1941 in Australia|1941]] || || 3 Divisions of the [[2nd Australian Imperial Force]] join operations in the Mediterranean. After initial successes against Italy, 2nd AIF suffered defeat against the Germans in Greece, Crete, and North Africa.<ref name="awm.gov.au">[http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/ww2.asp Second World War, 1939–45 | Australian War Memorial] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606141155/http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/ww2.asp |date=6 June 2011 }}. Awm.gov.au. Retrieved on 22 May 2012.</ref>
|-
| || Apr–Aug, Australian garrison (''[[Rats of Tobruk]]'') halt advance of Hitler's panzers for the first time during the [[Siege of Tobruk]].
|-
| || Menzies resigns and [[John Curtin]] becomes prime minister in the [[Curtin government]] of 1941–45.
|-
| rowspan="10" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1942 in Australia|1942]] || February || [[Fall of Singapore|Singapore falls]], 15,000 Australians become [[Military history of Australia during World War II|Prisoners of War of the Japanese]]
|-
| || [[Air raids on Australia, 1942–43|Japanese air raids]] – almost 100 attacks against sites in the Northern Territory, Western Australia and Queensland (to 1943). [[Bombing of Darwin]] sees largest attack on Australia by a foreign power.
|-
| || The [[Royal Australian Navy]] and 6th and 7th Divisions of 2nd AIF are recalled from Mediterranean Theatre to participate in the anticipated ''[[Battle for Australia]]''.
|-
| || [[Sparrow Force]] engages in guerilla campaign in [[Battle of Timor]] (to 1943)
|-
| 4 May – 8 May || ''[[Battle of the Coral Sea]]'': [[United States Navy|United States]] and [[Royal Australian Navy]] halt advance of the Japanese towards [[Port Moresby]] ([[Territory of Papua|Australian Territory of Papua]])
|-
| 21 July – 16 November || ''[[Battle of Kokoda Trail]]'': Australian soldiers halt Japanese march on [[Port Moresby]]
|-
| Aug–Sep || Australian forces inflict the first defeat on the [[Imperial Japanese Army]] in the [[Battle of Milne Bay]].<ref>[http://www.awm.gov.au/units/event_345.asp Battle of Milne Bay | Australian War Memorial] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090515145923/http://www.awm.gov.au/units/event_345.asp |date=15 May 2009 }}. Awm.gov.au (25 August 1942). Retrieved on 2012-05-22.</ref>
|-
| Jul–Nov || [[9th Division (Australia)|Australia's 9th Division]] plays crucial role in the [[First Battle of El Alamein|First]] and [[Second Battle of El Alamein]], which turned the [[North Africa Campaign]] in favour of the Allies.<ref>[http://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/el_alamein/reading.asp Encyclopedia | Australian War Memorial] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514060532/http://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/el_alamein/reading.asp |date=14 May 2011 }}. Awm.gov.au (23 October 1942). Retrieved on 2012-05-22.</ref>
|-
| || National [[Daylight saving time in Australia|daylight saving]] is introduced as a war time measure.
|-
| 9 October || The UK ''[[Statute of Westminster 1931|Statute of Westminster]]'' is formally adopted by Australia. The Statute formally grants Australia the right to pass laws that conflict with UK laws.
|-
| rowspan="3" style="vertical-align:top;" | [[1943 in Australia|1943]] || 4 March || Australia wins its first [[15th Academy Awards|Oscar]], with cinematographer [[Damien Parer]] honoured for ''[[Kokoda Front Line!]]'' documentary.
|-
| || 2,815 Australian POWs die constructing Japan's [[Burma-Thailand Railway]]<ref>[http://www.awm.gov.au/exhibitions/stolenyears/ww2/japan/burmathai/ Stolen Years: Australian prisoners of war | Australian War Memorial] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623161600/http://www.awm.gov.au/exhibitions/stolenyears/ww2/japan/burmathai/ |date=23 June 2011 }}. Awm.gov.au. Retrieved on 22 May 2012.</ref>
|-
| || Australian forces engage Japan in New Guinea, Wau, and the Huon peninsula.<ref name="awm.gov.au"/> (to 1944)
|-
| rowspan="4" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1944 in Australia|1944]] || 5 August || [[Cowra breakout]],  mass escape of Japanese prisoners of war occurs in NSW.
|-
| || Japanese inflict [[Sandakan Death March]] on 2,000 Australian and British prisoners of war – only 6 survive. The single worst war crime perpetrated against Australians.<ref>[http://www.awm.gov.au/exhibitions/stolenyears/ww2/japan/sandakan/ Stolen Years: Australian prisoners of war | Australian War Memorial] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623170235/http://www.awm.gov.au/exhibitions/stolenyears/ww2/japan/sandakan/ |date=23 June 2011 }}. Awm.gov.au. Retrieved on 22 May 2012.</ref>
|-
| || Australian forces battle Japanese garrisons from Borneo to Bougainville.<ref name="awm.gov.au"/>
|-
| || The [[Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme]] is introduced, providing subsidised medicine to all Australians
|-
| rowspan="7" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1945 in Australia|1945]] || || the [[Liberal Party of Australia]] is established with [[Robert Menzies]] as its first leader.
