Chronology

40,000 BC Aboriginal people begin arriving in Australia from South-East Asia. They carry on regular trade with the islands of what is now Indonesia.

6,000 BC The Torres Straits flood, separating Australia and New Guinea.

1522 Portuguese captain Cristovao de Mendoca becomes possibly the first European to land in Australia, on the south coast of NSW.

1616 Dutch captain Dirk Hartog lands at Shark Bay in WA, leaving a pewter plate which is the first evidence of a European landing in Australia.

1770 Captain James Cook takes possession of the eastern part of Australia for the British Crown.

1788 The First Fleet under Captain Arthur Phillip lands at Sydney Cove and establishes a penal colony, the first European settlement on Australian soil.

1797 The first merino sheep are imported and the first coal is discovered.

1803 Australia's first newspaper, The Sydney Gazette, is published.

1817 The Bank of NSW, the first official colonial financial institution, is formed.

1823 The first Legislative Council is appointed.

1832 Assisted immigration to Australia begins.

1842 Representative, democratic government begins.

1843 John Ridley invents the stripper-harvester in SA.

1850 Sydney University, Australia's first, is founded.

1851 The gold rushes begin, and will spread all over Australia.

1861 The first Melbourne Cup is run, the start of Australia's best known sporting event.

1868 Transportation of convicts to Australia ends.

1879 First successful shipment of Australian frozen meat to Europe.

1884 Hugh McKay invents the combine harvester, making it feasible for Australia to export wheat.

1892 Lawrence Hargrave discovers the principle of the curved aerodynamic wing.

1901 Australia becomes a federation, to be known as the Commonwealth of Australia.

1906 The world's first full-length feature film, The Story of The Kelly Gang, is made in Melbourne.

1907 The vast Murrum-bidgee Irrigation Scheme is begun.

1907 The Basic Wage is introduced, creating the foundation of an equitable society.

1908 The national pension scheme is introduced. Australia's social services are among the best in the world.

1915 Commonwealth Income Tax is introduced, giving the government a sound fiscal base.

1920 QANTAS begins operations. It is the second-oldest of the world's airlines.

1927 Federal Parliament meets for the first time in the new national capital, Canberra.

1928 The Flying Doctor Service is established by the Rev. John Flynn, extending medical support to remote communities.

1931 British control of Australia's foreign affairs ends.

1934 Sydney Harbour Bridge completed.

1936 The ABC establishes symphony orchestras in each capital city.

1945 Australia becomes one of the original signatories to the United Nations Charter.

1948 The 40 hour week is introduced, and Australia's own Holden car is launched.

1949 Work begins on the huge Snowy Mountains Scheme to supply irrigation and power.

1949 Good Neighbour Council set up to help immigrants assimilate.

1949 The legal status of Australian Citizenship was created.

1953 Oil is discovered in WA. The fields now export huge quantities of natural gas.

1956 Melbourne hosts Olympic Games. Television begins.

1960 The Adelaide Festival of Arts is established.

1960 Exports of iron ore from Western Australia's giant reserves begin.

1962 Aborigines are first allowed to vote in federal elections.

1966 Australia converts to decimal currency.

1968 Australia's first heart transplant operation is performed.

1971 Senator Neville Bonner becomes the first Aboriginal member of any Australian parliament.

1976 Advance Australia Fair replaces God Save The Queen as Australia's national anthem.

1983 Australia wins the America's Cup, the first successful challenge in 132 years.

1984 The world's first frozen embryo baby is born in Melbourne.

1984 The banks are deregulated, linking Australia's banking system solidly to the rest of the world.

1985 Australia's last constitutional ties to Britain are cut.

1987 First transcontinental race by solar cars, from Darwin to Adelaide.

1989 APEC holds its first meeting, in Canberra.

1991 The telephone monopoly ends with the formation of a second, privately owned telephone company.

1993 Sydney is chosen as host city for the 2000 Olympics.

1993 Australia introduces a new citizenship oath in which the new citizen is no longer required to swear allegiance to the Queen.

1994 OzLotto is drawn for the first time.

1994 Australia and the other APEC members pledge to eliminate regional tariff barriers by 2020.

1995 Qantas Airways Limited is listed on the stock exchange, British Airways owns 25%.

1997 One third of Telstra (Goverment owned phone company) offered for public sale, the largest public float in Australia's history.

1998 The Australian Stock exchange became the first stock exchange in the world to list on its own market.

1999 A referendum which put the question 'to establish the Commonwealth of Australia as a republic with the Queen and Governor-General being replaced by a President appointed by a two-thirds majority of the Members of the Commonwealth Parliament' was defeated in early November.

2000 Sydney hosts Olympic Games.

2001 Digital Television begins broadcasting.

2003 Australia hosts the Rugby Union World Cup.

2004 The Adelaide to Darwin railway line opens.

2005 Australia qualifies for the FIFA World Cup.