Timeline_of_Australian_history

Timeline of Australian history

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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. See also the list of prime ministers of Australia.

17th century

More information Year, Date ...

Year	Date	Event
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.
1606	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 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	VOC ship Mauritius under command of Supercargo Willem Janszoon, landed near North West Cape, near the modern town of Exmouth, and named Willem's River, later renamed Ashburton River.
1622	1 May	The English ship Tryall sighted Point Cloates on the west coast of Australia.^[14]
1622	25 May	The Tryall was wrecked on Tryal Rocks, northwest of the Montebello Islands, crew spent seven days ashore before sailing a longboat to Bantam in Java – this was the first recorded shipwreck in Australian waters and first extended stay in Australia by Europeans.^[14]
1623		Dutch captain Jan Carstensz navigated the Gulf of Carpentaria aboard the Pera and 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	VOC 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 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 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

More information Year, Date ...

Year	Date	Event
Since middle of 18th century	–	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 region, and some decades later in Arnhem Land.^[15]^[16]^[17]
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"^[18] i.e., according to the European legal precepts of the era, it was unclaimed by any sovereign nation.
1787	13 May	The First Fleet of 11 ships, led by Governor Arthur Phillip, departed from Great Britain for Australia to begin European colonisation.^[19]
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 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, Friendship and 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, 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 Lord Sydney, British 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 Boussole and Astrolabe 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, 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. They were the first women and children to land. The first of the livestock was brought ashore.
	3 February	Rev. Richard Johnson held the colony's first religious service ‘on the grass’.
	6 February	The women convicts came ashore. There followed a ‘scene of debauchery and riot’, accompanied by a violent thunderstorm.
	7 February	The whole party assembled on the west side of Sydney Cove, where the deputy judge-advocate 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 Holy Communion for the first time in the colony, according to the rites of the church of England. The Communion took place in the tent of Lt. Ralph Clark. Lt. Henry Ball, commander of the Supply on its way to Norfolk Island, discovered an island that he named after 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 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.
	6 May	Following an outbreak of scurvy, HMS Supply 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, en route to Tahiti, anchored at 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 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 (Later called Parramatta).
	19 November	The last two ships of the First Fleet, Golden Grove and 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	3–28 June	5 of 6 ships of the beleaguered Second Fleet arrived. The colony was gripped by a food crisis.
1791	9 July	The first ship of the Third Fleet arrived at Sydney Cove.
1792	–	Two French ships, Recherche and Espérance, anchor at Recherche Bay, near the southernmost point of Tasmania.
1792	–	Governor Philip returned to England, accompanied by Bennelong, who became the first Australian-born person to sail to Europe.
1797	–	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	–	George Bass and Matthew Flinders sailed from Sydney and circumnavigated Tasmania, thus proving it to be an island. (to 1799)

19th century

More information Year, Date ...

