|
Year |
Details |
|
50,000 BC |
The first 10000
inhabitants are thought to have arrived in Australia. |
|
42,000 BC |
Aboriginal engravings
dating back to this time have been found in South Australia. |
|
35,000 BC |
Aborigines are thought
to have reached the southernmost part of the continent—what is now
Tasmania. |
|
1606 (March) |
The Dutch ship Duyfken,
under Captain Willem Janszoon, explores the western coast of Cape
York Peninsula. The first recorded landfall by a European on
Australian soil. |
|
1606 (August) |
Portuguese seaman Luis
Vaez de Torres sails through the Torres Strait, between Australia
and New Guinea, along the latter's southern coast. He may well have
sighted the northernmost extremity of Australia, although this is
not recorded. Torres reported 'shoals', some of which may have been
the northernmost atolls of the Great Barrier Reef. The name 'Coste
Dangereuse', for the tropical Queensland coast, appears on French
charts. |
|
1616 |
Dutch captain Dirk
Hartog in the Eendracht makes the second recorded landfall by a
European, at Dirk Hartog Island on the western coast of Australia.
Leaves behind the Hartog plate. |
|
1623 |
Dutch captain Jan
Carstensz navigates the Gulf of Carpentaria aboard the Pera and
Arnhem. The Arnhem crosses the Gulf to reach and name Groote
Eylandt. |
|
1642 |
Dutch explorer Abel
Tasman explores the west coast of Tasmania, lands on its east coast
and names the island Anthoonij van Diemenslandt. |
|
1688 |
English explorer
William Dampier explores the west coast of Australia. |
|
1696 |
Flemish explorer
Willem de Vlamingh charts the south-western coast of Australia,
making landfall at Rottnest Island and the site of the present-day
city of Perth. |
|
1770 |
English Lieutenant
James Cook's expedition in HM Bark Endeavour charts the eastern
coast. |
|
1788 |
The First Fleet from
England under Arthur Phillip arrives in Australia and founds first
European settlement and penal colony at Sydney Cove (Sydney). New
South Wales, according to Arthur Phillip's amended Commission dated
25 April 1787, includes "all the islands adjacent in the Pacific
Ocean" and running westward to the 135th meridian. These islands
included the current islands of New Zealand, which was administered
as part of New South Wales. |
|
1788 |
An English settlement
is founded at Norfolk Island. |
|
1792 |
Two French ships, La
Recherche and L'Espérance, anchor in what was named Recherche Bay,
near the southernmost point of Tasmania at a time when England and
France were vying to be the first to discover and colonise
Australia. |
|
1804 |
A settlement is
founded at Risdon on the Derwent River in Australia by Lieutenant
Bowen. |
|
1804 |
Castle Hill convict
rebellion also known as the second Battle of Vinegar Hill |
|
1804 |
The settlement is
moved to Sullivan's Cove in Van Diemen's Land (now Hobart in
Tasmania) by Colonel David Collins. |
|
1806 |
Matthew Flinders
completes the first circumnavigation of the continent. |
|
1808 |
The Rum Rebellion |
|
1813 |
Blaxland, Lawson and
Wentworth cross the Blue Mountains. |
|
1817 |
John Oxley charts the
Lachlan River. |
|
1817 |
Australia's first bank
the Bank of New South Wales opens in Macquarie Place, Sydney.
(Became Westpac in 1982) |
|
1818 |
Oxley charts the
Macquarie River. |
|
1824 |
A penal colony is
founded at Moreton Bay, now the city of Brisbane. |
|
1824 |
Bathurst and Melville
Islands are annexed. |
|
1825 |
New South Wales
western border is extended to 129° E. Van Diemen's Land is
proclaimed. |
|
1828 |
Charles Sturt charts
the Darling River. |
|
1829 |
The whole of Australia
is claimed as British territory. The settlement of Perth is founded.