|-
| || Australian forces lead [[Borneo campaign (1945)|Battle of Borneo]]
|-
| 7 May || Nazi Germany surrenders
|-
| July || Prime Minister Curtin dies and is replaced, briefly by [[Frank Forde]], then by [[Ben Chifley]] and the [[Chifley government|Chifley Labor government]]
|-
| 14 August || [[Victory over Japan Day|Japan surrenders]]
|-
| || Australia becomes a founding member of the United Nations
|-
|  26 December 1945 – 3 January 1946 || The [[Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race]] is held for the [[1945 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race|first time]]
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;" | [[1946 in Australia|1946]] || || [[Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (Australia)|Minister for Immigration]] [[Arthur Calwell]] introduces the major post-war immigration scheme
|-
| || [[Norman Makin]], is voted in as the first [[President of the United Nations Security Council|President]] of the [[United Nations Security Council]].
|-
| rowspan="3" style="vertical-align:top;" | [[1948 in Australia|1948]] || || [[Minister for Foreign Affairs (Australia)|Minister for External Affairs]], Dr. [[H. V. Evatt]] is elected [[President of the United Nations General Assembly|President]] of the [[United Nations General Assembly]].
|-
| || Holden starts manufacturing its first Australian designed and built car. The First Model is the 48/215 followed by the FJ, FE, FC, FB, EK, EJ, EH, HD, HR, HK, HT, HQ, HJ, HX. The Holden Commodore was introduced in 1978 and started off with the VB, VH, VK, VL, VN, VT, VY, VZ, VE. Due to financial problems, Holden will no longer manufacture cars in Australia from 2017.
|-
| || Australia becomes a signatory to the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]].
|-
| rowspan="4" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1949 in Australia|1949]] || ||  All indigenous ex-servicemen and any [[Indigenous Australians]] who are eligible to vote in State Elections (NSW, VIC, SA and TAS) are given an unrestricted right to vote in federal elections.
|-
| 26 January || The Nationality and Citizenship Act is passed. Rather than being identified as subjects of Britain, the Act established Australian citizenship for people who met eligibility requirements.
|-
| 17 October || Construction of the [[Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme]] officially begins
|-
| 10 December || ''[[1949 Australian federal election]]'': [[Robert Menzies]] returns to power as leader of the new Liberal Party [[Menzies Government (1949–1966)|Menzies Government]].
|-
| [[1950 in Australia|1950]] || || Australian troops are sent to the [[Korean War]] to assist [[South Korea]]. (to 1953)
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1951 in Australia|1951]] || || Voters reject a [[1951 Australian referendum|referendum]] to change the Constitution to allow the Menzies Government to ban the [[Communist Party of Australia|Communist Party]]
|-
| 1 September || Australia signs the [[ANZUS]] treaty with the United States and New Zealand
|-
| [[1952 in Australia|1952]] || 3 October || ''[[Operation Hurricane]]'': First [[nuclear test]] conducted in Australian territory by the United Kingdom off the coast of Western Australia.
|-
| [[1954 in Australia|1954]] || || [[Elizabeth II]] and [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh|Prince Philip]] make a royal visit; the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] diplomat [[Vladimir Mikhaylovich Petrov (diplomat)|Vladimir Petrov]] defects, leading to the [[Petrov Affair]] and another split in the Labor Party
|-
| rowspan="3" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1955 in Australia|1955]] || || [[Democratic Labor Party (Australia, 1955)|Democratic Labor Party]] splits from [[Australian Labor Party]] over concerns of Communist influence in the labour movement
|-
| || Australia becomes involved in [[Malayan Emergency|Malayan Insurgency]]
|-
| || Hotels in New South Wales no longer have to close at 6 p.m., ending the "[[six o'clock swill]]"
|-
| rowspan="3" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1956 in Australia|1956]] || 16 September || [[Television in Australia]] is launched.
|-
| 22 November – 8 December || The [[1956 Summer Olympics|16th Summer Olympics]] is held in Melbourne
|-
| || Performing artist [[Barry Humphries]] introduces [[Edna Everage]] to the [[Theatre of Australia|Australian stage]]
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1957 in Australia|1957]] || || The song "[[Wild One (Johnny O'Keefe song)|Wild One]]" makes [[Johnny O'Keefe]] the first Australian rock'n'roller to reach the national charts.
|-
| || [[Slim Dusty]]'s [[Australian country music]] hit "[[A Pub with No Beer]]" becomes the first Australian song to attain international chart success.
|-
| [[1959 in Australia|1959]] || 1 March ||Construction begins on the Sydney Opera House. It will eventually cost $102 Million.