Year	Date
1803		Matthew Flinders completed the first circumnavigation of the continent
1804		A settlement was founded at Risdon on the 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.
1808		The Rum Rebellion
1813		Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth crossed the Blue Mountains.
1813		Matthew Flinders referred to New South Wales by the name "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		Oxley charted the Macquarie River.
1824		A penal colony was founded at Moreton Bay, now the city of Brisbane.
		Bathurst and 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		The New South Wales western border was extended to 129° E. Van Diemen's Land was proclaimed.
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 in 1832
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.^[20]^[21]
1829		Charles Sturt charted the Darling River.
	2 May	Captain Charles Fremantle took possession of the western side of Australia for the British crown.
	12 August	The settlement of Perth was founded.
1830		Sturt arrived at Goolwa, having charted the Murray River.
	7 October	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.
1831	7 March	Administration of King George Sound passes to Swan River Colony, convicts returned to New South Wales.^[20]
1831	18 April	The Sydney Herald (later to become The Sydney Morning Herald) was first published.
1832		Swan River Colony had its name changed to Western Australia.
1833		The penal settlement of Port Arthur was founded in Van Diemen's Land.
1834		The Tolpuddle Martyrs are transported to Sydney and Hobart.
1835	30 August	John Batman and John Pascoe Fawkner established a settlement at Port Phillip, now the city of Melbourne.
1835		William Wentworth established Australian Patriotic Association, Australia's first political party, to demand democracy for New South Wales.
1836	28 December	Province of South Australia proclaimed with its western border at 132° E.
1838		First Prussian settlers arrived in South Australia; the largest group of non-British migrants in Australia at the time.
1839		Paul Edmund Strzelecki became the first European to ascend and name Australia's highest peak, Mount Kosciuszko.
	9 September	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 in 1869 and was renamed Darwin in 1911.
1840		Australia's first municipal authority, the City of Adelaide, was established, followed by Sydney City Council.
1841	1 July	New Zealand was proclaimed as a separate colony, no longer part of New South Wales.
1842		Copper was discovered at Kapunda in South 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).
1845	4 August	The ship Cataraqui was wrecked off King Island in Bass Strait. It is Australia's worst civil maritime disaster, with 406 lives lost.
1845		Copper was discovered at Burra in South Australia.
1849	1 June	Western Australia became a penal colony.
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.
1850	1 October	Australia's first university, the University of Sydney, was founded.
1851	1 July	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
1852		Francis Cadell, in preparation for the launch of his steamer service, explored the Murray River in a canvas boat, travelling 1,300 miles (2,100 km) downstream from Swan Hill.^[22]
1853		First paddle steamers on Murray River on the spring flood. From South Australia, the Lady Augusta captained by Francis Cadell, reached Swan Hill while Mary Ann captained by William Randell, made it as far as Moama (near Echuca).^[23]
1853		Bendigo Petition and Red Ribbon Rebellion at Bendigo
1854	3 December	The Eureka Stockade
1855		The transportation of convicts to Norfolk Island ceased.
1855		All men over 21 years of age obtained the right to vote in South Australia.
1856	1 January	Van Diemen's Land name changed to Tasmania.
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.
1857		Victorian men achieved the right to vote.
1858		Sydney and Melbourne linked by electric telegraph.
1858		New South Wales men achieved the right to vote.
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 separated from New South Wales with its western border at 141° E.
1860		John McDouall Stuart reached the centre of the continent. The South Australian border changed from 132° E to 129° E.
1861		The ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition occurred.
1861		Skiing in Australia introduced by Norwegians in the Snowy Mountains goldrush town of Kiandra.
1862		Stuart reached Port Darwin, founding a settlement there. Queensland's western border was moved to 139° E.
1863		South Australia took control of the Northern Territory which was previously part of the colony of New South Wales.
1864		Great Fire of Brisbane
1867		Gold was discovered at Gympie, Queensland.
1867		Saint Mary MacKillop founded Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart.
1868		The transportation of convicts to Western Australia ceased.
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	22 August	The Overland Telegraph Line linking Darwin and Adelaide opened.
1873		Uluru was first sighted by Europeans, and named Ayers Rock.
1875	24 February	SS Gothenburg strikes Old Reef off Bowen, North Queensland and sank with the loss of approximately 102 lives.
1875	September	Adelaide Steamship Company was formed.
1878		First horse-drawn trams in Australia commenced operations in Adelaide.
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		The first congress of trade unions was held.
1880	11 November	The bushranger Ned Kelly was hanged.
1880		Parliamentarians in Victoria became the first in Australia to be paid for their work.
1882		First water-borne sewerage service in Australia commenced operations in Adelaide.
1883		The opening of the Sydney–Melbourne railway.
1883		Silver was discovered at Broken Hill

		The first direct Inter-colonial passenger trains began running between Adelaide and Melbourne.
		Gold was discovered at Southern Cross, Western Australia.
1888		Louisa Lawson established The Dawn: A Journal for Australian Women.
1889		The completion of the railway network between Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.
1889	24 October	Sir Henry Parkes delivered the Tenterfield Oration.
1890		The Australian Federation Conference called a constitutional convention.
1890	26 April	Banjo Paterson published "The Man from Snowy River"
1891		A National Australasian Convention met and agreed on adopting the name "the Commonwealth of Australia," also drafting a 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		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		South Australia became the first Australian colony, and the second place in the world, to grant 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.
1895		The premiers, except for those of Queensland and Western Australia, agreed to implement the Corowa proposals.
1895		"Waltzing Matilda" was first sung in public, in Winton, Queensland
1896		The Bathurst Conference (the second "people's convention") met to discuss the 1891 draft constitution.
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.
1898		The Convention agreed on a final draft to be put to the people.
1898		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.
1899		The decision was made to site the 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 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.
1900		Several delegates visited London to resist proposed changes to the agreed-upon constitution.
1900		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