Swan River Colony is declared by Charles Fremantle for Britain. |
|
1830 |
Sturt arrives at
Goolwa, having charted the Murray River. |
|
1831 |
Sydney Herald (later
to become The Sydney Morning Herald) first published. |
|
1832 |
Swan River Colony has
its name changed to Western Australia. |
|
1833 |
The penal settlement
of Port Arthur is founded in Van Dieman's Land. |
|
1835 |
John Batman and John
Pascoe Fawkner establish a settlement at Port Phillip, now the city
of Melbourne. |
|
1836 |
Province of South
Australia proclaimed with its western border at 132° E. |
|
1840 |
New Zealand is
proclaimed and is no longer under New South Wales. |
|
1845 |
Copper is discovered
at Burra in South Australia. |
|
1850 |
Western Australia
becomes a penal colony. |
|
1850 |
Australia's first
university, the University of Sydney, is founded. |
|
1851 |
Victoria separates
from New South Wales. |
|
1851 |
The Victorian gold
rush starts when gold is found at Summerhill Creek and Ballarat. |
|
1851 |
Forest Creek Monster
Meeting of miners at Chewton near Castlemaine |
|
1853 |
Bendigo Petition and
Red Ribbon Rebellion at Bendigo |
|
1854 |
The Eureka Stockade |
|
1855 |
The transportation of
convicts to Norfolk Island ceases. |
|
1856 |
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. |
|
1858 |
Sydney and Melbourne
linked by Electric Telegraph. |
|
1858 |
Australian football
rules codified, Melbourne Football Club founded |
|
1859 |
Queensland separates
from New South Wales with its western border at 141° E. |
|
1860 |
John McDouall Stuart
reaches the centre of the continent. South Australian border changed
from 132° E to 129° E. |
|
1861 |
The ill-fated Burke
and Wills expedition occurs. |
|
1862 |
Stuart reaches Port
Darwin, founding a settlement there. Queensland's western border is
moved to 139° E. |
|
1863 |
South Australia takes
control of the Northern Territory which was part of the colony of
New South Wales. |
|
1867 |
The transportation of
convicts to Western Australia ceases. |
|
1867 |
Gold is discovered at
Gympie, Queensland. |
|
1872 |
Overland Telegraph
Line linking Darwin and Adelaide opens. |
|
1873 |
Uluru is first sighted
by Europeans, and named Ayers Rock. |
|
1879 |
The first congress of
trade unions is held. |
|
1880 |
The bushranger Ned
Kelly is hung. |
|
1880 |
Parliamentarians in
Victoria become the first in Australia to be paid for their work. |
|
1883 |
The opening of the
Sydney-Melbourne railway |
|
1883 |
Silver is discovered
at Broken Hill |
|
1887 |
An Australian cricket
team is established, defeating Britain in the first Ashes series. |
|
1889 |
The completion of the
railway network between Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. |
|
1889 |
Sir Henry Parkes
delivers the Tenterfield Oration. |
|
1890 |
The Australian
Federation Conference calls a constitutional convention. |
|
1891 |
A National
Australasian Convention meets, agrees on adopting the name "the
Commonwealth of Australia" and drafting a constitution. |
|
1891 |
The first attempt at a
federal constitution is drafted. |
|
1891 |
The Convention adopts
the constitution, although it has no legal status |
|
1891 |
A severe depression
hits Australia |
|
1892 |
Gold is discovered at
Coolgardie, Western Australia. |
|
1893 |
The Corowa Conference
(the "people's convention") calls 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. |
|
1895 |
The premiers, except
for those of Queensland and Western Australia, agree to implement
the Corowa proposals. |
|
1895 |
Waltzing Matilda is
first sung in public, in Winton, Queensland |
|
1895 |
Banjo Paterson
publishes The Man from Snowy River |
|
1896 |
The Bathurst
Conference (the second "people's convention") meets to discuss the
1891 draft constitution |
|
1897 |
In two sessions, the
Second National Australasian Convention meets (with representatives
from all colonies except Queensland present). They agree to adopt a
constitution based on the 1891 draft, and then revise and amend it
later that year. |
|
1898 |
The Convention agrees
on a final draft to be put to the people. |
|
1898 |
After much public
