1967 Tasmanian fires

Black Tuesday bushfires devastate large areas of Hobart and south-eastern Tasmania; 62 people were killed. Latitude: -42.830193 Longitude: 146.676178

1912 Walter Burley Griffin

Walter Burley Griffin wins a design competition for the new city of Canberra 

1887 Southern Cross, Western Australia

Gold was discovered at Southern Cross, Western Australia. 

1883 Broken Hill

Silver was discovered at Broken Hill  

1880 Ned Kelly

The bushranger Ned Kelly was hanged. 

1875 SS Gothenburg

SS Gothenburg strikes Old Reef off North Queensland and sank with the loss of approximately 102 lives.

1872 Uluru

Uluru was first sighted by Europeans, and named Ayers Rock. 

1872 Australian Overland Telegraph Line

The Overland Telegraph Line linking Darwin and Adelaide opened.

1867 Gympie

Gold was discovered at Gympie, Queensland. 

1862 Darwin, Northern Territory

Stuart reached Port Darwin, founding a settlement there. 

1861 Skiing in Australia

Skiing began in Australia at the goldrush town of Kiandra, New South Wales. 

1861 Burke and Wills expedition

The ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition occurred 

1860 John McDouall Stuart

John McDouall Stuart reached the centre of the continent. 

1859 SS Admella

SS Admella wrecked off south-east coast of South Australia with the loss of 89 lives  

1858 Electric telegraph

Sydney and Melbourne linked by electric telegraph.  

1856 Tasmania

Van Diemen's Land name changed to Tasmania. 

1855 Norfolk Island

The transportation of convicts to Norfolk Island ceased. 

1854 Eureka Rebellion

The Eureka Rebellion of year 1854 was a historically significant organised rebellion of gold miners of Ballarat against the colonial authority of the United Kingdom 

1853 Bendigo Petition

Bendigo Petition and Red Ribbon Rebellion at Bendigo 

1852 Francis Cadell

Francis Cadell, in preparation for the launch of his steamer service, explored the Murray River in a canvas boat. 

1851 Forest Creek Monster Meeting

Forest Creek Monster Meeting of miners at Chewton near Castlemaine  

1851 Victoria

Victoria separated from New South Wales. 

1850 University of Sydney

Australia's first university, the University of Sydney, was founded. 

1845 Burra, South Australia

Copper was discovered at Burra in South Australia. 

1845 Cataraqui

The ship Cataraqui was wrecked off King Island in Bass Strait. It is Australia's worst civil maritime disaster, with 406 lives lost. 

1843 New South Wales Legislative Council

Australia's first parliamentary elections was held for the New South Wales Legislative Council

1842 Kapunda

Copper was discovered at Kapunda in South Australia. 

1841 New Zealand

New Zealand was proclaimed as a separate colony, no longer part of New South Wales. 

1840 City of Adelaide

Australia's first municipal authority, the City of Adelaide, was established, followed by Sydney City Council. 

1839 Paul Edmund Strzelecki

Paul Edmund Strzelecki became the first European to ascend and name Australia's highest peak, Mount Kosciuszko. 

1835 Port Phillip

John Batman and John Pascoe Fawkner established a settlement at Port Phillip, now the city of Melbourne. 

1833 Port Arthur

The penal settlement of Port Arthur was founded in Van Diemen's Land. 

1832 Swan River Colony

Swan River Colony had its name changed to Western Australia. 

1831 The Sydney Morning Herald

Sydney Herald (later to become The Sydney Morning Herald) was first published. 

1829 Swan River Colony

The Swan River Colony was a British settlement established in 1829 on the Swan River, in Western Australia

1828 Charles Sturt

Captain Charles Napier Sturt was a British explorer of Australia, and part of the European exploration of Australia.

1824 Hume and Hovell expedition

The Hume and Hovell expedition travelled overland to Port Phillip Bay and discovered the Murray River 

1824 Moreton Bay

A penal colony was founded at Moreton Bay, now the city of Brisbane.

1818 Macquarie River

Oxley charted the Macquarie River. 

1817 John Oxley

John Oxley charts the Lachlan River

1813 Blue Mountains

Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth crossed the Blue Mountains. Latitude: -33.660366 Longitude: 150.476105

1792 Two French ships

Two French ships, La Recherche and L'Espérance, anchor at Recherche Bay, near the southernmost point of Tasmania. Latitude: -43.557217 Longitude: 146.934265

1790 Second Fleet

5 of 6 ships of the beleaguered Second Fleet arrived. The colony was gripped by a food crisis

1788 HMS Supply

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 Aborigines Latitude: -34.026226 Longitude: 151.239548

1973 Sydney Opera House

The Sydney Opera House was officially opened in 1973. 

1956 Summer Olympics

The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport eventwhich was held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

1956 Bruce Gyngell

First Television Broadcast. Bruce Gyngell re-enacts his 1956 introduction to the first regular television broadcast service to the residents of Sydney on TCN-9.

1974 Tumut

Tumut 3 Power Station is the first pumped storage hydroelectric power station in Australia. 

1942 Bombing of Darwin

 242 Japanese aircraft attacked ships in Darwin's harbour and the town's two airfields in an attempt to prevent the Allies from using them as bases to contest the invasions ofTimor and Java. 

1932 Sydney Harbour Bridge

Ribbon ceremony to open the Sydney Harbour Bridge on 20 March 1932