Territorial evolution of Australia

The Commonwealth of Australia was formed on 1 January 1901, when the six British colonies of Australia were merged to form a single commonwealth within the British Empire. Apart from Western Australia, all of the founding area of the country was originally part of the Colony of New South Wales, founded in 1787. Since federation, the only changes to the borders have been the creation, acquisition, or independence of territories. Two countries became independent from Australia in the mid-20th century: Nauru, originally mandated to the country by the League of Nations; and Papua New Guinea, a combination of an earlier British protectorate and a League of Nations mandate. The last update had been removed

Table of changes

Key to map colours

  Australian states

  Australian territories and founding colonies

  disputed area of Australia

  area changed by event

Colonial period

Date	Event	Change map
25 April 1787	The Colony of New South Wales was founded by the Kingdom of Great Britain in Australia east of the 135th meridian east. Word of the establishment was proclaimed in Australia by Governor Arthur Phillip on 7 February 1788. The commission included "all the islands adjacent in the Pacific Ocean within the latitudes of 10°37'S and 43°39'S", which included most of New Zealand.
11 July 1810	Macquarie Island was annexed by New South Wales.
16 July 1825	New South Wales was extended west to the 129th meridian east, and the borders of the "islands adjacent in the Pacific Ocean" were moved north to 39°12'S, now including only a small part of New Zealand.
3 December 1825	The southern islands of New South Wales were made the Colony of Van Diemen's Land.
2 May 1829	A colony commonly known as the Swan River Colony was founded in the remainder of Australia outside of New South Wales. Most documents calling for the colony's foundation make no mention of a name, apart from its location at the "Port on the Western Coast of New Holland, at the Mouth of the River called 'Swan River', with the adjacent Territory", and that a settlement should be formed "within the Territory of 'Western Australia'". However, the law calling for the creation of the colony does appear to specify that it should be "Western Australia".
6 February 1832	The legal instrument required to formally appoint James Stirling governor of the Colony of Western Australia was proclaimed, and this is commonly held as the date that the Swan River Colony was renamed Western Australia.
19 February 1836	The portion of New South Wales between the 132nd and 141st meridians east, and south of the 26th parallel south, was made the Province of South Australia. The actual landing and proclamation occurred on 28 December 1836. Its border with New South Wales south of the Murray River would be erroneously surveyed roughly 3.6 kilometres west of the 141st meridian east, and the resulting disputes with the colonies and, later, states that share that border would not be fully resolved until 1914.
15 June 1839	The islands of New Zealand were annexed to New South Wales. The action was proclaimed on 14 January 1840.
16 November 1840	The Colony of New Zealand was chartered and split from New South Wales.
26 September 1844	Norfolk Island was transferred from New South Wales to Van Diemen's Land.
17 February 1846	The half of New South Wales north of the 26th parallel south was made the Colony of North Australia.
28 December 1847	North Australia was merged back in to New South Wales. This is the date Queen Victoria revoked the Letters Patent establishing North Australia, but it was not proclaimed in Australia until 16 January 1849.
1 July 1851	The portion of New South Wales south of the Murray River and a line from the headwaters of the river to Cape Howe was made the Colony of Victoria.
1 January 1856	Van Diemen's Land was renamed Tasmania.
1 November 1856	Norfolk Island was split from Tasmania, becoming its own colony. Some sources say this occurred the previous day, but the Norfolk Island Act 1913 states it was on this day.
6 June 1859	The portion of New South Wales north of the 29th parallel south and several rivers, and east of the 141st meridian east, was made the Colony of Queensland.
10 October 1861	The portion of New South Wales west of South Australia was transferred to South Australia by Letters Patent. The act of parliament was passed on 22 July 1861.
13 March 1862	The portion of New South Wales north of South Australia and east of the 138th meridian east was transferred to Queensland.
6 July 1863	The region of New South Wales north of South Australia was transferred to South Australia.
4 April 1883	Queensland claimed southeast New Guinea as a dependency, though the British government rejected the claim.
6 November 1884	The British Empire declared southeast New Guinea as a protectorate, removing it from immediate Queensland control, though the colony still largely administered it.
17 June 1890	Macquarie Island was transferred from New South Wales to Tasmania; while Tasmania immediately requested it then be transferred to New Zealand, this was not done.