debate, the Victorian, South Australian and Tasmanian referendums
are successful; the New South Wales referendum narrowly fails. Later
New South Wales votes "yes" in a second referendum, and Queensland
and Western Australia also vote to join. |
|
1899 |
The decision is made
to site the national capital in New South Wales, but not within 100
miles of Sydney. |
|
1899 |
The Australian Labor
Party holds office for a few days in Queensland, becoming the first
trade union party to do so anywhere in the world. |
|
1900 |
Several delegates
visit London to resist proposed changes to the agreed-upon
constitution. |
|
1900 |
The constitution is
passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom as a schedule to the
Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act, and is given royal
assent |
|
1901 |
Australia becomes a
federation on January 1. Edmund Barton becomes Prime Minister; Lord
Hopetoun becomes Governor-General |
|
1901 |
The first parliament
meets in Parliament House, Melbourne |
|
1902 |
The 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 Aboriginal people. |
|
1902 |
Breaker Morant is
executed for having shot Boers who had surrendered |
|
1903 |
The High Court of
Australia is established with Samuel Griffith as the first Chief
Justice. |
|
1903 |
The Defence Act gives
the federal government full control over the Australian Army |
|
1903 |
Alfred Deakin elected
Prime Minister |
|
1904 |
A site at Dalgety, New
South Wales chosen for the new national capital |
|
1904 |
Chris Watson forms the
first federal Labor (minority) government |
|
1906 |
Australia takes
control of south-eastern New Guinea |
|
1908 |
Dorothea Mackellar
publishes My Country |
|
1908 |
The Dalgety proposal
for the national capital is revoked, and Canberra is chosen instead |
|
1909 |
The first powered
airplane flight in Australia is made. |
|
1910 |
Andrew Fisher forms
the first federal majority Labor government. |
|
1911 |
The Royal Australian
Navy is founded |
|
1911 |
The Northern Territory
comes under Commonwealth control, being split off from South
Australia |
|
1911 |
The first national
census is conducted. |
|
1911 |
Australian Capital
Territory proclaimed. |
|
1912 |
Australia sends women
to the Olympic Games for the first time |
|
1912 |
Walter Burley Griffin
wins a design competition for the new city of Canberra |
|
1913 |
The foundation stone
for the city of Canberra is put in place |
|
1914 |
Australian soldiers
are sent to the First World War. This was first time Australians had
fought under the Australian flag. |
|
1915 |
Australian soldiers
land at Anzac Cove on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey |
|
1915 |
Jervis Bay Territory
comprising 6,677 hectares surrendered and becomes part of the
Australia Capital Territory. |
|
1915 |
Surfing is first
introduced to Australia |
|
1916 |
Hotels are forced to
close at 6 p.m., leading to the beginning of the "six o'clock swill" |
|
1916 |
The Returned Sailors’
and Soldiers’ Imperial League of Australia, the forerunner to the
Returned and Services League is founded |
|
1916 |
The Labor government
under Billy Hughes splits over conscription. First referendum on
conscription is rejected |
|
1917 |
Second referendum on
conscription is rejected |
|
1918 |
First World War ends |
|
1920 |
The airline Qantas is
founded |
|
1921 |
Edith Cowan becomes
the first woman elected to an Australian parliament |
|
1922 |
The Smith Family
charity is founded in Sydney |
|
1923 |
Vegemite is first
produced |
|
1926 |
The first Miss
Australia contest is held |
|
1927 |
The tenth parliament
is formally opened in Canberra, finalising the move to the new
capital |
|
1928 |
Bert Hinkler makes the
first successful flight from Britain to Australia, and Charles
Kingsford Smith makes the first flight from the United States to
Australia |
|
1929 |
Western Australia
celebrates its centenary |
|
1929 |
Labor returns to
office under James Scullin. The Great Depression hits Australia. |
|
1930 |
Don Bradman scores a
record 452 not out in one cricket innings |
|
1930 |
Phar Lap wins his
first Melbourne Cup |
|
1931 |
Sir Douglas Mawson