|-
| rowspan="3" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1962 in Australia|1962]] || || [[Robert Menzies]]' ''Commonwealth Electoral Act'' provided that all [[Indigenous Australians]] should have the right to enrol and vote at federal elections, removing remaining restrictions applying in QLD, WA and NT.
|-
||16 April || [[Sydney–Melbourne rail corridor]] opens with [[Spirit of Progress]] connecting New South Wales to Victoria by rail
|-
| || Malayan Insurgency ends
|-
| rowspan="5" style="vertical"| [[1964 in Australia|1964]] || 12–20 June || [[The Beatles' 1964 world tour]] reach Australia
|-
| 10 February || 82 sailors die when {{HMAS|Voyager|D04|6}} sinks [[Melbourne–Voyager collision|after collision]] with {{HMAS|Melbourne|R21|6}} 
|-
| || The editors of ''[[Oz (magazine)|Oz]]'' magazine are charged with obscenity 
|-
| || Prime Minister Robert Menzies announces the reintroduction of compulsory military service for men aged from 18 to 25 years old 
|-
| || First troops sent to Vietnam War.
|-
| [[1965 in Australia|1965]] || || Indigenous Australians gain right to vote in state of Queensland
|-
| rowspan="3" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1966 in Australia|1966]] || || The ban on the employment of married women in the Commonwealth Public Service is lifted
|-
| 26 January || [[Robert Menzies]] retire as Australia's longest-serving Prime Minister and is succeeded by [[Harold Holt]].
|-
| 26 January || [[The Beaumont Children]] Jane (9), Arnna (7), and Grant (4) disappear from Glenelg Beach. 
|-
| || 14 February || [[Decimalisation]]; the Australian currency is changed to dollars and cents, with the [[Australian dollar]] replacing the [[Australian pound]].
|-
|rowspan="8" style="vertical;"| [[1967 in Australia|1967]] || 3 February || [[Ronald Ryan]] becomes the last person legally [[Capital punishment in Australia|executed in Australia]].
|-
| 7 February || [[1967 Tasmanian fires|Black Tuesday bushfires]] devastate large areas of [[Hobart]] and south-eastern [[Tasmania]]; 64 people were killed. 
|-
| 9 February || [[Gough Whitlam]] becomes leader of the Labor Party
|-
| 27 May || [[Australian referendum, 1967 (Aboriginals)|The constitution is changed]] to allow Aboriginal Australians to be included in the population count and for the federal government to legislate for them
|-
| || Sydney is rocked by a series of brutal underworld killings
|-
| || [[Talkback radio]] is introduced
|-
| 17 December || Prime Minister [[Harold Holt]] [[Disappearance of Harold Holt|disappears while swimming]] at [[Cheviot Beach]], Victoria
|-
| 19 December || Holt was officially presumed dead by the government. Governor-General [[Lord Casey]] swore [[John McEwen]] in as prime minister, on an interim basis pending the Liberal Party electing its new leader
|-
|rowspan="5" style="vertical;"| [[1968 in Australia|1968]] || 10 January || [[John Gorton]] replaces [[John McEwen]] as Prime Minister
|-
| 24 June || British comedian [[Tony Hancock]] commits suicide in Sydney
|-
| 1 July || Australia signs the [[Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons]]
|-
| || Aboriginal boxing champion [[Lionel Rose]] defeats Masahiko "Fighting" Harada in Japan to become the world bantamweight champion 
|-
| || Australia's first [[liver]] [[Organ transplant|transplant]] operation is performed in Sydney
|-
| rowspan="5" style="vertical"| [[1969 in Australia|1969]] || || French conceptual artist [[Christo]] 'wraps' [[Little Bay]] in Sydney 
|-
| November || Renowned author-artists [[Norman Lindsay]] and [[May Gibbs]] die 
|-
| || The Australian production of the rock musical ''[[Hair (musical)|Hair]]'' premieres in Sydney 
|-
| || Top pop groups [[the Easybeats]] and [[the Twilights]] break up; [[Tim Burstall]] directs ''[[2000 Weeks]]'', the first All-Australian feature released since Charles Chauvel's ''[[Jedda]]'' in 1958
|-
| 25 October || ''[[1969 Australian federal election]]'': John Gorton reelected as prime minister.
|-
| [[1970 in Australia|1970]] || || More than 200,000 people participate in the largest demonstrations in Australian history, against the [[Vietnam War]]
|-
| rowspan="5" style="vertical-align:top;" | [[1971 in Australia|1971]] || || [[Neville Bonner]] becomes the first [[Indigenous Australians|Aborigine]] to become an Australian Member of Parliament; 
|-
| 10 March || [[John Gorton]] resigns as prime minister and is succeeded by [[William McMahon]]
|-
| || The [[1971 South Africa rugby union tour of Australia]] sparks protest all throughout Australia. Premier of Queensland [[Joh Bjelke-Petersen]] declares a [[state of emergency]] in QLD in response to escalating protest.