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Year	Date	Event
2001		Australia celebrates centenary of federation.
	25 February	Death of Donald Bradman, aged 92 in 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 to topple Taliban for supporting Al-Qaeda.
	10 November	2001 Australian federal election: John Howard is reelected as Prime Minister.
2002	12 October	2002 Bali bombings, the deadliest act of terrorism in the history of Indonesia, killing 202 people (including 88 Australians).^[32]
2003		Australian military deployed to Iraq War to oust the Saddam Hussein regime for serial non-compliance with the 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 Rugby World Cup, with the home side losing the final to England.
	19 September	Country music singer and musician Slim Dusty dies, aged 76.
2004	9 September	A bomb explodes outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia.
2004	9 October	2004 Australian federal election: Howard government (Liberal-National Coalition) wins fourth term and defeats Mark Latham led Australian Labor Party.
2005	December	Sydney beachside suburb of Cronulla sees a protest against the alleged bashing of a beach lifeguard, developing into an alcohol-fuelled, racially charged riot.
2006	15–26 March	The 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.
2007		Australia avoids recession amidst Global Financial Crisis (to 2010).
2007	24 November	2007 Australian federal election: Kevin Rudd (Australian Labor Party) defeats John Howard (Liberal-National Coalition) to become the 26th Prime Minister of 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 Catholic World Youth Day.
	5 September	Quentin Bryce assumes office, becoming the first female Governor-General of Australia.
2009	7 February – 14 March	Black Saturday bushfires: Massive bushfires swept across Victoria, resulting in 173 fatalities.^[33]^[34]^[35]
2010	23–24 June	Julia Gillard 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.^[36]
	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 Ken Wyatt becomes the first Aboriginal member elected to the Australian House of Representatives.
2011		Queensland is affected by major flooding, followed by Cyclone Yasi.
2012	1 July	Carbon price introduced by the Gillard government.
2013	21 March	Julia Gillard apologises to victims of forced adoption practices for removal of babies from predominantly young single mothers.
	26 June	Kevin Rudd defeats Julia Gillard in a 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.
2014	14 July	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.
2015	20 March	22nd Prime Minister of Australia Malcolm Fraser dies, aged 84.
	15 September	Malcolm Turnbull defeats Tony Abbott in a leadership spill, 54 votes to 44. Turnbull is sworn in as the 29th Prime Minister of Australia.
		The Matagurup Refugee Camp is founded in Perth to defend Aboriginal Rights.
2016	2 July	2016 Australian federal election: Malcolm Turnbull remains as Prime Minister of Australia.
2017	Late July	John Cameron sets off the chain of events that became the 2017 Australian parliamentary eligibility crisis.
2017	9 December	Same-sex marriage is legalised by the Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017.^[37]
2018	24 August	Following two leadership spills, Scott Morrison succeeds Malcolm Turnbull as leader of the Liberal Party and is sworn in as the 30th Prime Minister of Australia.
2019	18 May	2019 Australian federal election: Scott Morrison remains as Prime Minister of Australia.
2019		Bushfires occur throughout late 2019 in every state and territory, destroying 2600 homes and killing 34 people.
2020	31 January	The ACT becomes the first Australian region to legalise recreational cannabis.
2020		Australia suffers lockdowns and social restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2022	23 February – 7 April 2022	2022 eastern Australia floods
	23 May	2022 Australian federal election: Anthony Albanese (Australian Labor Party) defeats Scott Morrison (Liberal-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.
2023	14 October	The Australian Indigenous Voice referendum fails to pass, with 60% of Australians voting "No".

Timeline_of_Australian_history

Timeline of Australian history

Pre-written history

16th century

17th century

18th century

19th century

20th century

21st century

See also

References

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Year	Date	Event
c. 48,000–63,000 BC	–	The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south-east Asia 50,000 to 65,000 years ago, during the last glacial period.^[1]^[2]^[3] 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 artistic and religious traditions in the world.^[4]
c. 2000 BC	–	The Torres Strait Islander people first settled Torres Strait Islands around 4000 years ago.^[5] Culturally and linguistically distinct from mainland Aboriginal peoples, they were seafarers and obtained their livelihood from seasonal horticulture and the resources of their reefs and seas.^[6]
–	–	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 duits dating from 1690 to the 1780s, five with Arabic inscriptions were identified as being from the Kilwa Sultanate.^[7] The coins are now held by the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Australia.^[8] In 2018 another coin, also thought to be from Kilwa, was found on a beach on Elcho Island, another of the Wessel Islands.^[9]