charts 4,000 miles of Antarctic coastline and claims 42% of the icy
mass for Australia |
|
1932 |
The Sydney Harbour
Bridge opens |
|
1932 |
the Labor government
falls and Joseph Lyons becomes Prime Minister |
|
1933 |
Western Australia
votes at a referendum to secede from the Commonwealth, but the vote
is ignored by both the Commonwealth and British governments |
|
1936 |
The last Thylacine
dies |
|
1937 |
The radio series Dad
and Dave begins |
|
1938 |
Sydney hosts the
Empire Games, the forerunner to the Commonwealth Games |
|
1939 |
Australia enters the
Second World War |
|
1939 |
The first flight is
made by an Australian-made warplane, the Wirraway |
|
1939 |
Victoria is devastated
by the Black Friday bushfires |
|
1939 |
Lyons dies in office
and is succeeded by Robert Menzies |
|
1940 |
A team of scientists,
under Howard Florey, develops penicillin |
|
1941 |
Labor comes to power
under John Curtin |
|
1942-1943 |
Japanese planes make
almost 100 attacks against sites in the Northern Territory, Western
Australia and Queensland. |
|
1942 |
National daylight
saving is introduced as a war time measure. |
|
1942 |
The UK Statute of
Westminster is formally adopted by Australia. The Statute formally
grants Australia (along with New Zealand, South Africa, and the
Irish Free State) the right to pass laws that conflict with UK laws. |
|
1943 |
Australia wins its
first Oscar, with cinematographer Damien Parer being honoured for
his coverage of the war |
|
1944 |
The Pharmaceutical
Benefits Scheme is introduced, providing subsidised medicine to all
Australians |
|
1945 |
Australia becomes a
founding member of the United Nations |
|
1945 |
The Sydney-Hobart
Yacht Race is held for the first time |
|
1945 |
Curtin dies in office
and is succeeded by Ben Chifley |
|
1946 |
Minister for
Immigration Arthur Calwell introduces the major post-war immigration
scheme |
|
1946 |
An Australian, Norman
Makin, is voted in as the first President of the United Nations
Security Council. |
|
1948 |
Australian Minister
for External Affairs, Dr. H. V. Evatt is elected President of the
United Nations General Assembly. |
|
1948 |
Australia becomes a
signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. |
|
1949 |
Construction of the
Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme begins |
|
1949 |
Indigenous Australians
who are eligible to vote in State Elections in New South Wales,
Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania are also given the right to
vote in Federal Elections. |
|
1949 |
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. |
|
1949 |
Menzies returns to
power as leader of the new Liberal Party |
|
1950 |
Australian troops are
sent to the Korean War, as well as to fight a communist insurgency
in Malaya |
|
1951 |
Australia signs the
ANZUS treaty with the United States and New Zealand |
|
1951 |
Voters reject a
referendum to change the Constitution to allow the Menzies
Government to ban the Communist Party |
|
1952 |
First nuclear test
conducted in Australian territory by the United Kingdom off the
coast of Western Australia. |
|
1954 |
Elizabeth II and
Prince Philip make a royal visit; the Soviet diplomat Vladimir
Petrov defects, leading to the Petrov Affair and another split in
the Labor Party |
|
1955 |
Hotels in New South
Wales no longer have to close at 6 p.m., ending the "six o'clock
swill" |
|
1956 |
Melbourne holds the
Summer Olympics |
|
1959 |
The Sidney Myer Music
Bowl is opened; Australia becomes a signatory to the International
Antarctic Treaty. The Snowy Mountains Hydro scheme construction
workforce peaks at 7,300. |
|
1962 |
Indigenous Australians
gain the right to vote in all states except Queensland; Australia
enters the Vietnam War |
|
1964 |
The Beatles tour
Australia; 82 sailors die when HMAS Voyager sinks after being rammed
by HMAS Melbourne; the editors of OZ magazine are charged with
obscenity; PM Robert Menzies announces the reintroduction of
compulsory military service for men 18-25 |
|
1965 |
Indigenous Australians
gain right to vote in state of Queensland |
|
1966 |
The ban on the
employment of married women in the Commonwealth Public Service is