|-
| || [[Daylight saving time in Australia|Daylight saving]] is introduced to New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory.<ref name="DST Dates">{{cite web |url=http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/dst_times.shtml |title=Daylight Saving Time – Implementation Dates of Daylight Saving Time within Australia |author=Australian Government – Bureau of Meteorology |access-date=27 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110312185327/http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/dst_times.shtml |archive-date=12 March 2011 |url-status=live  }}</ref>
|-
|
|[[Green ban|Green Bans]] begin in [[Hunters Hill, New South Wales|Hunters Hill]], Sydney and spread across New South Wales.
|-
| rowspan="6" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1972 in Australia|1972]] || || The [[Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission]] rules that women doing the same job as men have the right to be paid the same wage.
|-
| || Queensland discontinues [[daylight saving time|Daylight Saving]].<ref name="DST Dates" />
|-
| || [[Aboriginal Tent Embassy]] erected in response to the Coalition government's approval of exploration licences and mining tenements on reserves
|-
| July || Supersonic passenger plane [[Concorde]] lands in Darwin
|-
| 2 December || ''[[1972 Australian federal election]]'': The first [[Australian Labor Party|Labor]] government since 1949 is elected under the leadership of [[Gough Whitlam]]
|-
| || Australia recognises the People's Republic of China
|-
| rowspan="6" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1973 in Australia|1973]] || 20 October || The [[Sydney Opera House]] formally opened by [[Elizabeth II]]
|-
| || The White Australian Policy (established 1901) is officially dismantled 
|-
| || Vietnam War ends
|-
| || The federal voting age is dropped from 21 to 18
|-
| || Unionists save the historic "[[The Rocks, Sydney|The Rocks]]" area of Sydney from demolition by introducing "[[Green Bans]]"
|-
| || [[Patrick White]] becomes the first Australian to win the [[Nobel Prize in Literature]]
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1974 in Australia|1974]] || || "[[Advance Australia Fair]]" recognised as Australia's national song, but not as [[national anthem]].
|-
| 24–25 December || [[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]] is devastated by [[Cyclone Tracy]].
|-
| rowspan="6" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1975 in Australia|1975]] || || The ''Privy Council (Appeals from the High Court) Act'' removes the right to appeal High Court decisions to the British [[Privy Council]]. Appeals to the Privy Council direct from State Supreme Courts remain until 1988.
|-
| 5 January || The Hobart Bridge [[Tasman Bridge disaster|collapsed]]. A bulk ore carrier travelling on the Derwent River collided into several pylons of the Tasman Bridge killing a total of 12 people. These included 7 crew on board the ship and 5 people that were in 4 cars which drove 45m off the bridge into the Derwent River.
|-
| || South Australia becomes the first state in Australia to legalise homosexuality between consenting adults in private.
|-
| || Whitlam government introduced the Aboriginal Land (NT) Bill into Parliament. The bill proposed land rights in the Northern Territory based on land claimed on grounds of need as well as traditional affiliation and traditional landowners maintaining control over mining and development.
|-
| || A [[1975 Australian constitutional crisis|constitutional crisis]] occurs when [[Malcolm Fraser]] delays supply, threatening a government shutdown until [[Governor-General of Australia|Governor-General]] [[John Kerr (governor-general)|John Kerr]] dismisses Prime Minister [[Gough Whitlam]] on 11 November 1975. Kerr then appointed [[Malcolm Fraser]], Leader of the Opposition, as caretaker prime minister.
|-
| 13 December || ''[[1975 Australian federal election]]'': Malcolm Fraser wins elections and becomes Prime Minister
|-
| [[1976 in Australia|1976]] || || The [[Australian Capital Territory]] legalises homosexuality between consenting adults in private.
|-
| [[1977 in Australia|1977]] || 18 January || [[Granville rail disaster]] killed eighty-three people
|-
| [[1978 in Australia|1978]] || 24 June || First [[Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras]]
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1979 in Australia|1979]] || || Australian women win the right to [[maternity leave]]
|-
| || [[Kakadu National Park]] and the [[Great Barrier Reef Marine Park]] are both proclaimed.
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1980 in Australia|1980]] || 17 August || Baby [[Death of Azaria Chamberlain|Azaria Chamberlain]] disappears from a campsite at [[Uluru]] (Ayers Rock), reportedly taken by a dingo.
|-
| 18 October || ''[[1980 Australian federal election]]'': The Coalition is elected.
|-
| [[1981 in Australia|1981]] || || A [[1981 Tasmanian power referendum|referendum]] is held in Tasmania to vote for whether or not the [[Franklin Dam controversy|Franklin Dam]] should be built.