Federation

Date	Event	Change Map
1 January 1901	Six colonies of the United Kingdom formed the Commonwealth of Australia: The Colony of New South Wales, becoming the state of New South Wales The Colony of Queensland, becoming the state of Queensland The Province of South Australia, becoming the state of South Australia The Colony of Tasmania, becoming the state of Tasmania The Colony of Victoria, becoming the state of Victoria The Colony of Western Australia, becoming the state of Western Australia Parliament met in Melbourne until a new federal capital could be built.
1 September 1906	British New Guinea was transferred from the United Kingdom, becoming the Territory of Papua.
1 January 1911	The Federal Capital Territory was split from New South Wales, and the Northern Territory was split from South Australia. While the acts creating it use the term "Territory for the Seat of Government", legislation and proclamations immediately began using the term "Federal Capital Territory."
1 July 1914	Norfolk Island was transferred from the United Kingdom, becoming the Territory of Norfolk Island.
4 September 1915	A small peninsula along Jervis Bay was ceded to the Federal Capital Territory by New South Wales.
17 December 1920	The League of Nations mandated Nauru and New Guinea (the former German New Guinea) to Australia, with New Zealand and the United Kingdom as co-trustees of Nauru. The whole of Australia's territory on New Guinea would be commonly referred to as the "Territory of Papua-New Guinea".
1 February 1927	The Northern Territory was split into the territories of Central Australia and North Australia.
9 May 1927	Parliament began meeting in Canberra, formally moving the capital there from Melbourne.
12 June 1931	The territories of Central Australia and North Australia were merged to become the Northern Territory.
13 June 1933	The United Kingdom transferred the portion of its claim to Antarctica between the 45th and 136th meridians east, and the 142nd and 160th meridians east, to Australia, where it became the Australian Antarctic Territory.
10 May 1934	The Ashmore and Cartier Islands were transferred from the United Kingdom, and became the Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands. The islands were ceded by the UK on 23 July 1931.
29 July 1938	The Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands was annexed to the Northern Territory. The Federal Capital Territory was renamed the Australian Capital Territory.
26 August 1942	The Mandate of Nauru was captured by Japan.
14 September 1945	The Japanese garrison in the Mandate of Nauru surrendered.
13 December 1946	The Territory of New Guinea was reconstituted as a United Nations trust territory.
1 November 1947	The Mandate of Nauru was reconstituted as the United Nations Trust Territory of Nauru.
26 December 1947	Heard Island and McDonald Islands were transferred from the United Kingdom. The receipt was confirmed in letters exchanged on 19 December 1950.
1 July 1949	The Territory of New Guinea and Territory of Papua were merged into the Territory of Papua and New Guinea, mainly for administrative purposes; the act makes it clear that the identities of New Guinea as a United Nations Trust Territory, and Papua as a possession of the Crown, remain intact.
24 April 1953	Heard Island and McDonald Islands were formally declared the Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands.
23 November 1955	The Cocos (Keeling) Islands were transferred by the United Kingdom from the Colony of Singapore, becoming the Territory of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.
1 October 1958	Christmas Island was transferred from the United Kingdom, becoming the Territory of Christmas Island.
31 January 1968	The Trust Territory of Nauru became independent as the Republic of Nauru.
30 September 1969	The Coral Sea Islands Territory was created from Queensland.
27 December 1971	The Territory of Papua and New Guinea was renamed Papua New Guinea.
31 December 1973	The peninsula along Jervis Bay belonging to the Australian Capital Territory is formally named the Jervis Bay Territory; at this time, it was still considered part of the ACT.	no change to map
11 September 1975	The Republic of the North Solomons declared the independence of the region surrounding Bougainville Island in Papua New Guinea.
16 September 1975	Papua New Guinea became independent as the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, rendering the dispute with the Republic of the North Solomons moot.
1 July 1978	The Ashmore and Cartier Islands were split from the Northern Territory, becoming the Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands.
11 May 1989	Jervis Bay Territory is split from the Australian Capital Territory to become its own territory.
7 July 1997	Elizabeth Reef and Middleton Reef were transferred from New South Wales to the Coral Sea Islands Territory.

See also

• States and territories of Australia
• Proposals for new Australian States
• Northern Territory borders
• South Australian borders
• Western Australia border

External links

• States of Australia – Statoids.com