lifted. Menzies retires as Australia's longest-serving Prime
Minister and is succeeded by Harold Holt Decimal Currency
introduced. |
|
1967 |
Large areas of Hobart
and south-eastern Tasmania are devastated by bushfires on 7 February
that kill 62 people. Prime Minister Holt drowns and is succeeded by
John Gorton. Aboriginal Australians gain the right to citizenship
after a referendum to allow the federal government to legislate for
them is supported by over 90% of the population. Sydney is rocked by
a series of brutal underworld killings; talkback radio is
introduced.British comedian Tony Hancock commits suicide in Sydney. Gough Whitlam becomes leader of the Labor Party
|
|
1968 |
Australia signs the
nuclear non-proliferation treaty. Aboriginal boxing champion Lionel
Rose defeats Masahiko "Fighting" Harada in Japan to become the world
bantamweight champion. Australia's first liver transplant operation
is performed in Sydney. |
|
1969 |
French conceptual
artist Christo 'wraps' Little Bay in Sydney. Renowned author-artists
Norman Lindsay and May Gibbs die. The Australian production of the
rock 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. |
|
1970 |
More than 200,000
people participate in the largest demonstrations in Australian
history, against the Vietnam War |
|
1971 |
Neville Bonner becomes
the first Aboriginal to become an Australian Member of Parliament;
John Gorton resigns and is succeeded by William McMahon |
|
1971 |
The 1971 Springbok
tour sparks protest all throughout Australia. Premier of Queensland
Joh Bjelke-Petersen declares a state of emergency in QLD in response
to escalating protest. |
|
1972 |
The Commonwealth
Arbitration Commission rules that women doing the same job as men
have the right to be paid the same wage. |
|
1972 |
The first Labor
government since 1949 is elected under the leadership of Gough
Whitlam |
|
1972 |
Australia recognises
the People's Republic of China |
|
1973 |
The Sydney Opera House
is opened |
|
1973 |
The federal voting age
is dropped from 21 to 18 |
|
1973 |
Unionists save the
historic "The Rocks" area of Sydney from demolition by introducing
"Green Bans" |
|
1973 |
Patrick White becomes
the first Australian to win the Nobel Prize for Literature |
|
1974 |
Darwin is devastated
by Cyclone Tracy. The Snowy Mountain Hydro scheme is completed. More
than 100,000 people worked on the project in the period of
construction from 1949 to 1974. |
|
1975 |
A constitutional
crisis occurs when Malcolm Fraser's opposition blocks supply,
bringing the nation to a standstill until Governor-General John Kerr
dismisses Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. Fraser wins elections and
becomes Prime Minister |
|
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. |
|
1975 |
South Australia
becomes the first state in Australia to legalise homosexuality
between consenting adults in private. |
|
1976 |
The Australian Capital
Territory legalises homosexuality between consenting adults in
private. |
|
1977 |
Advance Australia Fair
becomes Australia's official national anthem |
|
1978 |
The First Gay and
Lesbian Mardi Gras kicks off in Sydney - People were arrested. |
|
1979 |
Australian women win
the right to maternity leave |
|
1979 |
Kakadu National Park
and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park are both proclaimed. |
|
1981 |
Victoria legalises
homosexuality between consenting adults in private and also is the
first State in Australia to have a uniform age of consent for
everyone in Australia. |
|
1982 |
Commonwealth Games
held in Brisbane. New South Wales Bbecomes the first state in
Australia to outlaw discrimination in the Anti-Discrimination Act
1977 on the basis of actual or perceived homosexuality. |
|
1983 |
Australia wins the
America's Cup; Bob Hawke defeats Fraser and leads Labor back to
government |
|
1984 |
New South Wales and
the Northern Territory legalises homosexuality between consenting
adults {over 18 only} in private. |
|
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 |
|
1986 |
The 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. Anita Cobby Murder in Sydney.