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical;"| [[1982 in Australia|1982]] || 30 September – 9 October || [[1982 Commonwealth Games|12th Commonwealth Games]] held in Brisbane.
|-
| || The [[National Gallery of Australia]] is opened.
|-
| rowspan="4" style="vertical;"| [[1983 in Australia|1983]] || 16 February || The [[Ash Wednesday bushfires]] kill 71 people.
|-
| 5 March || ''[[1983 Australian federal election]]'': [[Bob Hawke]] defeats Fraser and leads Labor back to government.
|-
| 14 – 26 September || Australia wins the [[1983 America's Cup|America's Cup]] 
|-
| 12 December || The [[Australian dollar]] is [[Floating exchange rate|floated]].
|-
| rowspan="4" style="vertical;"| [[1984 in Australia|1984]] || 19 April || "[[Advance Australia Fair]]" is proclaimed as Australia's official [[national anthem]].
|-
| 1 February || [[Medicare (Australia)|Medicare]] is established.
|-
| 14 May || The [[Australian one dollar coin|one dollar coin]] is issued to replace the [[Australian one-dollar note|one dollar note]]. 
|-
| 1 December || ''[[1984 Australian federal election]]'': Labor wins.
|-
| [[1985 in Australia|1985]] || || The government grants the freehold title of a large area of land in central Australia, including prominent landmarks [[Uluru]] and [[Kata Tjuta]], to the Mutitjulu people, who in turn give them a 99-year lease.  The last state to do so (New South Wales) abolishes capital punishment.
|-
| rowspan="4" style="vertical"| [[1986 in Australia|1986]] || || The ''[[Australia Act 1986|Australia Act]]'' removes the right of appeal from State courts to the British Privy Council, making the High Court the final court of appeal in Australia. The Act also removes all remaining rights of the UK parliament to pass law for Australia.
|-
|| 2 February || [[Murder of Anita Cobby]] in Sydney.
|-
|| 27 March || [[Russell Street Bombing]] in Melbourne. 
|-
|| || ''[[Crocodile Dundee]]'' is released in Australia.
|-
| rowspan="3" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1987 in Australia|1987]] || 9 August || [[Hoddle Street massacre]] kills 7 victims and injures 19 
|-
|| 1 December || Sir [[Joh Bjelke-Petersen]] resigns as Premier of Queensland after 19 years at the top.
|-
|| 8 December || [[Queen Street massacre]] kills 8 victims and injures 5.
|-
| rowspan="4" style="vertical;"| [[1988 in Australia|1988]] || 26 January || Australia celebrates its [[Australian Bicentenary|bicentenary]], with large celebrations and major funding for capital works projects.
|-
|| 3 September || [[1988 Australian referendum|Federal referendums]] on 4-year parliamentary terms, recognition of local government and other issues are defeated.
|-
|| 30 April – 30 October || Brisbane hosts [[World Expo 88]].
|-
|| 9 May || The new [[Parliament House, Canberra|Parliament House]] opens in Canberra.
|-
| rowspan="3" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1989 in Australia|1989]] || || [[1989 Newcastle earthquake|Newcastle earthquake]] kills 13 people. ACT gains self-Government. The [[Kempsey bus crash]] and [[Grafton bus crash]] kill a total of 56 people.
|-
| || Queensland commences three-year trial of [[daylight saving time|Daylight Saving]].<ref name="DST Dates" />
|-
| || [[Rosemary Follett]] (Australian Labor Party) becomes the first [[Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory]] and the first woman to become head of government in an [[States and territories of Australia|Australian state or territory]].
|-
| [[1990 in Australia|1990]] || || [[Royal Australian Navy]] deployed in preparation for the [[Gulf War|First Gulf War]]. [[Carmen Lawrence]] becomes the first female premier of an Australian state. Labor wins the [[1990 Australian federal election|1990 federal election]].
|-
| rowspan="5" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1991 in Australia|1991]] || 4 July ||Prominent heart surgeon [[Victor Chang]] is gunned down. 
|-
|| 17 August || Seven people die in the [[Strathfield massacre]]. 
|-
|| 21 August || The [[Coode Island]] chemical storage facility in Melbourne explodes, leaving a toxic cloud hanging over the city for days.
|-
|| 2 September || ''Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation Act 1991'' is passed; [[reconciliation in Australia]] policy established. 
|-
|| 20 December || [[Paul Keating]] replaces [[Bob Hawke]] to be the 24th [[Prime Minister of Australia]]. 
