- > 70,000 BC: Aborigines are thought to have
inhabited Australia
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- 42,000 BC: Aboriginal engravings are found in
South Australia dating back to this time.
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- 35,000 BC: Aborigines are thought to have
reached Tasmania.
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- 2000 BC: The Dingo is the first "domesticated"
animal to reach Australia.
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- 1300 AD: Marco Polo discusses an great
unexplored southern land.
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- 1616 AD: Dirk Hartog, a Dutch explorer, sails
to Western Australia.
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- !688 AD: William Dampier, English explorer,
arrives on the west coast of Australia.
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- 1770: Captain James Cook lands on the more
hospitable east coast of Australia and claims it for Britain.
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- 1804: Hobart Town is established in Van Diemens
Land which is, today, known as Tasmania.
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- 1833: Port Arthur opens as a penal settlement
in Tasmania.
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- 1851: The gold rush begins near Bathurst in New
South Wales.
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- 1853: The last convicts are shipped to
Tasmania.
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- 1868: The last convicts are
transported to Australia.
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- 1873: Ayers Rock is first
sighted by Europeans.
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- 1876: The last full blooded
Tasmanian aboriginal, Truganini, dies.
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- 1901: The Commonwealth of
Australia becomes a reality.
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- 1914-1918: Australian troops
fight in World War 1.
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- 1920: QANTAS is formed as a
local airline.
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- 1923: Vegemite is first
produced.
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- 1927: The first Federal
Parliament meets in Canberra.
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- 1932: Sydney Harbour Bridge
opens.
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- 1933: Western Australia
produces a referendum for secession from England but it is
rejected by Parliament.
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- 1939-1945: Australian troops
fight in World War 2.
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- 1948: The first all Australian car is
produced-the 48/215 Holden (sometimes incorrectly referred to as
the FX).
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- 1956: Melbourne hosts the Olympics.
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- 1965: Australian troops sent to the Vietnam
War.
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- 1971: Neville Bonner becomes the first
Aboriginal to be a Member of Parliament.
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- 1973: The Sydney Opera House opens.
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- 1981: Asian immigration increases.
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- 1983: Australia wins the America's Cup.
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- 1988: Bicentenary: The new Parliament House
opens in Canberra.
- Brisbane hosts World Expo.
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- 2000: Sydney hosts the Olympic Games.
- 2006: Melbourne Hosts The Commonwealth Games
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