Russell Street Bombing in Melbourne. |
|
1987 |
Hoddle Street Massacre
kills 7 victims and injures 19, Queen Street Massacre kills 8
victims and injures 5. |
|
1988 |
Australia celebrates
its bicentenary, with large celebrations and major funding for
capital works projects The new Parliament House opens. |
|
1989 |
Western Australia
legalises homosexuality between consenting adults {over 21 only} in
private. Newcastle Earthquake kills 13 people. ACT gains
Self-Government. Fast Forward debuts on T.V |
|
1991 |
Queensland legalises
homosexuality between consenting adults in private and also
maintains a Sodomy Law for people under 18. |
|
1991 |
Prime Minister Bob
Hawke is replaced by Paul Keating |
|
1991 |
Seven people die in
the Strathfield massacre |
|
1991 |
Prominent heart
surgeon Victor Chang is gunned down |
|
1991 |
The Coode Island
chemical storage facility in Melbourne explodes, leaving a toxic
cloud hanging over the city for days |
|
1992 |
New South Wales
Premier Nick Greiner resigns after a corruption inquiry finds
against him |
|
1992 |
The High Court
delivers the Mabo Decision, which rules that indigenous native title
does exist. This effectively extinguishes the concept of terra
nullius. |
|
1993 |
Keating defeats John
Hewson in an election that had been widely described as being
"unwinnable" for him; the Australian Greens stand candidates for the
first time and Norfolk Island decriminalizes homosexuality [citation
needed] |
|
1994 |
All sexualities are
legal between two adults consenting in Private - because of the
Human Rights (Sexual Conduct) Act 1994. [1] |
|
1995 |
The Northern Territory
legalises voluntary euthanasia, but it is overruled by the federal
government when Liberal MP Kevin Andrews proposes the Euthanasia
Laws Bill 1996 |
|
1996 |
The High Court hands
down the Wik Decision, which holds that indigenous native title can
survive the granting of pastoral leases. |
|
1996 |
Liberal John Howard
becomes Prime Minister, defeating Paul Keating after a record 13
years of Labor government |
|
1996 |
All Australian states
and territories agree to introduce uniform gun laws following the
deaths of 35 people in the Port Arthur massacre |
|
1997 |
Expelled Liberal MP
Pauline Hanson forms the One Nation Party |
|
1997 |
On the 1 May 1997
Tasmania finally legalises homosexuality between consenting adults
in private after a nine-year battle, the last Australian state to do
so, also maintaining a law so there is 'constituting no defence' for
any person who practices anal sex with another person under 17 (12
with a two year gap and 15 with a three year gap). |
|
1997 |
Eighteen people die
when the Bimbadene and Carinya Lodges collapse at Thredbo Alpine
Village at 11.30 p.m. on 30 July |
|
1998 |
A major strike results
when Patrick Stevedores attempt to introduce non-union labour to
reduce the influence of the Maritime Union of Australia |
|
1998 |
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. |
|
1999 |
Both houses of the
federal parliament pass a motion signifying both recognition of and
regret at past treatment of indigenous Australians. |
|
1999 |
A referendum on
changing to a republic is unsuccessful |
|
1999 |
Australian soldiers
are deployed to East Timor as part of the INTERFET peacekeeping
force |
|
2000 |
Sydney holds the
Summer Olympics. |
|
2001 |
John Howard is
re-elected after the Tampa affair and Children overboard affair
occur as part of a crackdown on illegal immigration |
|
2001 |
Western Australia now
has a Uniform Age Of Consent at 16 for Everyone. |
|
2002 |
On 12 October 2002
bombs explode in a Bali nightclub and bar killing 202 people,
including 88 Australians. |
|
2003 |
Australian military
deployed to participate in the Iraq War. |
|
2003 |
The Northern Territory
now has a uniform Age Of Consent set at 16 for everyone. |
|
2003 |
New South Wales
becomes the last State to have a Uniform Age of Consent at 16 for
Everyone. |
|
2004 |
A bomb explodes
outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia. |
|
2004 |
The John Howard led
conservative Liberal and National Party coalition wins its fourth
term in office after defeating the Mark Latham lead Australian Labor
Party at the federal election. |
|
2005 |
Sixteen people are
charged with planning terrorist attacks in Sydney and Melbourne |
|
2005 |
Sydney beachside
suburb of Cronulla sees racially charged riots. |
|
2006 |
The Commonwealth Games
are held in Melbourne. |
|
2006 |
Australian Forces are
again deployed to East Timor to help stabilize the country. |
|
2007 |
Australian Forces are
brought home from East Timor. |