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;" | [[1992 in Australia|1992]] || || The High Court delivers the [[Mabo v Queensland (No 2)|Mabo Decision]], which rules that indigenous native title does exist. This effectively extinguishes the concept of ''[[terra nullius]]''.  New South Wales Premier [[Nick Greiner]] resigns.
|-
| 22 February || Queensland holds a [[1992 Queensland daylight saving referendum|referendum on daylight saving]], which is defeated with a 54.5% 'no' vote.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ecq.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/1708/1992-Statistical-Returns_Daylight-Saving-Summary.pdf|title=Daylight Saving Referendum|date=July 1992|publisher=[[Electoral Commission of Queensland]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170911195711/https://www.ecq.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/1708/1992-Statistical-Returns_Daylight-Saving-Summary.pdf|archive-date=11 September 2017|url-status=dead|access-date=12 September 2017}}</ref>
|-
|[[1993 in Australia|1993]]
| 13 March || ''[[1993 Australian federal election]]'': Keating defeats [[John Hewson]]; the [[Australian Greens]] stand candidates for the first time. 
|-
| [[1995 in Australia|1995]] || || The [[Northern Territory]] legalises voluntary [[euthanasia]], but it is overruled by the federal government when Liberal MP [[Kevin Andrews (politician)|Kevin Andrews]] proposes the [[Euthanasia Laws Bill 1996]]
|-
| rowspan="3" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1996 in Australia|1996]] || || The High Court hands down the [[Wik Peoples v Queensland|Wik Decision]], which holds that indigenous native title can survive the granting of pastoral leases.
|-
| 2 March || ''[[1996 Australian federal election]]'': Liberal [[John Howard]] becomes prime minister, defeating [[Paul Keating]] after a record 13 years of Labor government
|-
| || [[Howard government]] leads all Australian states and territories agree to introduce uniform gun laws following the deaths of 35 people in the [[Port Arthur massacre (Australia)|Port Arthur massacre]]
|-
| rowspan="3" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1997 in Australia|1997]] || || Expelled Liberal MP [[Pauline Hanson]] forms the [[One Nation Party]]
|-
| 1 May || Tasmania legalises homosexuality
|-
| 30 July || ''[[1997 Thredbo landslide]]'': Eighteen people die when the Bimbadene and Carinya Lodges collapse at [[Thredbo]] Alpine Village at 11.30 p.m.
|-
| || 22 November || [[Michael Hutchence]], lead singer of [[INXS]], is found dead in his hotel room.
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1998 in Australia|1998]] || || A [[1998 Australian waterfront dispute|major strike]] results when [[Patrick Corporation|Patrick Stevedores]] attempt to introduce non-union labour to reduce the influence of the [[Maritime Union of Australia]]
|-
| || The [[Australian Stock Exchange]] is demutualized and floated as a public company, becoming the world's first stock exchange to be listed on an exchange.
|-
| rowspan="3" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[1999 in Australia|1999]] || 26 August || Both houses of the federal parliament pass a [[Motion of Reconciliation]] signifying both recognition of and regret at past mistreatment of indigenous Australians.
|-
| 6 November || A [[1999 Australian republic referendum|referendum on changing to a republic]] is unsuccessful
|-
| || [[Howard government]] deploys Australian forces to [[East Timor]] to lead the [[INTERFET]] mission, following violence in wake of East Timorese vote for independence.
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[2000 in Australia|2000]] || 1 July || [[Howard government]] introduces a [[Goods and Services Tax (Australia)|Goods and Services Tax]]
|-
| 15 September – 1 October || [[2000 Summer Olympics|27th Summer Olympic Games]] held in Sydney.
|-
|}

== 21st century ==
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
|-
! style="width:6%" | Year || style="width:10%" | Date || Event
|-
| rowspan="6" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[2001 in Australia|2001]] || || Australia celebrates centenary of [[Federation of Australia|federation]].
|-
| 25 February || Death of Donald Bradman, aged 92 in [[Kensington Park, South Australia|Kensington Park]], Adelaide, South Australia.
|-
| || Western Australia adopts a uniform [[age of consent]] of 16.
|-
| || Boat load of asylum seekers is rescued by Norwegian ship, leading to the [[Tampa affair]].
|- 
| || Australian forces deployed to [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|War]] to topple [[Taliban]] for supporting [[Al-Qaeda]].
|-
| 10 November || ''[[2001 Australian federal election]]'': John Howard is reelected as prime minister.
|-
| [[2002 in Australia|2002]] || 12 October || [[2002 Bali bombings]], the deadliest act of terrorism in the [[history of Indonesia]], killing 202 people (including 88 Australians).<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/2778923.stm | work=BBC News | title=Bali death toll set at 202 | date=19 February 2003 | access-date=1 January 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110203094002/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/2778923.stm | archive-date=3 February 2011 | url-status=live | df=dmy-all }}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="5" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[2003 in Australia|2003]] || || Australian military deployed to [[Iraq War]] to oust the [[Saddam Hussein]] regime for serial non-compliance with the [[Gulf War|1991 Gulf War Peace Treaty]].
|-
| || Northern Territory introduces uniform age of consent set at 16 for everyone.
|-
| || New South Wales becomes the last State to have a uniform age of consent at 16 for everyone.
|-
| || Australia hosts the [[2003 Rugby World Cup|Rugby World Cup]], with the home side losing the final to England.
|-
| 19 September || Country music singer and musician [[Slim Dusty]] dies, aged 76.
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[2004 in Australia|2004]] || 9 September || A [[2004 Australian Embassy bombing in Jakarta|bomb explodes]] outside the Australian embassy in [[Jakarta]], Indonesia.
|-
| 9 October || ''[[2004 Australian federal election]]'': [[Howard government]] ([[Liberal Party of Australia|Liberal]]-[[National Party of Australia|National]] Coalition) wins fourth term and defeats [[Mark Latham]] led [[Australian Labor Party]].
|-
| [[2005 in Australia|2005]] || December || Sydney beachside suburb of [[Cronulla, New South Wales|Cronulla]] sees a protest against the alleged bashing of a beach lifeguard, developing into an alcohol-fuelled, racially charged [[2005 Cronulla riots|riot]].
|-
| rowspan="4" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[2006 in Australia|2006]] || 15–26 March || The [[2006 Commonwealth Games|Commonwealth Games]] are held in Melbourne.
|-
| 4 September || Wildlife conservationist and television personality [[Steve Irwin]] dies, aged 44. 
|-
| 8 September || Motor racing driver [[Peter Brock]] dies, aged 61.
|-
| || Australian Forces are again deployed to [[East Timor]] to help stabilize the country.
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[2007 in Australia|2007]] || || Australia avoids recession amidst [[Financial crisis of 2007–08|Global Financial Crisis]] (to 2010).
|-
| 24 November || ''[[2007 Australian federal election]]'': [[Kevin Rudd]] (Australian Labor Party) defeats [[John Howard]] ([[Liberal Party of Australia|Liberal]]-[[National Party of Australia|National]] Coalition) to become the 26th [[Prime Minister of Australia]].
|-
| rowspan="5" | [[2008 in Australia|2008]] || 22 January ||Actor [[Heath Ledger]] dies from an accidental prescription drug intoxication, aged 28.
|-
| 13 February || [[Kevin Rudd]] leads bi-partisan Parliament to formally apologise for the [[Stolen Generations]].
|-
| || Longest heatwave for an Australian capital city recorded in [[Adelaide]].
|-
| 15–20 July || Sydney hosts [[World Youth Day 2008|Catholic World Youth Day]].
|-
| 5 September || [[Quentin Bryce]] assumes office, becoming the first female [[Governor-General of Australia]].
|-
| [[2009 in Australia|2009]] || 7 February – 14 March || [[Black Saturday bushfires]]: Massive bushfires swept across Victoria, resulting in 173 fatalities.<ref name="capped">{{cite news |title = Toll capped at 210 |url = http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25221961-5000117,00.html |access-date =22 March 2009 |date = 22 March 2009 | publisher= [[Herald Sun]]}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref><ref name="deathtoll">{{cite web|title=Bushfires death toll |url=http://www.police.vic.gov.au/content.asp?Document_ID=19190 |access-date=31 March 2009 |date=30 March 2009 |work=Victoria Police |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090313151520/http://www.police.vic.gov.au/content.asp?Document_ID=19190 |archive-date=13 March 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Bushfire death toll revised down|url=http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25262511-421,00.html|publisher=News Limited|date=30 March 2009|access-date=30 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090402200414/http://www.news.com.au/story/0%2C27574%2C25262511-421%2C00.html|archive-date=2 April 2009|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="3" style="vertical-align:top;"| [[2010 in Australia|2010]] || 23–24 June || [[Julia Gillard]] [[Australian Labor Party leadership spill, 2010|challenged and replaced]] Kevin Rudd as leader of the Labor Party to become the 27th and first female [[Prime Minister of Australia]].
|-
| 17 October || [[Mary MacKillop]] canonised as Australia's first [[Saint]] of the [[Roman Catholic Church]].<ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/12/19/2776743.htm MacKillop to become Australia's first saint – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629014437/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/12/19/2776743.htm |date=29 June 2011 }}. Abc.net.au (19 December 2009). Retrieved on 2012-05-22.</ref>
|-
| 21 August || ''[[2010 Australian federal election]]'': Election results in [[hung Parliament]] and narrow victory by Julia Gillard (ALP) over [[Tony Abbott]] (Lib-Nat Coalition); [[Liberal Party of Australia|Liberal]] [[Ken Wyatt]] becomes the first Aboriginal member elected to the [[Australian House of Representatives]].
|-
| [[2011 in Australia|2011]] || || Queensland is affected by [[2010–2011 Queensland floods|major flooding]], followed by [[Cyclone Yasi]].
|-
| [[2012 in Australia|2012]] || 1 July || [[Carbon pricing in Australia|Carbon price]] introduced by the [[Gillard government]].
|-
| rowspan="3" |[[2013 in Australia|2013]]
|21 March
|[[Julia Gillard]] apologises to victims of [[Forced adoption in Australia|forced adoption]] practices for removal of babies from predominantly young single mothers.
|-
| 26 June || Kevin Rudd defeats Julia Gillard in a [[Australian Labor Party leadership spill, June 2013|leadership spill]], 57 votes to 45. Gillard resigns from parliament, Rudd is again sworn in as prime minister.
|-
| 7 September || ''[[2013 Australian federal election]]'': Tony Abbott defeats Kevin Rudd to become the 28th Prime Minister of Australia.
|-
| rowspan="3" style="vertical-align:top;" | [[2014 in Australia|2014]] || 14 July || [[Carbon pricing in Australia|Carbon price]] is dropped by the [[Abbott government]].
|-
| 21 October || 21st Prime Minister of Australia [[Gough Whitlam]] dies, aged 98.
|-
| 15–16 December || [[2014 Sydney hostage crisis]].
|-
| rowspan="3" style="vertical-align:top;" |[[2015 in Australia|2015]] || 20 March || 22nd Prime Minister of Australia [[Malcolm Fraser]] dies, aged 84.
|-
| 15 September || [[Malcolm Turnbull]] defeats Tony Abbott in a [[September 2015 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spill|leadership spill]], 54 votes to 44. Turnbull is sworn in as the 29th Prime Minister of Australia.
|-
|
|The [[Matagarup Refugee Camp|Matagurup Refugee Camp]] is founded in Perth to defend Aboriginal Rights.
|-
| rowspan="2" |[[2016 in Australia|2016]]
|2 July || ''[[2016 Australian federal election]]'': Malcolm Turnbull remains as Prime Minister of Australia.
|-
|21 November || A [[Thunderstorm asthma]] event in Melbourne kills 10 people and sends thousands to emergency departments
|-
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;" |[[2017 in Australia|2017]] || Late July ||  John Cameron sets off the chain of events that became the [[2017 Australian parliamentary eligibility crisis]].
|-
| 9 December || [[Same-sex marriage]] is legalised by the ''[[Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2018C00423|title=Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017|work=Federal Register of Legislation}}</ref>
|-
|[[2018 in Australia|2018]]
|24 August || Following two [[2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills|leadership spills]], [[Scott Morrison]] succeeds Malcolm Turnbull as leader of the [[Liberal Party of Australia|Liberal Party]] and is sworn in as the 30th Prime Minister of Australia.
|-
| rowspan="2" |[[2019 in Australia|2019]]
|18 May || [[2019 Australian federal election]]: Scott Morrison remains as Prime Minister of Australia.
|-
| || [[2019–20 Australian bushfire season|Bushfires]] occur throughout late 2019 in every state and territory, destroying 2600 homes and killing 34 people.
|-
| rowspan="2" |[[2020 in Australia|2020]]
|31 January || The ACT becomes the first Australian region to legalise recreational [[Cannabis (drug)|cannabis]].
|-
|
|Australia suffers lockdowns and social restrictions due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].
|-
| [[2021 in Australia|2021]] || 15 September || The [[AUKUS]] security partnership between [[Australia]], the [[United Kingdom]], and the [[United States]] is announced after negotiations.
|-
| rowspan="3" |[[2022 in Australia|2022]]
|23 February – 7 April
|[[2022 eastern Australia floods]]
|-
|23 May
|''[[2022 Australian federal election]]'': [[Anthony Albanese]] (Australian Labor Party) defeats [[Scott Morrison]] ([[Liberal Party of Australia|Liberal]]-[[National Party of Australia|National]] Coalition) to become the 31st [[Prime Minister of Australia]].
|-
|8 September
|[[Elizabeth II]], the longest-reigning Australian monarch in history, dies aged 96, after a reign of 70 years. [[Charles III]] becomes the new Australian monarch.
|-
|[[2023 in Australia|2023]]
|14 October
|The [[2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum|Australian Indigenous Voice referendum]] fails to pass, with 60% of Australians voting "No".
|-
| rowspan="2" |[[2024 in Australia|2024]]
|14 January
|[[Mary Donaldson]] becomes the first Australian-born queen consort of a European monarchy when she is proclaimed [[Queen of Denmark]] when her husband [[Frederik X]] [[Abdication of Margrethe II|ascends the throne]].
|-
|13 April
|[[Bondi Junction stabbings]] kills 6 victims and injures 12
|}

==See also==
* [[List of monarchs of Australia]]
* [[List of prime ministers of Australia]]
* [[History of Western Australia]]
* [[Timeline of Adelaide history|Timeline of Adelaide]]
* [[History of Brisbane#Brisbane.27s historical timeline|Timeline of Brisbane]]
* [[Timeline of Darwin History|Timeline of Darwin]]
* [[Timeline of Gold Coast, Queensland]]
* [[Timeline of Melbourne history|Timeline of Melbourne]]
* [[Timeline of Sydney]]
* [[History of Tasmania|Timeline of Tasmania]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Years in Australia}}
{{Australia topics}}
{{Oceanian topic|prefix=Timeline of|suffix=history|countries_only=yes}}

[[Category:Australian timelines| ]]
[[Category:Timelines by country|Australia]]